Big Ten Icons

Maybe you've seen the promo, Big Ten Icons, sponsored by the college athletic conference. They're naming the top 50 student-athletes, and as of this week they're down from #50 (Iowa wrestler Tom Brands) to #10 (Indiana hoopster Isaiah Thomas).

The problem with lists like this is that they purport to be for "all-time" but end up being heavily weighted toward more recent names. What they really mean is the top 50 that people today might remember. So, through #10, you've got 37 who were prominent since 1950 and 4 from before (George Halas, Bronko Nagurski, John Wooden and Otto Graham). Then there's the fact that many of them became household names not for playing sports in college, in the Big Ten, but for what they did later. Halas is a particular case in point. Not only is he best known as the founder and "papa" of the Chicago Bears, he wasn't even particularly prominent as a player. Wooden, by contrast, is best known as the Wizard of Westwood, but the fact is he was one of the best college basketball players in American before WWII.

Then there's the fact that 23 of the top 41 are football players and 10 basketball players, leaving just 8 from other sports. Not to mention that several of the Big Ten Icons never played in the Big Ten. I mean Penn State grads of the '70s and '80s like Jack Ham, Curt Warner and Lavar Arrington. The Nittany Lions joined the Big Ten in 1990. And, finally, some may quibble about just 2 of the top 41 being women.

EDIT: Not to mention, the program is called Big Ten Icons. Not Big Ten Student-Athlete Icons, but Big Ten Icons. Now, who thinks of the Big Ten and doesn't think of Woody Hayes and Bo Schembechler and Bobby Knight? When you dig deep into Big Ten history, who doesn't come up with Amos Alonzo Stagg and Doc Meanwell and Fielding Yost? Of course, the same could be said everywhere. College sports is a coach's game, and the greatest icons tend to be coaches. Or just, "Ohio State halfbacks" from Vic Janowicz and Howard Cassady to Archie Griffin and Eddie George, or Ohio State football or Michigan football or Indiana basketball, for that matter.

Of course, some of these issues will be more easily forgiven depending on how they (the Big Ten Network, sponsors of the promo) do with the top 9 yet to come. I don't agree with many of the existing choices, including some of those mentioned above, but taking them at face value, here is what the final 9 choices should be.

9. John Havlicek, Ohio State basketball

8. Nile Kinnick, Iowa football, died in WWII, Iowa stadium is named after him

7. Jerry Lucas, Ohio State basketball

6. Archie Griffin, Ohio State football, still the only 2-time Heisman Trophy winner

5. Dick Butkus, Illinois, football

4. Dan Gable, Iowa, wrestling, probably the greatest American wrestler who ever lived

3. Magic Johnson, Michigan State basketball

2. Red Grange, Illinois, football, the most famous gridder in America pre-WWII

1. Jesse Owens, Ohio State, track, star of 1936 Olympics

But even if the Big Ten Network picks these 9 in this order, I will still insist that Bob Richards, Eddie Tolan, Willie Heston and Neil Snow, Lou Boudreau, Lou Groza, Walter Eckersall, Jim Parker, Rick Mount and Gary Hall belong on the list ahead of Arrington, Halas, Chuck Long, Warner, Ham, Quinn Buckner and others.

Basketball

Assuming for the moment that I've guessed the final 9 correctly, then the basketball part of the list looks like this.

3. Magic Johnson, Michigan State

7. Jerry Lucas, Ohio State

9. John Havlicek, Ohio State

10. Isaiah Thomas, Indiana

12. John Wooden, Purdue

17. Steve Alford, Indiana

27. Glen Rice, Michigan

28. Quinn Buckner, Indiana

29. Cazzie Russell, Michigan

32. Scott May, Indiana

35. Glen Robinson, Purdue

38. Calbert Cheaney, Indiana

Well, I think that Chris Webber would be a lock to make the Top 50, but now that means he'll be top 9. And how can you rank Glen Robinson and Calbert Cheaney and not Jimmy Jackson? I have no idea which of my top 9 they would bump out of there, because neither of them is better than Red Grange or Dick Butkus or Jerry Lucas.

