Busting Brackets
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Big East Basketball: 2018-19 preseason all-conference and awards predictions

By Lukas Harkins

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 10: The Villanova Wildcats celebrate their overtime win over the Providence Friars during the championship game of the Big East Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 10, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 10: The Villanova Wildcats celebrate their overtime win over the Providence Friars during the championship game of the Big East Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden on March 10, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 08: Justin Simon #5 of the St. John’s Red Storm dives. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CA – DECEMBER 08: Justin Simon #5 of the St. John’s Red Storm dives. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

Defensive Player of the Year: Justin Simon, St. John’s

Now that two-time Big East Defensive Player of the Year Khyri Thomas is in the NBA, someone new will have to step up in order to home the award. And while there are a few seemingly deserving preseason candidates, in my opinion, the all-around talent of Justin Simon gets the nod. At 6-foot-5 with excellent length and athleticism, Simon is a switchable defender who is not limited to only locking down his primary assignment.

In addition to being a sound on-ball defender, Simon is opportunistic and does an excellent job of creating turnovers and making highlight-reel-worthy defensive players. Over the course of this past season, Simon averaged 2.5 steals and 0.8 blocks per game while leading the conference in defensive rating (96.2) and defensive win shares (2.4). Of course, statistics never show the full picture in terms of how good an individual defender is but these certainly paint Simon in a good light.

With St. John’s expected to take a significant leap up the conference rankings this season, Simon will be one of the anchors defensively. As long as the Red Storm remain competitive in the conference then he should be near the top of the short list in terms of contenders for this award.

Top contenders: Kamar Baldwin (Butler) and Joseph Chartouny (Marquette).

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