MADISON, Wis. – The amount of top-end talent in the Big Ten likely caused voters and coaches to wrestle over their choices. Thankfully, the choice of who did the best coaching job and who was the best player was pretty straightforward
Defying preseason expectations of a 10th-place finish to win a share of the 2021-22 Big Ten conference title, Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard was the unanimous choice for Big Ten coach of the year by the media and coaches. And as a bonus, sophomore Johnny Davis – one of the big reasons for UW’s 24-win regular season – was equally honored by being named the conference's player of the year by the coaches and the media.
Davis is the fourth Badgers player to win the award, joining Devin Harris (2004), Alando Tucker (2007), and Frank Kaminsky (2015).
"When Coach Gard called me to let me know, I was like 'No Way," Davis told the Big Ten Network. "I think I've worked hard for (the award) and deserve it."
Gard has led two vastly different teams to Big Ten titles in the last three years. In 2020, Wisconsin won the conference title by finishing the year with just seven scholarship players. This season, the Badgers triumphed after having to replace six seniors and four of their top five scorers.
Under Gard’s leadership, Wisconsin has won at least 14 Big Ten games three times in the last four seasons, the only team in the conference to reach that mark. Gard’s 62.7 percent winning percentage in conference games (84-50) ranks seven among Big Ten coaches over the last 40 years.
A big reason for that success has been Davis. Finishing third in the league in scoring (20.0 ppg) and sixth in rebounding (8.1 rpg), Davis has been at his best in the biggest games. He enters the Big Ten Tournament averaging 22.4 points away from home, which includes three 30-point games, and leads the nation in scoring against Top 25 opponents, averaging 24.1 points and 8.5 rebounds in eight contests. UW is 5-3 against ranked opponents this season.
Davis was joined on the conference’s first team by Illinois center Kofi Cockburn, Iowa guard Keegan Murray, Purdue guard Jaden Ivey, and Ohio State's E.J. Liddell. Both the coaches and the media had the same first-team selections. Cockburn, Murray, and Davis were unanimous selections by the coaches.
Since 2002, Wisconsin has earned 17 first-team All-Big Ten honors, which is the most of any school in the conference. Ohio State and Purdue are second with 15.
Both Gard and Davis received that same honor earlier Tuesday from the Associated Press.
UW had two other players acknowledged by the conference’s coaches and media.
Senior guard Brad Davison (14.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 58 assists) was named a second-team selection by the coaches and a third-team pick by the media, the first postseason conference award of his career. With seven 20-point games this season, the super senior enters the conference tournament first in school history in games played (158), started (154) and 3-point field goals (296), fourth in free throw percentage (84.2), and sixth in scoring (1,788).
Junior forward Tyler Wahl (11.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 45 assists, 33 steals, and 23 blocks) was an honorable mention selection by both the media and the coaches. Averaging 13.3 points over the last 19 games, Wahl is the Badgers’ most versatile defender and registered 12 steals in his final three games.
Ohio State's Malaki Branham took home the conference’s freshman of the year honor, but few first-year players had a bigger impact than Chucky Hepburn, who was named to the conference's All-Freshman Team. Averaging 1.9 assists for every turnover, Hepburn led UW with 35 steals and averaged 12.9 points over the last seven games of the season. He etched his name in program history with his banked 3-pointer with 1.2 seconds left, lifting the Badgers to the conference title with a win over Purdue.
Purdue's Trevion Williams was named the conference's Sixth Man of the Year while Rutgers guard Caleb McConnell was named the league's Defensive Player of the Year.
No.12 Wisconsin begins postseason competition Friday evening in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament. The Badgers will be the two seed and play either seventh-seed Michigan State or 10th-seed Maryland at 5:30 p.m. CT in Indianapolis.
_________________________________________________
*Chat about this article in The Badgers' Den
*Check out our videos, interviews, and Q&As on our YouTube channel
*Subscribe and listen to the BadgerBlitz.com podcast (as seen on Apple, Google, Spotify and wherever you listen to podcasts)
*Follow us on Twitter: @McNamaraRivals, @JakeKoco, @TheBadgerNation, @RaulV45
*Like us on Facebook
