Senior guard Vincent Grier was named third-team All-Big Ten by the Big Ten coaches and was named an honorable mention by members of the media on Tuesday.

“I’m definitely proud of it,” Grier said. “It shows that the coaches really appreciate the game that I have.”

Last season, the senior guard was selected to the first team by the coaches and the second team by the media.

But an injury in the season opener sidelined Grier for five games and had an effect on his game the rest of the season.

That, coupled with the team’s lack of success relative to last season, played a part in what team the senior made.

“I think he’s deserving,” coach Dan Monson said. “Between his injury and some of the struggles we’ve had, I think it was a well-deserved honor and about at the right place.”

In a slightly surprising omission, freshman guard Jamal Abu-Shamala was not named to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.

“I put him on there,” Monson said. “But I think also those five (on the team) have all done a good job, and some of them were on better teams than Jamal was on.”

The media’s first team was composed of senior Illinois guard Dee Brown, senior Michigan guard

Daniel Horton, senior Iowa forward Greg Brunner and junior Wisconsin forward Alando Tucker. The coaches’ first team was the same as the media squad, but with senior Illinois forward James Augustine on the team in place of Horton.

Terence Dials of Ohio State was named the Big Ten Player of the Year by both the coaches and the media. Penn State forward Jamelle Cornley was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year by the coaches and the media. Senior center Erek Hansen of Iowa was the conference’s defensive player of the year, and Ohio State’s Thad Matta was the Coach of the Year.

– C.J. Spang