Billy Gillispie is 2008 SEC Co-Coach of the Year, Patrick Patterson the Co-Freshman of the Year

Billy Gillispie has won the Coach of the Year award in his league for the fifth year in a row.

UK head coach Billy Gillispie was named the SEC Co-Coach of the Year, along with Tennessee’s Bruce Pearl, by league coaches. He was also given the honor by Rivals.com.

The Gillispie-led Wildcats overcame numerous injuries to tie for the SEC’s second-best league record (12-4) and second-place in the SEC East.

It is the fifth-straight year Gillispie has been named his league’s conference coach of the year. In 2004, he was the WAC Coach of the Year honor at UTEP. He then won similar recognition by either coaches or a media outlet for each of the three seasons he was at Texas A&M.

This is the 15th season that a Kentucky coach was named by the league.

Patrick Patterson was named Co-Freshman of the Year, too. Despite missing the final week of the season, he put up awesome numbers this year.

Patrick Patterson, along with Florida’s Nick Calathes, was named the SEC’s Co-Freshman of the Year by league coaches, despite missing the final three conference games with a stress fracture in his left foot. He was also given the honor outright by Rivals.com.

Patterson finished the regular season as one of two freshmen to rank in the SEC’s top 10 in both scoring (8th) and rebounding (7th), and is one of two players in the league’s top 10 in points, rebounds, field goal percentage (5th) and free throw percentage (9th).

It marks the first time that a Wildcat has been named the league’s freshman of the year.

Here's the full list of awards and honors.

SEC CO-COACHES OF THE YEAR
Billy Gillispie, Kentucky
Bruce Pearl, Tennessee

SEC PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Shan Foster, Vanderbilt

SEC SCHOLAR-ATHLETE OF THE YEAR
Dave Bliss, Georgia

SEC CO-FRESHMEN OF THE YEAR
Nick Calathes, Florida
Patrick Patterson, Kentucky

SEC SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR
J.P. Prince, Tennessee

SEC DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State#

FIRST TEAM ALL-SEC
Richard Hendrix, Alabama*, F
Sonny Weems, Arkansas F
Ramel Bradley, Kentucky G
Jamont Gordon, Mississippi State# G/F
Charles Rhodes, Mississippi State F/C
Devan Downey, South Carolina G
Chris Lofton, Tennessee* G
Tyler Smith, Tennessee F
Shan Foster, Vanderbilt# G/F

SECOND TEAM ALL-SEC
Nick Calathes, Florida G/F
Sundiata Gaines, Georgia G
Joe Crawford, Kentucky G
Patrick Patterson, Kentucky F
Marcus Thornton, LSU G
Dwayne Curtis, Ole Miss C
JaJuan Smith, Tennessee G
A.J. Ogilvy, Vanderbilt C

SEC ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Nick Calathes, Florida# G/F
Jai Lucas, Florida# G
Chandler Parsons, Florida* F
Jeremy Price, Georgia F
Patrick Patterson, Kentucky# F
Anthony Randolph, LSU# F
Trevor Gaskins, Ole Miss* G
Chris Warren, Ole Miss# G
Mike Holmes, South Carolina* F
A.J. Ogilvy, Vanderbilt# C

SEC ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
Steven Hill, Arkansas F/C
Sundiata Gaines, Georgia G
Ramel Bradley, Kentucky G
Garrett Temple, LSU G
Jarvis Varnado, Mississippi State F/C
JaJuan Smith, Tennessee G

#-Unanimous Selection; Ties are not broken