1. Coach of the year: Bill Carmody, Northwestern
Carmody was down to seven scholarship players at the end of the regular season, but Northwestern (13-14, 8-8) still managed to tie Michigan for fifth place in the Big Ten, the school’s best conference finish since 1969. He is the first Northwestern coach to be honored since the inception of the award in 1973. Carmody has an outstanding leader in senior Jitim Young, a first-team all-Big Ten pick.
2. Player of the year: Devin Harris, Wisconsin
The junior guard was the only unanimous pick by coaches and media for first-team all-Big Ten honors. Harris is the first Badger to win the award since Don Rehfeldt in 1950. He averaged 20.9 points a game for Wisconsin, which tied Michigan State for second place in the Big Ten. He is the primary reason Wisconsin has won 21 games this season.
3. Freshman of year: Kris Humphries, Minnesota
No surprise here, though Minnesota fans will be stunned if he doesn’t bolt for the NBA. The 6-foot-8-inch forward topped the conference in scoring at 21 points a game and rebounding (9.5) in league games. He is the first freshman to rank first in both categories and only the third freshman to win the scoring crown, following in the footsteps of Ohio State’s Michael Redd (1998) and Purdue’s Glenn Robinson (1994).
4. Defensive player: Kenneth Lowe, Purdue
The 6-3 guard joins Ohio State’s Ken Johnson (2001), Michigan’s Gary Grant (1988) and Illinois’ Bruce Douglas (1986) as a two-time selection. He also is a second-team all-Big Ten pick. The senior was a big reason Purdue ranked second in the Big Ten for all games in scoring de-fense and field-goal per-centage defense and first in three-point field-goal percentage defense.
