Storm's Hardy, Burrell are award winners

In a conference loaded with talent, St. John's guard Dwight Hardy and forward Justin Burrell won two of the four major individual awards announced Monday by the Big East Conference. Hardy was named the league's Most Improved Player and Burrell was voted by the league's coaches as winner of the Sixth Man Award.

The coaches, who aren't allowed to vote for their own players, also named Syracuse forward Rick Jackson Defensive Player of the Year and gave the Sportsmanship Award to Pittsburgh guard Brad Wanamaker. Jackson led the league in rebounding (10.7) and blocked shots (2.5). Wanamaker guided Pitt to the regular-season title with a 15-3 record, averaging 11.9 points and 5.2 assists.

Hardy's name was nowhere to be found on the list of preseason player award projections, but he previously was named to the All-Big East first team as the league's fourth-leading scorer with a 17.9 average. Last season, Hardy came off the bench for all but two games, but he turned into a sometimes dominant scorer this season. In the process, he changed his game from focusing primarily on outside shooting to developing a midrange game and driving to the rim.

Burrell averaged 6.6 points and 5.0 rebounds in 21.1 minutes per game off the bench. He shot 51.1 percent from the field and led the Red Storm in rebounding eight times. He also is a tenacious defender and a smart passer.

The remaining regular-season awards - Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year - will be announced during the first round of the conference tournament Tuesday at Madison Square Garden.

St. John's dropped from No. 15 in the AP and USA Today polls to No. 17 in the AP poll and No. 18 in the USA Today poll this week.