When do the end of the year awards get announced? Should Ayo get first team? It should be a tight race IMO. Players off the top of my head would be Ayo, Garza, Stevens, Cassius, Stick Smith, Cowan, Oturu, Wesson, and Simpson.
Garza and Winston for sure. I love me some Ayo. The last two are hard. Since you can only pick 5. I will go Garza, Winston, Ayo, Stix Smith and Oturo over StevensWhen do the end of the year awards get announced? Should Ayo get first team? It should be a tight race IMO. Players off the top of my head would be Ayo, Garza, Stevens, Cassius, Stick Smith, Cowan, Oturu, Wesson, and Simpson.
When do the end of the year awards get announced? Should Ayo get first team? It should be a tight race IMO. Players off the top of my head would be Ayo, Garza, Stevens, Cassius, Stick Smith, Cowan, Oturu, Wesson, and Simpson.
Updating Big 10 Award projections with the regular season now complete:
First Team:
L. Garza - POY
D. Oturu
J. Smith
C. Winston
A. Dosunmu
2nd Team:
L. Stevens
X. Tilman
K. Wesson
M. Carr
A. Cowens
Coach of the Year --- Gard, Underwood or Pikiell (Toss Up)
Freshman of the Year --- K. Cockburn
Coach of the year has to be Gard. They were picked to finish 6th and many others thought they would finish lower than that. Half way through the year it looked like they might finish in the bottom 4. We beat them at home and that really pissed their fan base off, then one of their best players leaves. But they turned it around to finish 1st. Heck of a job by a coach who's seat was getting very hot.
I think Kofi will get FOY, but Ayo will be second team. First team I think Garza (POY obviously), Oturu, S. Smith, Stevens, Winston. Would not surprise me to see Ayo or Wesson on the first team though, likely instead of Stevens. Ayo might benefit from voters who want the team to have some position balance. I thought Underwood was in great shape for COY for a while, but Wisconsin winning a share of the title probably seals it for Gard.
I wouldn’t overlook Pikiell, though it would be more of a program builder award rather than specifically for achievement this year.Gard went from an almost all time hot seat, to winning the B1G, in a matter of like 10 games. COY if there ever was one.
If I had to bet, Kofi beats out to Jackson-Davis, but it's trully a tossup. Give Jackson-Davis the slightest of edges on stats, but I think Kofi has been more dominate at times.
Ayo is probably the 5th best player in the conference (Garza, Winston, Smith, Oturu). I wouldbet Stevens edges him out on 1st team, but it'll be close.
We would have been killed this year without Kofi. Centers:Garza, Oturu, Smith, Wesson, Tilman, Potter, etc. Don’t remember having the conference with that many good centers and don’t believe there is another conference with that many. Kofi may have an easier time in the NCAA tournament.Updating Big 10 Award projections with the regular season now complete:
First Team:
L. Garza - POY
D. Oturu
J. Smith
C. Winston
A. Dosunmu
2nd Team:
L. Stevens
X. Tilman
K. Wesson
M. Carr
A. Cowens
Coach of the Year --- Gard, Underwood or Pikiell (Toss Up)
Freshman of the Year --- K. Cockburn
If we're banging the COY drum for the guy who's turned a program around the most, I'd but BU over Pikiell. No, our rock bottom was not as lengthy as Rutgers, but I think it's hard to turn to more than year over year improvement, and BU has him beat on that. Same record last year, but we own a better record this year. Highly impressed by what Pikiell's done overall, cannot overlook the job he's done from top to bottom, but his team needed to finish top 4 for me to give him the award, and even if our two finishes were swapped, I still think Gard gets it. He was very, very dead in the water in January.I wouldn’t overlook Pikiell, though it would be more of a program builder award rather than specifically for achievement this year.
The two years before he got there, they were 2-16 and 1-17. His first two years, they were 3-15 each season. Last two years, 7-13 and 11-9. He’s created a positive identity for the program that lacked one for decades without the benefit of a major recruit.
If stuff like this matters (and it might not), I think the league would be very happy to give a big award to Rutgers.
That’s a completely fair point and there are countless different ways to pick COY. If you’re looking at year-over-year improvement, it would be Underwood. On the other hand, some voters look at that award as a “most with least” honor and our turnaround has been led by two enormously talented recruits we’ve brought in over the past two years. Objectively, Pike and Gard don't have guys like Ayo and Kofi. Of course, recruiting is part of coaching, and you can go round and round.If we're banging the COY drum for the guy who's turned a program around the most, I'd but BU over Pikiell. No, our rock bottom was not as lengthy as Rutgers, but I think it's hard to turn to more than year over year improvement, and BU has him beat on that. Same record last year, but we own a better record this year. Highly impressed by what Pikiell's done overall, cannot overlook the job he's done from top to bottom, but his team needed to finish top 4 for me to give him the award, and even if our two finishes were swapped, I still think Gard gets it. He was very, very dead in the water in January.
Winning all but one game in Feb/march, getting a share of the title, and getting the 1 seed in the B1G tournament (not to mention arguably their 2nd player in the first half of the season to transfer) is as impressive as it gets, regardless of the easy finish to the year for them. There actual team value is probably overrated, but Gard deserves major credit for where the team is now.
Yeah, I would give it to Gard. But Underwood and Pikiell are honorable mentions.