It’s been almost a week since the Associated Press released their choices for the 2005 men’s basketball All-American team, yet one glaring omission from this list still shines brightly throughout the sport. In fact, in light of recent events, this omission grows continually brighter and brighter.

How did a unanimous all-conference player from a major conference not make this list?

Even after leading his unlikely squad all the way to the sweet 16, he still received no recognition from the writing world. Yet the outcry seems to be lacking, and with the player in question, this seems normal.

In case you haven’t figured out who I’m talking about yet, it would be the Badgers’ star power forward, Mike Wilkinson. In one of the great travesties of this year’s basketball season, Wilkinson, a unanimous all-Big Ten selection did not receive a single vote for this season’s All-American squad. Not a single vote.

Yet, somehow, Illinois guards Luther Head, Deron Williams and Dee Brown all earned second or third team honors, and of those three, only Brown shared the distinction of being a unanimous all-Big Ten selection. But it wasn’t just his fellow conference foes that were placed above Wilkinson; several small school stars also found their way onto the AP’s list, at least as an honorable mention player, ahead of the senior forward.

Just for reference, here’s a list of a few players deemed worthy of a vote over the likes of Wilkinson:

• Brendan Winters, Davidson
• Steven Smith, La Salle
• Yemi Nicholson, Denver
• Caleb Green, Oral Roberts
• Blake Hamilton, Monmouth
• Joe Thompson, Sam Houston State
• Obie Trotter, Alabama A&M
• Pele Paelay, Coastal Carolina
• Turner Battle, Buffalo
• Mike Bell, Florida Atlantic
• Seamus Boxley, Portland State
• Kevin Hamilton, Holy Cross
• Chakowby Hicks, Norfolk State
• Willie Jenkins, Tennessee Tech

And the list goes on…

In their defense, these guys did put up some gaudy numbers. Boxley scorched members of the Big Sky Conference, a perennial basketball powerhouse, averaging 20.6 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. And lets not forget the impressive play of Denver’s Yemi Nicholson, who posted 18.1 points, 8.4 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game in the amazingly talented Sun Belt conference. Oh, and it would be wrong to leave out Chakowby Hicks, who averaged a stellar 14.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game while battling members of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference?

Compared to these numbers it’s obvious why Wilkinson didn’t make the list. I mean, seriously, how can 14.3 points, 7.4 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game compare to the behemoth numbers these mid-major players are posting?

Obviously I’m being facetious with the previous paragraph.

This sad omission is just the latest in the continual lack of respect given to the Badgers, the Big Ten conference and to fundamental basketball as a whole. Most national pundits wrote off Wisconsin as nothing more than a second round squad. Most pundits also criticized the selection committee for putting five Big Ten teams in the tournament, yet this past weekend’s Elite Eight action saw three Big Ten squads participating. That number is more than any other conference in America, including the highly touted ACC.

But why can’t the Big Ten, and more importantly Wilkinson, garner the recognition of the ACC, Big East and other power conference schools? Quite frankly it comes down to style. The Big Ten isn’t a flashy league. Teams aren’t posting sky-high point totals, throwing down Sportscenter jams or burning opponents one-on-one consistently. The Big Ten is a defensive conference, a fundamental conference and thus, in the eyes of many fans, a boring conference.

Need further proof that flashy players are more likely to receive votes? Other names on the list of honorable mention All-Americans included UW-Milwaukee’s Ed McCants and Marquette’s Travis Diener. So obviously the voters didn’t overlook the state of Wisconsin. The difference is that Diener and McCants are exciting, flashy players. Neither player is afraid to shoot the ball, as evidenced by Diener’s 13.5 shots per game and McCants’ 14.25 shots per game. Comparatively, the less flashy Wilkinson averages only 10.3 shots per game.

This is why Wilkinson is the perfect poster child for the Big Ten style of play. The senior forward is far from flashy. In fact, the word flashy should never be used to describe Wilkinson. Consistent, steady, fundamental — these are words used to describe his play. But while his play lacks the glitz and glamour of other players, his substance is greater than any of those players.

Ask any opposing coach about Wilkinson and you will get the same quote; ‘He’s just so fundamentally sound. He never makes mistakes and that’s hard to defend.’ Some could even argue that Wilkinson is the most fundamentally sound player college basketball has seen in ages. He gets low on his box-outs, sets hard-hitting textbook screens, always keeps the ball high when passing or shooting and has mastered three separate, though equally lethal, post moves. Most normal post players would be thankful to have a pair of consistent moves to rely on. Still, what so many coaches have realized has failed to reach many in the media.

It’s a beautiful thing to watch Wilkinson operate. Anyone who ever played basketball at the elementary, middle school or high school level can see what their coaches were yelling about for all those years. Whenever I watch Wilkinson I can still hear my JV coaches yelling at me, “You call that a box out?” “Run tight off of that screen!” “High, high, keep that ball high!” Watching Wilkinson is like talking a course in basketball basics.

Yet the voters of the AP have spoken. I’m not arguing that the majority of the players on their list deserved to be there, because they did. But in a day of fast-paced, sloppy play, Wilkinson’s style was a breath of fresh air. His fundamental, workmanlike play (I’ll avoid the token farmer reference here) made it enjoyable to watch college basketball, as opposed to the self-centered “me first” play of the NBA. It’s just a shame AP voters couldn’t see the beauty in Wilkinson’s play that so many coaches and Badger fans already have.