John Blackwell wasn’t named to any of the All-Big Ten awards.
The Big Ten announced their regular season awards on Tuesday, and the Wisconsin Badgers saw star John Tonje be named as a unanimous All-Big Ten first-team selection, voted by the both the coaches and the media.
But, he was the only Badgers player named to any team. No other player earned a first, second, or third-team selection, nor were they named to the All-Defensive team as well.
John Blackwell was named as an honorable mention by both the coaches and the media. Was he snubbed from an All-Big Ten award? Let’s take a look.
All Big-Ten 2nd team
Coaches
Vladislav Goldin, Michigan
Danny Wolf, Michigan
Dawson Garcia, Minnesota
Nick Martinelli, Northwestern
Bruce Thornton, Ohio State
Media
Derik Queen, Maryland
Danny Wolf, Michigan
Dawson Garcia, Minnesota
Nick Martinelli, Northwestern
Bruce Thornton, Ohio State
There was a pretty clear top 10 players in the Big Ten for both the coaches and the media. The only discrepancy was Derik Queen and Vladislav Goldin. Queen was a first-team selection by the coaches, while Goldin was a first-team selection by the media.
Goldin and Wolf’s case were the two best players on a top-three team in the conference. Wolf was one of the more underrated players in the Big Ten as a point forward, being the heartbeat of that offense, while Goldin averaged a team-high 16.7 points on 64.2 percent from the field.
Martinelli had a case to be on the All-Big Ten first team, as he was the conference’s leading scorer at 20.2 points per game, while shooting 46.7 percent from the field and 35.2 percent from three on an injury-ravaged Northwestern team without many scoring options.
Garcia averaged 19.1 points and 7.5 rebounds per game as the leader of a Minnesota team that went 7-13 in conference play, shooting well with 47.2/36.4/77.5 shooting splits.
Thornton was similar, being the leading scorer on an Ohio State team that went 9-11 in Big Ten play, averaging 17.5 points and 4.5 assists per game, while shooting 49.7 percent from the field and 42.6 percent from three.
With the awards, it seems pretty clear that the Big Ten’s coaches and media were looking primarily for the conference’s leading players, regardless of their team’s record.
All-Big Ten 3rd Team
Coaches
Kasparas Jakucionis, Illinois
Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Maryland
Jaden Akins, Michigan State
Jase Richardson, Michigan State
Nate Bittle, Oregon
Jackson Shelstad, Oregon
Tyler Bilodeau, UCLA
Media
Kasparas Jakucionis, Illinois
Ja’Kobi Gillespie, Maryland
Jase Richardson, Michigan State
Ace Bailey, Rutgers
Dylan Harper, Rutgers
There seemed to be a tie among the coaches, hence the seven players listed to the All-Big Ten third team.
Jakucionis and Gillespie had strong cases, with the former averaging 15.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.8 assists on 45.5/33.1/83.2 shooting splits, while the latter averaged 14.9 points and 4.7 assists on 46.5/41.5/87.2 shooting splits for the No. 2 team in the Big Ten.
Both players were instrumental to their team’s success, with Jakucionis being the clear leader for the Fighting Illini, while Gillespie was one of the more underrated guards in the conference for a strong Maryland team.
Michigan State had two players make it on the coaches ballot, as Jase Richardson and Jaden Akins were both third-teamers. Richardson had the stronger case, averaging 11.6 points per game on 52.4/38.8/85.4 splits, really coming along in the second half of the season as the Spartans’ top player.
Akins was the team’s leading scorer at 12.9 points per game, but he wasn’t a strong facilitator and shot a poor 39.9 percent from the field, including 29.6 percent from three. Yes, Michigan State was the best team in the conference this season, but their success was much more team and coaching-dependent, rather than about one or two players.
Oregon also got two players on the list, as Jackson Shelstad and Nate Bittle made the All-Big Ten third team on the coaches ballot.
Shelstad, who came up big in conference play, averaged 13.3 points on 43.9 percent from the field and 37.9 percent from three, while Bittle led the team with 14.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game on 51.3 percent from the field.
Now, both players were definitely important for Oregon’s success this year, especially with their 12-1 start and seven-game winning streak to end the season. But, Oregon ended as the No. 8 team in the Big Ten and those numbers weren’t as strong as some of the other players on the third team.
Impact is also important, where Shelstad and Bittle come together, but Oregon was another team reliant on strong defense with a more well-rounded approach.
UCLA’s Tyler Bilodeau also made it to the coaches’ third team, leading UCLA with 14 points on 50.5 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from three. The Bruins were another strong defensive team, averaging just 74.6 points per game, which ranked 15th in the conference, so his scoring stood out for UCLA.
Rutgers’s duo of Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper weren’t listed on the coaches ballot, but did make it on the media ballot.
Harper led the way with 19.2 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 3.9 assists per game, while shooting 48.7 percent from the field and 34.5 percent from three. Bailey, on the other hand, averaged 17.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, shooting 45.8 percent from the field and 34.6 percent from deep.
The difference with those two is that Rutgers as a team really struggled behind the duo, which is why they disappointed with a 15-16 record. Bailey and Harper were certainly important and will likely be top picks in the 2025 NBA Draft, but the team didn’t see as much success even with those stats, going 8-12 in the conference.
Blackwell’s case
Blackwell’s case is similar to a couple of other nominees: the second-best player on a top team in the conference.
But, he has a bit of a different edge, as he actually measures out better than John Tonje in certain metrics like BPR, taking over as the No. 1 guy in certain games.
Wisconsin is a well-rounded team this year, with all five starters nearing that 10 point-per-game range, but Blackwell and Tonje were the clear leaders of the group.
Blackwell averaged 15.6 points and 5.2 rebounds per game, while shooting 45.6 percent from the field and 32.6 percent from deep. His defense was also good for the Badgers, taking on the opposing team’s top guard at times.
Let’s compare him to other nominees.
Looking at the Michigan State duo, Blackwell had better numbers than both Jase Richardson and Jaden Akins, although Richardson shot the ball better. I can understand the case for Richardson, given his impact for the Spartans since becoming a starter. But, Blackwell has had a stronger season than Akins, scoring on high volume, while being a more efficient scorer and a similar facilitator.
Blackwell also had better numbers than Jackson Shelstad, while having a similar impact as a go-to guy late in games. He scored at a higher rate, while shooting the ball at a higher field goal percentage. Moreover, he was on the better team, both in the conference and nationally.
Again, a ton of these comparisons are subjective and a number of these players had strong cases as well, but Blackwell not being on the third team for either group is a bit surprising, given his season for the Badgers this year.