Quite possibly the most talked about Wisconsin Badger of all-time at The Sports Bank has received yet another honor. Starting point guard Jordan Taylor was named UW’s Male Athlete of the Year for his breakout junior season with the basketball team.
He helped lead the Badgers to a perfect record at the Kohl Center and was a big reason behind UW’s NCAA record for fewest turnovers at 7.6 per game.
Take the jump to watch a highlight video of Taylor put together by UW Athletics.
By: Nick Grays
Beginning the 2010-11 season, Taylor was nothing more than a slightly-above-average point guard. By the end of the year, he emerged as one of the Big Ten’s best at the position.
In a memorable game in Madison, Taylor scored a game-high 27 points to give the #1 Ohio State Buckeyes their first loss of the season. Jordan poured in eight straight points to help the Badgers cut a 15-point deficit in the second half en route to an incredible 71-67 win.
That wasn’t the only game where Taylor showed off his ability to put the ball in the basket as the junior reached double-digits in 32 of 34 games and scored 20+ on 15 occasions.
His most valuable asset last season was his knack for converting assists and not turning the ball over. Taylor led the nation with a ridiculous 3.83 assist-to-turnover ratio and earned a spot on the Big Ten’s All-Defensive Team.
After a truly unbelievable season, the awards and honors began to stack up. Here’s the list:
– All-American (Associated Press, Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Yahoo! Sports, Fox Sport and CBSSports.com)
– First-Team All-Big Ten Selection
– One of Five Finalists for the Bob Cousy Award
– One of 20 Players on the John R. Wooden Award Ballot
Now he can add one more as UW’s Male Athlete of the Year.
Do you think the Wisconsin Badgers have another great year with Taylor at the point? Let me know by commenting below!
Nick Grays is a senior writer at the Sports Bank where he covers the Wisconsin Badgers, Green Bay Packers, and Milwaukee Brewers. He also enjoys to share Fantasy Advice from time-to-time. Follow him on Twitter by clicking here or visit his blog Nick Knows Best.