|
Ohio State's Terence Dials Named Big Ten Player of the Year by Coaches And Media
March 7, 2006
Park Ridge , Ill. – Ohio State’s Terence Dials collected the conference’s highest honor as he was chosen as the Big Ten Player of the Year in voting by both the coaches and the media. He is the first Buckeye to earn Player of the Year accolades since Scoonie Penn was tabbed the media’s choice in 1999 and the fourth standout in school history. Two-time All-American Jim Jackson won back to-back honors for OSU in 1991 and 1992 while Dennis Hopson was the first Buckeye to garner the award in 1987. Dials led Ohio State to its first outright Big Ten title since the 1992 season and its 18 th in program history. The 6-9 forward/center ranked third in field goal percentage (.599) and blocked shots (1.00 bpg) in league contests only while rating among the top 10 in rebounding (5 th at 8.4 rpg) and scoring (8 th at 16.3 ppg). Ohio State ’s Thad Matta was tabbed as the Big Ten Coach of the Year by the media after guiding the Buckeyes to a 12-4 record in Big Ten play, while securing the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament. In his second season in Columbus, Matta is the fourth active coach to win a Big Ten title in his first two seasons in the league. He has led the Buckeyes to 23 wins prior to postseason play for the first time since 1992, when OSU entered the NCAA Tournament with a 23-5 mark before advancing to the regional finals. In other individual accolades, Iowa’s Erek Hansen becomes the second Hawkeye standout to earn Defensive Player of the Year, joining Acie Earl who was honored in 1992. Hansen led the Big Ten in blocked shots for the second time in his four-year career (2.38 bpg) as the senior center also finished first in rejections in 2004. He was joined by Illinois’ Brian Randle, Michigan State’s Shannon Brown, Northwestern’s Mohamed Hachad and Ohio State’s Je’Kel Foster, who were all named to the league’s inaugural All-Defensive Team. Iowa ’s Doug Thomas, who did not record a single start in 30 regular-season games, earns the league’s first-ever Sixth Man of the Year honor. The senior forward averaged 4.6 points and 4.6 rebounds, while providing a spark off the bench for the Hawkeyes, who finished tied for second in the conference standings. Penn State ’s Jamelle Cornley became the first Nittany Lion in league history to earn Freshman of the Year honors. The 6-6 forward ranked among the top 25 in points (25 th at 11.1 ppg) and rebounds per game (12 th at 5.9 rpg) in league games only this season. Cornley was joined by four other first-year standouts on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. The five-man squad also included Illinois’ Jamar Smith, Northwestern’s Craig Moore, Purdue’s Chris Lutz and Wisconsin’s Joe Krabbenhoft. The 2006 All-Big Ten team was led by senior standouts, as four were featured on both the media’s and coaches’ first teams. Both All-Big Ten first-team squads included Dials, Illinois’ Dee Brown, Iowa’s Greg Brunner and Wisconsin’s Alando Tucker. Illinois senior James Augustine was honored by the coaches, while the media named Michigan senior Daniel Horton to the top squad. Illinois’ Brown earned first-team laurels for the second-consecutive year. The conference office also announced honorees from each team for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. The student-athletes chosen are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. In addition, the student-athletes must be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting. Honorees for men’s basketball are Illinois’Brown, Indiana’s Marshall Strickland, Iowa’s Adam Haluska, Michigan’s Graham Brown, Michigan State’s Maurice Ager, Minnesota’s Adam Boone, Northwestern’s Michael Jenkins, Ohio State’s Foster, Penn State’s Mike Walker, Purdue’s Bryant Dillon and Wisconsin’s Tucker. These 11 student-athletes are now candidates for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award, as the conference office will honor one male and one female student-athlete from each institution at the end of the school year. The complete list of the All-Big Ten teams and awards follows. 2005-06 All-Big Ten Men’s Basketball Team As selected by Big Ten coaches
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM PLAYER OF THE YEAR: DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR: # tie As selected by Big Ten media
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: COACH OF THE YEAR: Big Ten Sportsmanship Award Honorees Dee Brown, Illinois; Marshall Strickland, Indiana; Adam Haluska, Iowa; Graham Brown, Michigan; Maurice Ager, Michigan State; Adam Boone, Minnesota; Michael Jenkins, Northwestern; Je'Kel Foster, Ohio State; Mike Walker, Penn State; Bryant Dillon, Purdue; Alando Tucker, Wisconsin.
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
