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Brent Yarina's Bio: BigTenNetwork.com editor Brent Yarina takes you around Big Ten athletics, on and off the court. |
My first-half men's hoops awards
| Feb 1 2009, 3:29 PM | Topic: Talking Big Ten | |
Player of the Year: Talor Battle, Penn State Even before Sunday's upset at the Breslin Center, I had this super sophomore slated here. Battle is just such a solid contributor in every category, with the exception of field goal percentage, that he helps his team in more ways than any other player. It's only a matter of time before he tallies a triple-double. Runner-up: Kalin Lucas, Michigan State Honorable mention: Evan Turner, Ohio State; JaJuan Johnson, Purdue; Jamelle Cornley, Penn State; Manny Harris, Michigan. Coach of the Year: Bruce Weber, Illinois The Illini were nothing short of dysfunctional last year, and now they share the ball better than just about any team in the nation. While the personnel has changed quite a bit, Weber has to receive a great deal of the credit after garnering a majority of the blame last season. Runner-up: Bill Carmody, Northwestern Honorable mention: Tubby Smith, Minnesota; Ed DeChellis, Penn State; Matt Painter, Purdue. Defensive player of the Year: Chris Kramer, Purdue Bum foot and all, Kramer, the conference's reigning DPOY, continues to be as good as it gets. His lockdown performance against Davidson's Stephen Curry gets most of the attention, but he's been equally dominant all season en route to helping Purdue tally the nation's best opponent field goal percentage (36 percent). Runner-up: Damian Johnson, Minnesota Honorable mention: Chester Frazier, Illinois; Travis Walton, Michigan State; Al Nolen, Minnesota; Evan Turner, Ohio State; JaJuan Johnson, Purdue. Freshman of the Year: William Buford, Ohio State Buford has really found his groove since the Big Ten slate opened, averaging 14.4 points per game, but it's his efficiency that really makes him so impressive. Buford is hitting 49 percent of his shots from the field, 95 percent from the charity stripe and 41 percent from distance. Runner-up: Matt Gatens, Iowa Honorable mention: Tom Pritchard, Indiana; Zack Novak, Michigan; Colton Iverson, Minnesota; Ralph Sampson III, Minnesota; B.J. Mullens, Ohio State. Most improved player of the Year: JaJuan Johnson, Purdue With every passing game, Johnson gets a tighter grip on this laurel. The Boiler sophomore is becoming a highly respectable force on both ends this season, especially during Big Ten play, leading the conference with 2.9 blocks per game and averaging a modest 12.8 points on a balanced-scoring team. Runner-up: Mike Tisdale, Illinois Honorable mention: Chester Frazier, Illinois; Damian Johnson, Minnesota; Jon Diebler, Ohio State; Stanley Pringle, Penn State. Surprise team of the Year: Northwestern It's really hard to decide between Northwestern (good surprise) and Wisconsin (bad surprise). While nobody in his/her right mind ever would have predicted Wisconsin to have a 3-6 clip at the midway point, I'm not too sure many more people would have had Northwestern at 4-5. This is the same team that racked up a grand total of one conference win last season after all. Runner-up: Illinois Honorable mention: Minnesota; Penn State |
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