[Bette]

Indiana senior D.J. White was named Big Ten Player of the Year and teammate Eric Gordon earned first-team all-conference honors Monday.

White was named a unanimous choice for conference player of the year by the league's coaches, and also earned the media's vote as the top performer. He also earned first team All-Big Ten recognition by the coaches (unanimous) and media.

Freshman Eric Gordon was named first team All-Big Ten by the coaches and media (unanimous). He also was named Freshman of the Year by both parties. He is the seventh Hoosier since 1988 to earn the honor and first since D.J. White in 2005


1070 The Fan - Indy's Sportscenter

[Lefty Noob]

I have a hard time giving Player of the Year honors to a guy who threatened to boycott after his cheat of a coach was fired.

[bears9]

The man is a beast, though I would have hard time picking him over Gordon but oh well.

[Bette]

Originally Posted by Lefty Noob

I have a hard time giving Player of the Year honors to a guy who threatened to boycott after his cheat of a coach was fired.

He's a college kid Lefty. That team was pretty confused at the time. But afterwards DJ came out and played his heart out.
You are definitely getting old man.

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by Lefty Noob

I have a hard time giving Player of the Year honors to a guy who threatened to boycott after his cheat of a coach was fired.

like Bears9, I personally like the Gordon kid better...

[Bette]

Originally Posted by Gotham Dark Knight

like Bears9, I personally like the Gordon kid better...

White had recorded 19 double-doubles in his last 27 outings. He is currently second in the league in scoring (17.1), first in the league in rebounds (10.3) and field goal percentage (61.0), and fourth in the league in blocked shots (1.5. He moved into 19th place on the school's all-time scoring list with 1,402 points and into 12th all-time at IU with 726 rebounds. He is averaging 17.8 points and 10.7 rebounds in Big Ten action.
Eric Gordon leads the league in scoring (21.5), is fourth in the league in free throw percentage (85.3) and tied for sixth in three-point field goals made (2.33). He has made (221) and attempted (259) more free throws than any other player in the league. The last freshman to lead the Big Ten in scoring was Minnesota's Kris Humphries (21.7) in 2004.

He needs 14 points to set an all-time Big Ten freshman record with 659 points breaking the old mark of 658 set by Michael Redd of Ohio State in 1998.

It would seem the freshman's stats are more impressive being just a freshman. But looking back, this is nothing more than a popularity contest isnt it?

[Lefty Noob]

Originally Posted by Bette

He's a college kid Lefty. That team was pretty confused at the time. But afterwards DJ came out and played his heart out.
You are definitely getting old man.

Yeah, I guess so. Maybe it is hard to know how to react. But darn it, kids his age have played in the NBA. He's old enough to know how to be a leader.

[Bette]

Originally Posted by Lefty Noob

Yeah, I guess so. Maybe it is hard to know how to react. But darn it, kids his age have played in the NBA. He's old enough to know how to be a leader.

He was being a leader. Coach Dakich said these kids didnt have much time. The meeting where they were told Sampson was gone was over at 12 and practice was scheduled at 3. Not much time to run all this thru your head. They needed time to think about it. They could have felt a lot of loyalty to their coach. After all, he's been there for them so far. So White leads and says "we need to think about this."
And they may have heard something different. Who knows?
Besides, those kids his age playing in the NBA? I doubt if they are doing much leading.

[Lefty Noob]

Originally Posted by Bette

Besides, those kids his age playing in the NBA? I doubt if they are doing much leading.

White is 21. LeBron James was the All-Star Game MVP at 21 years, 51 days. Kobe Bryant was drafted at 17 and become an All-Star Game starter in his second season. Kevin Garnett entered the league at 19 years, 11 months of age and was an All-Star in his second season. Are these extraordinary cases? Absolutely. But my point is 21 is not all-that immature, and any one of these guys would've been team leaders on their college teams had they went that route. Heck, Carmello Anthony was a leader as a freshman at Syracuse -- he led the Orange to the NCAA title and was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament for his efforts. So is it too much to ask that DJ White not just about quit when the going gets tough? I don't think so.

[Bette]

Originally Posted by Lefty Noob

White is 21. LeBron James was the All-Star Game MVP at 21 years, 51 days. Kobe Bryant was drafted at 17 and become an All-Star Game starter in his second season. Kevin Garnett entered the league at 19 years, 11 months of age and was an All-Star in his second season. Are these extraordinary cases? Absolutely. But my point is 21 is not all-that immature, and any one of these guys would've been team leaders on their college teams had they went that route. Heck, Carmello Anthony was a leader as a freshman at Syracuse -- he led the Orange to the NCAA title and was named Most Outstanding Player of the tournament for his efforts. So is it too much to ask that DJ White not just about quit when the going gets tough? I don't think so.

Ok, made your point with the guys in the NBA, didnt realize they were quite that young.
And I still say DJ didnt threaten to boycott practice because he wanted to quit, but because he was confused. The rest of the coaches and media apparently didnt see it as quitting. After all they named him Big Ten Player of the Year. His stats were pretty impressive.

[Gotham Dark Knight]

Originally Posted by Lefty Noob

Yeah, I guess so. Maybe it is hard to know how to react. But darn it, kids his age have played in the NBA. He's old enough to know how to be a leader.

Personally, I wouldn't let a 21 year old mow my lawn without supervision... The kid reacted emotionally...and that is par for the course at 21. Leadership on the court does not equal maturity off the court...it may...but it's rare.

[Bette]

Originally Posted by Gotham Dark Knight

Personally, I wouldn't let a 21 year old mow my lawn without supervision... The kid reacted emotionally...and that is par for the course at 21. Leadership on the court does not equal maturity off the court...it may...but it's rare.

Guess thats what I was trying to say. The rest of it is true too, except for the mowing the lawn part.