Gopher Basketball
All-American Team
PG Dee Brown, Illinois (14.7 ppg; 5.6 apg)
SG J.J. Redick, Duke (27.8 ppg; 42% 3 pt.)
SF Adam Morrison, Gonzaga (28.8 ppg; 5.6 rpg)
PF P.J. Tucker, Texas (16.2 ppg; 9 rpg; 2.7 apg)
C Shelden Williams, Duke (18.8 ppg; 10.4 rpg; 3.7 bpg)
Sixth Man
SG Randy Foye, Villanova (20.2 ppg; 5.4 rpg; 3.1 apg)
National co-Players of the Year:Redick and Morrison
The selections of Redick, Morrison, and Williams were no-brainers; I know Dee Brown has his critics on the board, and it’s an admittedly weak year for elite point guards, but I felt like Dee Brown brought intangibles to the table not reflected in the stats sheets, and even when his shot wasn’t falling, I thought he contributed mightily to the Illini’s success; I included Tucker partly because he’s one of my favorite players, but also because I felt he might have had the most complete season of anyone out there. And I had to make room for Randy Foye, too. As for the Player of the Year, perhaps you’ll say I wussed out by going the co-player route, but I truly felt that you couldn’t separate the wonderful seasons that Redick and Morrison had.
Big Ten All-Conference Team
PG Dee Brown, Illinois
SG Shannon Brown, Michigan St. (18.2 ppg; 4.2 rpg)
SF Alando Tucker, Wisconsin (18.9 ppg; 5.7 rpg)
PF Greg Brunner, Iowa (14.2 ppg; 9.7 rpg)
C Terence Dials, Ohio St. (15.2 ppg; 8.1 rpg)
Sixth Man
PG Daniel Horton, Michigan (17.7 ppg; 5.3 apg)
Big Ten POY: Dials
I went with players at the top of the conference typically, which is why Dee Brown got the nod over Horton at PG, and why Brunner was the PF in the toughest pick over Killingsworth, Vukusic, Augustine. Killingsworth was the toughest omission, and I would have liked to find room for Je’kel Foster too. Dials got the POY nod on account of how much he meant for that Buckeyes squad whose wonderful core of three-point shooters would have been a middling team in the Big Ten without the big guy in the middle.
National Coach of the Year
2nd runner-up: Ben Howland, UCLA
1st runner-up: Jay Wright, Villanova
Winner: Andy Kennedy, Cincinnati
Howland and Wright both fashioned incredible years for their programs, adjusting to the injury bugs that hit both squads, in different ways. But I’ve thought for a couple months that Kennedy has done an absolutely amazing job in the face of what potentially could have been a disastrous season for the Bearcats. Instead, they’re likely headed to the Dance. Nicely done for a guy’s first head coaching job.
Big Ten Coach of the Year
2nd runner up: Bruce Webber
1st runner up: Steve Alford
Winner: Thad Matta
I pretty much went with the top of the conference standings here, but I think each coach did a masterful job this season, particularly Matta who brought a Big Ten championship to Columbus when everyone was looking beyond this Buckeyes squad to his recruiting class. I’ve never been much impressed with Alford, but I thought he did a very solid job this year, particularly towards the end of the season in keeping the Hawkeyes focused while rumors have been running rampant about his likelihood as the next Hoosiers coach. Special mention is also given to Ed DeChellis, who will be taking his Nittany Lions to the NIT and looks like he could be building something solid in Happy Valley.
Chevy Troutman All-American Team
(This is a team comprised of players who play the game so well and so passionately; you likely won’t see them on any other All-American teams, but I would take these six up against any other in the nation, and feel pretty good about my chances)
PG Kyle Lowry, Villanova
SG Carl Krauser, Pitt
SF Aaron Afflalo, UCLA
PF Joachim Noah, Florida
C Erik Hicks, Cincinnati
Sixth Man
SF/PF J.J. Sullinger, Ohio St.
