Our Big East Awards

With the Big East All-League teams being handed out Monday and the individual awards Tuesday, we figured we'd get our selections out of the way now. Realize, though, that we do not receive a vote. As far as we know, no writers actually vote on the Big East Postseason Awards. We are skipping the Sportsmanship and Scholar-Athlete Awards because, well, we don't know the GPA's around the league and who has been good at picking guys up off the floor when they are down.

We'll start with the Individual Awards:
Player of the Year: This is tough, but you have to look to Georgetown for this award. The Hoyas won 11 games in a row in the conference and won the league title despite a slow start. Since Georgetown demolished Notre Dame on Jan. 6, the Hoyas demolished the league. On this team, though, it is difficult to pick a player. You could look at 7-foot center Roy Hibbert, who also leads the Big East in field goal percentage. But we're going to go with an unconventional choice statistically. Junior Jeff Green doesn't show up at the top of many stat sheets, but he is the guy who leads the Hoyas in scoring, assists and is second in rebounds. Plus, the forward makes 51.6 percent of his shots and is a tough defensive presence on the league's top team.
Our pick: Jeff Green, F, Georgetown. Others considered: Hibbert; Demetris Nichols, Syracuse; Herbert Hill, Providence; Aaron Gray, Pittsburgh.

Coach of the Year: This one should be pretty easy to decipher. Louisville's Rick Pitino turned around a team that started off the season looking like a middle of the pack team at best. Georgetown's John Thompson III led his team to a conference title. But Notre Dame's Mike Brey took a team NIT-bound before the season and steered the Irish toward a first-round bye in the Big East Tournament and a certain NCAA berth. Plus, he dealt with adversity -- his starting point guard, Kyle McAlarney, was suspended for the semester after a marijuana charge and his replacement was freshman Tory Jackson. Jackson grew with Brey's help into one of the league's top rookies. Combine it with the fact that Brey is classy -- if you didn't notice, Brey and his assistants were clapping seemingly in honor of Rutgers' seniors when they were taken out of the game for the last time Saturday -- and you get the whole package in a coach this year.
Our pick: Mike Brey, Notre Dame. Others considered: Thompson III; Pitino; John Beilein, West Virginia.

Rookie of the Year: The Big East is full of good rookies this year, but there is one that stands out way above the others. Notre Dame's Tory Jackson emerged into a leader. Seton Hall's Eugene Harvey will be one of the league's best players next year. Cincinnati's Deonta Vaughn is providing hope for an otherwise listless Bearcats team. But none possess what Scottie Reynolds brings to Villanova. He dropped 40 points on Connecticut and seems to be in almost every big play for the Wildcats, which now look like an NCAA Tournament team. He's 15th in the league in scoring and tied for 10th in assists. Plus, he has the signature game.
Our pick: Scottie Reynolds, Villanova. Others considered: Jackson, Harvey, Vaughn, Luke Harangody, Notre Dame; Jerome Dyson, Connecticut.

Most Improved Player: This is a tough award, if for no other reason than it also melds together some Player of the Year candidates as well. Notre Dame has two guys who could win the award -- senior Russell Carter and junior Rob Kurz -- but the guy who should win is the one who single-handedly made his team into a bubble team for the NCAA Tournament. Herbert Hill was our runner-up for Player of the Year in the middle of the season. He finished second in the league in scoring and fifth in rebounding and might have played his way into the NBA.
Our pick: Herbert Hill, Providence. Others considered: Carter; Kurz; Kentrell Gransberry, South Florida.

Defensive Player of the Year: Hibbert can change games with his lanky frame in the middle, always a force to block shots. Marquette guards Dominic James and Jerel McNeal both cause headaches for opponents and can fluster guards. But we're going to go with a little-known player here -- one that doesn't even start every game for his team. Seton Hall's Paul Gause leads the Big East in steals with 3.10 per game in a little more than 25 minutes a contest. Pirates' coach Bobby Gonzalez called him his team's X-factor during the season. And before you criticize too much, we know Seton Hall was the worst defensive team in the league. We don't think it should take away from one player's individual performance.
Our pick: Paul Gause, Seton Hall. Others considered: Hibbert; James; McNeal.

All Rookie Team (10 players): Jerome Dyson (Connecticut); Luke Harangody (Notre Dame); Paul Harris (Syracuse); Eugene Harvey (Seton Hall); Tory Jackson (Notre Dame); Scottie Reynolds (Villanova); Edgar Sosa (Louisville); DaJuan Summers (Georgetown); Hasheem Thabeet (Connecticut); Deonta Vaughn (Cincinnati).

First Team Big East (11 players): Jeff Adrien (Connecticut); Russell Carter (Notre Dame); Colin Falls (Notre Dame); Kentrell Gransberry (South Florida); Aaron Gray (Pittsburgh); Jeff Green (Georgetown); Roy Hibbert (Georgetown); Herbert Hill (Providence); Dominic James (Marquette); Demetris Nichols (Syracuse); Curtis Sumpter (Villanova).
-By Michael Rothstein of The Journal Gazette