Walton, Irvin Garner All-Big Ten Conference Honors
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- University of Michigan men's basketball junior's Zak Irvin and Derrick Walton Jr. were honored today (Monday, March 7) with All-Big Ten selections from both the B1G coaches and media. Walton was named an All-Big Ten third team selection by the coaches and garnered honorable mention honors from the media. Irvin was an honorable mention selection from both the coach and media, while senior Caris LeVert was the Wolverines' representative on the Big Ten's Sportsmanship honoree list.
Walton, who was a Big Ten All-Freshman honoree in 2014, earns his first conference team honor this season. He started 28 games, missing three games due to a sprained ankle. He leads U-M with 12.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. He posted a team-best four double-doubles including the program's fifth overall triple-double after posting 10 points, 11 rebounds and 13 assists against Youngstown State (Dec. 19).
Irvin, who is closing in on his 100th career game at U-M, also receives his first all-conference selection. Following a back procedure performed this summer, he came back to start 29 of his 30 games, and average 11.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and a career-best 3.1 assists per game. This season, Irvin became the U-M's 50th player to reach 1,000 career points at Ohio State (Feb. 16).
The Wolverine duo has led the Maize and Blue to a 20-11 overall record, helping U-M post its 27th 20-win season in U-M history and sixth in the nine-year tenure of U-M head coach John Beilein.
With a 10-8 conference record, the Wolverines earned the No. 8 seed for the 2016 Big Ten Tournament (Wed-Sun., March 9-13) and will play No. 9 seed Northwestern in the opening game on Thursday (March 10) at noon.
2015-16 All-Big Ten Men's Basketball Awards
(UNANIMOUS SELECTIONS IN ALL CAPS)
COACHES SELECTIONS
FIRST TEAM
YOGI FERRELL, Indiana
JARROD UTHOFF, Iowa
DENZEL VALENTINE, Michigan State
A.J. Hammons, Purdue
Nigel Hayes, Wisconsin
SECOND TEAM
Malcolm Hill, Illinois
Peter Jok, Iowa
Melo Trimble, Maryland
Bryn Forbes, Michigan State
Shavon Shields, Nebraska
THIRD TEAM
Thomas Bryant, Indiana
Troy Williams, Indiana
Diamond Stone, Maryland
Derrick Walton Jr., Michigan
Matt Costello, Michigan State
Bronson Koenig, Wisconsin
HONORABLE MENTION
Robert Carter, Jr., Maryland
Jake Layman, Maryland
Rasheed Sulaimon, Maryland
Zak Irvin, Michigan
Andrew White III, Nebraska
Bryant McIntosh, Northwestern
Keita Bates-Diop, Ohio State
Marc Loving, Ohio State
Jae'Sean Tate, Ohio State
Brandon Taylor, Penn State
Vince Edwards, Purdue
Ethan Happ, Wisconsin
ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
THOMAS BRYANT, Indiana
Diamond Stone, Maryland
Jordan Murphy, Minnesota
Caleb Swanigan, Purdue
ETHAN HAPP, Wisconsin
ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
Yogi Ferrell, Indiana
Jarrod Uthoff, Iowa
Rapheal Davis, Purdue
A.J. Hammons, Purdue
Ethan Happ, Wisconsin
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Denzel Valentine, Michigan State
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR: A.J. Hammons, Purdue
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Ethan Happ, Wisconsin
SIXTH MAN OF THE YEAR: Max Bielfeldt, Indiana
COACH OF THE YEAR: Tom Crean, Indiana
MEDIA SELECTIONS
FIRST TEAM
YOGI FERRELL, Indiana
JARROD UTHOFF, Iowa
DENZEL VALENTINE, Michigan State
A.J. Hammons, Purdue
Nigel Hayes, Wisconsin
SECOND TEAM
Malcolm Hill, Illinois
Peter Jok, Iowa
Melo Trimble, Maryland
Bryn Forbes, Michigan State
Matt Costello, Michigan State
THIRD TEAM
Troy Williams, Indiana
Diamond Stone, Maryland
Shavon Shields, Nebraska
Brandon Taylor, Penn State
Ethan Happ, Wisconsin
HONORABLE MENTION
Thomas Bryant, Indiana
Mike Gesell, Iowa
Adam Woodbury, Iowa
Robert Carter, Jr., Maryland
Jake Layman, Maryland
Rasheed Sulaimon, Maryland
Zak Irvin, Michigan
Derrick Walton Jr., Michigan
Andrew White III, Nebraska
Tre Demps, Northwestern
Bryant McIntosh, Northwestern
Keita Bates-Diop, Ohio State
Marc Loving, Ohio State
Jae'Sean Tate, Ohio State
Rapheal Davis, Purdue
Vince Edwards, Purdue
Caleb Swanigan, Purdue
Corey Sanders, Rutgers
Bronson Koenig, Wisconsin
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Denzel Valentine, Michigan State
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR: Ethan Happ, Wisconsin
COACH OF THE YEAR: Tom Crean, Indiana
SPORTSMANSHIP HONOREES
Maverick Morgan, Illinois
Ryan Burton, Indiana
Mike Gesell, Iowa
Robert Carter Jr., Maryland
Caris LeVert, Michigan
Colby Wollenman, Michigan State
Joey King, Minnesota
Benny Parker, Nebraska
Alex Olah, Northwestern
Jae'Sean Tate, Ohio State
Donovan Jack, Penn State
Stephen Toyra, Purdue
Greg Lewis, Rutgers
Vitto Brown, Wisconsin
