da'monte williams

Previously: The Usual Categories, The Official Big Ten Awards Roundtable

Alright, let's get weird.

Regular Season Awards: The Unusual Categories

BEST SURPRISE: EJ LIDDELL, OHIO STATE

For the player who's most exceeded preseason expectations, which isn't quite the same thing as most improved player.

Not much has changed since I gave this same award to him midway through the conference season:

We barely mentioned Liddell in our season preview roundtable, and while I had a chance to look smart when I finally brought him up, I blew it by only bringing him up in the context of being undersized for his position. The 6'7" post player has improved in nearly every meaningful statistical category despite getting most of his minutes at center instead of his more natural fit at power forward. ...

Instead of Liddell being a reason OSU is held back, he's the best player on what's once again one of the country's more surprisingly successful teams. He can function as the only interior presence in a five-out attack or play next to Kyle Young, who's often planted in the dunker spot waiting for dumpoffs and offensive rebounds.

A true three-level scorer, Liddell opened up OSU's top-five offense with his ability to score at all three levels, especially with fellow big Kyle Young adding the corner three-pointer to his arsenal. While both are undersized, they still did big man stuff—other than protect the rim—at a high level, giving Chris Holtmann the unusual luxury of playing two bigs in a five-out system.

Liddell scored well into the double figures most every game because his versatile offensive game gave him a route to attack pretty much any defender. He could bully smaller players or drag slower-footed centers into the deep water with both his spot-up shooting and his face-up game:

Liddell found a way to either mitigate his weaknesses or turn them into strengths. I'd love to see him next to more of a traditional center who still can stretch the floor, though I realize those aren't exactly easy to find, so OSU could construct a title-caliber defense. (In theory. In practice, OSU being bad at defense is actually good, in my opinion.) Instead, they merely built a championship-level offense around a 6'7, 240-pound big man.

Other contenders: Donta Scott, Jacob Young, Hunter Dickinson

[Hit THE JUMP for worst surprise, most extreme JAS™, the JJJ award, disaster factory, and more.]