Player of the year
All three Tribune reporters agreed with the Big Ten’s selection of Wisconsin’s Devin Harris.
Myslenski: The numbers do not tell his whole story. He was also the Badgers’ coach on the floor, a fearless competitor, usually unflappable and the adhesive that kept them together when they lost other starters to injuries or suspension.
Mitchell: He was picked by coaches as the preseason player of the year, and he proved worth the hype.
Garcia: He rarely made mistakes and gave the Badgers huge contributions that kept them in the Big Ten title race despite losing forward Alando Tucker.
Coach of the year
Myslenski: Bruce Weber, Illinois. No transition is easy, but Weber’s way was littered with craters when he succeeded the popular Bill Self. His credentials were questioned. One of his best players, guard Dee Brown, talked openly of transferring. Pockets of resistance arose as he introduced the Illini to a new offense, a new defensive mentality and a new way of going about their business. But Weber, who learned at the right hand of Purdue’s Gene Keady, persevered as his old mentor has done and eventually won his team over. He is now no longer a suspect. He simply has respect.
Mitchell: No coach did more with less than Northwestern’s Bill Carmody. With one senior and just seven scholarship players available at the end of the season, the Wildcats finished with an 8-8 record in the Big Ten, the school’s best league mark since the 1968 season.
Garcia: Close call between Weber and Carmody. But Weber’s team recovered from player suspensions, Deron Williams’ broken jaw and a dismal Big Ten start to give the Illini their first outright title since 1952–in his first season.
Freshman of the year
All three Tribune reporters agreed with the Big Ten’s selection of Minnesota’s Kris Humphries.
Myslenski: A chiseled 6 feet 9 inches and 236 pounds, he does not look like a freshman. More impressively, he did not play like one.
Mitchell: No contest here. He’s the first freshman to lead the Big Ten in both scoring and rebounding.
Garcia: Led in scoring (22.2 p.p.g.) and rebounding (10 r.p.g.). Enough said.
Comeback of the year
Myslenski: Northwestern. More than any player, the Wildcats reintroduced themselves to their conference this season. Call it a comeback from hibernation. Call it a comeback from irrelevancy. Call it whatever. This year they mattered.
Mitchell: Northwestern sophomore forward Vedran Vukusic redshirted last year after missing most of his freshman season following shoulder injuries. The 6-8 Croatia native was the Wildcats’ second-leading scorer at 14.2 and rebounder at 4.3.
Garcia: Ohio State coach Jim O’Brien. Surgery for a herniated disc in his neck paralyzed a vocal cord and left him unable to speak in audible tones, threatening his career. His condition improved as the season went on, and he said recently that surgery to repair his damaged throat may not be necessary.
Best game of the year
Myslenski: Wisconsin 68, Michigan State 64 in OT. The Spartans were a victory away from at least a share of the Big Ten title and, in the rafters of their Breslin Center, a championship banner was rolled up and waiting to be unfurled.
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Mitchell: Illinois’ dramatic 81-79 overtime victory at Purdue on March 2 set up the Big Ten title for the Illini.
Garcia: Wisconsin’s 68-64 overtime win over Michigan State. Harris, who had been scoreless in the second half, buried a three-pointer with 44 seconds left to tie the game and then carried the Badgers–in East Lansing.
Upset of the year
Myslenski: Northwestern’s 69-51 win over Wisconsin. The Wildcats not only dominated the Badgers, they also perturbed the usually imperturbable Harris, which is what made it the biggest upset of the season.
Mitchell: After losing four in a row, including a humiliating 78-54 debacle at Michigan, Northwestern knocked off Iowa 77-68 at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. It was only their second win there in the last 20 tries.
Garcia: Michigan’s 71-59 win over Wisconsin. This was the Badgers’ fourth and final loss of the Big Ten season and cost them a share of the championship with Illinois.
Toughest player of the year
Mitchell: When it comes to the true grit of mixing it up with the big guys inside or diving for loose balls at midcourt, none come any tougher than Northwestern’s Jitim Young, who was named first-team all-Big Ten after leading the Wildcats in scoring (17.8), rebounding (6.1) and steals (54).
Surprise of the year
Myslenski: The squeezable Spartans. Tom Izzo built the Michigan State program around defense, rebounding and a mind-set that was tougher than a cheap cut of beef. These virtues were the inscriptions on its calling card, but this season his team was soft as Charmin and never able to beat a quality foe. The Spartans lost early to Kansas, Oklahoma and Kentucky in games they could have won. Then, even after they regrouped, they ended their regular season by losing at home to Wisconsin after leading by three with less than a minute remaining. Their successful predecessors always found ways to win games. These Spartans found ways to lose them.
Most disappointing finish
Garcia: Indiana unraveled and went 2-7 to finish the regular season, with five of those losses coming at home.
Revelation of the year
Myslenski: Jitim Young went off on his teammates in the locker room after Michigan embarrassed them in their Big Ten opener and then, the next day, he told Carmody it was time to get to work. Those were the swift kicks that catalyzed the Wildcats’ run, and Young was always there to lead them. “I don’t think there’s a coach in the league who wouldn’t like to have Jitim Young,” Izzo said. “He’s a winner. I honestly think he’s one of the best winners in the Big Ten.”
Big Ten men’s tournament
See microfilm for complete graphic.