Omer Yurtseven gets Honorable Mention in BIG EAST All-Conference Honors

Ahead of the BIG EAST Tournament beginning next week at Madison Square Garden, the conference anounced their all-league awards this afternoon. Congratulations are in order for one of your Georgetown Hoyas, as he was given an Honorable Mention as an All-Conference Player.

Omer Yurtseven was recognized, with the senior transfer having averaged 15.8 points and 10 rebounds per game for the Hoyas before getting sidelined with an ankle injury.

---

You might recall that play wrapped up for the Hoyas yesterday, and if you’re looking for a recap (that is not laden with expletives and punctuated by guttural noises), these tweets will have to suffice:

---

The full text of the BIG EAST press release is as follows:

Howard, Powell, Bey Named Unanimously To All-BIG EAST First Team

3/8/2020 12:55:45 PM

NEW YORK – Two seniors who are regularly mentioned as national player of the year candidates and a rising Villanova sophomore are unanimous selections to the 2019-20 All-BIG EAST First Team. The conference released the All-BIG EAST First and Second Teams, Honorable Mention and the All-Freshman Team. The league’s head coaches choose the all-conference squads and are not permitted to vote for their own players.

The unanimous picks are Markus Howard of Marquette, Myles Powell of Seton Hall and Saddiq Bey of Villanova. The three other All-BIG EAST First Team selections are Butler’s Kamar Baldwin, Creighton’s Ty-Shon Alexander and Xavier’s Naji Marshall. Howard and Powell are unanimous picks for a second straight season. Bey made the BIG EAST All-Freshman Team last year.

The BIG EAST Player of the Year will come from the All-BIG EAST First Team. The conference will announce Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Freshman of the Year and the Scholar-Athlete of the Year on Wednesday, March 11. The press conference will be held on the first day of the BIG EAST Tournament Presented by Jeep at Madison Square Garden at 4:30 p.m. ET.

Other league individual awards — BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, Most Improved Player, Sixth Man Award and Sportsmanship Award — will be announced Monday morning, March 9.

Howard, a 5-11 senior, leads the nation in scoring with a 27.8 average. He also became the BIG EAST career leading scorer in league games with 1,587 points and in 3-pointers made with 245. Howard was the BIG EAST Player of the Year last season. He finished the 2019-20 regular season with five games of 30 points or more.

Powell finished second to Howard in scoring with a 21.0 mark in the regular season and led the Pirates to a share of their first regular-season BIG EAST crown since 1992-93. The 6-2 senior guard was the BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year.

Bey, a 6-8 sophomore forward, took a big leap for the Wildcats. He led the team in scoring with a 16.1 average and ranked first in the league in 3-point shooting, making 48.4 percent. Bey also averaged 4.7 rebounds. Last year, he averaged 8.2 points.

Marshall and Baldwin moved up from the All-BIG EAST Second Team last year. Marshall, a 6-7 junior, ranked fourth in the BIG EAST in scoring with a 16.9 average, and pulled down 6.2 rebounds and made 1.3 steals per game. Baldwin, a 6-1 senior, was fifth in scoring with a 16.2 average. He also averaged 3.3 assists and made 85.0 percent of his free throws.

Alexander made All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention last year and became one of the league’s top two-way players this season. He finished third in the BIG EAST in scoring with a 16.9 average and made 39.9 percent from beyond the arc.

The All-BIG EAST Second Team includes players from five different squads for the second straight year. Providence Alpha Diallo is a repeat honoree on the second team. The 6-7 senior posted team-leading averages of 14.1 points and 7.8 rebounds. His rebound mark ranked fifth in the BIG EAST.

Creighton’s Marcus Zegarowski was a unanimous BIG EAST All-Freshman Team pick last year. This season, the 6-2 guard averaged 16.1 points, shot 42.4 percent from 3-point range and led the Bluejays in assists with a 5.0 average.

Xavier’s Tyrique Jones and DePaul’s Paul Reed were double-double machines for their respective teams. Jones, a 6-9 senior, had a league-leading 21 double-doubles and averaged 13.7 points and a league-leading 11.2 rebounds.

