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BTN’s Stephen Bardo has some interesting selections for B1G basketball honors

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

There are still a few weeks left in the the B1G regular season, but that’s not stopping some analyst from handing out some early honors. Sunday night, Big Ten Network analyst Stephen Bardo named some of his selections for the conference’s top awards.

Some might consider Bardo’s selections a bit interesting.

First, Bardo is picking Illinois’ Ayo Dosunmu as the B1G Player of the Year this season. That will raise some eyebrows, as Iowa center Luka Garza has been considered the favorite to win the conference’s top honor and, last week, ESPN’s Dick Vitale called Garza an “absolute lock” to win National Player of the Year honors.

Dosunmu has come up big for the Illini recently, particularly in late-game situations. He’s averaging 21.2 points, 6.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.1 steals per game this season. He’s also shooting 49.4% from the floor and 42.2% from 3-point range.

For B1G Freshman of the Year, Bardo selected Michigan’s Hunter Dickinson, who has essentially been a consensus pick for that honor. Dickinson is averaging 15 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per contest for the Wolverines this year. U-M currently sits at 16-1 on the season.

The B1G Defensive Player of the Year honor goes to Rutgers’ Myles Johnson, according to Bardo. Johnson is hauling in 8.5 rebounds per game, blocking 2.3 shots and making 1.1 steals through the 2020-21 season.

While Michigan’s Juwan Howard and Ohio State’s Chris Holtmann appear to be the frontrunners for the B1G Coach of the Year this season, Bardo is taking Purdue’s Matt Painter. This year, the Boilermakers are 15-8 on the year and 10-6 in B1G play despite having one of the youngest rosters in all of college basketball.

Bardo’s picks will undoubtedly ruffle a few feathers. Who are your B1G selections for these honors?

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB