NEW YORK – Seton Hall senior Romaro Gill has been named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year and BIG EAST Most Improved Player. Creighton forward Denzel Mahoney has won the BIG EAST Sixth Man Award. Due to a tie in the voting, the BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award will be shared by Butler’s Kamar Baldwin, Georgetown’s Jagan Mosely and Providence’s Emmitt Holt.
The league’s head coaches select the award winners and they are not permitted to vote for their own players.
The BIG EAST will announce the remaining individual awards: Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Freshman of the Year and outstanding Men’s Basketball Scholar-Athlete at a press conference at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday, March 11, at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Gill, a 7-2 center from St. Thomas, Jamaica, has been the defensive force that has helped fuel the Seton Hall success and concluded with a share of the BIG EAST regular-season. The senior averaged 7.8 points, 5.6 rebounds, a league-leading 3.2 blocks and ranked second in field goal percentage, making 62.8 percent. As a defensive force, he helped the Pirates lead the BIG EAST in field goal percentage defense in league games, holding opponents to 40.9 percent. He twice blocked eight shots in a conference game. Gill’s improvement this season was significant. Last year, he was a deep reserve on the bench, averaging 2.3 points and 2.7 rebounds while playing only 10.7 minutes per game.
Creighton’s Mahoney did not become eligible until December after transferring from Southeast Missouri State, but he made an immediate impact. Coming off the bench, the 6-5 guard-forward from Oviedo, Fla., is averaging 12.0 points for the Bluejays, who are co-champions with Seton Hall and Villanova. In Creighton’s three wins over top-10 teams (Seton Hall twice and at Villanova), Mahoney averaged 18.3 points. He has reached double figures in 14 of 21 games. In BIG EAST play, he led the league in free throw shooting, making 89.8 percent.
The Sportsmanship Award winners are strong contributors to their respective teams on and off the court. Baldwin, a 6-2 senior from Winder, Ga., who is a four-year starter who leads the Bulldogs in scoring with a 16.2 average. A Butler player has won or shared the Sportsmanship Award in five of the last seven years. Mosely, a 6-3 senior from Marlboro, N.J., has earned a reputation as a strong defender and leader who plays the game cleanly. He is averaging 8.4 points per game. Providence’s Emmitt Holt has come back from serious abdominal surgery that caused him to miss the 2017-18 season and most of the 2018-19 campaign. This season, the 6-7 graduate student from Rochester, N.Y., is averaging 4.8 points and 3.7 rebounds while playing 15.2 minutes per game.
BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year
Romaro Gill, Seton Hall
BIG EAST Most Improved Player
Romaro Gill, Seton Hall
BIG EAST Sixth Man Award
Denzel Mahoney, Creighton
BIG EAST Sportsmanship Award
Kamar Baldwin, Butler
Jagan Mosely, Georgetown
Emmitt Holt, Providence