With a pair of all-conference seniors and a deep and talented supporting cast returning from a team that claimed a share of the league title and advanced to the NCAA Sweet 16 in 2010, Purdue has been picked by a panel of conference media to finish third in the Big Ten in 2010-11.
The league also announced on Thursday that seniors JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore were named to the Preseason All-Big Ten Team, making Purdue the lone team to place more than one player on the five-man squad. The selection is a career first for both players.
Michigan State was picked to win the league, while Ohio State was tabbed to finish second in the Big Ten race.
A two-time All-Big Ten pick and Big Ten All-Defensive Team selection, Johnson paced the Boilermakers in rebounds a year ago (7.1 rpg) and ranked third on the team in scoring with a career-best average of 15.5 points per outing. The Indianapolis native led the Big Ten in blocks per game in league play (2.0 bpg), and will enter his senior season ranked second on Purdue’s career list with 184 rejections.
Johnson spent the summer of 2010 refining his game against the U.S. National Team, traveling to Las Vegas and New York as part of the U.S. Men’s Select Team to help Team USA prepare for its gold-medal winning run at the FIBA World Championships in Turkey.
Moore was an honorable mention AP All-American and first-team All-Big Ten selection in 2010, earning John Wooden Team MVP honors in a vote by his teammates after becoming just the third player in program history to lead Purdue in scoring and assists in the same season. The East Chicago, Ind., product started all 35 games for the Boilermakers in 2009-10, ranking sixth in the Big Ten in scoring (16.4 ppg) and ninth in steals (1.5 spg), while pulling down an average of 3.8 boards per contest.
Off the court, Moore became the eighth Purdue player since 1972 to earn Academic All-America honors when he was awarded second team accolades from ESPN The Magazine.
The Boilermaker duo was joined on the Preseason All-Big Ten Team by fellow seniors Kalin Lucas of Michigan State, Demetri McCamey of Illinois and Wisconsin’s Jon Leuer. Lucas was named Big Ten Preseason Player of the Year by the voting media.
Johnson, Moore and sixth-year head coach Matt Painter were in Chicago on Thursday to meet with media from around the country as part of the Big Ten’s annual Basketball Media Day.
2010-11 Big Ten Preseason Rankings
1. Michigan State
2. Ohio State
3. Purdue
2010-11 Preseason All-Big Ten Team
Demetri McCamey, Illinois
Kalin Lucas, Michigan State
JaJuan Johnson, Purdue
E’Twaun Moore, Purdue
Jon Leuer, Wisconsin
2010-11 Preseason Big Ten Player of the Year
Kalin Lucas, Michigan State