Big thanks to the Big East Basketball Blog for putting together the blogpoll all season long. He has now posted the awards compilation.
BE Bloggers ended up picking Tom Crean as BE Coach of the Year, Aaron Gray was Most Improved.
Yesterday I shared my vote on the Rookie and All-Big East team. Here’s how my vote looked for the individual honors.
Player of the Year: Allen Ray
Most Improved: Aaron Gray
Defensive Player of the Year: Marquis Webb
Coach of the Year: Louis Orr
Freshman of the Year: Dominic James
Not surprisingly, James was a unanimous choice. A freshman running the point so well made Marquette a big surprise and the best C-USA escapee in the BE this season.
Going into the season, I expected Seton Hall to be the worst team in the BE this season. The way they imploded last season, kicked players off the team, early departures and all the reports swirling around Louis Orr. The start they got off to did nothing to dispel that impression. Yet, they somehow, stayed together and got better deeper into the season. It’s a credit to their team, and they far exceeded anything I could have expected. Orr deserves the credit for how he kept that team together, despite being an obvious lame-duck.
The Big East won’t make official announcements on these awards until the dinner tonight.