You can have an endless debate about some of the candidates for the Big Ten basketball post-season awards. JaJuan Johnson, Jared Sullinger, and Jordan Taylor are all worthy of being named Player of the Year. A solid case could be made for Ohio State‘s Thad Matta, Purdue‘s Matt Painter, and Wisconsin‘s Bo Ryan winning Coach of the Year honors. The Sports Bank panel of five voters (David Kay, Paul M. Banks, Peter Christian, Nick Grays, and Justin Mertes-Mistretta) has chimed in on their picks and handed out some post-season hardware.
(CAPS UNANIMOUS SELECTION)
First Team:
JAJUAN JOHNSON, Purdue
JARED SULLINGER, Ohio State
Jordan Taylor, Wisconsin
Jon Leuer, Wisconsin
E’Twaun Moore, Purdue
Second Team:
Talor Battle, Penn State
Kalin Lucas, Michigan State
Demetri McCamey, Illinois
Draymond Green, Michigan State
Trevor Mbakwe, Minnesota
Third Team:
Darius Morris, Michigan
William Buford, Ohio State
David Lighty, Ohio State
Christian Watford, Indiana
John Shurna, Northwestern
Honorable Mentions:
Juice Thompson, Northwestern
Blake Hoffarber, Minnesota
Mike Davis, Illinois
Keaton Nankivil, Wisconsin
All-Freshman Team
JARED SULLINGER, OHIO STATE (FOY)
AARON CRAFT, OHIO STATE
TIM HARDAWAY JR., MICHIGAN
Melsahn Basabe, Iowa
Jordan Morgan, Michigan
Honorable Mentions:
Josh Gasser, Wisconsin
Deshaun Thomas, Ohio State
All-Defensive Team:
JAJUAN JOHNSON, PURDUE (DPOY)
AARON CRAFT, OHIO STATE
DRAYMOND GREEN, MICHIGAN STATE
David Lighty, Ohio State
Trevor Mbakwe, Minnesota
Honorable Mentions:
Ralph Sampson III, Minnesota
Lewis Jackson, Purdue
Sixth Man of the Year:
Aaron Craft, Ohio State
Co-Players of the Year:
JaJuan Johnson, Purdue and Jared Sullinger, Ohio State
(DK) Johnson ends up getting the edge over Taylor in my opinion with Sullinger in third due to a dip in production in the past couple weeks. Johnson has carried this Purdue team and has been the reason they have been able to have such success even without Robbie Hummel. Plus, his impact is felt on both ends of the floor where Taylor and Sullinger do most of their damage on offense.
(NG) Sullinger was unbelievable in 2010-11 while averaging almost a double-double. He was also the only player in the Big Ten to record a 40+ point game and ranked second in the conference with 14 games of 10+ rebounds. Did I mention that he’s a freshman? Despite his lack of experience, Sullinger appears to be very mature in the post where he thrives.
Coach of the Year:
Bo Ryan, Wisconsin
(PC) It’s seems repetitive but Bo Ryan has done great things with unheralded recruits and without nearly the recognition. He’s a great coach and has yet again maximized the potential of his Badgers.
(NG) With what has become a ritual in Madison, Bo Ryan has a Badgers team that is surprising the country with great defense. Ryan also preaches taking care of the ball and taking good shots. This season’s team is taking that game-plan to an entire different level as Wisconsin approaches NCAA records in free throw percentage, fewest turnovers per game and assist-to-turnover ratio.