Rush The Court

Before passing out the imaginary hardware for the Big Ten’s best performers in the non-conference season, let’s make it clear that these awards come solely from my brain. All of our Big Ten preseason awards and the predicted order of finish were voted on by the entire group of writers here at the Big Ten microsite. These non-conference honors, however, are all on me, so please direct any kudos and/or criticism this way (@berndon4). So with the non-conference portion of the Big Ten schedule thankfully done, here are the honors from the first half of the season.

• Player of the Year: Frank Kaminsky, Wisconsin: Kaminsky has been so good that advanced metrics guru Ken Pomeroy has him listed as his current National Player of the Year. He leads the Badgers in points, rebounds, steals, and blocks, and he’s also third on the team in assists. Where he’s made a major leap this season has been in his ability to put the ball on the floor and beat his man off of the dribble. Instead of morphing into full Pittsnogle mode of just launching threes as a 7-footer and falling in love with his perimeter game, he’s scoring from all over the court. Defensively, he’s leading the conference in defensive rebounding, grabbing 25.1 percent of all caroms when the other team puts up a shot. He’s also averaging 2.2 blocks per game, and has been a legitimate rim-protector for the Badgers’ outstanding defense. (Others Considered: Rayvonte Rice, DJ Newbill, D’Angelo Russell)
• Freshman of the Year: D’Angelo Russell, Ohio State: You honestly couldn’t go wrong with any of the three Big Ten freshmen who have been spectacular thus far. Russell gets the nod over Maryland’s Melo Trimble and Indiana’s James Blackmon Jr., but just barely. The gifted guard from Louisville has led the Buckeyes in scoring nine times, but he’s also led them in assists five times to boot. His 17.7 PPG and 5.3 APG are great, but his 46.7 percent shooting from deep is even better. If his numbers stay anywhere close to where they are now and Ohio State finishes near the top of the league standings, he’ll edge out Trimble and Blackmon for the season award like he has done here. (Others Considered: Melo Trimble, James Blackmon Jr, Vince Edwards)

• Most Improved: Alex Olah, Northwestern: The Northwestern 7-footer has taken considerable strides in just a year’s time. Around this time last season, he was often clumsy with the ball in his hands and was only averaging 8.0 PPG. Flash forward to this season and he’s become a different player. His offensive rating has gone from 101.2 to 109.1, despite his usage rate also increasing from 18.4 to 22.7 percent. He’s now averaging 11.o PPG, 7.3 RPG, and 1.8 BPG, and he’s even occasionally burning teams from three-point range, shooting 7-of-14 for the year. Olah won’t get much love in terms of postseason awards if the Wildcats struggle in conference play, but his improvement has been quite significant. (Others Considered: Troy Williams, Malcolm Hill, Travis Trice)
• Best Game: Indiana-Georgetown (December 27): Nebraska-Cincinnati might have won the award if you like gritty hard-nosed defense, and Purdue-BYU was a definite thriller, but Indiana and Georgetown played a game that featured nine lead changes, six ties, and an overtime to produce a verdict. The two teams combined to make 20 threes in the game, and Georgetown fought off a 10-point halftime deficit to come back and take the victory in overtime. The game also featured five players who put up more than 20 points, including a memorable back-and-forth between two junior guards from Indianapolis in Yogi Ferrell and D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera. (Others Considered: Nebraska-Cincinnati, Purdue-BYU, Michigan State-Notre Dame)
• Sixth Man of the Year: Gabriel Olaseni, Iowa: It’s still a mystery why Olaseni is even eligible for this award, as he consistently outplays the man who starts ahead of him, Adam Woodbury. The senior is blocking 2.5 shots per game in only 18.4 MPG, and he is also the third leading scorer for the Hawkeyes at 8.5 PPG, doing so on 57.7 percent shooting from the field. (Others Considered: Duje Dukan, Kam Williams, Ricky Doyle, Nate Mason)