Hoopla's Big Ten Awards
There are way too many good players in this conference
Friends, we are here at the end of the regular season.
Indiana is your undisputed Big Ten champion, that being despite Iowa’s win over the Hoosiers on Sunday thanks to an unreal Caitlin Clark buzzer beater.
This was the most entertaining game that I watched this year in all of college basketball. These teams scrapped and clawed and battled all game long, and in the end, Iowa got the win on Senior Day to get the No. 2 seed.
This came in the same week the Hawkeyes were beaten into a pulp by Maryland. The Terps also beat Ohio State to go into the Big Ten Tournament red hot. The Buckeyes lost close there, but beat Michigan, who lost to Wisconsin to give the Badgers their first ranked win under Marisa Moseley. Minnesota also beat Purdue to put the Boilermakers right on the bubble.
Got all that?
Well, the Big Ten Tournament starts on Wednesday, so tomorrow I will go through my predictions. Today? It’s awards time.
I am giving my picks for each Big Ten postseason award, which will be released tomorrow:
Player of the Year
Two 10-Player All-Big Ten Teams
Coach of the Year
Defensive Player of the Year
One Five-Player All-Defense Team
Sixth Player of the Year
Freshman of the Year
One Five-Player All-Freshman Team
Let’s begin with the big one.
Player of the Year
For some, this may have been an easy decision. I don’t think it should have been.
What I do think is that two players, Indiana’s Mackenzie Holmes and Iowa’s Caitlin Clark, separated themselves from the pack pretty early on, but my decision between the two came down to the final game.
Clark’s raw numbers eclipse Holmes’, but it would be foolish to ignore Holmes’ unprecedented shooting efficiency, defensive impact and her team’s success, all of which she has the edge on over the Iowa superstar.
With all that in mind, I thought a 2-0 advantage for Holmes’ Hoosiers over Clark’s Hawkeyes could be enough to make me sway my vote. A big Holmes performance and an inefficient showing from Clark would have made it easier.
But instead, bang.
Caitlin Clark, with all eyes on her, buried a game-winning three against the No. 2 team in the country to finish off one of the best games of her collegiate career: 34 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists with just two turnovers on an efficient 12-of-22 shooting.
Sure, this game didn’t give Iowa a share of the regular season title. Sure, the Hawkeyes lost to Indiana earlier in the season. But this win is substantial for more than what it meant on the standings. Iowa beat Indiana, something no one has done this season when the Hoosiers had Grace Berger in the lineup, and they did it on the back of Clark.
Holmes had an outstanding year, an All-American season that deserves far more credit than it has been given nationally. Her consistency on both sides of the floor is a marvel, and she has been the star of one of the best teams in the country. But I have to give the edge to Clark, who upped her scoring, playmaking and shooting efficiency while cutting down her turnovers and becoming a better defender.
This is Clark’s best season to date, and it deserves the top conference honor, if not the national one.
My Pick: Caitlin Clark, Iowa
All-Big Ten Teams
This was so hard to pick. This conference is so outrageously deep with talent that even limiting it to 20 felt impossible.
But, alas, it has to be done, so here are my picks, with each team being in alphabetical order (you will get a numbered order in my end-of-season Hoopla 40).
First-Team
Leigha Brown, Michigan - 18.2 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 5.7 APG
Caitlin Clark, Iowa - 27.2 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 8.2 APG
Makira Cook, Illinois - 18.0 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 4.1 APG
Monika Czinano, Iowa - 17.2 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 1.6 APG
Mackenzie Holmes, Indiana - 22.5 PPG, 7.4 RPG, 1.1 APG
Emily Kiser, Michigan - 16.4 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 2.8 APG
Taylor Mikesell, Ohio State - 17.3 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 2.6 APG
Diamond Miller, Maryland - 19.9 PPG, 6.4 RPG, 2.8 APG
Sydney Parrish, Indiana - 12.4 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 1.9 APG
Taylor Thierry, Ohio State - 13.7 RPG, 6.7 RPG, 2.3 APG
It’s going to be a top-heavy list for these teams folks, I’m sorry about it. This top 10 is all from the top six teams, but I have a hard time arguing against any of them.
I think 7-8 of these are no-brainers as dominant players on the Big Ten’s elite teams, but I’ll make a case for the 2-3 questionable ones.
If Emily Kiser isn’t a lock she should be. Along with Leigha Brown’s dominance in the second half, Kiser was tremendous inside, allowing Michigan to remain a top team thanks to solid interior scoring and outstanding defense.
Sydney Parrish may be a hot take, but she has been beyond crucial to Indiana’s success this season. Her perimeter scoring is great, she’s a terrific rebounder as a guard and constantly finds a way to hit big shots, but it’s her defense that got her into my top 10. She might be the best perimeter defender in the Big Ten.
I never would have expected Taylor Thierry to be here at the beginning of the season, and yet here we are. Thierry is another outstanding defender, but is also a dominant scorer who stepped up in a big way for Ohio State amid the injury troubles. She deserves this spot.
Second-Team
Grace Berger, Indiana - 12.4 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 5.9 APG
Genesis Bryant, Illinois - 14.8 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 3.8 APG
Alexis Markowski, Nebraska - 12.4 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 0.9 APG
Cotie McMahon, Ohio State - 14.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 2.5 APG
Abby Meyers, Maryland - 14.3 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 2.5 APG
Laila Phelia, Michigan - 17.0 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.6 APG
Shyanne Sellers, Maryland - 14.3 PPG, 5.0 RPG, 3.2 APG
Jaz Shelley, Nebraska - 14.3 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 6.3 APG
Kaylene Smikle, Rutgers - 17.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.7 APG
McKenna Warnock, Iowa - 10.9 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 2.0 APG
When Grace Berger and Laila Phelia are forced to this team strictly for missing some games, you know it’s a hard list to crack.
