Both Shamorie Ponds And Bashir Ahmed have been hot lately for the St. John’s Red Storm and the Big East took notice.

St. John’s has played well as of late, winning their first two Big East games over No. 13 Butler at home and DePaul on the road.

Two of the newcomers, freshman Shamorie Ponds and junior transfer Bashir Ahmed, have been big parts to the school’s recent success.

Big East took notice and for the third time this season, Ponds was awarded Big East Freshman of the Week.

Ahmed was placed on the Big East honor roll this week for the first time.

Ponds has been St. John’s most exciting player so far this season. He really came up huge against Butler last Thursday, scoring 26 points and grabbing seven rebounds. He also hit some big shots late in the game to bring the Red Storm back in the game and hit four big free throws in the closing seconds to ice the game.

Against DePaul, Ponds was big again with 15 points and four steals and, yet again, was big down the stretch in the final minutes to seal another win.

Ahmed, in the last two games, has combined for 33 points and 10 rebounds. Against DePaul, he hit a career-high four three-pointers.

Both Ponds and Ahmed have been great for the Red Storm. Ponds has been their best scorer and Ahmed their best all-around player. Both have brought more excitement back to the Red Storm this year after a dismal one the season before.