This year's field of contenders for Big Ten Player of the Year featured some of the biggest names in the country, but when the votes were finally tallied, it was UW senior guard Alando Tucker who was unanimously awarded the Big Ten's greatest honor by the league's coaches and media.
""I'm extremely proud of Alando and all that he has done for the University of Wisconsin during his career,"" UW head coach Bo Ryan said. ""Being honored as the Big Ten player of the Year is the icing on the cake for what has been an outstanding five years. It is nice to see that his hard work has culminated in such a prestigious individual honor.""
""[It's] a great accomplishment, for myself and for my teammates,"" Tucker said. ""It's an honor for them also. It's big, any time you can bring home an award like that it's good for the program.""
Tucker does not lead the Big Ten in any major statistical category. He is second in points per game (20.1) behind Iowa's Adam Haluska and sits 15th in the conference in rebounding with 5.4, well behind Ohio State's Greg Oden who has been snagging 9.3 boards per game. But the statistics do not do justice to the impact of Tucker's presence on the team. His unanimous selection is likely due to his ability to carry the team during tough stretches, as well as for his ability to be a leader.
""We mature every year, and I've matured as a leader,"" Tucker said. ""I think [I've gotten better at] being more vocally open to my teammates, being more readily available after practices and times off of the court. One of the things that shocked me was when Greg [Stiemsma] said, ‘When you say jump, we'll say how high.' That was an expression of them saying how much respect they have in me.""
""There's no doubt in my mind that he was going to get it,"" senior guard Kammron Taylor said. ""Nobody in the conference has done what he's done throughout the entire year. The way the team has been doing, he deserves it.""
Along with earning Player of the Year, Tucker's also became just the fifth Badger since 1948 to earn two consecutive first-team All-Big Ten honors.
Other Big Ten honorees include second-team All Big Ten honors for Taylor, an honorable mention by the coaches for junior forward Brian Butch and a selection to the coaches' all-defensive team and an honorable mention pick for junior guard Michael Flowers.
""Wisconsin is starting to get a lot more recognition,"" Taylor said. ""[Michael Flowers] is very deserving of that. He's one of the top guys in steals on the perimeter and he gets the toughest assignment every night. For the most part, he's done a great job the entire season, really.""
