2022-23 MBWA awards ballot

A season that could be best described as a renaissance for college basketball in the New York metropolitan area has now dropped its curtain, and its stars will be appropriately honored once again at the annual Metropolitan Basketball Writers’ Association awards.

The oldest continuous award ceremony in college basketball celebrates its 90th recognition of the area’s best on April 27 in Tarrytown, with a new location this year in the Sleepy Hollow Hotel and Conference Center. For the 11th consecutive year, I am proud to cast a ballot to honor the outstanding local players and coaches.

As I always do and will again, I will reveal my ballot both in the space below and also on Twitter in the interest of transparency and open interaction with you. Here we go:

Lt. Frank J. Haggerty Award: Aaron Estrada, Hofstra (20.2 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 4.3 APG, 1.5 SPG) (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

Estrada earned my vote last year when the Haggerty Award went to Ron Harper, Jr. He does so again this season with a much clearer snapshot of his standing as the most consistent and successful player in the area. A two-time Colonial Athletic Association Player of the Year, Estrada blossomed with the arrival of Tyler Thomas as his sidekick in Hempstead, leading the Pride to 25 wins and a National Invitation Tournament victory over Rutgers, the program’s first postseason win since 2006. Estrada’s win will be the first for a mid-major player since Iona’s Momo Jones claimed the Haggerty in 2013, and first for Hofstra since Charles Jenkins’ three-peat from 2009 to 2011.

Also considered: Cliff Omoruyi, Rutgers; Joel Soriano, St. John’s

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

Walter Clayton, Jr., Iona

Patrick Gardner, Marist

Cliff Omoruyi, Rutgers

Darius Quisenberry, Fordham

Joel Soriano, St. John’s

All-Met second team, in alphabetical order:

Daniss Jenkins, Iona

Nelly Junior Joseph, Iona

Khalid Moore, Fordham

Demetre Roberts, FDU

Tyler Thomas, Hofstra

All-Met third team, in alphabetical order:

Dwight Murray, Jr., Rider

Anthony Nelson, Manhattan

Tyrese Samuel, Seton Hall

Grant Singleton, FDU

Cam Spencer, Rutgers

Honorable mentions, in alphabetical order:

Posh Alexander, St. John’s

Supreme Cook, Fairfield

Mervin James, Rider

Caleb McConnell, Rutgers

Kadary Richmond, Seton Hall

Josh Roberts, Manhattan

Rookie of the Year: AJ Storr, St. John’s (8.8 PPG, 1.9 RPG) (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

Storr progressed as his freshman season went on, eventually becoming St. John’s most reliable 3-point shooter with a 40 percent clip from long distance as the Red Storm won 18 games in what turned out to be Mike Anderson’s last of four years at the helm. The former Top 100 recruit entered the transfer portal this week in the wake of Rick Pitino’s roster reconstruction in Queens, but the future is bright for the marksman wherever he ends up.

Also considered: Jack Collins, Monmouth; Derek Simpson, Rutgers

Peter A. Carlesimo Coach of the Year Award: Tobin Anderson, FDU (Photo by Tyler Schank/Getty Images)

Arguably the hardest decision to make on this year’s ballot, Anderson gets the nod for his masterful guidance of Fairleigh Dickinson from a 4-22 campaign last year to a 21-win season highlighted by the Knights becoming only the second No. 16 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament after their upset of Purdue in the East Regional’s first round. A proven winner at Division II St. Thomas Aquinas, Anderson took the job in Hackensack last May and quickly assembled a roster that included three of his former players in guards Demetre Roberts, Grant Singleton, and Sean Moore. Now the new head coach at Iona, Anderson is already hitting the ground running in the same fashion.

Fordham’s Keith Urgo, who won 25 games and spearheaded the most fan support the Ram program has had since it joined the Atlantic 10 Conference, also deserves consideration for engineering just the eighth 20-win season in the 119-year history of basketball at Rose Hill, and first since 1991. Under his aegis, “Rose Thrill,” featuring a student section that has come to be known as “The Shirtless Herd,” has turned into the strongest and most unique homecourt advantage in the metro area.

Also considered: Keith Urgo, Fordham; Speedy Claxton, Hofstra

His scenery may be changing, but Tobin Anderson’s approach remains strong and consistent

Tobin Anderson addresses media after being introduced as head coach at Iona. (Photo by News 12 Westchester)

Tobin Anderson introduced himself to a majority of the nation two weeks ago when his Fairleigh Dickinson team engineered one of the greatest upsets in NCAA Tournament history, becoming just the second No. 16 seed to defeat a No. 1 seed.

Iona University had already known him and the success he enjoyed at Division II St. Thomas Aquinas, enough to where president Seamus Carey and athletic director Matt Glovaski considered him for its head coaching vacancy in 2020 before ultimately hiring Rick Pitino. As fate would decree, Anderson became available again, and approximately 60 hours after FDU’s season ended, the 51-year-old was hired at Iona one day after Pitino departed New Rochelle for St. John’s.

The familiarity between Anderson and the Iona administration not only expedited the timeline of the hire, it also upheld the commitment of the university to remain a consistent winner, something Anderson has been throughout his career.

“They made me feel comfortable, they made me feel wanted,” he gushed shortly after his March 22 introduction as the Gaels’ new leader. “You want to go somewhere that you’re wanted. At FDU, I was the guy, and at Iona, I’m the guy. They wanted me here. This is one of the best jobs on the East Coast. Let’s try to make it even better.”

“I’ve heard the term ‘overnight sensation.’ I was a coach in Division III and Division II for so long, and recruiting at that level is way harder than it is at this level because you don’t have financial aid and you have to convince kids to go non-scholarship and things like that. I’m not an overnight sensation because I’ve been working my tail off the last 20-something years, but to be here in this situation, I’m thrilled.”

Anderson appreciated not needing to change much other than his apparel and commute, even quipping that he did not need to move from his Rockland County residence. Stepping into a tailor-made winner at Iona, where the Gaels have won seven Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championships in the last decade, is far different from essentially starting from scratch at a place like FDU, and Anderson admitted such.

“It’s a different situation,” he reiterated. “At FDU, coming off a 4-22 season, I had to change the culture, the attitude, the players. Some of the guys didn’t fit with me, everything had to change. That was a whole different animal. This team just won a MAAC championship, has good players, it’s a totally different situation. But that doesn’t mean we can’t take things for granted. There’ll be the same expectations, same accountability. I told the guys I may seem like a good guy, but it’s going to be demanding. You’re going to be held accountable.”

“I’ve always had programs that I thought had big goals, big aspirations. Let’s go do great things. I want the players to feel that, and I want everybody else to believe it, too. I feel that. I’m not selling a dream here. Let’s go do something that can be done.”

Anderson employs an uptempo offense that will evoke memories of the system Tim Cluess — who also came to Iona from the Division II ranks — used to win five MAAC titles and reach six NCAA Tournaments in nine years. And after meeting with the current group of players, from which only one has entered the transfer portal since he was introduced, Iona’s new coach believes he can use the existing core to add a new layer to an existing foundation.

“I was blown away by their character, by their questions, the things they had to say,” Anderson said of the incumbent Iona players. “They all saw us play too, so it’s the same thing. There’s the portal and guys leaving, but you can stay here and do all the things you want to do right here. There’s nothing you can’t do at Iona. All that stuff, you can do here. I really believe that.”

“We’re going to press, we’re going to run, we’re going to play fast. Every kid saw us play and every kid loved how we played, and why wouldn’t you? I’m not going to hold your hand, I’m not going to slow things down. There’s a lot of freedom for our players. That’s how we do things.”

Not only is there a freedom for players to be creative on both sides of the basketball, the freedom to dream big is as abundant as ever as Anderson embarks upon his new endeavor. The son of a coach himself, he recognizes the resources available to him, and feels at home in both his surroundings and ability to craft a realistic vision of reaching the next level of success.

“For me, this is a dream job,” Anderson said. “I want to be in a place I can win. My dad always said, ‘what’s a good job? A job you can win at.’ The winning here is incredible. The people are great, the tradition’s great. We’ve gotta keep that going. All the things are in place here to do special things. FDU was like, I had to go. If I didn’t go to FDU, I might be in Division II the rest of my life, which is not a bad thing, but I had to go and take over a tough situation. Now let’s come here to a place that has more resources, more attention, more exposure, and take this thing to another level too. That’s the goal.”

“When you get to that point, get to that level, the gap’s not that big. Florida Atlantic won 30-something games. We’re right there. There’s little things, intangibles, that get you over the hump. But if you look at my track record, we’ve always been good in the postseason. My teams have always been great in March, always played well down the stretch. We plan for that, and when you win, it gets even more special. We beat Purdue, that’s a pretty hard thing to do. Getting Iona to the Sweet 16? Pretty hard thing to do, but it can be done.”

The Perfect Storm: Pitino’s marriage to Johnnies a seminal moment for both coach and program

Rick Pitino now turns his watchful eye to St. John’s upon taking over as Red Storm head coach. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

After two decades of placing a greater premium on press conference wins than actual on-court success, St. John’s finally signaled its long-absent and far longer overdue commitment to excellence when it hired Rick Pitino to shepherd its beleaguered men’s basketball program back to a level it has not seen in at least a quarter-century, perhaps longer depending on how you view the Mike Jarvis era that ended in ignominy 20 years ago this fall.

Monday afternoon’s bombshell announcement is the epiphany fans of the Johnnies have clamored for since Lou Carnesecca walked away from his empire 31 years ago. It confirms that the adults in the room are once again in power, with Father Brian Shanley using his power and pulpit as St. John’s president to unilaterally run a search that lasted just over nine days. Gone are the days of general counsel and chief saboteur Joe Oliva having a voice in the future of a long-dormant program that was once a paragon of the Big East Conference, with the embarrassment of 2019’s gong show that settled on Mike Anderson also abandoned on the curb. Shanley focused on one man, one man only, and rightfully so.

