Tim Frazier Earns All Big Ten Accolades

Tim Frazier was named first team All-Big Ten by the media, and second team by the coaches tonight. There was some doubt if he would get the nod for the first team selection he deserved since Penn State is in the basement of the Big Ten, but the media came through. The coaches' teams have notoriously been predicated on their team's success. Frazier's first team selection is Penn State's 7th in 20 Big Ten seasons. Talor Battle earned two first-team selections in 2009 and 2011.

The full accolades can be found here, but abbreviated version is listed below (C - Coaches, M - Media):

First Team - Draymond Green (C/M), John Shurna (C/M), Jared Sullinger (C/M), Robbie Hummel (C/M), Tim Frazier (M), Jordan Taylor (C)

Second Team - Trey Burke (C/M), William Buford (C/M), Cody Zeller (C/M), Tim Frazier (C), Jordan Taylor (M), Matt Gatens (M), DeShaun Thomas (C)

Third Team - Keith Appling (C/M), Drew Crawford (C/M), Tim Hardaway Jr (C/M), Matt Gatens (C), DeShaun Thomas (M), Brandon Paul (C), Aaron Craft (M)

Player of the Year - Draymond Green (C/M)

Coach of the Year - Tom Izzo (C/M)

Freshman of the Year - Cody Zeller (C), Trey Burke (M)

Frazier's remarkable improvement didn't make a liar of Coach Chambers, who had been singing Tim's praises since day one by constantly comparing him to Kyle Lowry. I'm not sure how you can measure this, but it has been said Frazier's jump in production this year has been the biggest one-year improvement in the Big Ten since Sharif Chambliss, who went from a seldom-used freshman in 00-01 to a 14 PPG scorer in 01-02. I am uncertain of the credibility of that statement, but let's take a look at Frazier's conference numbers over his career.

Frazier was obviously relied upon to do everything every night yet still found a way to improve in nearly all major statistical categories. He used the most possessions in conference play and also took the most shots, but he still improved (although slightly) his Offensive Rating, shooting %'s, and cut down his TORate. Also, he was still able to match his assist totals (and improve his Assist Rate) despite the weakest supporting cast in the league.

Also not to be forgotten, Frazier was also named to the Coaches' All-Defensive team with Aaron Craft, Josh Gasser, Draymond Green, and Victor Oladipo. He finished 2nd behind Craft in SPG and Steal%, but actually was 1st in conference play action. He had 6 Big Ten games of 4+ steals.

Congratulations Tim on a fine season!