White earns first-team B1G nod; League honors Uthoff, Olaseni

IOWA CITY - Aaron White answers questions matter-of-factly, so when he was asked to assess his candidacy for all-Big Ten honors, the Iowa senior neither shirked nor relented.

'I think I'm deserving of first team,” White said. 'I'm not one to promote myself and be arrogant. I think you look at team records, statistics, importance for team, I think I deserve first team. You didn't think I was going to say that?”

Athletes rarely push for individual accolades, but in this case White's words became prophesy. The 6-foot-9 senior forward was selected as first-team all-Big Ten by both media and coaches on Monday. He averaged 15.9 points (seventh among Big Ten players) and 7.4 rebounds (third) a game in helping the Hawkeyes earn a 12-6 record in league play.

Joining White on the Big Ten's first team by media were Wisconsin center Frank Kaminsky, Ohio State guard D'Angelo Russell, Maryland guard Melo Trimble and Indiana guard Yogi Ferrell. On the coaches' ballot were Kaminsky, Russell, White, Ferrell and Maryland guard Dez Wells. Kaminsky was named player of the year by both media and coaches.

Wisconsin Coach Bo Ryan was selected as coach of the year by coaches, while Maryland's Mark Turgeon earned top honors by the media. Russell was named the league's top freshman, while Purdue's Rapheal Davis was tabbed the top defender.

Iowa forward Jarrod Uthoff was named third team by the coaches, while center Gabe Olaseni was tabbed Big Ten sixth man of the year.

Over his final five games - all Iowa wins - White has averaged 22.8 points and 9.4 rebounds. White's surge has coincided with Iowa's six-game winning streak in league play, the school's longest since 1986-87. Last week he earned Big Ten player of the week honors after scoring 29 points against Illinois and 21 in an overtime win at Penn State.

White, who hails from Strongsville, Ohio, has established a strong legacy as one of Iowa's greatest players. In a 69-52 win against Northwestern on Saturday, he scored 25 points to pass Greg Stokes and Acie Earl into second place on Iowa's career scoring chart with 1,793 points. He has 881 rebounds, which ranks third in Iowa history.

White is the only player nationally with at least 1,700 points, 850 rebounds, 175 assists and 125 steals. He and Kaminsky are the only Big Ten players to average at least 15 points and seven rebounds a game.

'I think his own self confidence, his own belief that he could be great, and his desire to do what it takes to be great,” Iowa Coach Fran McCaffery said of what helped White excel as a player. 'Not everybody has that, and he's got it.

'His cerebral approach to this game is on another level, and that's really helpful in any sport, that you have that kind of feel for what can I do right now, what does my team need me to do. He's got tremendous confidence in himself, so if he does make a mistake, it rarely leads to more.”

Uthoff, a 6-foot-9 junior from Cedar Rapids, averaged 12.2 points (22nd), 6.3 rebounds (11th), 1.6 blocked shots (fifth) and 1.7 3-pointers (15th) in his first full season as a starter. Olaseni, 6-foot-10 senior from London, England, started only one game but ranked third on the team in points (8.3) and fourth in rebounds (4.8).

Iowa posted first-team all-Big Ten players in back-to-back years (White and Devyn Marble) for the first time since 2006 and 2007 when Greg Brunner and Adam Haluska earned top honors.

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