The Big Ten regular season awards were revealed on Tuesday, and while Illinois basketball had some good mentions on there, I thought there was one glaring issue.
Keaton Wagler has earned everything that is coming his way. He had a great freshman campaign that helped lead Illinois to a tie for second place in the Big Ten, and the Illini are on track to land a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament.
While Wagler was great, he did not do this on his own. In fact, there was another freshman who helped lead Illinois in a lot of games this season when teams started double-teaming Wagler.
David Mirkovic.
I fully expected Mirkovic to make the Big Ten All-Freshman Team, which he did. He wasn’t unanimous, though. That is a shock.
What shocked me most is the fact that you can’t find Mirkovic on one of the All-Big Ten teams. You have to continue scrolling until you see him atop the honorable mention list.
Plain and simple, Mirkovic was robbed.
Leaving Mirkovic off an All-Big Ten Team is wild. He has the numbers, and Illinois has the victories to place him in one of the top three teams. You can’t sit there and tell me Mirkovic isn’t one of the best 15 players in the Big Ten.
There is only one player who averages at least 13.0 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and shoot 35.0% from three-point range in the Big Ten. Who is that?
Mirkovic.
Literally, Mirkovic is the only player in the conference to accomplish that stat line. Mirkovic finished the regular season averaging 13.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 37.6% from three-point range.
Illinois basketball success should have easily put David Mirkovic over the top
This season, Mirkovic was Illinois’ high scorer in four games, led the team in rebounds in 12 games, and dished out the most assists on the team in six contests. This was all for a team that finished 24-7 overall and 15-5 in the Big Ten.
You have a player who led a team that finished second in the conference, and Illinois is about to enter the NCAA tournament as, at worst, a No. 2 seed. There is a chance that if we get hot and win the Big Ten Tournament, we end up as a No. 1 seed.
Yet, one of the players who helped lead the Illini to such a great season and carried a stat line that no other Big Ten player could claim was left off the All-Big Ten Team. It is a travesty that Mirkovic isn’t on one of those All-Big Ten squads. My hope is that this is a little fuel to help fuel the fire.