Ager, Brown and Davis Named Second-Team All-Big Ten
3/7/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 7, 2006
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State seniors Maurice Ager and Paul Davis and junior Shannon Brown earned second-team All-Big Ten honors from the league's media, the conference announced on Tuesday, March 7. Davis and Brown also earned second-team honors from the league's coaches, while Ager was a third-team recipient. Michigan State was the only school to have three players honored on one of the top three teams by both the league's coaches and media. Iowa had three players honored by the coaches, while three Ohio State players were picked to the media's three teams. Brown also earned a spot on the All-Defensive Team, as selected by the coaches.
"It's a nice honor to have three players recognized," said MSU head coach Tom Izzo. "I think it speaks not only to the talent of those players but also their unselfishness to be willing to share awards with their teammates, much like the Detroit Pistons had four all-stars, but no one who started in the all-star game."
Ohio State's Terence Dials was named Big Ten Player of the Year by both the coaches and media. He was joined on the first team by Iowa's Greg Brunner, Illinois' Dee Brown and Wisconsin's Alando Tucker. Illinois' James Augustine earned first-team honors from the coaches, while Michigan's Daniel Horton capped the media's first team. Ohio State's Thad Matta was named Coach of the Year by the media, while both the media and coaches picked Penn State's Jamelle Cornley for Freshman of the Year. The coaches also selected Iowa's Erek Hansen as Defensive Player of the Year and Iowa's Doug Thomas as Sixth Man of the Year.
Davis ranked fifth in the league in scoring (18.2 ppg) and second in rebounding overall (9.3 rpg), while ranking fifth in scoring (16.7 ppg) and third in rebounding (8.7 rpg) in league games. He leads the conference with 14 double-doubles and earned Big Ten Player of the Week honors three times this season. In all games, he ranks among the league leaders in field-goal percentage (5th, .573), free-throw percentage (3rd, .883), blocks (4th, 0.97 bpg), offensive rebounds (6th, 2.62 orpg) and defensive rebounds (1st, 6.72 drpg). Davis was a first-team All-Big Ten selection in 2004 and third-team honoree in 2005.
"It means a lot to be honored with Shannon and Mo," said Davis. "All season, we've been pushing each other to be the best we could be and I think we've accomplished a lot, both as a team and as individuals."
Brown led the Spartans in scoring in league games, averaging 18.8 points, which ranked third in the Big Ten. He was MSU's leading scorer in seven of the 16 conference games. Overall, he ranks fourth in the league in scoring (18.2 ppg) and fifth in free-throw percentage (.838). He is also averaging career highs in rebounding (4.4 rpg) and assists (2.7 apg). Brown was named to the 2004 Big Ten All-Freshman Team and earned honorable mention all-league honors last season.
"It's an honor to be mentioned among the best players in the league, but we still have to go out and fight in every game," said Brown. "We did some incredible things as a team this year and Paul, Mo and I put up some great numbers, so I feel the honors are deserved.
"It's also an honor to make the All-Defensive Team. I take pride in being able to stop the the other team's best man. One of my goals this year was to play the best defense I could and become a better all around player."
Joining Brown on the All-Defensive Team are Illinois' Brian Randle, Ohio State's Je'Kel Foster, Northwestern's Mohamed Hachad and Iowa's Hansen. Brown ranks tied for fifth in the league in steals, averaging 1.53 per game, while being asked to guard the opponent's top perimeter player.
Ager leads the Spartans and ranks second in the Big Ten in overall scoring, averaging 19.1 points. He is also averaging career bests in rebounding (4.2 rpg) and assists (2.6 apg). In league games, he is averaging 16.5 points, which ranks tied for fifth in the league. Ager was also MSU's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree. Last season, he earned second-team honors from the league's coaches and third-team accolades from the media.
"This shows that a team can have a lot of stars, and they all can share the glory," said Ager. "There is a lot of talent on this team and it shows that Michigan State just keeps producing great players."
