MSU's Denzel Valentine wins Big Ten male athlete of year
Add one final collegiate award to Denzel Valentine’s trophy case before he becomes a pro.
Valentine on Wednesday became the third Michigan State athlete to win the Big Ten’s Jesse Owens Male Athlete of the Year award, joining fellow men’s basketball standout Draymond Green in 2012 and hockey goalie Ryan Miller in 2001.
Each school had one nominee for the all-sports award, which has been given annually since 1982.
"Winning the Jesse Owens Award is an incredible honor,” Valentine said in a release. “Jesse Owens was one of the greatest athletes of all-time and an amazing man who impacted people beyond just his sport. To be recognized as the best male athlete in the Big Ten is humbling. There are so many accomplished athletes in so many different sports throughout the conference.When you think about all the great basketball players that have played in the Big Ten, I’m shocked to hear that I’m just the sixth to win this award, but it just shows the overall depth of the conference. I’m honored to join Ryan Miller and Draymond Green as fellow Spartans to re ceive this award."
Valentine averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game as a senior en route to winning six national player of the year awards, and being named Big Ten men’s basketball player of the year and the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound guard and Lansing Sexton High graduate is in New York preparing for Thursday night’s NBA Draft.
"Every time I stepped on the court, I did so with an awareness of the great history of Michigan State, as well as the Big Ten and college basketball," Valentine said. "There was a responsibility to uphold for all the greats that had come before me. Being a part of the Spartan basketball program was a dream come true. And now on the eve of the NBA Draft, the Jesse Owens Award serves as a fitting cap to my Spartan career, as I set off to realize my next dream."
Minnesota women’s basketball star Rachel Banham was named the Big Ten Female Athlete of the Year. Former MSU women’s hoops star Aerial Powers was the Spartans’ female nominee.
Award winners are selected by a panel of conference media members from nominations submitted by each university.