Shamorie Ponds, St. John’s scintillating sophomore guard, garnered some major accolades for his play, named to the All Big East First Team.
Not even playing on a last-place St. John’s team could stop Shamorie Ponds, who was named to the All Big East First Team on Sunday afternoon.
Red Storm sophomore guard Shamorie Ponds has been named to All @BIGEASTMBB First Team #SJUBB #WeAreNewYorksTeam
ARTICLE: https://t.co/k6M6Knl9jU pic.twitter.com/ZAcUJPe0Bf
— St. John's BBall (@StJohnsBBall) March 4, 2018
The scintillating sophomore—the only sophomore named to the team—put together an impressive resume this season.
He set career highs in nearly every statistical category in 2017-18, including a Big East-leading 21.6 points per game (17th in the country) and 2.5 steals per game, tied for eighth in the country.
Ponds also took home seven Big East Player of the Week Awards this season and cracked the 30-point mark six times. One of those performances came in perhaps the team’s biggest game, as he dropped 33 on then-No. 4 Duke in the Johnnies’ stunning 81-77 victory at Madison Square Garden.
Ponds, who along with former Red Storm guard Marcus LoVett were unanimous selections to the All-Big East Freshman Team last season, was amazingly—no, shockingly—not a unanimous selection to this year’s squad.
It makes you wonder what some of the league’s coaches were watching—or if some were holding a grudge against Ponds, perhaps, after he went off against one of their teams.
Ponds is the first St. John’s player selected to the First Team since the 2014-15 season, when senior guard D’Angelo Harrison received the honor. He’s only the 16th player from the school to be named to the conference’s top team.
Speaking of honors, Ponds has to be considered one of, if not the favorite for Big East Player of the Year. That, among other awards, will be announced on Wednesday, March 7.
Here’s how the All-Big East teams shaped up.
All Big East First Team
- Ponds
- Kelan Martin, F, Butler
- Marcus Foster, G, Creighton
- Mikal Bridges, G/F, Villanova
- Jalen Brunson, G, Villanova
- Trevon Bluiett, G, Xavier
All Big East Second Team
- Khyri Thomas, G, Creighton
- Marcus Derrickson, F, Georgetown
- Markus Howard, G, Marquette
- Angel Delgado, C, Seton Hall
- Desi Rodriguez, F, Seton Hall
All Big East Honorable Mention
- Andrew Rowsey, G, Marquette
- Kyron Cartwright, G, Providence
All Big East Freshman Team
- Mitch Ballock, G, Creighton
- Jahvon Blair, G, Georgetown
- Jamorko Pickett, G, Georgetown
- Nate Watson, C, Providence
- Omari Spellman, F, Villanova
- Naji Marshall, F, Xavier