But more to the point, this list does a huge disservice to the history of Big Ten basketball. Any fair reading of college basketball history would have to raise these names, and Big Ten Icons doesn't (or, at least, hasn't):

Chris Steinmetz, Wisconsin 1905

John Schommer, Chicago 1909

Branch McCracken, Indiana 1930

Jimmy Hull, Ohio State 1939

Gene Englund, Wisconsin 1941

Andy Phillip, Illinois 1943

Don Schlundt, Indiana 1955

Terry Dischinger, Purdue 1962

Rick Mount, Purdue 1970

And so, among all of the names mentioned above, here is my all-time all-Big Ten basketball stars.

All-Time All-Big Ten

First Team

Magic Johnson, Michigan State 1979 MVP

Jerry Lucas, Ohio State 1962

Isaiah Thomas, Indiana 1981

John Wooden, Purdue 1932

Cazzie Russell, Michigan 1965

Second Team

John Schommer, Chicago 1909

Don Schlundt, Indiana 1955

Terry Dischinger, Purdue 1962

Chris Webber, Michigan 1993

Rick Mount, Purdue 1970

Third Team

Steve Alford, Indiana 1987

Andy Phillip, Illiniois 1943

Branch McCracken, Indiana 1930

Gene Englund, Wisconsin 1941

Glen Rice, Michigan 1979

EDIT: Finally, the Real Big Ten Icons

1. Ohio State Football

2. Michigan Football

3. Jesse Owens

4. Red Grange

5. Woody Hayes

6. Magic Johnson

7. Indiana Basketball

8. Amos Alonzo Stagg

9. Jack Nicklaus

10. Bobby Knight

11. Dick Butkus

12. Bronko Nagurski

13. Bo Schembechler and Fielding Yost

14. John Wooden

15. Bernie Bierman and Minnesota Football

16. Dan Gable and Iowa Wrestling

17. Bubba Smith

18. Isaiah Thomas

19. Archie Griffin

20. Doc Meanwell

21. Piggy Lambert

22. Herb Brooks

23. Michigan Ice Hockey

24. Purdue Basketball

25. Jerry Lucas

26. Joe Paterno and Penn State Football

27. The Ohio State Halfbacks--Janowicz, Cassady, George

28. Otto Graham

29. Badger Bob Johnson

30. Vivian Stringer

31. Mark Spitz

32. Illinois Football

33. Nile Kinnick

34. John Havlicek

35. Tom Izzo

36. Wisconsin Basketball

37. Branch McCracken

38. Bob Richards

39. Eddie Tolan

40. Alex Karras

41. Joe Raycroft

42. Michigan State Basketball and Michigan State Football

43. Willie Heston and Neil Snow

44. Lou Boudreau

45. Indiana Soccer and Coach Jerry Yeaghley

46. Paul Brown

47. Walter Eckersall

48. Vic Heyliger

49. Tom Harmon

50. Biggie Munn and Duffy Daugherty

51. Doc Councilman and Indiana Swimming

52. The Purdue QB from Bob Griese and Mike Phipps to Mark Herrman and Drew Brees

53. Fritz Crisler

54. Jim Parker

55. Jay Berwanger

56. Gary Hall

57. Rick Mount

58. Lou Groza

59. Chick Harley

60. Troy Smith

61. Bronco Horvath

62. George Sisler

63. Red Berenson

64. John Schommer

65. Bob Zuppke

66. Wisconsin Ice Hockey

67. Jud Heathcote

68. Bud Foster

69. Elroy Hirsch

70. Michigan Swimming and Ohio State Swimming

71. Penn State Gymnastics

72. Steve Alford

73. Cazzie Russell, Glen Rice and Chris Webber

74. Alan Ameche

75. Kent Benson and Scott May