Can a player on a team tied for last place with a month to go earn first-team All-Big Ten honors?
Penn State point guard Tim Frazier is making a case.
The 6-foot-1 junior from Houston is coming off a 23-point, 10-rebound, nine-assist game in a win over Nebraska. That boosted him to second in the Big Ten in scoring at 18.5 points. He's also first in assists (6.4), second in steals (2.2) and 16th in rebounding (5.0).
"He doesn't get enough exposure,'' PSU coach Patrick Chambers said Monday. "He's earned the right to be in the same breath with Jordan Taylor and all the great point guards in this league and all the great point guards in the country.
"He is doing it all for us. He's probably 80 to 85 percent of our team with points, rebounds, steals and assists. And he does more than that because he's our captain.''
Frazier has scored between 12 and 30 points in every Big Ten game, an amazing statistic considering the monumental amount of defensive attention he gets.
Chambers said he noted some mental fatigue from Frazier recently during a road-heavy stretch of games.
"But we did some different things the last couple of days before the Nebraska game to keep him loose and fresh,'' the coach said. "I sit down with him and let him voice his opinions and his worries and stress.
"Sometimes when you do that, you get it off your chest and go into practice with a clear head. That's what you saw on Saturday — a loose, confident leader who was comfortable in his own skin. And I think you'll see that the rest of the way.''
Player honors
Player of the week: Michigan State forward Draymond Green. The 6-foot-7 senior from Saginaw, Mich., averaged 17.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in wins over Penn State and Ohio State.
Freshman of the week: Indiana center Cody Zeller. The 6-11 Washington, Ind., product had 22 points and five rebounds in a win over Illinois.
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