Big Ten Honors & Awards

With no Big Ten schools advancing beyond the Sweet 16, it's officially time to take a look back at the season that was. Remember that honors and awards take into account the entirety of the season, rather than just Big Ten conference play.

All-Big Ten

Jordan Taylor, Wisconsin
#11 Junior Guard 6-1 195
18.1 ppg 4.7 apg 4.1 rpg

Talor Battle, Penn State
#12 Senior Guard 6-0 170
20.2 ppg 4.4 rpg 2.9 apg

E'Twaun Moore, Purdue
#33 Senior Guard 6-4 190
18.0 ppg 5.1 rpg 3.2 apg

JaJuan Johnson, Purdue
#25 Senior Center 6-10 220
20.5 ppg 8.6 rpg 2.3 bpg

Jared Sullinger, Ohio State
#0 Freshman Center 6-9 280
17.2 ppg 10.2 rpg .541 FG%


Player of the Year: Jared Sullinger, Ohio State
The big-bodied freshman edges Purdue's JaJuan Johnson by the slimmest of margins based largely on his ability to impose his will on the perimeter-oriented college game as a true post presence.

All-Defense

Jordan Taylor, Wisconsin
#11 Junior Guard 6-1 195

Aaron Craft, Ohio State
#4 Freshman Guard 6-2 195

David Lighty, Ohio State
#23 Senior Guard 6-5 220

Draymond Green, Michigan State
#23 Junior Forward 6-7 230

JaJuan Johnson, Purdue
#25 Senior Center 6-10 220


Defensive Player of the Year: JaJuan Johnson, Purdue
David Lighty and Aaron Craft deserve special recognition for their tenacious perimeter defense, but Johnson,the former Baby Boiler, earned the top spot in the defensively-minded Big Ten after averaging 2.3 blocks per contest and anchoring Matt Painter's stingy Purdue D.

Freshman of the Year: Jared Sullinger, Ohio State
Sullinger is a no-brainer here, but fellow Buckeye Aaron Craft and Michigan's Tim Hardaway Jr. also had excellent freshman campaigns.

Coach of the Year: Thad Matta, Ohio State
Matta is the choice for guiding Ohio State to a two-loss regular season, the Big Ten regular season and conference tourney titles, and the overall number one seed in the NCAA tourney, but Purdue's Matt Painter gets a tip of the hat for yet another strong showing (as does Michigan's John Beilein for taking a team that RBP predicted would be "epically bad" to the second round of the NCAAs).

And now for some regionally appropriate hip-hop.

2010-11 Outlook: Big Ten

Projected Order of Finish

1. Michigan State - Izzo's roster is overflowing with talent, and yet another trip to the Final Four is well within reach.

2. Ohio State - Extremely talented freshman class is more than just Jared Sullinger.

3. Wisconsin - Badger big men Jon Leuer and Keaton Nankivil team up to form one of the country's most formidable post tandems.

4. Purdue - Losing Robbie Hummel for the season removes the Boilermakers from national title contention, but the return of seniors JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore means Matt Painter's squad could still make noise in March.

5. Illinois - Bruce Weber has plenty of talent and excellent depth, but can the Illini play with intensity and focus for 40 minutes?

6. Minnesota - In just his fourth season at the helm, Tubby Smith has assembled a deep roster with a nice combination of skill, size, and athleticism.

7. Northwestern - Junior forward John Shurna is one of the most underrated players in the country.

8. Indiana - Expect the product Tom Crean puts on the floor to be improved, but whether that translates into an improvement in the win column in a tough Big Ten remains to be seen.

9. Penn State - Senior scorer Talor Battle will once again lead an underwhelming Nittany Lions' attack.

10. Iowa - It's going to be another long year for the Hawkeyes.

11. Michigan - Wolverines could be epically bad.

All-Conference

Kalin Lucas, Michigan State, sr, guard
Demetri McCamey, Illinois, sr, guard
E'Twaun Moore, Purdue, sr, guard
Jon Leuer, Wisconsin, sr, forward
JaJuan Johnson, Purdue, sr, center

Player of the Year

Demetri McCamey, Illinois - If this big-bodied point guard in the mold of Deron Williams can get along with Bruce Weber, the Illini could have a special season.

Top Freshman

Jared Sullinger, Ohio State - Only question is whether he will be as dominant on the defensive end as he will be scoring the ball.

