Four top players, and one very sportsman-like reserve took home Big Ten honors
By Nathan Denzin, BADGER STRIPES
Wisconsin might have had a disappointing end to their season, but they still had five players earn end-of-season honors from the Big Ten.
Leading the group is AJ Storr, who earned himself a spot on the All-Conference Second Team.
The Rockford native averaged a team high 16.2 points with 3.7 rebounds and an assist per-game for Wisconsin this year after transferring from St. Johns. His impact on the team is undeniable, but likely missed out on the first team because of his defense.
His defense wasn’t particularly bad, but compared to the first team guards – Marcus Domask, Terrence Shannon Jr. and Boo Buie – he didn’t stand out enough.
Storr’s future in Madison might also be in doubt, after the sophomore kissed the floor following Wiscnosin’s 78-66 win over Rutgers on senior night. When he was asked about it after the game he laughed it off and said it was “for T-Wahl,” but I think we can all read between the lines.
After Storr, teammates Chucky Hepburn and Tyler Wahl were both named to the honorable mention team, which is the second time both players were recognized there.
Chucky was also named to the All-Defensive team after racking up 2.2 steals per-game, good for second in the conference behind only Ace Baldwin Jr. Hepburn snatched 67 steals to Baldwin’s 84, both in 31 games. Hepburn is the first Badger to earn a spot on the All-Defensive team since Ethan Happ and Zak Showalter in 2017.
Rising star John Blackwell was named to the All-Freshman team after earning himself four Big Ten Freshman of the Week awards during the season. His last came in the final week of the Big Ten season, after he led the Badgers in scoring with 18 points in a loss at Purdue.
Blackwell was critical for the Badgers all season, averaging 8.5 points per-game on 48% shooting from 3-point range.
Rounding out the awardees, Chris Hodges was named as the Badgers sportsmanship award honoree.
Wisconsin will start their postseason push on Thursday with a game against either Rutgers or Maryland at about 2 p.m.
Badger Stripes is a sports news organization that provides in-depth coverage of Wisconsin athletics. Follow us on Facebook.
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