Big East Defensive Player of the Year _ Hamady Ndiaye, Rutgers
Big East Most Improved Player _ Ashton Gibbs, Pittsburgh
Big East Sixth Man Award _ Kris Joseph, Syracuse
Big East Sportsmanship Award _ Tory Jackson, Notre Dame
NEW YORK _ Hamady Ndiaye, Rutgers’ senior center, has been named Big East defensive player of the year by a vote of the league’s head coaches who were not permitted to vote for their own players.
The Big East also announced that Pittsburgh guard Ashton Gibbs is the league’s most improved player. Syracuse forward Kris Joseph is the winner of the sixth man award. Notre Dame’s Tory Jackson will receive the league’s Sportsmanship Award.
Ndiaye was a shot-blocking stalwart for the Scarlet Knights. He easily led the Big East in blocked shots with 140 and a 4.5 average. The second-best total in the league was 66. The 6-11 senior from Dakar, Senegal, also averaged 9.8 points and a team-leading 7.1 rebounds. He is the first Rutgers player to lead the league in blocks. Ndiaye’s blocked shot total this season is the second-highest in school history.
Gibbs, a 6-2 sophomore from Scotch Plains, N.J., helped Pittsburgh to a 13-5 Big East record and a No. 2 seed at league tourney by averaging a team-leading 16.2 ppg. He is first in the league in free throw shooting, making 89 percent. Last season, Gibbs’ scoring average was 4.3 while going less than 11 minutes of playing time per game. It’s the fourth time in the last seven seasons that a Pitt player has garnered Most Improved Player honors.
Joseph, a 6-7 sophomore, has been a key contributor off the bench for Syracuse. The native of Montreal, Quebec, was third on the team in scoring with an 11.0 average. He also averaged 5.4 rebounds while playing 27 minutes per game for the Orange who enter the league tournament with a 28-3 overall record. The Orange are the tournament’s No. 1 seed after compiling a 15-3 conference record.
Jackson has been an exemplary four-year performer for Notre Dame. A team captain, the 5-11 senior from Saginaw, Mich., is averaging 9.7 ppg and 5.4 assists. In league games, Jackson finished first in the Big East in assists with a 5.6 average. He became only the second player in league history to capture three assists crowns.
