The Big East Conference Men's Basketball Rookie of the Year is a Rookie of the Year award given annually by the Big East Conference to one or more male basketball players in their first year of school. The award, like the other conference awards, is voted on by conference coaches. Coaches are not permitted to vote for players on their teams.[1] The recipient of the award is announced at a press conference immediately preceding the Big East Men's Basketball Tournament, at the same time as the Big East Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year award and the Scholar-Athlete of the Year award. The ceremony takes place at Madison Square Garden during the tournament.[1] The most recent award recipient was Cleveland Melvin of DePaul University.[2]
The award was introduced following the conference's first season in 1980, awarded to David Russell of St. John's.[3] Until the 1988–89 season, the award was known as the "Freshman of the Year."[4] Co-Rookie of the year awards have been presented twice over the course of thirty seasons: After the 2004–5 season to Rudy Gay and Jeff Green and again after the 2007–8 season to Jonny Flynn and DeJuan Blair. As such, the award has been presented thirty-two times. As only freshmen are eligible, it is impossible to win the award more than once. However, the coaches in the conference also award a Preseason Rookie of the Year to one or more players before the start of the NCAA basketball season.
Contents |
| Season | Player | School |
|---|---|---|
| 1979-1980 | David Russell | St. John's |
| 1980-1981 | Fred Brown | Georgetown |
| 1981-1982 | Patrick Ewing | Georgetown |
| 1982-1983 | Earl Kelley | Connecticut |
| 1983-1984 | Dwayne Washington | Syracuse |
| 1984-1985 | Charles Smith | Pittsburgh |
| 1985-1986 | Dana Barros | Boston College |
| 1986-1987 | Derrick Coleman | Syracuse |
| 1987-1988 | Sean Miller | Pittsburgh |
| 1988-1989 | Brian Shorter | Pittsburgh |
| 1989-1990 | Nadav Henefeld | Connecticut |
| 1990-1991 | Bill Curley | Boston College |
| 1991-1992 | Lawrence Moten | Syracuse |
| 1992-1993 | Othella Harrington | Georgetown |
| 1993-1994 | Doron Sheffer | Connecticut |
| 1994-1995 | Allen Iverson | Georgetown |
| 1995-1996 | Scoonie Penn | Boston College |
| 1996-1997 | Tim Thomas | Villanova |
| 1997-1998 | Khalid El-Amin | Connecticut |
| 1998-1999 | Troy Murphy | Notre Dame |
| 1999-2000 | Troy Bell | Boston College |
| 2000-2001 | Eddie Griffin | Seton Hall |
| 2001-2002 | Chris Thomas | Notre Dame |
| 2002-2003 | Carmelo Anthony | Syracuse |
| 2003-2004 | Chris Taft | Pittsburgh |
| 2004-2005 | Rudy Gay | Connecticut |
| 2004-2005 | Jeff Green | Georgetown |
| 2005-2006 | Dominic James | Marquette |
| 2006-2007 | Scottie Reynolds | Villanova |
| 2007-2008 | Jonny Flynn | Syracuse |
| 2007-2008 | DeJuan Blair | Pittsburgh |
| 2008-2009 | Greg Monroe | Georgetown |
| 2009-2010 | Lance Stephenson | Cincinnati |
| 2010-2011 | Cleveland Melvin | DePaul |
Georgetown University leads the award count as of 2009 with six. Only ten of the twenty teams that have participated in Big East Conference men's basketball have had players win the Rookie of the Year award. School teams which have never won the award include Providence College, West Virginia University, DePaul University, the University of Louisville, and the University of South Florida. Schools which left the Big East conference without winning the award include the University of Miami, Rutgers University, and Virginia Tech. Boston College was a founding member in 1979, and left the Big East for the Atlantic Coast Conference in 2005.[5] Because the college basketball season spans the new year, the year awarded is the year in which that season ended.
| School (year joined)[6] | Winners | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Georgetown (1979) | 6 | 1981, 1982, 1993, 1995, 2005, 2009 |
| Connecticut (1982) | 5 | 1983, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2005 |
| Pittsburgh (1979) | 5 | 1985, 1988, 1989, 2004, 2008 |
| Syracuse (1979) | 5 | 1984, 1987, 1992, 2003, 2008 |
| Boston College (1979) | 4 | 1986, 1991, 1996, 2000 |
| Notre Dame (1995) | 2 | 1999, 2002 |
| Villanova (1980) | 2 | 1997, 2007 |
| Cincinnati (2005) | 1 | 2010 |
| DePaul (2005) | 1 | 2011 |
| Marquette (2005) | 1 | 2006 |
| St. John's (1979) | 1 | 1980 |
| Seton Hall (1979) | 1 | 2001 |