Justin Simon, the 6’5” junior starter for the Red Storm, has been named the Big East’s Defensive Player of the Year, voted on by the Big East’s coaches.
Simon joins Sir`Dominic Pointer (2015) and Mark Jackson (1987) as Defensive Players of the Year.
Tasked with defending some of the league’s best scorers, Simon excelled in particular against Marquette’s Marcus Howard, perhaps providing a blueprint to slow the scorer down — with a taller but hyper-athletic player.
St. John’s has excelled in forcing turnovers; the Johnnies have made opponents turn the ball over on 20% of their possessions in conference play, and have held opponents to 34.