Harris Named Big Ten Player of the Year
March 09, 2004 | Men's Basketball
Wisconsin junior guard Devin Harris was named the Big Ten's Player of the Year by the coaches and media, the Big Ten Conference announced Tuesday morning. Harris is the fifth Badger in history and the first since Don Rehfeldt in 1950 to earn the award. Harris was also a unanimous choice for first-team All-Big Ten by both the coaches and media, the only player to be unanimously chosen.
Junior forward Mike Wilkinson was also honored, earning second-team All-Big Ten by both the coaches and media. It is the first time in school history that Wisconsin has had a consensus first-team and second-team all-conference player in the same season.
'Devin and Mike are truly deserving of these honors," Wisconsin head coach Bo Ryan said. "For them to accomplish something that has never happened at this university is very special.'
Harris, who also earned his third Big Ten Player of the Week Award of the season on Monday, just missed becoming the first Badger since Rehfeldt to win the Big Ten scoring title. He finished the conference season averaging 20.9 points per game, one-tenth of a point behind Minnesota's Kris Humphries. Harris was also second in the league in three-pointers per game (2.75), fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.21), sixth in assists (3.88), free throw percentage (.830) and three-point percentage (.419) and seventh in steals (1.62).
'Devin is such a versatile player at the point guard position," coach Ryan said. "He can obviously score but does so much more to help us win, getting the plays called, running our offense and being a leader in the floor. Everything he does is about putting the team first and that's what makes him a special player.'
Wilkinson finished third in the league in rebounding during conference games at 7.5 boards per contest. His 13.9 points per game were good for 12th in the league. He was also among the leaders in blocked shots (fourth ' 1.38), field goal percentage (eighth - .528) and free throw percentage (11th - .760). Wilkinson, who is third on Wisconsin's all-time list for offensive rebounds with 217, finished fourth in the league in offensive boards at 2.88 per game.
'Mike may be the hardest worker I have ever coached and he has been a very efficient player, especially down the stretch," Ryan said. "He battles every day in practice and in games and his effort is always outstanding. It is nice to see his hard work and commitment recognized.'
Both Harris and Wilkinson stepped up their games during the conference season, leading the Badgers to a 12-4 conference record and the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten tournament. In non-conference games, Harris' shooting percentage was .400, his three-point percentage was .276 and his free throw percentage was .759. During conference play, those numbers increased to .479, .419 and .830, respectively. His scoring average went from 17.0 to 20.9. For Wilkinson, his scoring average increased from 10.6 to 13.9 during the conference season, his rebounding went up from 6.5 to 7.5 per game, his field goal percentage increased from .451 to .528 and his free throw percentage went from .673 to .760.
