Big Ten basketball: Contenders for the Player of the Year crown

There have been some great players in the Big Ten basketball league this season. Who has the edge for the top individual honors?

Going into the season the Big Ten Player of the year race started with Michigan State’s Miles Bridges. Bridges is a phenomenal player for the Spartans, but some would argue that a few players have overshadowed Bridges this year. The player of the Year race in the Big Ten is no longer an open and shut case.

The Spartans are ranked number 1 in the country, and appear to be over their middle of the season swoon. However, the Spartans do not have much margin for error in the conference race this season as three teams are within striking distance to claim the league crown. The following players are trying to propel their teams to the league crown, as well as trying to make their case for the Player of the Year in the Big Ten.

Keita Bates-Diop – Ohio State

Bates-Diop has been a pleasant surprise for Head Coach Chris Holtmann and Ohio State. Bates-Diop missed all of last season for the Buckeyes and has come back, as one of the best players in the conference. Bates-Diop is near the top or at the top of nearly every offensive category in the league. In conference games he is averaging 20.1 points and 9.0 rebounds per contest. He also shoots at a high percentage from both three-point range and the field.

Bates-Diop has been one of the main reasons Ohio State is in the position they are in this year, at times he has looked unstoppable on the offensive end. Bates-Diop does everything well and always seems to do everything right. Bates-Diop is the favorite to win the award at this point in the season, and barring a collapse by Ohio State and Bates-Diop, he should win the award. The Buckeyes are in the mix for a slew of awards this year in their unexpected season.

Tony Carr – Penn State

Carr is the engine that makes the Penn State offense run. Lately Carr has the offense running like a well oiled machine. Carr is an explosive scorer, and he can score points in bunches. In the Nittany Lions most recent game he scored 30 points to beat Ohio State. Carr right now is the main reason that Penn State head coach Pat Chambers looks to have potentially saved his job.

Another underrated part of Carr’s game is his ability to play great defense and when he is paired up with defensive specialist Josh Reaves, Penn State makes scoring a nightmare for the opponents. Even when coaches try to take Carr out the game he still finds a way to score, and most of his points are going to be scored during crunch time when the game is on the line. Carr is a great player but is still looking up at Bates-Diop for the overall player of the year crown in the Big Ten.

James Palmer Jr.- Nebraska

Look no further than Palmer Jr. as one of the keys to the resurgence of the Nebraska basketball team. Palmer has an uncanny ability to take over a game on both ends of the floor, and is one of the hardest guard matchups for any player in the league. Many analysts and experts have described Palmer as one of the best off guards in the entire country.

Palmer has quite an arsenal to score from, he is great at getting to the rim and when he gets to the rim he finishes. He also gets fouled a ton. He is one of the nations leaders in free throw attempts at 194 free throws attempted with 145 makes on those free throws. He is also a good shooter from deep.

The one thing that every coach who has played Palmer is that, he has a knack for scoring bunches of points in second halves of games and usually with under 10 minutes left. Those points are usually some of the most important in a game and are a huge reason why Nebraska has had a magical year.

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Palmer deserves the Player of the Year award in the conference because of his ability to change a game by himself. Bates-Diop and Carr have put up great numbers this year and are worthy participants. The fact that Palmer Jr. seemingly does things on a basketball court that not a lot of other players in the country can do, coupled with the fact that he has led his team to potentially their best season in the history of their program. If Nebraska is able to secure their first tournament win this season with the help of Palmer Jr. he should find his name hanging in the rafters of the Pinnacle Bank Arena.

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