The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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S everal Wolverines were honored in the Big Ten's season-ending awards, including sophomore guard Nik Stauskas and head coach John Beilein. Stauskas earned Big Ten Player of the Year recognition from both the coaches and the media, and he was the lone unanimous selection for first-team All-Big Ten. "It means a lot. I worked extremely hard over the summer to put myself in this position and to help my team," Stauskas said on the BTN awards show. "I am extremely happy. There is a smile on my face. I was with some of the guys when I heard I won it, and they all congratulated me. This is an honor." The Wolverines have won the last two Big Ten Player of the Year awards, after Trey Burke took home the hardware last year. Since the award began in 1985, five Wolverines have won it: Stauskas, Burke, Glen Rice (1989), Gary Grant (1988) and Roy Tarpley (1985). The coaches and media split on the voting for Big Ten Coach of the Year. The media selected Beilein, who led his team to an outright Big Ten title, U-M's first since 1986, despite the loss of Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. to the NBA and Mitch McGary to injury. The coaches of the league voted for Nebraska's Tim Miles, whose team was picked to finish dead last in the league this year. The Cornhuskers instead earned a first-round bye in the Big Ten Tournament, finishing the regular season in fourth place in the Big Ten standings. On the BTN show announcing the awards, Beilein lauded Miles for the work the Cornhuskers did this year, and said he was honored to be se- lected as Big Ten Coach of the Year by the media. This marks the just third time in the Big Ten Coach of the Year award his- tory that the coaches and media have split the award between two coaches. In 2009, Penn State's Ed DeChellis MICHIGAN BASKETBALL Wolverines Take Home Big Ten Awards Sophomore guard Nik Stauskas earned Big Ten Player of the Year recognition from both the coaches and the media, and he was the lone unanimous selection for first-team All- Big Ten. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL