Four Boilermakers Pick Up Conference Honors

purdue-logoPurdue seniors Dru Anthrop and D.J. Byrd, junior Terone Johnson and freshman A.J. Hammons were recognized with individual accolades on Monday as the Big Ten announced its postseason honors.

The Boilermakers’ leading scorer and second-leading rebounder and assist-getter this season, Johnson was voted a third-team All-Big Ten performer by the league’s coaches and honorable mention all-conference by the media that covers the Big Ten. His selection marks the seventh year in a row that the league coaches have voted a Purdue player to one of the top three All-Big Ten teams.

The Indianapolis native was one of the most dynamic scorers in the conference during the 2013 Big Ten season, tying for ninth in the league with an average of 14.2 points per game in conference action. He shot 41.4 percent from the floor and posted career bests of 35.0 percent from beyond the arc and 65.3 percent from the free throw line in conference play. He also ranked 15th in the league with an average of 2.8 assists and added 4.8 rebounds per game in Big Ten action.

The career-high 32 points he scored against Michigan on March 6 were the most by any player in a Big Ten game this season.

Heading into the Big Ten Tournament, Johnson owns averages of 13.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. He has produced a pair of double-doubles on the season, scored in double figures a team-high 22 times, including four performances in which he broke the 20-point barrier, and led the team in points on a team-best 15 occasions. He is the Boilermakers’ active leader in points (894), rebounds (343), assists (211) and steals (68).

Byrd was named honorable mention All-Big Ten by the league’s media, adding to a collection of conference awards that includes Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year and honorable mention all-league accolades from a year ago.

The Crawfordsville, Ind., native averaged 10.1 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game in Big Ten play. He was once again lethal from long distance, ranking second in the league with an average of 2.6 three-pointers per game and ninth with a 39.0 percent success rate from deep.

Byrd heads into the postseason with a career-best average of 10.0 points per game and ranked ninth on Purdue’s single-season chart with 73 three-point field goals. He is also averaging career highs in rebounds (4.0), assists (2.7) and steals (0.8) per game.

He has led Purdue in scoring five times and assists in eight games, and has scored in double figures 20 times on the season. He has a pair of 20-point performances, scoring 22 in road wins over both Clemson and Wisconsin.

Hammons has been rewarded for one of the most impactful seasons by a Big Ten rookie with a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team, making him the sixth Boilermaker to earn the distinction since 2006.

He finished the conference season with averages of 11.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game, ranking either first or second among league freshmen in points, total rebounds, offensive rebounds, defensive rebounds and blocks per game, as well as field goal percentage. His average of 2.3 blocks per game in Big Ten play topped the conference charts.

On the overall season, Hammons is the lone active freshman in the power six conferences with averages of at least 10 points, six rebounds and two blocks per game. Kentucky’s Nerlens Noel also met those criteria prior to suffering a season-ending knee injury.

The Gary, Ind., native has blocked 62 shots on the season, which ranks second on the program’s freshman chart and 10th on its overall season ledger. He also ranks fifth on Purdue’s freshman chart for rebounds (193) and sixth on the rookie points list (330).

Hammons has led Purdue in blocks 22 times this season, posted three double-doubles and scored in double figures 17 times with three performances of 20 points or more. He was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week on Feb. 4.

Anthrop was recognized as Purdue’s honoree for the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award. He has played in 19 games this season, with a pair of starts, and averaged 0.7 points and 1.1 rebounds per contest.

The Lafayette, Ind., native and his father, John, are the only father-son combo to both win Big Ten championships as Purdue players.

Purdue is the No. 7 seed at this week’s Big Ten Tournament and will face 10th-seeded Nebraska at 6:30 p.m. ET on Thursday at the United Center in Chicago. ESPN2 will televise the action with Mike Tirico, Dan Dakich and Samantha Ponder on the broadcast. Larry Clisby and Rob Blackman will have the radio call on the Purdue Sports Network.

The Big Ten Tournament sold out in advance for the first time in event history, but standing room only tickets for each session are currently available via ticketmaster.com and unitedcenter.com.