Senior guard Chris Kramer and juniors Robbie Hummel, JaJuan Johnson and E’Twaun Moore were honored by Sporting News on Thursday morning when the publication released its annual Big Ten awards.
Kramer was named SN’s Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, while Hummel landed on the all-league first team and both Johnson and Moore were second-team selections.
Earlier this week, Kramer was also the league coaches’ pick for Defensive Player of the Year, in addition to earning his fourth-straight Big Ten All-Defensive Team selection and an honorable mention All-Big Ten nod.
The Huntington, Ind., native is Purdue’s career steals leader, and ranks fifth in the Big Ten history, with 265 thefts in the Old Gold & Black. He ranks second among active Division I players with 76 multi-steal games and third with 265 total steals, while registering at least one steal in 88 of his last 96 games. The consummate lockdown defender, only five of his primary defensive assignments this season have finished with a positive assist-to-turnover ratio, while 13 have turned the ball over at least four times under his watch.
Kramer’s defensive prowess was on display in the Boilers’ win at Penn State on Saturday, as he tallied four steals to help Purdue capture a share of its first Big Ten crown in 14 years. His average of 1.7 steals per contest ranked fourth in Big Ten play, and he currently stands fifth in the league’s overall rankings with the same mark.
Hummel leads the Big Ten in free throw percentage (.902), and ranks fourth in defensive rebounds (5.3) sixth in both total rebounds (6.9) and blocked shots (1.0) and seventh in points (15.7) per game. He was a consensus first-team All-Big Ten by the league’s coaches and media for the second time in his career on Monday, while also picking up USBWA All-District V honors.
The Valparaiso, Ind., native, who was lost for the year to a knee injury on Feb. 24, posted eight double-doubles on the year, led Purdue in scoring eight times and paced the team in rebounds on 13 occasions. He had a streak of 20-consecutive games with at least 10 points during the campaign, and set a program record in the early stages of the season by making 36-consecutive free throws.
Hummel also broke the 1,000-point and 500-rebound milestones for his career during the season, becoming just the 19th player in program history to reach both markers. He was named a finalist for the Oscar Robertson Trophy, and was also included on the midseason watch lists for the Wooden Award and the Naismith Trophy.
The team leader with eight double-doubles on the year, Johnson ranks fifth in the league in rebounds (7.2) and 10th in scoring (14.9), and paced the league with an average of 2.0 blocks per game in Big Ten play. The Indianapolis native has 21 multi-block games on the season, leading the Boilers in that category 22 times, and earned two Big Ten Player of the Week honors over the course of the campaign.
The Boilermakers’ leading rebounder and third-leading scorer, Johnson has also joined Hummel in Purdue’s 1,000-point/500-rebounds club this season as the 20th member of the elite fraternity. He was named a consensus second-team All-Big Ten pick this week, and also garnered USBWA All-District V accolades.
Moore is the Boilermakers’ scoring leader with an average of 16.7 points per game that ranks sixth in the league. He has reached the 500-point mark for the second year in a row, and has a chance to move onto the program’s single-season scoring list with a strong postseason showing.
Moore, who had a streak of 28-straight games in double figures during the season that stands as the longest in Painter’s tenure, has led Purdue in scoring and assists 14 times on the year, and is on pace to become just the third player in program history to lead the Boilermakers in points and assists in the same season. He has also scored 20 or more points nine times this season en route to surpassing the 1,000-career point mark.
A native of East Chicago, Ind., Moore elevated his play in Big Ten action as a junior, ranking fifth in scoring (17.2), sixth in steals (1.4), 10th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.2), 11th in assists (3.1) and 15th in both field goal percentage (.472) and three-point field goal percentage (.384) in league play.
Moore was recognized with his first nods to the All-Big Ten first team and USBWA All-District V squad this week, and was also honored for his work in the classroom this season, collecting second-team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America honors in February.
The second-seeded Boilermakers will open Big Ten Tournament play against either Northwestern or Indiana at 6:30 p.m. ET on Friday. The game will be televised live on Big Ten Network, and can be heard over the radio waves on the Purdue Sports Network.