Michigan State basketball: Tyson Walker makes All-Big Ten second team

Tyson Walker was the only Michigan State basketball player to make one of the three All-Big Ten teams on Tuesday.

With the Big Ten Tournament right around the corner, it’s time for the end-of-season awards to be handed out. This includes awards such as Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, and Sixth man of the Year. Other awards included in this are the first, second, and third-team All-Big Ten.

Tyson Walker is the only Michigan State basketball player to make any of the All-Big Ten teams, as both the media and coaches put him on the second team. This is a huge accomplishment and honor for Tyson, but only being on the second team is very surprising to me.

In my opinion, Walker should have been on the first team instead.

2⃣nd team: pic.twitter.com/wPP9QOvUAY

— Big Ten Network (@BigTenNetwork) March 12, 2024

Tyson should’ve made the first team

Tyson Walker finished the regular season averaging 18.4 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game. These stats are more than good enough to make the All-Big Ten first team, so why wasn’t he included? Maybe Michigan State’s below-average record held him back. Normally I would agree with this opinion, but it doesn’t make sense in this scenario. Let me explain.

One of the members of the All-Big Ten first team is Maryland’s Jahmir Young. He had an excellent season, and even had slightly better averages across the board this year than Walker. But if team record matters in this, which it seems like it did for Walker, then Young should not be included. Maryland not only finished 12th in the Big Ten, but they also lost to Michigan State twice this year. So if MSU’s record is holding Walker back, it should’ve held Young back even more.

Another player included in the first team that I don’t agree with is Terrence Shannon Jr.. Is he one of the top five players in the Big Ten? Most likely. But he missed one month of the Big Ten season due to a suspension, so that alone would exclude him from the first team for me.

The four other players on the first team include Zach Edey, Boo Buie, Braden Smith, and Marcus Domask. I think all of them should be above Walker in this voting. But I just can’t get over how Shannon and Young made the cut over Walker.

Regardless of that, making the second team is still a huge accomplishment. Walker should be extremely proud of what he’s for MSU this year. Now it’s time for him to prove everyone wrong and lead Michigan State on a postseason run.