2018-19 Haggerty Award and MBWA All-Met ballot

The official conclusion to the local basketball season takes place on April 30, when the best of the New York metropolitan area is officially recognized at the MBWA Haggerty Awards dinner, to be held once again at the Westchester Marriott in Tarrytown.

Now in my seventh year as a voter, I will uphold my annual tradition of revealing my ballot, which I will also do via Twitter in addition to the content that follows below:

Haggerty Award: Myles Powell, Seton Hall (23.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 2.9 APG, 2.0 SPG) (photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

Powell’s dominating finish to his junior season is what makes him the third Seton Hall player in the last four seasons — joining Isaiah Whitehead in 2016 and Angel Delgado in 2017 — to receive this writer’s Haggerty vote. In fact, the Trenton native channeled Whitehead in February and March while leading the Pirates back to the NCAA Tournament, leaving the strongest and most lasting impression among a talented crop of local players by setting a Big East Tournament record for most points in a single half, scoring 29 points against Georgetown with a bevy of three-pointers that buried the Hoyas before the intermission. All told, Powell scored better than 20 points in 13 of his final 16 contests, and had eight 30-point contests in a season where he positioned himself to become the next great Seton Hall backcourt legend.

Also considered: Justin Wright-Foreman, Hofstra; Shamorie Ponds, St. John’s

Rest of All-Met first team, in alphabetical order:

E.J. Crawford, Iona

LJ Figueroa, St. John’s

Rickey McGill, Iona

Shamorie Ponds, St. John’s

Justin Wright-Foreman, Hofstra

All-Met second team, in alphabetical order:

Tajuan Agee, Iona

Mustapha Heron, St. John’s

Eugene Omoruyi, Rutgers

Eli Pemberton, Hofstra

Akwasi Yeboah, Stony Brook:

All-Met third team, in alphabetical order:

Geo Baker, Rutgers

Raiquan Clark, LIU Brooklyn

Zach Cooks, NJIT

Darnell Edge, Fairleigh Dickinson

Abdul Lewis, NJIT

Rookie of the Year: Nick Honor, Fordham (photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

One of the brightest spots of Fordham’s 12-20 campaign was the emergence of Honor, the leader of a three-pronged backcourt that gives head coach Jeff Neubauer every reason to be excited heading into his fifth season on Rose Hill. A scoring point guard (15.3 points per game) who resembles a mid-major Markus Howard, Honor made a name for himself early and often in his first go-round for the Rams, including a game-winning jumper against Manhattan in December’s Battle of the Bronx.

Also considered: Koreem Ozier, Sacred Heart; Cameron Parker, Sacred Heart

Coach of the Year: Kevin Willard, Seton Hall (photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)
Picked eighth in the Big East at the start of the season, nearly every college basketball aficionado expected Willard to skipper a rebuilding year in South Orange. What followed was a campaign that showcased the veteran coach — still a surreal description as he turns just 44 this Saturday — as a maximizer of talent and developer of high-character players on and off the floor. Willard’s fourth straight 20-win season, which coincided with a fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance, may just be his greatest achievement yet as he enters a potentially huge season next year with everyone except Michael Nzei returning to the program.

Also considered: Joe Mihalich, Hofstra; Tim Cluess, Iona