Luis Flores All-American Team
(These players have had great seasons, but primarily under the radar of the national television audience)
PG Jose Juan Barea, Northeastern (21 ppg; 8.5 apg; 4.5 rpg; Snoop’s guy)
SG Quincy Douby, Rutgers (24.7 ppg; 4.1 rpg; 3.2 apg)
SF Steven Smith, LaSalle (20 ppg; 8 rpg)
PF Marcus Slaughter, San Diego St. (16.6 ppg; 10.5 rpg)
C Paul Milsap, Louisiana Tech (19.7 ppg; 13.4 rpg)
Sixth Man
SG Keydren Clark, St. Peter’s (26.2 ppg; 4.4 apg; 7th player ever in D-I basketball to accumulate over 3,000 points)
Brett McNeal Team
(Minnesota preps who had solid years for programs other than the “U”)
PG Ben Woodside, North Dakota St. (17.5 ppg, 5.1 apg-Albert Lea H.S.)
SG Kammron Taylor, Wisconsin (14.6 ppg; 39% 3 pts.-Minneapolis North H.S.)
SF Erik Crawford, Northern Iowa (9.9 ppg; 4.2 rpg-Tartan H.S.)
PF Eric Coleman, Northern Iowa (11.7 ppg; 7.1 rpg-Tartan H.S.)
C Patrick O’Bryant, Bradley (13.1 ppg; 8.2 rpg; 3 bpg-Blaine H.S.)
Chris Kingsbury Award
(To a wild gunner who’s as likely to shoot a team out of a win as into a win)
UAB’s Marvett McDonald-in a tough year for the truly unconscious gunners where the best were deadly accurate (Redick, Morrison, Nova’s Allen Ray), McDonald’s game against the Gophers in Williams Arena earned him this honor. While he brought about some nervous moments late in that game, for the first 35 minutes or so, he couldn’t hit the proverbial broadside of a barn. For the season he launched 229 attempts from three point land, shooting at a 37% clip.
Jayson Walton Award
(To the player whose abilities on the basketball court have been so obviously marred by chronic injuries)
Jason Fraser, Villanova-The most hyped player in Nova’s senior class, he has struggled through I believe eight surgeries on his knees and watching him trying to get up and down the court makes me cringe. From what I understand, a wonderful kid who’s maintained a positive attitude despite what injuries have done to him.
Aloysius Anagonye Award
(To the players who seemingly have had eight years of eligibility and should be considering a retiring community in Florida by now)
Big Ten-Paul “Cry Baby” Davis, Michigan St.
National-Brad Buckman, Texas
Charlie Wills Award
(To the player who looks like he should be playing in an over 40 rec league)
Denham Brown, Connecticut
Al Lorenzen Award
(To the player who most easily could slip into Lorenzen’s old nickname, “The Vanilla Gorilla”)
Graham Brown, Michigan
Billy Owens Award
(To the player who puts up great stats, looks like he could be a superstar on the next level, but sometimes you just wonder if his heart’s into it. . .)
Rudy Gay, Connecticut
Hilton Armstrong Award
(To the player who comes out of absolutely nowhere as a senior to make himself not only a great college player, but a potential lottery pick)
Ummm, Hilton Armstrong, Connecticut
Patrick Tompkins Award
(To the player who would wow Hulk Hogan with his pythons)
Kelly Whitney, Seton Hall
Wesley Stokes Award
(Best Hair)
Jihad Muhammed, Cincinnati (very long dreadlocks, pulled back by a rubberband during the games)
Bootsy Thornton Award
(Best Nickname)
Carldell “Squeaky” Johnson, UAB
Biff Tannen Award
(Best prognostication skills in picking college basketball games)
Tie: BleedGopher and SelectionSunday-You could have made some good money off of both of these guys’ picks; Bleed with his often eery predictions on what the Gophers scores would be in his previews; and S.S. for his daily picks where he was correct over 60% of the time since the beginning of the new year.