The accolades keep flowing in for the Wisconsin men's basketball team. Junior guard Jordan Taylor (2nd team) and senior forward Jon Leuer (honorable mention) were both named All-Americans by the Associated press.
Taylor becomes just the fourth UW player to earn first or second team honors, finishing the season with 18.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. The point guard led the nation with a 3.83 assist-to-turnover ratio, the best in program history and a big factor in Wisconsin being the nation's second-most efficient offense at nearly 1.16 points per possession.
A consensus first team All-Big Ten selection and finalist for the Bob Cousy Award—given to the nation's top point guard —Taylor made his mark this year and figures to be a popular pick for preseason Big Ten player of the year frontrunner come fall.
Leuer came off of an injury-plagued junior year and more than justified his place among the Big Ten's best, scoring double-digits in each of UW's first 33 games. Leuer led the Badgers with 18.3 points per game, adding 7.2 rebounds while posting a team-high six double-doubles. He was one of only three players in the Big Ten to knock down 20 three-pointers while putting up 20 blocks. Leuer crossed the 1,000 point mark early in the season, finishing his career with 1,376 points, 12th in school history.
In addition, Leuer's 621 points this season is the third-highest single-season total in program history.
""I'm proud of Jordan and Jon as well as the University of Wisconsin for this recognition,"" UW head coach Bo Ryan said. ""To have two guys from the same team earn this kind of honor is pretty special. Both players had tremendous seasons and were major contributors to a team that went from unranked to top 10 and won 25 games.""
Leuer was a preseason candidate for national acclaim, but the rise of Jordan Taylor among the nation's elite was not in the forecast.
After spending two years in the shadow of guard Trevon Hughes, Taylor broke out of his shell in 2010-'11, emerging onto the national spotlight with 21 second-half points in a come from behind win over then-undefeated Ohio State. He followed that performance up two weeks later with a 39-point night against Indiana, willing the Badgers to a conference road win.
""This is quite an honor to be voted as one of the top players in the country,"" Taylor said. ""I'm humbled by the recognition, but like all individual awards, this is a reflection of the entire team.""