It’s a stacked conference, and so many other players that could also be here. Yarden Garzon and Chloe Moore-McNeil on Indiana. Kendall Bostic on Illinois, Abbey Ellis and Jeanae Terry on Purdue, Matilda Ekh on Michigan State, the list goes on.
But I think these 10 players are absolutely deserving of recognition, including a pair of freshmen in McMahon and Smikle.
Coach of the Year
There were some great performances by coaches in the Big Ten this season, but this came down to three finalists for me.
Brenda Frese, Maryland
Shauna Green, Illinois
Teri Moren, Indiana
If either of these three win the award, I will have no problem with the selection. Frese replaced a substantial amount of talent and still got Maryland to third in the Big Ten, and very possibly a top two seed in the NCAA Tournament. Green revived an Illinois problem that hadn’t had life in over a decade, and the Illini are almost certainly going dancing. Moren replaced three key veteran starters and made Indiana even better.
This is really a matter of preference, as each of these coaches deserves the award based on whichever metric you believe is most important. For me, I am going Moren for the sheer dominance her team showed for nearly the entire season. Watching Indiana play is a true delight, and it’s because of how well they are coached.
The Hoosiers are reaching all-time heights, and they are doing it even after losing significant talent the year prior. That leads me to picking Moren, though again, it’s extremely close.
My Pick: Teri Moren, Indiana
Defensive Player of the Year
The Big Ten is more of an offense-first conference, but there are plenty of excellent defenders to round out the All-Defense Team. But, I think there is a correct answer for a winner here, and it’s Holmes.
Holmes’ exceptional defensive ability is a key reason why the Player of the Year race was as close as it was. She is one of four Big Ten players averaging over a steal and a block per game and is downright suffocating to deal with in the post.
Monika Czinano, one of the best interior scorers in the country, averaged 17.7 points on 67.2-percent shooting against non-Indiana teams. Against Holmes and the Hoosiers? 9.5 PPG on 50 percent shooting. This is a trend, not an anomaly.
It’s not a runaway selection, but I do believe Holmes is the correct winner for this. Here are my other picks for the All-Defense Team:
Mackenzie Holmes, Indiana - 1.1 SPG, 1.9 BPG, 2.5 Defensive Win Shares (DWS)
Leilani Kapinus, Penn State - 3.1 SPG, 1.0 BPG, 1.7 DWS
Emily Kiser, Michigan - 1.1 SPG, 0.9 BPG, 2.1 DWS
Sydney Parrish, Indiana - 1.7 SPG, 0.6 BPG, 2.3 DWS
Jeanae Terry, Purdue - 2.3 SPG, 0.4 BPG, 2.1 DWS
Kapinus was a total monster individually on defense, and did her best on a lackluster Penn State team. As said above, Parrish is an excellent perimeter defender, as was Jeanae Terry, who constantly picked on other point guards with over two steals per game. Also said prior, Kiser was nearly Holmes level inside, as she has been for the past two seasons.
My Pick: Mackenzie Holmes, Indiana
Sixth Player of the Year
For every incredible thing that the Big Ten had this season, it did lack a dominant scorer off the bench. There are some players worthy of consideration here, including Illinois’ Jada Peebles and Northwestern’s Courtney Shaw, but this award should go to Brinae Alexander.
Alexander came to Maryland after four seasons at Vanderbilt and has impressed in her role off the bench, giving the Terps 8.8 PPG, 3.4 RPG and 1.1 APG while also adding over a steal per game defensively. She’s also been their best perimeter option, averaging nearly two threes per game on 44.3-percent shooting.
This was likely Alexander’s award before last week, but her past two performances should seal it. She followed up a 24-point outing against Iowa with 16 against Ohio State, hitting 10 of her 18 three attempts in those two contests.
My Pick: Brinae Alexander, Maryland
Freshman of the Year
Let’s start with the All-Freshman Team, because this is another extremely difficult award to pick, and I could see an argument for each of my top five.
Mara Braun, Minnesota - 15.3 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 2.6 APG
Yarden Garzon, Indiana - 11.3 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 3.1 APG
Cotie McMahon, Ohio State - 14.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 2.5 APG
Kaylene Smikle, Rutgers - 17.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.7 APG
Serah Williams, Wisconsin - 13.0 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 0.7 APG
Hannah Stuelke, Mallory Heyer and Shay Ciezki all deserve recognition as well for creating the deepest freshmen class I have seen since covering Big Ten women’s basketball.
Of my top five, Smikle had the most production, but Garzon was the most efficient and was on the best team. Both were close, but I think that what McMahon did for Ohio State this season lifts her above.
McMahon was, at many times, the driving force for Ohio State’s success. Her relentless intensity led to multiple tough baskets in crucial moments, and her energy was desperately needed without Jacy Sheldon and Madison Greene in the lineup.
There are areas in McMahon’s game that have room to improve, three-point shooting and avoiding foul trouble being key ones. But the highs far outweighed the lows, and I think her efforts were the most substantial of any freshman this season.
My Pick: Cotie McMahon, Ohio State
I’m sure I snubbed someone, and if I did please yell at me on Twitter (@hooplawyatt) or in the comments here. I’ll be back tomorrow with a look at the Big Ten Tournament.
It’s the best time of the year, folks.
Feature Photo Credit: Courtesy of Iowa Athletics
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