Roger Rubin: And the Big East awards go to . . .
St. John’s Zuby Ejiofor carries the Big East championship trophy into the locker room after St. John’s defeated Seaton Hall for the title on Friday, March 6, 2026. Credit: St. John's Athletics
The final games of the Big East regular season are complete. The bracket is set for the conference tournament at the Garden that begins on Wednesday. Between now and then, it is the Big East’s “Awards Season.” The 18th-ranked Red Storm already have the most important piece of hardware in the regular season championship trophy, but there should be more on the way in the form of individual awards. Here’s how we see things playing out:
Player of the Year
While the are certain to be those who would make a case for Connecticut stars Silas Demary Jr. or Alex Karaban, there is only one winning argument here and that’s for St. John’s center Zuby Ejiofor. Ejiofor is simply the best player on the outright conference regular season champion and the only high major player to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists and blocks.
Our pick: Zuby Ejiofor, St. John’s
The All-Big East First Teams (6 players)
Zuby Ejiofor, St. John’s; Silas Demary, Jr., UConn; Alex Karaban, UConn; Tre Carroll, Xavier; Michael Ajayi, Butler; Jaylin Sellers, Providence
Coach of the Year
There are really only two ways one could go here and it could be close. One is Seton Hall’s Shaheen Holloway, whose team was picked to finish dead last in the preseason poll of coaches and ended up finishing fourth. The other is Villanova’s Kevin Willard, who took over the program this season and guided it to 15 conference wins, a third-place finish and a certain spot in the NCAA Tournament.
My pick: Shaheen Holloway, Seton Hall
Freshman of the Year
We see a two-man contest between Villanova point guard Acaden Lewis and Marquette point guard Nigel James Jr. (no offense to Providence wing Stefan Vaaks). Lewis was a major reason the Wildcats took third, finished among the conference’s 20 top scorers with a 12.5-point average and was second in assists at 5.3 per game. James was top five in scoring (16.4 points), assists (5.2) and field goal percentage (48%).
My pick: Nigel James, Jr., Marquette
Sixth Man of the Year
Plenty of qualified candidates, but none were the difference-maker that St. John’s back-up point guard Dylan Darling was. He started just nine of 31 games, and the Idaho State transfer needed time to adjust to Big East play, but he became one of the conference’s most tenacious and clutch players. He made game-winning plays in both games against Seton Hall, road victories at Providence and Xavier and the Garden triumph over UConn.
My pick: Dylan Darling, St. John’s
Defensive Player of the Year
It would be hard to argue that St. John’s wasn’t the best defensive team in the Big East by the final stretch of the season. Over their final 10 games — and that includes the disaster at UConn — they allowed 66.5 points per game on 41.7% shooting (28.6% on threes) and forced 11.6 turnovers per game. The defensive leader was Ejiofor who led them in steals and blocked shots and was capable of guarding all five positions.
My pick: Zuby Ejiofor, St. John’s
Most Improved Player of the Year
Another tough call between Villanova guard Tyler Perkins and Marquette forward Royce Parham. Perkins’ improvement from sophomore to junior was remarkable: though he played just four more minutes per game, his scoring average rocketed from 6.3 points to 13.7. Parham went from averaging 5.1 points on 41% shooting as a freshman to averaging 12.1 points on 51% shooting.
My pick: Tyler Perkins, Villanova
Pitino anoints center Prey
St. John’s coach Rick Pitino has said Ruben Prey “deserves” to be the team’s starting center next season. Replacing Zuby Ejiofor is a problem but the 6-11 sophomore looked capable of being part of a solution in Red Storm’s 72-65 win at Seton Hall Friday. Ejiofor was limited to 24 minutes by foul trouble and Prey looked excellent in his 16 minutes off the bench with 11 points, active defense and the passion for contact that Pitino demands.
“Ruben did a phenomenal job,” said Pitino, who gave him the game’s “Big Bells” award for contributions on both ends of the court.
Discipline for Hurley?
One thing to bear watching in the lead-up to the Big East Tournament is whether UConn coach Dan Hurley could be disciplined for his actions at the end of the Huskies’ loss at Marquette Saturday. Angry over a “no call” in the final seconds, Hurley received two technicals and was ejected for arguing with official John Gaffney, whom he may have bumped. Hurley denied it, but the conference told the AP that it is “aware and reviewing the situation.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
