Ponds Named BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year; Simon Earns Spot on Second Team

Shamorie Ponds
October 25, 2018

For the first time in more than two and a half decades, a St. John’s Men’s Basketball student-athlete has been named the BIG EAST Preseason Player of the year.

Coming off a campaign that saw him lead the conference in scoring at 21.6 points per game and break the St. John’s sophomore scoring record, Shamorie Ponds has garnered BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year recognition, becoming the first Johnnie to do so since Malik Sealy shared the honor with Alonzo Mourning prior to the 1991-92 season. 

In addition to Ponds’ individual honor, teammate Justin Simon earned a spot on the Preseason All-BIG EAST Second Team.  Simon, one of the league’s most versatile talents, was the only player in the conference to finish top-five in rebounding, assists and steals in 2017-18.

The league’s coaches picked St. John’s to finish fourth in their preseason poll, marking the first time in four years that the Red Storm was selected in the top half of the league.  Villanova was predicted to repeat as the league’s champion, while Marquette and Providence, respectively, were also picked to finish ahead of St. John’s.  A pair of NCAA Tournament teams from last year, Butler and Xavier, immediately follows St. John’s in the conference prognostications.  Next up were longtime BIG EAST rivals Georgetown and Seton Hall, while Creighton and DePaul rounded out the poll.

The ranking is the highest for St. John’s in a preseason poll since the 2014-15 squad was slotted to finish third.  That year, the Red Storm would go to win 21 games and make the NCAA Tournament field for the 28th time in program history behind the efforts of a loaded senior class that featured two All-BIG EAST honorees in D’Angelo Harrison and Sir’Dominic Pointer.

In addition to their preseason individual award winners, the Johnnies also welcome back another starter in redshirt senior Marvin Clark II, who finished second on the team in scoring last year and ranked inside the top 10 in the conference in three-point shooting percentage.  The Red Storm will also feature a sizable group of talented newcomers, led by junior transfer Mustapha Heron.  A selection to the preseason watch list for the Jerry West Award, Heron tallied more than 1,000 points in two seasons at Auburn before transferring to Queens.  The Waterbury, Conn., native will be immediately eligible to play this season thanks to a Legislative Relief Waiver from the NCAA.

Ponds, who recently received votes for the Associated Press Preseason All-America Team, enjoyed a memorable season for the Red Storm as a sophomore in 2017-18.  In addition to leading the league in scoring, the sweet-shooting lefty from Brooklyn also averaged 5.0 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game, becoming the first player in program history to average at least those numbers over the course of an entire season.

A First Team All-BIG EAST selection and AP Honorable Mention All-American as a sophomore, Ponds captured the national spotlight last winter with one of the most impressive stretches in program history.  After dropping 31 and eclipsing the 1,000-point mark during a closely contested loss to No. 6 Xavier on Jan. 30, the sophomore scored 24 of his game-high 33 points in the second half during the Red Storm’s thrilling upset victory over No. 4 Duke at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 3.  A few days later, Ponds poured in 26 points at No. 1 Villanova, keying the Red Storm’s first victory over a top-ranked opponent in 33 years.   When the team returned home to host Marquette three days later, Ponds put on quite the encore, scoring 44 points in a win over the Golden Eagles.  His 44 points were tied for the fourth-highest single-game total in program history and broke the scoring record for Carnesecca Arena/Alumni Hall previously held by Sealy.

Simon, who played his first season in Queens last year after transferring from Arizona, burst onto the season as a redshirt sophomore in 2017-18.  The Temecula, Calif., native averaged 12.2 points per game to go along with a team-best 7.1 boards and 5.1 assists per game, the latter two of which ranked fifth and second, respectively, in the BIG EAST.

The team’s leader in double-doubles with nine with more than a few instances of narrowly missing a triple-double, Simon’s length and athleticism allowed him to establish a reputation as one of the top defenders in the NCAA.  He led the BIG EAST and ranked eighth nationally 2.5 steals per game.  His 82 swipes on the year were good enough for the fifth-highest total in program history for a single campaign.

Season and individual game tickets for the 2018-19 campaign are on sale now.  Fans can reserve their spots at Carnesecca Arena and Madison Square Garden by calling the St. John’s Ticket Office at 1-888-GO-STORM or by visiting RedStormTix.com.

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