Yes, the most thrilling chapter of the college basketball season is about to begin. But the regular season in the Metropolitan Area has also been one worth remembering.
Before looking ahead, here’s a look back with this year’s Courting the Area award winners:
Team of the Year
Hofstra: Should the Pride — one win from tying the program’s all-time single-season record — follow their first outright regular-season title in 18 years with a CAA Tournament crown, they would hold the most wins by any school located within 50 miles of Madison Square Garden in the past two decades. Led by the second-leading scorer in the nation (Justin Wright-Foreman), Hofstra (25-6) produced the country’s seventh-highest scoring offense, and stole the national spotlight with its incredible 16-game winning streak.
Honorable mention: St. John’s, Seton Hall
Haggerty Award
(Player of the Year)
Shamorie Ponds (St. John’s): The Brooklyn native’s all-around play gives him the edge in a neck-and-neck race with Wright-Foreman, and should make him just the third player to win the honor multiple times since 1993. In what is expected to be his final college season, Ponds ranks third in the Big East in scoring (19.8), second in assists (5.0) and first in steals (2.6), while adding 4.3 rebounds, and dramatically improving his 3-point shooting to 35.5 percent. If not for Ponds’ numerous clutch performances, and game-saving/winning plays, St. John’s wouldn’t be anywhere near the NCAA Tournament bubble.
Honorable mention: Justin Wright-Foreman (Hofstra), Myles Powell (Seton Hall)
Coach of the Year
Joe Mihalich (Hofstra): After amassing five league titles, two NCAA Tournament trips and four NIT appearances, Mihalich posted his best record in 21 seasons as a head coach. Winning at least 19 games for the fourth time in five years, the Hofstra coach developed one of the best mid-major teams around one of the nation’s best offenses. Despite playing in a conference with little meaning attached to the regular season, the 62-year-old coach never allowed the team to lose focus, while authoring the nation’s longest winning streak.
Honorable mention: Jeff Boals (Stony Brook), Kevin Willard (Seton Hall), Tim Cluess (Iona), Brian Kennedy (NJIT)
Newcomer of the Year
LJ Figueroa (St. John’s): Arriving from Odessa College in Texas, the 6-foot-6 wing became one of coach Chris Mullin’s most valuable pieces, leading the team in rebounding (6.3) and field-goal percentage (51.2), while ranking third in scoring (14.4), and second in the Big East in steals (1.9). On a team where urgency is often treated as optional, Figueroa was the exception, routinely shifting momentum, while becoming a fan-favorite with non-stop hustle.
Honorable mention: Nick Honor (Fordham), Tajuan Agee (Iona), Miles Latimer (Stony Brook)
Most Improved
Zach Cooks (NJIT): Cooks, the Highlanders’ fourth-leading scorer last season, became their star in his second year in Newark. The 5-foot-9 guard ranked third in the Atlantic Sun in scoring after doubling his average (17.0), and led the league in steals (2.5), while helping NJIT to just its third 20-win season.
Honorable mention: Desure Buie (Hofstra), Sandro Mamukelashvili (Seton Hall), Xzavier Malone-Key (Fairleigh Dickinson), Tyrn Flowers (LIU Brooklyn), Gabe Stefanini (Columbia)
Best win
Seton Hall over Kentucky (Dec. 1): The Pirates had to pull the massive upset twice at Madison Square Garden. Myles Powell (28 points) hit six 3-pointers, including the would-be game-winner with 1.5 seconds left, before Keldon Johnson’s buzzer-beating halfcourt heave sent the game to overtime. Then, with 9.5 seconds left in the extra session, Myles Cale’s 3-pointer gave Seton Hall a stunning 84-83 win over the national championship contender.
Honorable mention: Seton Hall at Maryland, St. John’s at Marquette, Stony Brook at South Carolina
Lefty Driesell(Best Defender) Award
Justin Simon (St. John’s): Simon deservedly earned a reputation as one of the country’s best lockdown defenders by routinely silencing the opposition’s best weapon. The junior guard’s standout performances came in two meetings against Marquette’s Markus Howard, in which Simon limited the Big East’s best scorer to 12.5 points on 7-of-32 shooting.
Honorable mention: Jeff Otchere (Stony Brook), LJ Figueroa (St. John’s), Tyrn Flowers (LIU Brooklyn), Zach Cooks (NJIT)
Brooklyn Dodgers (Wait ‘Til Next Year) Award
Rutgers: Steve Pikiell’s former school (Stony Brook) will be a force with all but one player returning from its 23-win squad, but the coach could soon make an even more incredible journey with the Scarlet Knights. Finally operating with a group of recruits nearly all his own, Pikiell built off a conference tournament quarterfinal run, and led an inexperienced roster out of the Big Ten basement for the first time, earning as many conference wins as the school has had in a dozen years. Another season together could result in Rutgers’ first NCAA Tournament berth since 1991.
Honorable mention: Stony Brook, Seton Hall
Washington Generals (Wait ‘Til Next Generation) Award
Fordham: Columbia makes a strong case — without an NCAA Tournament berth since 1968 — but is just three years removed from a 25-win season, and now has the four-team Ivy League Tournament to make its long-awaited return easier. Fordham has just two winning seasons since 1992 — its most recent NCAA Tournament appearance — and is once again back at the very bottom of the Atlantic 10.
Honorable mention: Columbia
Troy Dyer (Reality Bites) Award
Hofstra: Unfortunately, the legacy of a mid-major season comes down to three games in March. Hofstra lost in overtime of the 2016 CAA Championship, and is still searching for its first NCAA Tournament appearance in 18 years. To end the drought, the Pride will have to win the conference tournament in South Carolina, where the pressure will be on the top-seed.
Honorable mention: St. John’s