Reed, a 6-9 junior, produced 16 double-doubles while averaging 14.9 points and 10.6 rebounds. His rebound mark was second to Jones. Reed also was second in steals with a 1.9 average.

Collin Gillespie stepped up to be the court leader for Villanova. He averaged 15.1 points, 4.5 assists and 3.7 rebounds. The 6-3 junior was second to teammate Bey in scoring with a 15.1 average and posted marks of 4.5 assists and 3.7 rebounds.

Seton Hall’s Quincy McKnight earned All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention while helping the Pirates to a share of the regular-season crown. In league play, the 6-4 senior won the assist crown with a 6.3 average.

Georgetown’s Omer Yurtseven earned conference honors despite being sidelined with a foot injury late in the season. The 7-0 senior averaged a team-leading 15.8 points and 10.0 rebounds and posted 13 double-doubles.

The BIG EAST Freshman of the Year will come from the All-Freshman Team.

Villanova and Xavier have two players each on the team. Jeremiah Robinson-Earl and Justin Moore have combined to earn 10 BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honors. Robinson-Earl has won six times while Moore won four times. A 6-9 forward, Robinson-Earl averaged 10.5 points and a team-leading 9.4 rebounds. His rebounding mark ranks fourth in the BIG EAST. Moore, a 6-4 guard, is the top freshman scorer in the league with an 11.3 average.

Xavier’s Jack Freemantle and KyKy Tandy played key roles as the season evolved. Freemantle, a 6-9 forward, became a starter at mid-season. He averaged 7.2 points and 4.3 rebounds. A 6-2 guard, Tandy has been effective off the bench with 6.7 scoring average. In the Musketeers’ eight league wins, Tandy averaged 11.6 points.

Julian Champagnie also came on strong as the St John’s season progressed. He averaged 10.0 points and a team-leading 6.5 rebounds. The 6-8 guard-forward earned BIG EAST Freshman of the Week honors in the last two weeks of the regular season.

Romeo Weems was an immediate starter and started every game for DePaul. The 6-7 junior forward has averaged 8.2 points and 4.9 rebounds.

ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM

Kamar Baldwin, Butler, G, Sr., 6-1, 195, Winder, Ga.

Ty-Shon Alexander, Creighton, G, Jr., 6-4, 195, Charlotte, N.C.

*Markus Howard, Marquette, G, Sr., 5-11, 175, Chandler, Ariz.

*Myles Powell, Seton Hall, G, Sr., 6-2, 195, Trenton, N.J.

*Saddiq Bey, Villanova, F, So., 6-8, 220, Largo, Md.

Naji Marshall, Xavier, F, Jr., 6-7, 222, Atlantic City, N.J.

ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM

*Marcus Zegarowski, Creighton, G, So., 6-2, 180, Hamilton, Mass.

Paul Reed, DePaul, F, Jr., 6-9, 220, Orlando, Fla.

Alpha Diallo, Providence, G, Sr., 6-7, 210, New York, N.Y.

Collin Gillespie, Villanova, G, Jr., 6-3, 191, Huntingdon Valley, Pa.

Tyrique Jones, Xavier, F, Sr., 6-9, 239, Bloomfield, Conn.

BIG EAST HONORABLE MENTION

Omer Yurtseven, Georgetown, C, Sr., 7-0, 264, Istanbul, Turkey

Quincy McKnight, Seton Hall, G, Sr., 6-4, 185, Bridgeport, Conn.

BIG EAST ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM

Romeo Weems, DePaul, F, 6-7, 210, Detroit, Mich.

Julian Champagnie, St. John’s, F, 6-8, 215, Brooklyn, N.Y.

*Justin Moore, Villanova, G, 6-4, 210, Fort Washington, Md.

*Jeremiah Robinson-Earl, Villanova, F, 6-9, 232, Overland Park, Kan.

Zach Freemantle, Xavier, F, 6-9, 225, Teaneck, N.J.

KyKy Tandy, Xavier, G, 6-2, 190, Hopkinsville, Ky.

*Denotes unanimous selection.