Big East Basketball: Reactions to 2018-19 all-conference teams
By Brian Foley
All the latest reactions, responses, and thoughts to the 2018-19 Big East Basketball all-conference team honorees.
The Big East‘s 2018-19 regular season campaign concluded with another trademark chaotic weekend, but this year’s all-conference teams were rather predictable.
Here is the full list of honorees (asterisk indicates a unanimous selection):
Big East First Team
- G Phil Booth (RSR, Villanova)*
- G Markus Howard (JR, Marquette)*
- G Shamorie Ponds (JR, St. John’s)
- G Myles Powell (JR, Seton Hall)*
- F Eric Paschall (RSR, Villanova)*
- C Jessie Govan (SR, Georgetown)
Big East Second Team
- G Kamar Baldwin (JR, Butler)
- F Alpha Diallo (SR, Providence)
- F Sam Hauser (JR, Marquette)
- F Naji Marshall (SO, Xavier)
- F Max Strus (RSR, DePaul)
Big East Honorable Mentions
- G Ty-Shon Alexander (SO, Creighton)
- F/C Martin Krampelj (JR, Creighton)
Big East Freshman Team
- G James Akinjo (Georgetown)*
- G Mac McClung (Georgetown)
- G Marcus Zegarowski (Creighton)*
- F Saddiq Bey (Villanova)
- F Joey Hauser (Marquette)
- F Josh LeBlanc (Georgetown)
Here are three reactions to the latest crop of Big East all-conference selections.
Unanimous Selections
Marquette’s Howard, Seton Hall’s Powell, and Villanova’s Booth and Paschall were all unanimously selected to the first-team all-Big East team. Of this grouping, only Howard had ever been tabbed as an all-conference player prior to this season – second team in 2017-18 – but with so many of last year’s honorees graduating, there were a host of opportunities available this year.
Here is the statistical overview for all four players:
- Howard: 25.0 ppg, 4.0 apg, 3.9 rpg, 43/42/90 percent shooting
- Powell: 22.6 ppg, 2.7 apg, 2.0 spg, 44/35/86 percent shooting
- Booth: 18.6 ppg, 3.9 apg, 3.9 rpg, 43/37/75 percent shooting
- Paschall: 16.5 ppg, 2.2 apg, 6.1 rpg, 45/36/77 percent shooting
Even in its worst campaign since the Big East reformation, Villanova still landed two unanimous selections, giving the Wildcats 10 total first-teamers in the last 6 years. Booth’s first-team honor also tacks another line onto one his impressive resume that already included two national titles and a 2016 all-NCAA tournament team pick.
Howard, the likely Player of the Year selection, is the first Marquette player to crack the all-Big East first-team since Henry Ellenson in 2015-16, and the first Golden Eagle to do so unanimously since Jae Crowder in 2011-12 (Crowder also captured the Player of the Year award). If Howard sticks around for his senior campaign – something that might have become more likely following Marquette’s recent struggles – the 5-foot-11 guard has a chance to absolutely wreck both program and conference records.