By JACOB POLACHECK
St. John’s junior guard Shamorie Ponds was chosen as the 2018-19 Big East Preseason Player of the Year by a vote of the league’s head coaches on Thursday.
Providence guard David Duke and Villanova guard Jahvon Quinerly have been named co-winners of the BIG EAST Preseason Freshman of the Year award.
The coaches, who were not permitted to place their own players on their ballots, also chose an All-BIG EAST First Team, an All-BIG EAST Second Team and All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention.
Ponds, a 6-foot-1 point guard from Brooklyn, N.Y., led the Big East in scoring last season with a 21.6 average and ranked second in steals with 2.3 per game.
The five-player 2018-19 Preseason All-Big East First Team includes four unanimous selections: Butler guard Kamar Baldwin, Georgetown center Jessie Govan, Marquette guard Markus Howard and Villanova forward Eric Paschall. Providence guard Alpha Diallo also earned first team honors. Govan and Paschall are seniors while Baldwin, Howard and Diallo are juniors.
The Preseason All-Big East Second Team includes DePaul senior Max Strus, Villanova senior Phil Booth, Marquette junior Sam Hauser, St. John’s junior Justin Simon, and Seton Hall junior Myles Powell.
Creighton junior Martin Krampelj and Xavier sophomore Naji Marshall were named as honorable mentions.
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