NEW YORK (AP) — St. John’s forward Zuby Ejiofor was the only unanimous selection Sunday on an All-Big East first team that included an unprecedented three players from No. 4 UConn.
Ejiofor propelled Red Storm, 18th (25-6, 18-2), to his second consecutive regular season title, averaging 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists and 1.8 blocks in championship games.
Advertisement
He is the only player in high-level college basketball to lead his team and rank in the top 10 in his conference in each of these four statistical categories.
Silas Demary Jr., Alex Karaban and Tarris Reed Jr. directed UConn (27-4, 17-3) the first school to place three players on the All-Big East first team in a single season. Joining them on the team were Butler’s Michael Ajayi and Xavier’s Tre Carroll. Voting was conducted by the league’s head coaches, who were not allowed to vote for their own players.
The player of the year award will be given to one of those six on Wednesday, when the coach of the year and freshman also will be revealed at a news conference at Madison Square Garden hours before the start of the Big East tournament.
UConn guard Solo Ball and St. John’s forward Bryce Hopkins headlined the All-Big East second team, which also included Seton Hall guard Budd Clark, Villanova guard Acaden Lewis and conference scoring champion Jaylin Sellers of Providence.
Advertisement
Due to a tie in voting, the third team had six players: Villanova teammates Duke Brennan and Tyler Perkins, Butler guard Finley Bizjack, Georgetown guard KJ Lewis, Marquette guard Nigel James Jr. and St. John’s forward Dillon Mitchell.
James and Acaden Lewis were unanimously selected to the All-Freshman team, along with UConn’s Braylon Mullins and Providence’s Stefan Vaaks. Jamier Jones of Providence also made it.
Ejiofor, the conference preseason player of the year, was also the only unanimous choice for the Big East defensive first team, which included Marquette’s Mitchell, Clark, Demary and Chase Ross.
___
Advertisement
Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Register here And here (AP mobile app). AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-basketball-poll And https://apnews.com/hub/college-basketball
