The Gophers proved they had one of the best inside-outside tandems in the Big Ten this season with Jordan Murphy and Amir Coffey earning all-conference honors Monday.
Murphy, a 6-foot-7 senior forward, added to his legacy as the one of the top players in Gophers basketball history by earning All-Big Ten first team honors from the media.
The San Antonio native also was selected all-league second team by the coaches. Murphy averaged 14.5 points and 11.7 rebounds this season, which included leading the Big Ten in rebounding overall for the second straight season.
Murphy's 1,270 rebounds ranks No. 2 in Big Ten history behind only former Ohio State star Jerry Lucas' 1,411 rebounds from 1959-62.
Coffey, who led the U in scoring with 16 points per game, was named to the All-Big Ten third team by the coaches and media.
The 6-foot-8 junior from Hopkins was named Big Ten player of the week Monday for the second straight week after scoring 32 points in the upset over No. 11 Purdue and 23 points in the regular season finale at Maryland.
Coffey came on strong to finish the regular season with 86 points in his last three games, which included back-to-back 30-point games in wins vs. Northwestern and Purdue. No Gopher accomplished that fete since Vincent Grier in 2005.
The Gophers (19-12, 9-11), who are the No. 7 seed, open the Big Ten tournament Thursday against No. 10 seed Penn State at the United Center in Chicago.
