" title="Spartans Weblog">Spartans Weblog

(The real ones–not the fake blogger-guy ones below.)

Neitzel made the coaches’ first team, along with Gordon, White, Hummel, and Butch. Butler replaces Neitzel on the media’s first team. White, Gordon, and Painter win the awards we expected them to.

Link to full list of awardees.

Quick hits:

• I’m as big a Drew Neitzel fan as anyone, but I think the coaches were voting more on personality than performance. Butler is to Ohio State this year what Neitzel was to Michigan State last year–the one returning scorer who continued to score points efficiently despite having a young, inconsistent cast around him.
• I don’t get Brian Butch on the first team. For the season: 12.7 points/game; 7.0 rebounds/game, .458/.295/.688 shooting percentages (first number is overall FG%, not 2pt%). I guess the thinking is you have to recognize Wisconsin somehow on the first team, and there was a big man slot available.
• Morgan makes the second team in both sets of voting. Probably appropriate judging his full season. (My awards were focused on the conference season.)
• Walton makes the all-defensive team. Remember how that was his one question when Izzo talked to him about coming off the bench: Can I still make the all-defensive team off the bench?
• Lucas is an honorable mention pick, but doesn’t make the all-freshman team. Hard to argue with any of the freshman picks: Gordon, Harris, Koufos, Hummel, Moore. Replace Gordon with Lucas, and you’ve got a pretty good look at the preseason all-conference team for next year (if Koufos doesn’t go pro). Morgan probably bumps someone, though.
• Suton didn’t even make honorable mention. It won’t surprise those who have been reading for a while that this is a disappointment to this blogger. His season stats, one more time: 8.7 PPG, 8.2 Reb/G, 2.0 Assists/G, 1.1 Steals/G, 1.0 Blocks/G, .534 FG%. That’s the most well-rounded stat line in the conference this side of Robbie Hummel’s. I think the man suffers from the stereotype of the soft European player. His rebounding numbers indicate he’s not so soft anymore.