The Pac-10 released its annual list of awards on Monday and Arizona's Derrick Williams brought home the biggest award of them all. Williams was named the Pac-10 Player of the Year, beating out Washington's Isaiah Thomas and Washington State Klay Thompson for the honors. The three were locked in a tight battle throughout the season, but the Pac-10 coaches gave Williams the nod as the best player on the conference's best team, with the stats to back up his case.
Williams, a likely first-round pick in the NBA Draft should he choose to declare, had an outstanding year, even with a wrist injury that slowed him towards the end of the season. He finished the season averaging 18.8 points per game, second to Thompson, and 8.2 rebounds per game. He also finished the year with 10 double-doubles, dominating the boards and keying the Arizona offense as the Wildcats took home the regular season Pac-10 title.
Williams is the sixth Wildcat to win the Pac-10 Player of the Year award, joining Mike Bibby, Damon Stoudamire, Jason Terry, Chris Mills and Sean Elliot. Last season, Williams was named the Pac-10 freshman of the year, beating out Washington State's Reggie Moore.
The Wildcats head to Los Angeles for the Pac-10 tournament this week, taking on the winner of the Stanford-Arizona State play-in game. Stay with us as we update the rest of the Pac-10 awards in this StoryStream, including the All-Pac-10 teams.