Three Golden Eagles Named To All-Big East Men’s Basketball Teams

The Big East loves announcing the postseason awards for men’s basketball in drips and drabs because this results in repeated media attention as each successive press release comes out. With three Marquette players amongst the 11 men honored on the First and Second Teams, I am more than happy to help and talk to you about the All-Conference Teams.

Junior point guard Tyler Kolek is one of the six players on the All-Big East First Team, while junior forward/center Oso Ighodaro and sophomore guard Kam Jones are on the Second Team. Kolek is one of two unanimous players on the First Team along with Providence’s Bryce Hopkins, and thus it is safe to say that one of those two men will be announced as Player of the Year later this week.

Big East Conference

Big East Conference

Keeping in mind that coaches can not vote for their own players but “unanimous” means that all 10 other coaches did vote for a player, I am fascinated by the voting for the First Team. There is at least one coach in the Big East who could have voted for all of Adama Sanogo, Jordan Hawkins, Ryan Kalkbrenner, and Souley Boum…. And did not. That’s definitely a choice being made by (presumably) multiple someones across the league.

Let’s head over to the Marquette press release on the awards, as the team gets to be more in detail than the league office. First, for Kolek:

Kolek is ranked among the BIG EAST leaders in five categories and tops the conference (second in the nation) in assists per game (7.9). He has collected three-straight double-doubles and is also fourth in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.37).

And Ighodaro:

Ighodaro is one of the league’s most improved players and is currently ranked among the top players in the BIG EAST in field goal percentage (3rd, .656 – 6th in nation), rebounds (16th, 5.8) and assists per game (14th, 3.3). He has scored double figures in 24 outings and owns a trio of double-doubles.

And Jones:

Jones leads the team in scoring with 15.3 points per game and is ninth in the BIG EAST. He is one of the league’s top 3-point shooters and has scored double figures in 24-of-31 games and is ranked second in the conference in treys per game (2.8).

The Big East will announce Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, Sixth Man Award and Sportsmanship Award will announce Monday, March 6, while the identities of Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year will be announced on Wednesday, March 8.

Marquette returns to action in the Big East tournament quarterfinals, when they will play at 11am Central. Their opponent is still a mystery, as they will get the winner of the 8/9 game between St. John’s and Butler.

Here’s the full rundown on all the All-Big East Teams.

ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM

Jordan Hawkins, Connecticut, G, So.
Adama Sanogo, Connecticut, F, Jr.
Ryan Kalkbrenner, Creighton, C, Jr.
*Tyler Kolek, Marquette, G, Jr.
*Bryce Hopkins, Providence, F, So.
Souley Boum, Xavier, G, Gr.

ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM

Oso Ighodaro, Marquette, F, Jr.
Kam Jones, Marquette, G, So.
Joel Soriano, St. John’s, C, Sr.
Eric Dixon, Villanova, F, R-Jr.
Colby Jones, Xavier, G, Jr.

ALL-BIG EAST HONORABLE MENTION

Trey Alexander, Creighton, G, So.
Baylor Scheierman, Creighton, G, Sr.
Devin Carter, Providence, G, So.
Jack Nunge, Xavier, C, Gr.

BIG EAST ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM

Donovan Clingan, Connecticut, C
*Alex Karaban, Connecticut, F
AJ Storr, St. John’s, G
Mark Armstrong, Villanova, G
*Cam Whitmore, Villanova, F
Desmond Claude, Xavier, G

*Denotes unanimous selection