As the 2024-25 Big East regular season comes to a close, it’s time for the second annual pcbb1917.com Gavitt Awards, known in the industry as the Gavvies. We have decided not to have another gala celebration as we did last year, because of the major “discussions” that led to “altercations” and involved the “Royal Canadian Mounted Police.” Instead, our crack team of staffers, interns, and random people on the street have poured over frame of film from every game of the season, conducted detailed analyses, and made numerous guesses to make the choices we have. It is important to remember two things. First, these are our opinions, and you are certainly allowed to disagree. Second, if you disagree, you will be wrong and we will still be right.
Big East Coach of the Year
This was the easiest choice for the committee. Rick Pitino showed why he is the best coach in college basketball, and how easily he adapts to all changes in the game. The 1987 Providence Friars made it to the Final Four because Pitino grasped the importance of the three-point shot before his contemporaries. Nearly forty years later, he has won the first Big East championship for St. John’s since 1985 with the worst three-point shooting team in the league. This was in no small part due to Pitino’s embrace of the new NIL structure. While a number of his peers retired rather than deal with the new reality, Pitino simply adapted and thrived, just as he had at Boston University, Providence, Kentucky, and Louisville. Of all the coaches in my time following college basketball, Pitino would be on Mount Rushmore, with Roy Williams, Larry Brown, and Jim Calhoun. For these and many other reasons, the Gavvy goes to Rick Pitino.
Big East All Freshmen Team
Thomas Sorber – Georgetown
Oswin Erhunmwunse – Providence
Jackson McAndrew – Creighton
Royce Parham – Marquette
Ryan Mela – Providence
Liam McNeeley – Connecticut
The members of the all-freshman team were fairly easy choices. The only other players getting consideration were Caleb Williams of Georgetown and Jahseem Felton of Seton Hall, but the top six were a cut above. Erhunmwunse is a future star, possibly as soon as next year. McAndrew, Parham, and Mela have shown they are legitimate Big East contributors. The race for Freshman of the Year, however, has been a two-player race since the beginning of the season. Both Thomas Sorber and Liam McNeeley have played above and beyond their years and experience, and both will make another appearance on the all-conference teams. I thought to take the easy way out and name co-winners, but I realized that could be done for a number of the awards and did not want to set a precedent. Thomas Sorber has had an outstanding year, and is a potential lottery pick if he chooses to forego his remaining eligibility. He was more polished and aggressive than expected. Despite this, Liam McNeeley has been awarded the Gavvy for Freshman of the Year. Both players missed time in conference play and their teams suffered without them. While either choice could be justified, the difference for me was McNeeley’s versatility on a tournament team. McNeeley is the star of the Huskies and has done everything on the court. He is their best player, a strong rebounder and passer, and their second best three-point threat. When Dan Hurley was struggling with point guard play, he turned to McNeeley and McNeeley looked like he had been playing that position his whole life. As Steve Lappas noted during the PC-UConn game Saturday, they are both great players and either would make sense, but the bottom line is that McNeeley is better. I concur and award the Gavvy to Liam McNeeley.
Big East All-Defensive Team
Ryan Kalkbrenner – Creighton
Micah Peavy – Georgetown
Corey Floyd – Providence
Kadary Richmond – St. John’s
RJ Luis – St. John’s
Stevie Mitchell – Marquette
Similar to the Freshmen of the Year, the all-defensive team has many easy choices, but the Defensive Player of the Year is more difficult because of the number of deserving candidates. This year is the best year for defensive stars in a while. At the Center position alone, Zuby Ejiofor, Andre Screen, and Thomas Sorber easily could have justified placement, but I wanted to stay with one Center. There were also enough good players to make a second team, but I declined. One note I should make is that I am not a big believer in defensive metrics for individual players. They tend to be much less accurate for individuals than for teams, I assume because they have to guess at player responsibilities which can be tricky at best. When watching the games and paying close attention, the above players show the effort needed to stop the other teams’ best players. Micah Peavy, Stevie Mitchell, and Kadary Richmond are the only player in the conference averaging over two steals per game. Corey Floyd and RJ Luis excel at stopping opponents from getting the ball or scoring once they get it. Ryan Kalkbrenner leads the Big East in blocks and is one of only two players in the league averaging over two blocks per game, with Oswin Erhunmwunse being the other.
In the end, Peavy, Richmond and Kalkbrenner were the three finalists for DPOY. Peavy and Richmond are great on-ball defenders who can force players. While all three get a lot of attention when they are on the floor, only one player completely changes the opposition’s game plan and intimidates players from driving to the basket, with most shots altered than blocked. For these reasons and others, the Gavvy goes to Ryan Kalkbrenner.
Big East All-Conference Teams
Third Team
Thomas Sorber – Georgetown
Jahmyl Telfort – Butler
Stevie Mitchell – Marquette
Ryan Conwell – Xavier
Wooga Poplar – Villanova
Second Team
Micah Peavy – Georgetown
Liam McNeeley – Connecticut
Zuby Ejiofor – St. John’s
Zach Freemantle – Xavier
Solo Ball – Connecticut
First Team
Kadary Richmond – St. John’s
RJ Luis – St. John’s
Ryan Kalkbrenner – Creighton
Steven Ashworth – Creighton
Kam Jones – Marquette
Eric Dixon – Villanova
This was not easy. The first team’s final spot came down to Micah Peavy and Steven Ashworth. Either choice would have been acceptable, and I did go back and forth a few times. Their importance to their teams is undeniable, and both set career highs in scoring, rebounding, and assists. The final decision came down to Ashworth being so valuable to a top team in the conference, and the fact that he always has the ball in his hands in crunch time for the Bluejays. Richmond, Luis, and Kalkbrenner were discussed on the all-defense team, while Dixon and Jones are two of the top three scorers in the conference.
Peavy’s Hoya teammate Thomas Sorber just missed the second team, partly because he been out for the end of the season. Zach Freemantle has come back from a series of injuries and is as good as ever. Zuby Ejiofor showed tremendous growth from last year and will be a Player of the year candidate next year, assuming he returns. Solo Ball and McNeeley have saved the Huskies season and assured them of another tournament bid. Jahmyl Telfort did a bit of everything for Butler and was a difficult matchup on every game. Wooga Poplar and Ryan Conwell had little trouble adjusting to play in the Big East. Stevie Mitchell added a three-point shot to his defensive excellence, garnering him a slot on the third team.
The Big East Player of the Year had six worthy candidates. Eric Dixon has been the leading scorer in the country for most of the season. Kam Jones has emerged as the Marquette leader after the departure of Tyler Kolek, allowing the Eagles to not miss a beat. If the award was for a true Most Valuable Player instead of POY, Steven Ashworth may have been my choice. Kadary Richmond got better and better as the season progressed and has a case for league supremacy. In the end, the decision came down to RJ Luis and Ryan Kalkbrenner. Two weeks ago, I was ready to give the award to Kalkbrenner, and I still think that might be the right decision. In the end, Luis was not only the best player on the best team, but he was also the guy who took over games down the stretch for the best team. On a judgment basis, it was probably a 51-49% choice, but the Gavvy goes to the guy with the 51%, RJ Luis.
Next week I plan to have a Big East Tournament preview and will have a plan for how Providence will win four straight to cut down the nets at Madison Square Garden. Until then, Go Friars!
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