The Big East announced it’s indvidual awards. Emeka Okafor of UConn won Big East Player and Defensive Player of the year honors. No shock there. In fact the awards were pretty much as expected, with Pitt winning the rest. Coach Jamie Dixon won Coach of the Year; Chris Taft — Rookie of the Year; Carl Krauser — Most Improved Player; and Jaron Brown — Sportsmanship Award.

Dixon is in his first year as head coach of the Panthers. For the previous four seasons, he was the team’s associate head coach under Ben Howland. Dixon guided the 2003-04 team to a 27-3 overall record and the program’s third straight 13-3 BIG EAST mark. The Panthers are the regular season league champions and the top seed in The BIG EAST Championship. Dixon’s selection marks the first time in conference history that the Coach of the Year award was won by someone who is in his first year as a head coach.

Taft, a 6-10 native of Coney Island, N.Y., became an immediate force in the paint for the Panthers. The freshman averaged 11.4 points and a team-leading 7.7 rebounds. He shot 57.1 percent from the field. Taft was named BIG EAST Rookie of the Week six times.

Krauser, a 6-2 sophomore guard, moved into the starting lineup this season after backing up standout Brandin Knight. Krauser averaged 6.0 points and 2.9 assists last year. This season, the native of the Bronx, N.Y. is first on the team with a 15.3 scoring average and a 4.8 assist mark while directing the Panthers to their regular season crown.

Brown has been a part of the most successful Panther tenure in BIG EAST history. In his four seasons, Pittsburgh has compiled a 103-28 record. On the court, Brown averaged 11.9 points and 5.5 rebounds. Off the court, he has been nominated for several campus honors involving academic and athletic excellence, including the Senior of Distinction Award.

Cool.