The Big Ten Network has named Purdue’s Glenn Robinson as Big Ten Icon No. 35.
Big Ten Icons, the network’s most ambitious multi-platform initiative to date, is counting down the top 50 student-athletes in Big Ten history on BigTenIcons.com based solely on their collegiate playing careers.
Robinson earned the nickname “Big Dog” as a dominating basketball player at Purdue from 1992-94.
The Gary, Ind., native was a first-team All-Big Ten pick in both of his seasons with the Boilermakers. As a junior, Robinson led the nation in scoring with an average of 30.3 points per game, winning the John R. Wooden Award – named for the coaching legend and three-time Purdue All-American – as the national Player of the Year. That year, Robinson was also a consensus All-America selection and won the Big Ten Silver Basketball as the conference’s Player of the Year.
“Glenn was the easiest player to coach who ever played for me,” legendary former Purdue head coach and current Big Ten Network analyst Gene Keady said. “He enjoyed practice and he loved to compete. He was a dream to have as a player.”
To read the entire essay and watch a video feature on Robinson, visit his Big Ten Icons locker at BigTenIcons.com.
Icons 50 through 21 are being unveiled through Sept. 16 at BigTenIcons.com. The website will also feature essays, video and other key facts about each student-athlete’s career. Viewers can also participate in the “Talk of the Locker Room” contest with a chance to win the $10,000 grand prize. Weekly winners will take home a 55-inch Phillips HD television.
The television show, hosted by legendary college sports broadcaster Keith Jackson, debuts Sept. 18 following a Big Ten Network football telecast in which Icon No. 20 will be revealed. The countdown continued at 9 p.m. ET every Tuesday night through the end of football season and into the spring. The No. 1 Big Ten Icon will be revealed around the 2011 Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament.