Trio of Hoosiers Receive All-Big Ten Honors
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Three Hoosiers received All-Big Ten honors, the conference announced Tuesday.
Indiana sophomore center Kel'el Ware made the All-Big Ten second team by the media, third team by the coaches, and was voted to the Big Ten All-Defensive team.
Indiana freshman wing Mackenzie Mgbako was named Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Year, along with Iowa's Owen Freeman. Mgbako and Jalen Hood-Schifino are Indiana's first back-to-back Big Ten Freshman of the Year winners since Dean Garrett, Jay Edwards and Eric Anderson won it three consecutive seasons from 1987-89.
Indiana sophomore Malik Reneau did not make an All-Big Ten team, but he received an All-Big Ten honorable mention.
Indiana senior guard Trey Galloway was Indiana's Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree.
Ware and Reneau were Indiana's go-to scorers all season. Ware finished as the team's leader in scoring average, 16.1 points per game, and Reneau led the Hoosiers with 487 total points, having played three more games than Ware. Mgbako was close behind at 12.2 points per game and 337 total points, both third among Hoosiers.
Transferring in from Oregon before the season, Ware also led the Hoosiers with 9.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game. His 59.9 field goal percentage was second best in the Big Ten behind Purdue's Zach Edey, the Big Ten Player of the Year. Ware's 16.1 points per game ranks 10th in the conference, 9.8 rebounds per game is second, and 1.9 blocks is tied for fourth.
Ware posted 14 double-doubles and had 10 games with at least 20 points. In a win over Michigan State, he capped off the regular season with one of his most dominant performances all year, tying his career high with 28 points on 13-for-19 shooting, along with 11 rebounds, two blocks and two assists.
Ware, a 7-footer, shot 47.7% on 38 3-point attempts, the team's highest percentage but fifth-highest volume. His All-Big Ten season at Indiana has put Ware No. 19 in NBA.com's latest 2024 mock draft.
Reneau was one of the most improved players in the Big Ten this season. His scoring average increased from 6.1 as a freshman to 15.7 as a sophomore, which represents the second-biggest jump in the Big Ten behind Penn State's Kanye Clary, who was dismissed from the team in February.
The 6-foot-9 sophomore Reneau finished the regular season averaging 5.9 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game, while shooting 57.0% from the field and 32.6% from the 3-point line. His field goal percentage ranks third in the Big Ten behind Edey and Ware, and 177 2-point field goals was second most in the conference. Reneau's biggest area of improvement for next season is lowering his Big Ten-high 85 turnovers.
Mgbako joined the Hoosiers as the No. 8 recruit in the country. Despite finishing as the Big Ten's leading scorer among freshmen at 12.2 points per game, he fell short of winning Big Ten Freshman of the Year. That award was given to Iowa's Owen Freeman, who averaged 10.6 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.
Mgbako still landed on the Big Ten's All-Freshman team, along with Freeman, Minnesota's Cam Christie, Wisconsin's John Blackwell and ---. At 6-foot-8, Mgbako shot 40.6% from the field, 34.3% on a team-high 143 3-point attempts, and 81.2% from the free throw line.
On a four-game win streak, coach Mike Woodson and the Hoosiers play in the Big Ten Tournament on Thursday at approximately 9 p.m. ET against the winner of No. 11 seed Penn State and No. 14 seed Michigan at the Target Center in Minneapolis.
Here's the full list of awards.
First team
- Zach Edey, Purdue (unanimous)
- Boo Buie, Northwestern (unanimous)
- Terrence Shannon Jr., Illinois (coaches and media)
- Braden Smith, Purdue (coaches and media)
- Marcus Domask, Illinois (coaches)
- Jahmir Young, Maryland (media)
Second team
- Tyson Walker, Michigan State (coaches and media)
- AJ Storr, Wisconsin (coaches and media)
- Jahmir Young, Maryland (coaches)
- Keisei Tominaga, Nebraska (coaches)
- Tony Perkins, Iowa (coaches)
- Marcus Domask, Illinois (media)
- Kel'el Ware, Indiana (media)
- Dawson Garcia, Minnesota (media)
Third team
- Payton Sandfort, Iowa (coaches and media)
- Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State (coaches and media)
- Dawson Garcia, Minnesota (coaches)
- Kel'el Ware, Indiana (coaches)
- Brooks Barnhizer, Northwestern (coaches)
- Rienk Mast, Nebraska (coaches)
- Keisei Tominaga, Nebraska (media)
- Coleman Hawkins, Illinois (media)
- Bruce Thornton, Ohio State (media)
Honorable mentions (coaches)
- Coleman Hawkins, Illinois; Malik Reneau, Indiana; Owen Freeman, Iowa; Donta Scott, Maryland; Julian Reese, Maryland; Malik Hall, Michigan State; A.J. Hoggard, Michigan State; Elijah Hawkins, Minnesota; Jamison Battle, Ohio State; Bruce Thornton, Ohio State; Nick Kern Jr., Penn State; Qudus Wahab, Penn State; Mason Gillis, Purdue; Lance Jones, Purdue; Fletcher Loyer, Purdue; Clifford Omoruyi, Rutgers; Chucky Hepburn, Wisconsin; Tyler Wahl, Wisconsin
Honorable mentions (media)
- Malik Reneau, Indiana; Josh Dix, Iowa; Owen Freeman, Iowa; Ben Krikke, Iowa; Tony Perkins, Iowa; Julian Reese, Maryland; Malik Hall, Michigan State; A.J. Hoggard; Michigan State; Elijah Hawkins, Minnesota; Rienk Mast, Nebraska; Brooks Barnhizer, Northwestern; Jamison Battle, Ohio State; Lance Jones, Purdue; Fletcher Loyer, Purdue; Clifford Omoruyi, Rutgers
All-Freshman team
- Mackenzie Mgbako, Indiana
- Owen Freeman, Iowa
- Cam Christie, Minnesota
- John Blackwell, Wisconsin
- DeShawn Harris-Smith, Maryland
All-Defensive team
- Ace Baldwin Jr., Penn State
- Clifford Omoruyi, Rutgers
- Zach Edey, Purdue
- Chucky Hepburn, Wisconsin
- Kel’el Ware, Indiana
- Brooks Barnhizer, Northwestern
Purdue's Zach Edey was named Big Ten Player of the Year for the second consecutive season. Penn State's Ace Baldwin Jr. was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year. Indiana's Mackenzie Mgbako and Iowa's Owen Freeman were named Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Year.
Purdue's Matt Painter and Nebraska's Fred Hoiberg shared Big Ten Co-Coach of the Year. Purdue's Mason Gillis was named Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year, and Purdue's Brandon Brantley was named Big Ten Assistant Coach of the Year.
Related stories on Indiana basketball
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- KEL'EL WARE FEATURE: Kel’el Ware was a highly touted prospect at North Little Rock High School in Arkansas, where he won two state championships. A top-10 recruit, most thought he would reach the NBA as a one-and-done, but he had an underwhelming freshman season at Oregon. As a sophomore at Indiana under coach Mike Woodson, Ware is averaging 16.1 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks and has turned his potential into production. CLICK HERE
- INDIANA-MICHIGAN STATE GAME STORY: Kel'el Ware had 28 points and 12 rebounds and made a free throw with 17 seconds to go after missing five straight, helping Indiana beat Michigan State 65-64 in the final regular season game of the year. It was the Hoosiers' fourth straight win. CLICK HERE
