Former Big Ten basketball stars enjoy different paths overseas

By Sean Merriman, BTN.com web editor, 3 years ago

Robbie Hummel has experienced life in the NBA, while Trevor Mbakwe and Brian Randle have not. Getting to that level, or back there in Hummel’s case, remains the ultimate goal for all three of these former Big Ten basketball stars. But for now, they are all doing the next best thing. After spending the past two seasons in the NBA with the Minnesota Timberwolves, Hummel, a former Purdue standout, is currently playing in Italy for Armani Milano. He returned to the states this week as Milano took on Maccabi Tel Aviv Thursday night at the United Center. The game was

Big Ten Geeks: Bricks, a whole lot of bricks

By josh, 5 years ago

It was a terrible shooting weekend for the title contenders. Collectively, Indiana, Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Michigan were 14 for 76 from three this weekend. Two of those teams nonetheless found a way to win. Thanks to Trey Burke’s rip of Keith Appling in the final minute of play, Michigan was able to defend its home court against the Spartans. Although this was a hard fought game, neither team played particularly well on the offensive end. Michigan missed all 12 of its three-point attempts, while Michigan State managed to make just 41 percent of its two-pointers. Credit the defense if

Big Ten survey: Toughest player in men's hoops?

By Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, 5 years ago

Yes, the object in basketball is score. You need athletes, shooters, passers and rebounders. But good teams also possess toughness. You don’t have to be 6-10, 250 pounds to be tough. Nope, toughness comes in many shapes and sizes. I think back to some past Big Ten players who embodied what I felt was true toughness—players like Ohio State’s Chris Jent, Michigan’s Steve Grote, Michigan State’s Mateen Cleaves, Iowa’s Jess Settles and Purdue’s Jim Rowinski—among others. Those guys were bulldogs who gave no quarter while on the floor, true warriors. Who is the Big Ten’s toughest player? Using a rather

Trevor Mbakwe gets swat, then big-time slam

By Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor, 5 years ago

It took Trevor Mbakwe most of the nonconference season to work his way back from last year’s season-ending knee surgery. Either that, or Tubby Smith just decided to bring him back slowly. It was probably the latter, come to think of it, but the sixth-year senior sure looks good now. In Sunday’s win over Northwestern, we saw Mbakwe at his best, blocking a shot on one end and hammering down a powerful dunk on the other. Watch the sequence now. [ RELATED: Watch 2012-13 slams in our Big Ten Dunk Archive ] Quite impressive, no? One thing’s for sure: BTN

Nov 27, 2012; Bloomington, IN, USA; Indiana Hoosiers guard Yogi Ferrell (11) is guarded by North Carolina Tar Heels guard Dexter Strickland (1) at Assembly Hall. Mandatory Credit: Brian Spurlock-US PRESSWIRE

Big Ten Geeks: Christmas Wishlist, Part I

By josh, 6 years ago

As we finish up non-conference play, we’re getting a better picture of where the teams stack up, and where they have holes to fill. No team is perfect, so everyone could stand to benefit from some gifts from Santa (or whoever). Here’s a rundown of what everyone needs. Illinois (11-0) Illinois’ fast start has been powered by its hot outside shooting. Not only are the Illini making a lot of 3s (39.6 percent), but over 40 percent of their attempts have come from three-point range. That’s good for the 11 wins John Groce’s team has banked, but can the Illini

Minnesota's Mbakwe tweets 2012-13 guarantee

By Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor, 6 years ago

Trevor Mbakwe is very confident in his team, to the point that he’s making a guarantee. The Minnesota power forward tweeted Saturday night that he’ll pay back this season’s scholarship if the Gophers don’t make the NCAA tournament. See the tweet in this post, plus a couple follow up ones. https://twitter.com/TMbakwe32/status/264973948125581312 Mbakwe followed up with these tweets: https://twitter.com/TMbakwe32/status/264974693801529344 https://twitter.com/TMbakwe32/status/264977912720154624 Mbakwe missed all but seven games last year after suffering a season-ending ACL injury. The Gophers survived without their best player, making the NIT and advancing all the way to the NIT finals in New York City. With Mbakwe set to

Player Rankings: No. 4 Trevor Mbakwe

By Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor, 6 years ago

BTN.com’s Brent Yarina is in the middle of unveiling his 2012-13 preseason Big Ten Player Rankings one by one. The countdown goes in reverse order, of course, and each installment includes player stats and one video highlight from last season. Once the season starts, Yarina will release a weekly Player Rankings every Monday. Up next, at No. 4: Minnesota’s Trevor Mbakwe. THE COUNTDOWN No. 10: Jared Berggren, Sr., Wisconsin No. 9: Branden Dawson, So., Michigan State No. 8: Keith Appling, Jr., Michigan State No. 7: Drew Crawford, Sr., Northwestern No. 6: Aaron Craft, Jr., Ohio State No. 5: Tim Frazier,

Two Big Ten stars make SI.com's top 10 seniors

By Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor, 6 years ago

Indiana’s Jordan Hulls and Minnesota’s Trevor Mbakwe were listed on Andy Glockner’s 10 most important seniors for the 2012-13 season. Hulls, one of the nation’s elite shooters, is a career 47.4 percent from the field, while Mbakwe, who missed all but seven games last year due to a knee injury, owns 23 career double-doubles. See what Glockner says about both players in this post. Here’s what Glockner says about the two stars: Hulls: “Incoming point guard Yogi Farrell is arriving with considerable hype for the potential preseason No. 1 Hoosiers, but they still should get significant contributions from Hulls, their

Trevor Mbakwe delights on Twitter

By Brent Yarina, BTN.com Senior Editor, 6 years ago

What were you doing around 1 p.m. ET Monday? Chances are, you weren’t having as much fun as Minnesota basketball player Trevor Mbakwe. In the wake of announcing he will use his sixth year of eligibility and return to the Gophers for the 2012-13 season, Mbakwe went to Twitter (@TMbakwe 32), started a hashtag, #imgetting2old4college, and got to tweeting. The result: Hilarity. See the 23-year-old star’s entertaining series of self deprecating tweets in this post. I'M BACK GOPHERNATION!!!!!! I promise this will be my last year though. I'm running out of classes to take lol — Trevor Mbakwe (@TMbakwe32) April

Minnesota's Mbakwe will return to Gophers

By BTN.com staff, 6 years ago

It’s been expected for a while now, but Trevor Mbakwe announced Monday afternoon that he will use his sixth year of eligibility and return to the Minnesota basketball program for the 2012-13 season. “I have decided to remain at the University of Minnesota and am looking forward to the upcoming season,” Mbakwe said in a school release. “I think it is beneficial for many reasons. It gives me the opportunity to play another year of college basketball and hopefully contribute to a team that showed it can be dangerous. “It also provides me with the opportunity to leave the university

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