In all honesty, what else can be said about UW junior guard Devin Harris that has not already been said?
To put it simply, the man did it all this past season, on and off the basketball court, and in the process continued to take the Wisconsin basketball program to even greater heights.
Starting every game during the 2003-'04 campaign as point guard, Harris provided one of the single greatest seasons by a Badger in school history, with many accolades and acclamations in support.
To begin, Harris was named the Big Ten Player of the Year, the first Badger to be given the award since Don Rehfeldt in 1950. In addition, Harris was a unanimous selection for first team all-Big Ten, an undisputed choice as the Big Ten Tournament's Most Outstanding Player, the United States Basketball Writers Association Player of the Year and a finalist for the John R. Wooden Award, the Naismith Award, Adolph F. Rupp Award and Bob Cousy Award. From an all-American perspective, Harris was also a first team all-American for Rivals.com and a second team selection for the Associated Press, ESPN.com, SportsIllustrated.com, FoxSports.com and Sporting News. The list only grows longer from here.
\Individually, Devin had a terrific year establishing himself as one of the best guards in the country and any time you have a season like he had, as a coach, you just feel lucky that you got to be around that,"" said UW Assistant Coach Gary Close.
As a fan, the feeling has to be mutual considering the single-game performances and school records Harris broke during his memorable campaign.
He set the school record for points in a season at 624, free throws attempted (216) and hit (171) in a season and the most number of minutes in a season (1,162). Harris also was second on the school's all-time list for three-pointers made, connecting on 75 shots from downtown this season.
Outside the records, the individual performances throughout the season are also impossible to forget-the career night versus Minnesota Feb. 4, in which Harris tallied 38 points, the three-game span from Jan. 24-Feb. 4 where Harris scored 97 points (the most in a three-game span in school history), and the 29-point performance versus Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament Championship game, which set a tournament record for scoring in a final game.
While to some, this choice may seem like a no-brainer, it was indeed tough to select Harris considering the seasons of senior wide receiver Lee Evans and junior goaltender Bernd Br??ckler. However, Harris epitomized the true Badger athlete and for that reason, The Daily Cardinal has named him its male athlete of the year.
junior Bernd Br??ckler, men's hockey
