Marquette senior forward Jae Crowder, the 2011-2 Big East Conference Player of the Year, was one of 10 players named to the John R. Wooden Award All-American Team and he was also tabbed Second Team All-America by the Associated Press.
"It's truly an honor to be included on these teams with the best players in the nation, I am honestly very humbled," Crowder said. "None of this would have even been possible without the help and dedication of my teammates and coaches."
Crowder averaged 17.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game this season, helping Marquette to a 27-8 overall record and a program-best 14-4 mark in the Big East. He ranked among the national leaders in steals per contest and was among the league leaders in seven different categories. He was also a member of the All-Big East First Team.
Created in 1976 and named after the Hall of Fame player, coach and teacher, the John R. Wooden Award is the most prestigious individual honor in college basketball.
It is bestowed upon the nation's best player at an institution of higher education who has proven that he or she is making progress toward graduation and maintaining a minimum cumulative 2.0 GPA. Previous winners include such notables as Larry Bird ('79), Michael Jordan ('84), Tim Duncan ('97), Blake Griffin ('09) and Maya Moore of Connecticut ('09 and '11).
Crowder is the first Marquette All-America selection since Lazar Hayward (AP, Honorable Mention) in 2009-10. The program's all-time leading scorer, Jerel McNeal, was named to the second team by Associated Press in 2008-09.
Wisconsin senior Jordan Taylor earned All-America honorable mention, following a second-team All-American selection a year ago.
Taylor is just the second Wisconsin player to multiple All-America honors since the AP began selecting All-Americans in 1948. Michael Finley was a three-time honorable mention pick from 1993-95.
Taylor led the Badgers averaging 14.8 points and 4.1 assists per game and helped the UW to 26 wins, the third-highest single-season total in school history. A first-team All-Big Ten pick, Taylor finished second in the Big Ten with a 2.6 assist-to-turnover ratio.
In three NCAA tournament games, Taylor earned All-East Regional honors after averaging 16.0 points and had 15 assists with just three turnovers while leading Wisconsin to the Sweet 16.
Taylor finished his Wisconsin career seventh in school history with 1,533 career points and set an NCAA record with a 3.01 career assist-to-turnover ratio. Taylor equaled the school record by appearing in 136 career games, while tallying 464 career assists, second-most in UW annals.
