Three University of Illinois basketball players received Big Ten
honors:
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Illinois junior
Brandon Paul (15.0 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.9 apg) was named third-team
all-Big Ten by coaches, honorable mention all-Big Ten by media.
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Illinois sophomore
Meyers Leonard (13.4 ppg, 8.3 rpg, 1.9 apg) was named honorable
mention all-Big Ten by both coaches and media.
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Illinois senior guard Sam Maniscalco
was named a Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree.
Michigan State's Draymond Green earned Big Ten Player of the Year
honors from the conference's coaches and media panel. Spartan head
coach Tom Izzo earned Coach of the Year laurels from both groups,
while Indiana's Cody Zeller picked up Freshman of the Year accolades
from the coaches, and Michigan's Trey Burke earned the honor from
the media. Ohio State's Aaron Craft was named the Defensive Player
of the Year, while Purdue's D.J. Byrd was voted the Sixth Man of the
Year.
Green takes home the Big Ten Player of the Year Award after
leading Michigan State to a share of the Big Ten title, averaging
16.2 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game en route to top
honors. Green leads the conference in rebounding, ranks sixth in
scoring and ninth in assists, and is the only player in the
conference to rank among the top 10 in all three categories. The
senior earns the seventh Big Ten Player of the Year honor in program
history and the first for Michigan State since 2009.
Izzo led the Spartans to a 24-7 overall record and a 13-5 mark in
Big Ten play this season, good for the team's 13th conference title
and the third in the last four years. Izzo now ranks fifth in Big
Ten history with seven conference crowns. The Big Ten Coach of the
Year award is his third, after taking home the honor in 1998 and
2009, and is the fifth by a Michigan State coach.
Zeller leads all Big Ten freshmen in scoring and rebounding,
averaging 15.4 points and 6.4 boards per game. The Hoosier newcomer
finished the regular season eighth in scoring and sixth in
rebounding among all players en route to Indiana's ninth Big Ten
Freshman of the Year honor and the program's first since 2008.
Burke collects top freshman honors after averaging 14.6 points
and 4.6 assists per contest to help the Wolverines earn a share of
the Big Ten championship. Burke leads all freshmen and finished the
regular season second in the conference in assists, becoming
Michigan's first Big Ten Freshman of the Year since 2003.
Craft collects Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year laurels after
spearheading Ohio State's defensive efforts and pushing the Buckeyes
to a share of the Big Ten title. Craft leads the conference with 2.4
steals per game and helped lead a defensive unit that allowed the
second-fewest points per game in the Big Ten at 58.5. Craft earns
the fourth Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year award in Ohio State
history and first since 2007.
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Byrd averaged 8.5 points per game off the bench for Purdue,
finishing the regular season sixth in the Big Ten by shooting 43.2
percent from 3-point range en route to Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year
accolades. The honor marks Purdue's first since the award's
inception in 2006.
Green was a unanimous first-team all-Big Ten choice by the
coaches and media, while Northwestern's John Shurna, Ohio State's
Jared Sullinger and Purdue's Robbie Hummel were also first-team
picks by both groups. Wisconsin's Jordan Taylor was a first-team
selection by the coaches, while Penn State's Tim Frazier rounded out
the media's first-team choices. Hummel collects first-team accolades
for the third time, while Sullinger and Taylor earn the honor for
the second consecutive year. Green, Shurna and Frazier each earn
first-team status for the first time.
Zeller and Burke lead the way on the coaches' All-Freshman Team,
unanimously earning spots on the five-person squad. Joining the pair
are Iowa's Aaron White, Michigan State's Branden Dawson and
Northwestern's Dave Sobolewski. Craft was a unanimous choice for the
All-Defensive Team and is joined by Green, Frazier, Indiana's Victor
Oladipo and Wisconsin's Josh Gasser.
The Big Ten also announced 12 Sportsmanship Award honorees. The
student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished
themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These
student-athletes must also be in good academic standing and have
demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition
setting. This season's honorees are Illinois' Sam Maniscalco,
Indiana's Jordan Hulls, Iowa's Matt Gatens, Michigan's Stu Douglass,
Michigan State's Austin Thornton, Minnesota's Ralph Sampson III,
Nebraska's Brandon Richardson, Northwestern's Nick Fruendt, Ohio
State's Craft, Penn State's Billy Oliver, Purdue's Hummel and
Wisconsin's Rob Wilson.
For the complete list of all-conference honorees and individual
award winners, click
here.
[Text from
Big Ten file received from the University of Illinois]
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