Providence’s Kris Dunn, Villanova’s Josh Hart, Seton Hall’s Isaiah Whitehead and possibly Providence’s Ben Bentil are likely to split votes for Big East Player of the Year, according to an informal poll of the league’s 10 coaches on Friday.
Marquette’s Henry Ellenson remains the overwhelming favorite for Rookie of the Year honors, although Xavier’s Edmond Sumner is also likely to receive some consideration.
Dunn was the Preseason Player of the Year, while Villanova’s Jalen Brunson was the Preseason Rookie of the Year.
The postseason awards will be announced March 9, the first day of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden.
“Player of the Year is wide open,” Villanova’s Jay Wright said on the league’s conference call. “You’d probably have to go with Kris Dunn as the leader right now.”
Wright then added: “I think Isaiah’s playing as well as anybody in our conference right now. I’m really impressed with his development.”
A year ago, Dunn split Player of the Year honors with Villanova point guard Ryan Arcidiacono, and another shared honor could happen this year.
“I think Kris Dunn is the best player in the league,” said Creighton’s Greg McDermott, whose son Doug McDermott won Big East Player of the Year honors two years ago. “I think he’s also probably one of the most valuable players to his team in the league. Having said that, I’ve always thought that Player of the Year ought to go to the best player on one of the two better teams and then you’d have to look to Xavier who’s extremely balanced and has a different guy step up every night. And Villanova’s much the same way. Josh Hart’s been unbelievably consistent and what he does on the defensive end sometimes gets lost in his offensive numbers. But it’s going to be a difficult decision because there’s a lot of worthy players that have had great years.”
Dunn is maybe the league’s best player even though his team is not at the top of the standings.
“If you’re the best player, you’re the best player,” DePaul’s Dave Leitao said. “If you take [Dunn] off Providence, they probably would not be nearly as successful as they are.”
Providence coach Ed Cooley didn’t want to lobby for Dunn, who has been bothered by a stomach bug while the Friars have lost 5-of-6 to jeopardize their NCAA Tournament chances.
“I think Josh Hart and Isaiah Whitehead are right there,” Cooley said. “I think Ellenson has played really well. There’s some really, really good players.”
Pressed on if Dunn should win, Cooley added: “It’s not up to me, I mean I can’t vote for him. Do I think he’s a very talented and great player? Absolutely, but there’s some other players that are deserving as well. At the end of the day, you gotta make plays, you gotta win in order to be on that national stage.”
Some coaches believe the Player of the Year has to come from the top team or two, which would favor Hart because Villanova is in first place and Xavier has no clear standout on such a balanced team.
Seton Hall’s Kevin Willard is a big Hart fan and sounds like he’ll vote for him.
“I am such a big Josh Hart fan,” he said. “I love his game.”
Marquette’s Steve Wojciechowski also favors a player from the top team.
“For me, the Player of the Year should go to the best player on the best team,” he said. “There’s still games left to be played. Obviously, Kris Dunn has had a remarkable year. But then you look at a guy like Isaiah Whitehead who has had a magnificent year and led a great turnaround for Seton Hall. And you look at Josh Hart who’s just a terrrific, terrific player. And Xavier’s so well-balanced but they have a number of guys who could be in consideration.”
Meantime, Xavier’s Chris Mack, the favorite for Big East Coach of the Year honors, is among those who raved about Seton Hall’s Whitehead, who has led Seton Hall to the brink of its first NCAA Tournament bid since 2006.
“He’s as good as there is in the league and I think he’ll get a lot of hard looks for Player of the Year in our conference,” Mack said.
Meantime, the league’s coaches were almost unanimous in their praise of the 6-10 Ellenson, a projected Top 10 pick in the NBA Draft who has won Big East Rookie of the Week honors six times to Sumner’s five.
“Ellenson has had a tremendous year and he’s probably the backbone of their team,” Xavier’s Mack said. “To do what he’s done as a freshman has been probably expected. A lot of times guys don’t live up to the hype and he certainly has.
“I wouldn’t trade our guy Edmond for anyone in the league but make no mistake Ellenson’s been a terrific player all year long and very, very deserving if that comes his way.”
Said Marquette’s Wojo: “I’m not sure any freshman in our league has had a greater impact or more responsibilty to his team than Henry. We have asked a lot of him as a player from day one and he’s delivered to the tune of a high double-double in one of the toughest conferences in America.
“In my mind, he should without a question be the Rookie of the Year in the Big East.”
Finally, the coaches all agreed that picking five All-Big East First-Team and five Second-Team players will be tough to categorize.
All of the above players as well as Xavier’s Trevon Bluiett and Jalen Reynolds; Creighton’s Maurice Watson; Seton Hall’s Angel Delgado; Villanova’s Arcidacono and Kris Jenkins; and Butler’s trio of Kellen Dunham, Kelan Martin and Roosevelt Jones will be in the mix.
“We’re going to have our hands full when it comes to picking all conference teams this year,” Providence’s Cooley said, “because of the impact so many of these players have for their individual teams.”
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