Sports

Four Badgers receive Big Ten honors

Looking for a print version?
Simply use your browser’s ‘Print’ command and a printer-friendly document will be generated automatically.

Related stories:

• Nosbusch earns weekly accolades (October 23, 2008)
• Track teams compete at NCAA Indoor Championships (March 22, 2004)
• Van Sicklen earns all-region honor (December 6, 2002)

Also by Mike Johnson:

• Alvarez: no decline at Wisconsin (November 11, 2003)
• Sorgi out, Schabert in for Northwestern game (October 21, 2003)
• UW defense looking to better its performance (September 11, 2003)
• Elroy Hirsch's legacy to be honored this weekend (April 25, 2003)
• Softball season filled with ups and downs (May 7, 2003)

Sharing tools:

E-mail this article:

Your e-mail address:

Recipient e-mail address:

Optional message:

Share on:

• Facebook
• Digg
• Newsvine
• reddit
• StumbleUpon
• delicious
• Google
• Yahoo! My Web
• BlogMarks
• Linkroll
• Simpy

• Spurl
• Connotea
• Fark
• Feed Me Links

• Magnolia
• BlinkList
• Sphere
• LinkedIn

• Furl
• Technorati
• AddToAny
• Permalink

Last season, UW men’s basketball coach Bo Ryan became the first coach in Wisconsin history to be named Big Ten Coach of the Year. All he did for an encore this season was lead UW to its second-straight Big Ten title, its first outright since 1947. That performance was good enough for the Big Ten media to award him his second-straight Coach of the Year award, announced by the conference Tuesday. He’s the first coach in Big Ten history to win the award in each of his first two seasons in the conference.

Ryan’s squad was led all season by its lone senior, guard Kirk Penney, who averaged 16.4 points and six rebounds per game. For his efforts, both the coaches and the media unanimously named Penney First Team All-Big Ten. It is the second consecutive season in which Penney has been named to the First Team.

Also grabbing honors for Wisconsin was sophomore point guard Devin Harris, who was named Second Team All-Big Ten by both the coaches and the media. In addition to scoring 12.8 points per game, Harris led the team in steals and assists. Freshman forward Alando Tucker, with 12.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, was selected as an honorable mention by the media and named to the All-Freshman Team by the coaches. He finished second in the conference with 2.71 offensive rebounds per game.

Illinois senior forward Brian Cook was the only player in addition to Penney to be named unanimously to the First Team by both the coaches and the media. His conference-leading 20.1 points per game and third-best 7.1 rebounds per game were also enough to give him the Big Ten Player of the Year award by both the coaches and the media, as he edged out Penney for the conference’s most prestigious individual honor.

Seniors dominated the awards, as all five members of the media’s First Team are in their final year of eligibility. In addition to Penney and Cook, Michigan forward LaVell Blanchard, Purdue guard Willie Deane and Indiana forward Jeff Newton garnered the award. The coaches, on the other hand, named Newton to the Second Team, with Minnesota sophomore forward Rick Rickert, a pre-season Player of the Year favorite, getting First Team honors.

Michigan guard Daniel Horton, who finished with 15.7 points and 4.5 assists per game, both top 10 in the conference, won Freshman of the Year. Purdue junior guard Kenneth Lowe was named the conference Defensive Player of the Year.