JaJuan Johnson a near-unanimous MVP pick
Everyone on Purdue's roster voted for JaJuan Johnson to be named Team MVP, as was announced Monday at the team's postseason banquet.
Everyone, that is, except the senior All-American himself.
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He voted for classmate E'Twaun Moore, certainly a perfectly qualified candidate himself.
"He's carried the load for us since he's gotten here," Johnson said of Moore. "... When we needed big shots, he's done it time and time again. That's my reason for voting for him."
All perfectly good reasons.
But no one was surprised when the consensus All-American instead won the award.
Johnson led the Big Ten in scoring and blocked shots and was named the conference's player-of-the-year and Defensive Player-of-the-Year. He's also been named an All-American by the USBWA, Associated Press and other outlets.
"It's a huge honor," Johnson said. "This means just as much as any other award, because your teammates vote for it. It shows they respect you and look up to you as a teammate and a person, and that's really important."
Other awards winners were the following ...
Bob King Assist Award - Lewis Jackson
Rebound Award - JaJuan Johnson
Courage Award (for taking charges) - Ryne Smith
Play Hard Award - D.J. Byrd
Mr. Hustle Award - Ryne Smith