Every Big Ten season there are top players left off all-league teams for playing on losing squads.
Should Gophers' leading scorer Jamison Battle have been named to the All-Big Ten basketball team?
Battle earned all-league honorable mention, but he averaged 17.3 points per game in his first season.
March 9, 2022 at 4:35PM
The latest player was Gophers sophomore Jamison Battle, who was the first newcomer to lead them in scoring and rebounding in the Big Ten since Trevor Mbakwe in 2010-11.
Battle, who transferred from George Washington, finished sixth in the Big Ten in scoring with 17.3 points, to go along with 6.3 rebounds, 36.5% three-point shooting and 36.4 minutes (second in the league).
"I realize they finished last place in the league," Big Ten Network host Dave Revsine said on Tuesday's awards show. "But Jamison Battle had some moments where you were like, 'Holy cow!' Just a phenomenal scorer while guarded and clearly the focus of the opposing defenses."
Early conversations about Battle being a sleeper for all-league first team honors during the Gophers' 10-1 start evaporated with their poor finish in the regular season, but you could argue he at least deserved to be recognized as one of the top 15 players in the Big Ten this season.
You might see the 14th-seeded Gophers (13-16, 4-16) use Battle's all-league snub as motivation in Wednesday's opening round game against Penn State in the Big Ten tournament in Indianapolis.
Battle, who earned All-Big Ten honorable mention honors Tuesday with senior Payton Willis, scored in double figures in 26 of 28 games in the regular season, including his first 18 games.
The 6-7 forward put up 27 points in his first Big Ten game in Minnesota's only road win this season Dec. 11 at Michigan. Battle also saved his best for last with a career-high 39 points with seven threes in last week's loss at Maryland. They were the most points in a conference game for any Big Ten player in 2021-22.
Big Ten Network's Andy Katz and Revsine spent a few minutes on Tuesday's awards show debating whether or not Battle should have been selected to the three All-Big Ten teams. Nebraska freshman Bryce McGowens earned third-team honors from coaches and media also playing on a 4-16 team.
"If you're even thinking [losing matters], then why his Bryce McGowens on there?" Katz said. "Jamison Battle would have just as much a place on there."
Revsine recalled how surprisingly well the Gophers played to open the season.
"They had that really nice run at the beginning of the year where people were talking about them as a kind of a dark horse," he said. "And they were on NCAA tournament brackets. They just got worn down as the year went on, but he's another guy I would think of who had an exceptional season."
Also being honored for the Gophers on Tuesday was sixth-year senior Eric Curry with an All-Big Ten sportsmanship award. Curry, who persevered through an injury plagued career, started 24 of 25 games this season and put up career-best numbers.
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