BTN awards: Tough choices Wednesday

BTN offers its sixth annual awards show at 7 tonight, spotlighting the best individual efforts and team performances of the last school year. My initial thoughts are threefold: what a great year for basketball, what a bad year for football and, wow, BTN's awards show is really six years old?

I'm a voter for the Big Ten's prestigious male and female athletes of the year, and I'm sworn to secrecy on my vote. But I will say, holy cow, there are some amazing athletes in the league not just involved in football and men's basketball. Olympians, national champions and national record-holders comprise those finalists. It hardly was as simple as 1-2-3.

But there are other awards of which I don't vote, and the BTN released those finalists a few days ago. Here are the categories, the finalists and who I'd select for the below awards:

Men's Coach of the Year

-Michigan Basketball's John Beilein

-Penn State Football's Bill O'Brien

-Indiana Soccer's Todd Yeagley

-Indiana Baseball's Tracy Smith

-Penn State Wrestling's Cael Sanderson

My choice: Yeagley and Sanderson won national titles, Beilein's squad finished second and Smith took his team to the College World Series. Normally you'd avoid a program that can't qualify for the postseason in a four-year period, but Bill O'Brien took over a train wreck at Penn State and steered the program out of the Sandusky abyss. The Nittany Lions were 8-4 despite losing 10 players in an NCAA-approved free-for-all transfer period. He showed leadership, gained immediate respect and gave his team a reason for pride. Coaches of the year aren't just based on wins and championships. O'Brien proved that last fall. 

Women's Coach of the Year

-Northwestern Lacrosse's Kelly Amonte Hiller

-Minnesota Ice Hockey's Brad Frost

-Michigan Volleyball's Mark Rosen

-Penn State Soccer's Erica Walsh.

My choice: Brad Frost's Gophers finished 41-0, has won 49 straight games and claimed back-to-back national titles. That tips the scales even with a stacked field.

Breakout Performer of the Year

-Trey Burke, Point Guard, Michigan Basketball

-Venric Mark, Running Back, Northwestern Football

-Victor Oladipo, Guard, Indiana Basketball

-Allen Robinson, Wide Receiver, Penn State Football

My choice: Burke and Oladipo were first-team All-Americans and are likely lottery picks in Thursday's NBA draft. While I voted for Burke last March as the league MVP, I thought Oladipo's overall play was more "breakout" worthy. Oladipo was considered among the league's best entering the season but hardly was considered unanimous. That sentiment changed rather quickly.

Most Dominating Performance

-Montee Ball, Wisconsin Football – 200-plus rushing yards and 3 touchdowns, setting a new Big Ten touchdown record (vs. Purdue 10/13/2012)

-Mitch McGary, Michigan Basketball – second player in the last 50 years with 21-plus points, 14-plus rebounds and field goal percentage of 70 percent or higher in consecutive NCAA Tournament games

-Justin Parr, Illinois Baseball – set Illinois record for his 33-game hitting streak that lasted from March 9 – May 12, the longest streak in the nation at the time

-Denard Robinson, Michigan Football – 200-plus passing yards, 200-plus rushing yards and 4 touchdowns, becoming the first player in FBS history to pass and rush for 200+ yards in a game three times in his career (vs. Air Force 9/8/2012)

My choice: Ball and Robinson had great performances but they were more career-based in regular-season action. McGary's effort was historical and vital for Michigan to advance in the NCAA tournament. On a team full of stars, McGary's performance was absolutely dominant.

Most Courageous Performance

-Rachel Banham, Minnesota Basketball – sidelined for months after a blood clot was discovered in her lung last summer, she bounced back to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors

-Jack Hoffman, Nebraska fan – 7-year-old brain cancer patient ran for a 69-yard touchdown at Nebraska's 2013 spring game

-Robert Marve, Purdue Football - overcame his third career ACL injury and returned to help the Boilermakers win their final three games and reach bowl eligibility

-Drey Mingo, Purdue Basketball - suffered an ACL tear during the 2011-12 season. She came back this spring and led the Boilermakers to the Big Ten Tournament Championship where she was named the Tournament's Most Outstanding Player

My choice: There was nothing more heartwarming in college sports this year -- or any year -- than Hoffman's run in Nebraska's spring game. Kudos to everyone involved with making it happen. I'd vote for his run as best play, if that was a category. For "Most Courageous Performance" I'd vote for Banham. That was a serious health risk, yet she returned and had an amazing season.

Best Finish

- Michigan's Kenny Demens tackles Northwestern's Tyris Jones on fourth-and-2, giving Michigan the victory in overtime. (11/10/2012)

- Illinois' Tyler Griffey's layup at the buzzer leads the Illini past the Hoosiers, 74-72. (2/7/2013)

-Wisconsin's Ben Brust hit a running half-court shot to force overtime, where the Badgers went on to win 65-62 against the Wolverines. (2/9/2013)

-After Michigan's Trey Burke forces overtime with a 30-foot shot, Michigan goes on to beat Kansas 87-85, extending Michigan's NCAA Tournament run. (3/29/2013)

My choice: Michigan was dead in the water against top-seeded Kansas in a Sweet Sixteen game. The Wolverines trailed by 14 with seven minutes to go and by five in the final minute. But Burke's 30-footer tied the game with 4.2 seconds left. Michigan ultimately won, then advanced to the national title game for the first time in 20 years.

Men's Team of the Year

-Indiana, Soccer

-Michigan, Swimming

-Ohio State, Football

-Penn State, Wrestling

-Indiana, Baseball

My choice: Well, Penn State wrestling, Michigan swimming and Indiana soccer each won national titles. Ohio State football finished undefeated but was ineligible for a bowl. But Indiana baseball became the first Big Ten program to advance to the College World Series in 29 years and won a game in Omaha. It's not a national title, but it's impressive for a league that often plays its first 15-25 games on the road.

Women's Team of the Year

-Minnesota, Ice Hockey

-Northwestern, Lacrosse

-Penn State, Soccer

-Penn State, Volleyball

 My choice: Penn State soccer has won 15 straight Big Ten titles and finished second nationally. Penn State volleyball won its 15th league title and advanced to the national semifinals. Northwestern lacrosse was a national semifinalist for the ninth straight year. But Minnesota hockey was 41-0 and won its second straight national title. That's an easy choice.

Game of the Year

- Indiana vs. Illinois, Men's Basketball (2/7/2013)

- Michigan vs. Wisconsin, Men's Basketball (2/9/2013)

- Indiana vs. Michigan, Men's Basketball (3/10/2013)

- Michigan vs. Kansas, Men's Basketball (3/29/2013)

My choice: It's strange to see no football games on this list, but there was little memorable about Big Ten football last year. Plus, the men's basketball season was the best since in 20 years. Three boasted memorable endings: Indiana-Illinois, Michigan-Kansas, Michigan-Wisconsin. But from start to finish, the regular-season finale between Indiana-Michigan was epic. Indiana rallied from five down in the final minute to win the Big Ten regular-season title outright 72-71. Burke's last-second, potential game-winning shot hung on the rim for an eternity before rolling off. A Wolverines' win would have clinched a share of the league title. Instead, Michigan fell to a fifth seed in the league tournament.