Legends and leaders, hoops style

No, the Big Ten doesn't start herding its teams into the “Legends” and “Leaders” divisions until next fall.

And, no, the Big Ten won't be doing that for any sport except football.

So why trot out this device for this basketball snapshot?

Because the Big Ten might be in the midst of a season it will never experience again — combining a slew of terrific seniors with a rash of talented newcomers.

In other words, the league has a slew of legends and, yes, leaders.

Legends

Ÿ According to a recent story in the New York Times, Ohio State freshman center Jared Sullinger's father, Satch, claims his youngest son could make a regulation free throw with a regulation basketball when he was 3 years old.

Judging by how well he's playing for the Buckeyes, the 6-foot-9, 280-pound Sullinger will make his first regulation free throw in the NBA when he's 19 years old. As in, he'll be a lottery pick next June if he so desires.

The potential national Player of the Year averages 17.5 points and 10.2 rebounds in just 27.5 minutes per game while shooting 59 percent from the field and 72 percent at the line.

Ÿ Purdue senior guard E'Twaun Moore ranks seventh on school's all-time scoring list with 1,778 points. If he averages 20 points over 20 more games, then he'll edge past Joe Barry Carroll for second on the Boilers' all-time list. He probably can't catch the fabled Rick Mount (2,323 points) for the record.

If Moore (19.6 ppg) can hold off teammate JaJuan Johnson (20.1 ppg) for this year's team scoring title — they're already the nation's top-scoring duo — then Moore will become the first Boilermaker to lead the team in scoring four years in a row.

Ÿ If Illinois senior guard Demetri McCamey maintains his current pace of 7.1 assists per game — a rate he has maintained since the start of his junior year — he'll break Bruce Douglas' school record for assists and finish second to Mateen Cleaves on the Big Ten's all-time list.

In his spare time, McCamey will finish fourth on Illinois' all-time scoring list if he keeps up his 15.7 points per game average. He'll wrap up his career trailing only Deon Thomas, Kiwane Garris and Dee Brown.

Ÿ Wisconsin senior Jon Leuer turned NBA heads with his standout performance against Team USA during the summer. Now he's threatening to become the third Badger in school history to be a first-team all-American and a first-round draft pick.

Not only did the 6-foot-10 forward average 19.8 points and 7.3 rebounds in pre-conference play, he shot 50 percent on 3-pointers (30 of 60). When the Badgers faced Coppin State on Dec. 23, Leuer drilled 3-pointers on Wisconsin's first four possessions.

Overall, Ken Pomeroy's computer-based stats say Leuer ranked third nationally in Offensive Rating through Sunday's games. Basically, that means Leuer is the nation's No. 3 most valuable offensive player in college hoops.

Ÿ Everyone knows senior point guard Talor Battle has done everything for Penn State over the last 3½ years. But this sentence proves just how dominant he has been:

Barring a colossal scoring outage (say, averaging just 10 ppg the rest of the year after averaging 20 ppg to date), Battle will become the first Big Ten player to produce at least 2,000 points, 500 rebounds and 500 assists in his career.

As of now, Battle joins Michigan State's Steve Smith and Ohio State's Evan Turner as the only players to deliver at least 1,500 points, 500 rebounds and 400 assists.

Ÿ Michigan State senior point guard Kalin Lucas was voted the Big Ten's preseason Player of the Year. If Lucas comes through on that promise, he'll join Ohio State's Jim Jackson and MSU's Mateen Cleaves as the only players to win the award twice.

While Lucas has started every game just nine months after rupturing his Achilles' tendon, he has yet to recapture his all-American form. He's averaging 14.9 points per game, but he owns 40 assists versus 33 turnovers. Look for him to improve as his explosiveness returns.

Leaders

Ÿ Northwestern junior forward John Shurna shoots 60.3 percent on his 2-point tries, which is pretty good. But it doesn't match up to his marksmanship on 3-pointers, where he ranks second nationally by shooting at a 62.3 percent clip.

Shurna has developed into a dominant force who not only leads the Big Ten in scoring (23.3 ppg; good for eighth nationally), he has yet to reach his full offensive potential. With opponents starting to focus on his perimeter prowess, the Glenbard West graduate has begun to flash his improving ability to drive to the basket and kick the ball to open teammates.

Shurna enters Big Ten play averaging 3.4 assists per game, but he posted a career-high 8 on Dec. 23 against Mount St. Mary's.

Ÿ Michigan sophomore point guard Darius Morris entered Tuesday's Big Ten opener against Purdue as one of the nation's most improved players.

Not only did he rank third nationally in assists (7.5), he had nearly quadrupled his scoring average from a year ago (4.4 to 15.8).

Ÿ Aside from Ohio State prodigy Jared Sullinger, Minnesota transfer Trevor Mbakwe has been the most impactful Big Ten newcomer. The chiseled power forward entered Tuesday's Big Ten opener at Wisconsin averaging 13.2 points, 9.8 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in just 26.8 minutes per game. He also led the Big Ten in field goal percentage with a 62.2 success rate.

Ÿ Sophomore swingman Eric May has benefited the most from Iowa's coaching change to Fran McCaffery. In addition to leading the Hawkeyes in scoring (11.3 ppg), he leads the Big Ten with 2.2 steals per game and shoots 48 percent on 3-pointers.

Ÿ Indiana sophomore guard Maurice Creek has come along slowly after wrecking his knee almost exactly one year ago. While Creek has started all but one game for the Hoosiers, he's shooting just 39 percent from the field and producing 9.0 points in 20.5 minutes per game.

Last season, before fracturing his left knee on Dec. 28, Creek led the nation's freshmen with 16.4 points per game and shot 53 percent from the field and 45 percent on 3s.

Ÿ If you're wondering how Big Ten newbie Nebraska has been faring, the Cornhuskers are enjoying their longest winning streak in 16 seasons. Nebraska (10-2) owns 8 wins in a row with two easy home games (North Dakota and Savannah State) to go before opening their final Big 12 season.

Nebraska entered Tuesday's games ranked third nationally in points allowed per game (53.9) and will have most of its squad back next season. The Huskers lose just one starter but gain LSU transfer Bo Spencer. The senior guard, who's sitting out this season, averaged 14.5 points for the Tigers last year.