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As we look towards conference play, who has put themselves in position to earn certain accolades?

Player of the year:
McDermott still the favorite. James Bell from Villanova could unseat him, but I don't think that is likely. If Creighton were to fall into bubble territory, maybe Bell takes the hardware, but I think Creighton will be a comfortable 4-6 seed and McDermott will win.

Coach of the year:
So far, Jay Wright is the guy. But big McDermott is also a quality candidate if Creighton could win the league. Brandon Miller is also in the running if he can get Butler into the top 3 and Nova falters a bit in conference play.

Rookie of the Year:
Josh Hart, Villanova. Not sure who else is in consideration or will join him on the all rookie team. If you have watched any Nova games this year, Hart looks like a future conference player of the year and nba player.

All Big East team:
First, are we going back to the old ways of 5 players and a 6th (player of the year), or is the conference still using the dozen guys on first team model? I will assume 5 players with a 6th as poy. Also, I don't care much about position in this selection.
Poy - McDermott
- bryce cotton, providence. If providence finishes with a winning conference record, it is pretty much due to this scoring and assists machine. 20 ppg with 5 dimes per, and his team fighting for a tourney berth.
- james bell, villanova. Best player on the best team. (Although nova is a unique team in that they don't rely too heavily on him, and josh hart should be able to fill his role next year)
- jayvaughn pinkston, villanova. Former McDonald's all american has really developed a key role for the wildcats.
- kellen dunham, butler. 19 pts per game, shooting almost 50% from three with 6+ attempts per game. Haven't seen that much of him, but he looks solid so far.

Those 5 are really standing out so far. Others in consideration:
- Khyle Marshall, butler. 16 pts, 7 boards per game.
- d'angelo harrison, st john's. Big scoring numbers (20ppg), but a volume shooter who doesn't do much but jack shots. If the johnnies make the dance, put him on the team. But I hate rewarding ball hog scorers on below average teams with post season awards.
- kameron woods, butler. Averaging nearly a double/double with 9.6 boards and 9.5 pts per game. Again, if butler makes a run at the top of the conference then woods would get some consideration.
- d'vauntes smith-rivera, georgetown. Good points scorer, good distributer, good percentages.
- markel starks, georgetown. He's scoring points and dropping dimes. Part of a nice two headed back court with smith rivera. I think starks and smith-rivera kind of cancel themselves out. (Also notice that josh smith is not on this list. Grab some boards and run the floor a bit and maybe he would have a chance)
- samaj christon, xavier. Shows potential in some games, disappears completely in others. Perhaps the best nba talent in the conference, but I don't see him as worthy of all conference placement at this time. I understand he had the flu or something for a couple of the games, but unless xavier cleans up their act a bit I would put him on the second or third team.
- devante gardner, marquette. Nothing to see here, averaging 13.8 pts with 6.5 boards. Rather pedestrian stats for a team that has really struggled.
- jakarr sampson, st johns. Dark horse to make first team if he continues to improve. Playing along with d'angelo harris can't be much fun, but sampson is doing allright with his opportunitues. Stats as of now are similar to gardner's, but his upside is much higher.

Friarfan2 wrote:As we look towards conference play, who has put themselves in position to earn certain accolades?

Player of the year:
McDermott still the favorite. James Bell from Villanova could unseat him, but I don't think that is likely. If Creighton were to fall into bubble territory, maybe Bell takes the hardware, but I think Creighton will be a comfortable 4-6 seed and McDermott will win.

Coach of the year:
So far, Jay Wright is the guy. But big McDermott is also a quality candidate if Creighton could win the league. Brandon Miller is also in the running if he can get Butler into the top 3 and Nova falters a bit in conference play.

Rookie of the Year:
Josh Hart, Villanova. Not sure who else is in consideration or will join him on the all rookie team. If you have watched any Nova games this year, Hart looks like a future conference player of the year and nba player.

