Award time draws near for Big Ten men's hoops stars

By ROB AMEN
Collegian Sports Writer

As the Big Ten men's basketball season crawls to an end, Michigan State sits atop the conference at 12-3 (20-4 overall), with Purdue nipping at its heels at 11-3 (20-6 prior to last night's game). Both appear to be a lock for the postseason extravaganza.

And with just two or three games remaining, it means that it's time for . . . the envelopes, please.

First-team All-Big Ten: Michigan State guard Shawn Respert, Ohio State guard Doug Etzler, Indiana forward Alan Henderson, Purdue forward Cuonzo Martin and Penn State center John Amaechi.

Three of the five are relatively self-explanatory. Respert leads the Big Ten in most offensive categories including points per game, three-point field goals per game, three-point field goal percentage and free-throw percentage.

Henderson is the heart and soul of Indiana. He is in the top four in four different statistical categories. Without Henderson, Hoosier Coach Bob Knight's thoughts of retiring could have been a reality.

Life without Glenn Robinson has been eased a bit for Purdue, as Martin has stepped up his play and taken the Boilermakers on his back. If Martin was not around, Purdue would not have a prayer to compete for the Big Ten title down the stretch.

"He's just a great leader for us offensively," Purdue Coach Gene Keady said of Martin. "He's a great competitor . . . hates to lose. And like with Glenn last year, he's going to be hard to replace."

But possibly the two surprises are Amaechi and Etzler.

Amaechi gets the nod over underachieving Wisconsin center Rashard Griffith. The two are neck and neck for rebounds and blocked shots, with Griffith bettering Amaechi in both. Griffith averages 17.3 points per game and Amaechi 16.5, but Penn State has thrived with Amaechi while Wisconsin has wilted this season.

"I think John Amaechi is the best post man in the conference," Spartan Coach Jud Heathcote said.

Etzler is the big surprise. The senior point guard may not be the most athletic player at his position, but he has performed the best.

Although Ohio State sits near the bottom of the conference (6-19, 2-13 Big Ten prior to last night's game), Etzler has averaged 15.5 points and 3.8 assists per game. Illinois' Kiwane Garris and Michigan State's Eric Snow also merit consideration, but when comparing Etzler to the others in his trade, he proves more worthy.

Etzler is second to Garris in scoring with 15.5 and 15.7 points per game, respectively. But Etzler leads all conference point guards in field-goal pecentage (45.2), three-point field goals per game (2.68) and three-point field-goal percentage (44.7). He also hits 88.7 percent of his free throws.

Without Etzler, the Buckeyes might not have gotten the ball past half court, let alone win any games.

Coach of the Year: Keady.

Keady has his group of overachievers fighting for first place in the conference, while engineering a 20-win season in the process. He produced a squad nearly nobody thought could compete without Robinson, and made it a winner.

Player of the Year: Respert takes this hands down, although Henderson does deserve recognition. But Respert's stats speak even louder than Knight.

Biggest Disappointment: The entire Wisconsin team can take credit for this one. Forget the fact that Coach Stan Van Gundy is in his first season at the helm. This group of Badgers is the most underachieving team in the conference. All-American candidate Michael Finley's shooting has been too inconsistent, while Griffith --despite leading the league in blocked shots and rebounds -- has yet to truly dominate like the Badgers thought he would.