Top Defender

David Lighty, Ohio State - Versatile fifth-year senior can defend multiple positions and doesn't make mistakes.

Big Ten Review (09-10)

All-Big Ten

Kalin Lucas, Michigan State
Junior 6-1 190 14.8p 1.9r 4.0a 0.1b 1.2s

Evan Turner, Ohio State
Junior 6-7 210 20.4p 9.2r 6.0a 0.9b 1.7s

Robbie Hummel, Purdue
Junior 6-8 210 15.7p 6.9r 2.1a 1.0b 1.1s

John Shurna, Northwestern
Sophomore 6-8 210 18.2p 6.4r 2.6a 0.9b 0.8s

JaJuan Johnson, Purdue
Junior 6-10 215 15.5p 7.1r 0.7a 2.1b 0.9s

Player of the Year: Evan Turner, Ohio State
The best player in college basketball (and one of the nerdiest) did it all for the Buckeyes this year. The 6-7 junior ran the point (dishing out an impressive 6 dimes per contest), hit the boards (averaging over 9 per game), filled it up on the offensive end (over 20 a game), and played lockdown defense. Forget about leading his team in multiple statistical categories, The Villain led the conference in scoring, finished second in rebounds and assists, and third in steals. Oh, and Turner broke his back on December 5th, missed six games, and returned to lead the Buckeyes - who, while talented, featured a 7-man rotation for much of the season - to a 2 seed and a share of the Big Ten title. Three of Ohio State's 7 losses on the season came during the six-game period Turner was out the injury.

Coach of the Year: Bo Ryan, Wisconsin
It seems that Ryan is finally starting to get the attention he deserves. Every time I see the Badgers in action, the announcers are singing his praises - and rightfully so. His teams execute on offense, play hard-nosed defense, and don't make mistakes. The meat grinder that is the Badgers' halfcourt offense is just as much Ryan's trademark as the Princeton offense is for JT3 or the secondary break is for Roy Williams. His players develop during their time in Madison (witness Trevon Hughes, Jon Leuer, and Jason Bohannon from this year's team), and, seemingly regardless of who is actually suiting up for the Badgers in a given year, they are going to be one of the top 25 teams in the country and compete for a Big Ten championship.

Freshman of the Year: Drew Crawford, Northwestern
Crawford "headlines" an incredibly weak crop of freshmen in the Big Ten. The 6-5 swingman averaged a solid 10 points and 4 rebounds per contest. Crawford's numbers may be underwhelming, but his play was a key factor in Northwestern regrouping after the loss of Kevin Coble. With Crawford, Coble, Shurna, and rising senior Michael Thompson returning, the Wildcats may be dancing next March for the first time in school history.

Defensive Player of the Year: Chris Kramer, Purdue
His stats (3.0 rebounds, 1.7 steals, and 0.4 blocks) do not begin to tell the story of the Purdue senior's impact on the defensive end of the floor. Kramer has twice been honored as Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year (as a sophomore and senior) and was named to the conference's all-defensive team each of his four years in West Lafayette. His on-ball defense is a thing of beauty, and the havoc he creates on the defensive end will be sorely missed by Matt Painter. One of the best perimeter defenders to come through the college ranks in the last decade.

Biggest Surprise: Wisconsin
Not a lot of surprises in the Big Ten this year, but the Badgers get the nod here for continuing to outperform expectations. I tend to give Wisconsin the benefit of the doubt, but even I didn't see Bo Ryan's squad as a Top 25-type team this year - let alone a team that would finish one game out of a share of the Big Ten title. It's about time we learned not to doubt this strange team from the North with their blonde buzzcuts and Scandinavian bloodlines.

Biggest Disappointment: Michigan
John Beilein's third season in Ann Arbor was pretty much a fiasco. For some reason, Michigan was ranked 15th in the preseason AP poll. (I'm really not sure I've ever seen a weaker preseason top 25 team.) Manny Harris and DeShawn Sims are talented, but I'm not sure the roster features another quality basketball player. While I thought Michigan would miss the tourney, I didn't expect the Wolverines to finish with a losing record (15-17). With Harris leaving early (presumably to play overseas because he's not an NBA player) and Sims graduating, things will be even worse for Beilein next year - who left a pretty good situation in West Virginia for what has pretty much become a college basketball wasteland.