All Big East team:
First, are we going back to the old ways of 5 players and a 6th (player of the year), or is the conference still using the dozen guys on first team model? I will assume 5 players with a 6th as poy. Also, I don't care much about position in this selection.
Poy - McDermott
- bryce cotton, providence. If providence finishes with a winning conference record, it is pretty much due to this scoring and assists machine. 20 ppg with 5 dimes per, and his team fighting for a tourney berth.
- james bell, villanova. Best player on the best team. (Although nova is a unique team in that they don't rely too heavily on him, and josh hart should be able to fill his role next year)
- jayvaughn pinkston, villanova. Former McDonald's all american has really developed a key role for the wildcats.
- kellen dunham, butler. 19 pts per game, shooting almost 50% from three with 6+ attempts per game. Haven't seen that much of him, but he looks solid so far.

Those 5 are really standing out so far. Others in consideration:
- Khyle Marshall, butler. 16 pts, 7 boards per game.
- d'angelo harrison, st john's. Big scoring numbers (20ppg), but a volume shooter who doesn't do much but jack shots. If the johnnies make the dance, put him on the team. But I hate rewarding ball hog scorers on below average teams with post season awards.
- kameron woods, butler. Averaging nearly a double/double with 9.6 boards and 9.5 pts per game. Again, if butler makes a run at the top of the conference then woods would get some consideration.
- d'vauntes smith-rivera, georgetown. Good points scorer, good distributer, good percentages.
- markel starks, georgetown. He's scoring points and dropping dimes. Part of a nice two headed back court with smith rivera. I think starks and smith-rivera kind of cancel themselves out. (Also notice that josh smith is not on this list. Grab some boards and run the floor a bit and maybe he would have a chance)
- samaj christon, xavier. Shows potential in some games, disappears completely in others. Perhaps the best nba talent in the conference, but I don't see him as worthy of all conference placement at this time. I understand he had the flu or something for a couple of the games, but unless xavier cleans up their act a bit I would put him on the second or third team.
- devante gardner, marquette. Nothing to see here, averaging 13.8 pts with 6.5 boards. Rather pedestrian stats for a team that has really struggled.
- jakarr sampson, st johns. Dark horse to make first team if he continues to improve. Playing along with d'angelo harris can't be much fun, but sampson is doing allright with his opportunitues. Stats as of now are similar to gardner's, but his upside is much higher.

Nice list.

Harrison doesn't deserve the bad rap though. He shot a lot the last two year because he had to. He has been a great teammate this year and has become a more well rounded player. When all is said and done, I think he will be one of the most popular St. John's players in their history. Kid flat out wants to win and plays with a lot of heart.

Friarfan2 wrote:As we look towards conference play, who has put themselves in position to earn certain accolades?


Coach of the year:
So far, Jay Wright is the guy. But big McDermott is also a quality candidate if Creighton could win the league. Brandon Miller is also in the running if he can get Butler into the top 3 and Nova falters a bit in conference play.

I am gong to homer you on Coach of the Year (to date). Butler was picked bottom half of the league. Creighton and Villanova were picked top third of the league and nationally ranked. Gotta go with my home boy so far, Brandon Miller COY.

Hey, miller is definitely in the conversation. I made note of him. Jay wright's team was an unranked bubble projected team entering this year, now they are a win on saturday from 1 seed discussion. That is national coach of the year material.

If miller has butler in the top 3 in the conference, and 5 seed'ish, and nova drops down a bit to 4 seed range, and creighton is still in that range, I would go with miller for coach of the year. If a guy like jay wright is finishing top 5 in the nation for coach of the year, I would hope he wins conference coach of the year (I hate when conferences award a guy who isn't as well regarded on the national level because locally he outperformed expectations more. Think that is stupid.)

Love what miller is doing so far, and tons of basketball to be played.

HoosierPal wrote:

Friarfan2 wrote:As we look towards conference play, who has put themselves in position to earn certain accolades?


Coach of the year:
So far, Jay Wright is the guy. But big McDermott is also a quality candidate if Creighton could win the league. Brandon Miller is also in the running if he can get Butler into the top 3 and Nova falters a bit in conference play.

I am gong to homer you on Coach of the Year (to date). Butler was picked bottom half of the league. Creighton and Villanova were picked top third of the league and nationally ranked. Gotta go with my home boy so far, Brandon Miller COY.

Um...Nova was picked 4th ( and not nationally ranked) and Butler 8th. Not sure preseason expectations is your best argument.

Let's be honest. A lot of you were questioning whether or not Butler should even be in the conference sans Brad Stevens. When will you all accept the inevitable truth that there is something to The Butler Way that trumps 5 star recruits and talent? In the mean time the Celtics are currently the 4 seed in the East.

Butler has been told it can't accomplish things repeatedly over the past 20 years and it just keeps getting the job done. 'Nova is about to see what I mean as it closes out 2013 with a loss at Hinkle.

GumbyDamnit! wrote:

HoosierPal wrote:

Friarfan2 wrote:As we look towards conference play, who has put themselves in position to earn certain accolades?


Coach of the year:
So far, Jay Wright is the guy. But big McDermott is also a quality candidate if Creighton could win the league. Brandon Miller is also in the running if he can get Butler into the top 3 and Nova falters a bit in conference play.

I am gong to homer you on Coach of the Year (to date). Butler was picked bottom half of the league. Creighton and Villanova were picked top third of the league and nationally ranked. Gotta go with my home boy so far, Brandon Miller COY.

Um...Nova was picked 4th ( and not nationally ranked) and Butler 8th. Not sure preseason expectations is your best argument.

GumbyDamnit! wrote:

HoosierPal wrote:

Friarfan2 wrote:As we look towards conference play, who has put themselves in position to earn certain accolades?


Coach of the year:
So far, Jay Wright is the guy. But big McDermott is also a quality candidate if Creighton could win the league. Brandon Miller is also in the running if he can get Butler into the top 3 and Nova falters a bit in conference play.

I am gong to homer you on Coach of the Year (to date). Butler was picked bottom half of the league. Creighton and Villanova were picked top third of the league and nationally ranked. Gotta go with my home boy so far, Brandon Miller COY.

Um...Nova was picked 4th ( and not nationally ranked) and Butler 8th. Not sure preseason expectations is your best argument.

Sports Illustrated preseason poll had Villanova 37th in the nation and dancing. Butler not on the list. I stand by my man Miller. [Marquette was 15th, Creighton 17th and Georgetown 33rd. I still have the issue.]

NewBigEastConf wrote:Let's be honest. A lot of you were questioning whether or not Butler should even be in the conference sans Brad Stevens. When will you all accept the inevitable truth that there is something to The Butler Way that trumps 5 star recruits and talent? In the mean time the Celtics are currently the 4 seed in the East.

Butler has been told it can't accomplish things repeatedly over the past 20 years and it just keeps getting the job done. 'Nova is about to see what I mean as it closes out 2013 with a loss at Hinkle.

Butler was always a no-brainer for the league. Xavier as well. The only team that was in question was Creighton because of distance, and I'm pretty sure everybody thinks that was the right choice at this point.

Horses Ass Award?????????? And the winner is....... Providence College's vice president of student affairs Kristine Goodwin for the cowerdly way she handled the Freshman suspensions from the start and then let the news out as everyone was running for the doors for Christmas knowing she wouldn't be around to take any of the heat!!!!! Supporting Horses Asses have to go to Rev Shanley and Bob Driscoll for looking the other way and letting Goodwin do as she pleased.......

Look, miller is in the conversation. But when the conference has a guy who is one of the national frontrunners for the award, he should win the conference version.

I hate the mid-major attitude of, "well, we weren't picked to be good but now we are a bubble team" as being more of an accomplishment than "well, we were picked as a bubble team but now we are a national contender".