Rick Pitino did not need an introduction when his prospective candidacy came to be. The 800-plus victories, two national championships, and countless professional testimonials speak for themselves. Shanley nearly lured him back to Providence a dozen years ago before settling on Ed Cooley, who also landed in the news on Monday when he left his hometown Friars for his own chance to restore past glory on the Hilltop at Georgetown. Now, the priest who may as well be a deity for long-suffering Johnnies fans has his man, and can execute his vision on a grand scale. Sometimes, simple is brilliant. This is one of those instances where there was no need to overthink the obvious, especially when it cast an imposing shadow just a half-hour over the Throgs Neck Bridge and up the New England Thruway.

Pitino spoke often in what will now be remembered as his final days at Iona of changing the culture in New Rochelle. While very little on the court needed improvement at a school that had been to six NCAA Tournaments in the decade before his arrival, the gravitas he brings to conversations with his mere introduction was responsible for a facilities upgrade and accountability off the court for student-athletes. St. John’s is in dire need of boosts in both those areas, with Taffner Field House already behind the times after just 18 years compared to its Big East brethren’s practice buildings, and a rapidly deteriorating lack of command under Anderson that saw two players suspended for multiple games and undermining his authority with a nonchalant attitude toward him and his antiquated schemes.

The revolutionary nature of the transfer portal will likely contribute to a much different St. John’s roster next season, but take note of this: At each stop during Pitino’s illustrious career, he has engineered a double-digit improvement in wins within two years of taking over. And outside of being handcuffed by Eddie Sutton’s sanctions at Kentucky and COVID-19 at Iona, he has guided his teams to at least six more wins in his first year than the previous season. The Red Storm was 18-15 this past year under Anderson. It has not won 20 games in consecutive years since Steve Lavin’s last two seasons, which are now eight and nine years old, respectively. St. John’s has not had back-to-back 25-win campaigns since Mike Jarvis’ first two seasons at the turn of the century. All those numbers are in line to change.

Pitino deftly sidestepped the ever-present and oft-swirling rumors this past weekend, but clearly addressed in context the ship of which he now assumes command. It would take a special place to get him to consider leaving Iona, he said. One where he would not have to leave his palatial digs at Winged Foot Golf Club, he implored. He has inevitably found it again, as St. John’s, for all its warts, truly is special. The mystique of being the ninth-winningest program in the nation has not disappeared, it was just diminished by gross negligence and a litany of bad decisions hidden by a brand name.

The perception has changed, and in a seismic manner. St. John’s no longer has to dip into the well of nostalgia to recreate halcyon days, it can now get with the times and hitch its wagon to a Hall of Fame navigator who knows how to adjust for nearly every situation. The nice guy who lacked the killer instinct, the miscast Hollywood type, the former hero turned failed conqueror, and the retread who saw the game pass him by are all in the rearview mirror now. Behind the wheel is a fierce competitor and determined winner, to a fault. So insatiable is his lust and thirst for victory that nothing but the best is demanded from all who associate with him. 

Memories are more impactful when enjoyed in real time, rather than revisited wistfully as they have through the fogged red-and-white glasses of the last three decades. It’s now time to create more and watch them unfold in front of you. Look not behind you at the choppy seas, but to the bright light of the future, for the perfect storm has come.

Pitino leaves Iona, replaces Mike Anderson at St. John’s

Rick Pitino has agreed to leave Iona and take over at St. John’s, where he replaces Mike Anderson as Red Storm head coach. (Photo by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)

Rick Pitino is getting one more shot at the high-major level.

The Iona coach, who won a pair of Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference championships during his three years with the Gaels, has agreed to become the next head coach at St. John’s. A formal introduction will take place Tuesday at Madison Square Garden. Stadium college basketball insider Jeff Goodman has reported that Pitino agreed to a six-year contract to coach the Red Storm.

Pitino, 70, replaces Mike Anderson, who was fired after four seasons in which he led the Red Storm to a winning record in each, but did not compete in postseason play. The program has not been to the NCAA Tournament since 2019, the last of Chris Mullin's four years at the helm of his alma mater.

Pitino comes to Queens on the heels of a 27-8 campaign in which Iona won the MAAC regular season championship by four games over Rider, and each of its three conference tournament games by double-digit margins. The Gaels lost to UConn in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Hall of Famer also guided Iona into the field of 68 in 2021, when he and his team navigated through four pauses due to COVID-19 during the season before winning four games in five days to earn the MAAC’s automatic NCAA Tournament bid.

After he was exonerated by the Independent Accountability Resolution Process for any alleged involvement in the scandal at Louisville that cost him his job in 2017, Pitino immediately became linked to a bevy of high-major coaching vacancies. Amid the rumors, he stated it would “take a special place” for him to consider leaving Iona, the university that brought him back to the college ranks in 2020 after Tim Cluess was forced to retire due to health issues. Following the decision to part ways with Anderson, St. John’s president Rev. Brian Shanley made Pitino his sole target in the search process, with the coach calling Shanley a “superstar” after meeting him last year at a reunion honoring Providence’s 1987 team, which Pitino led to a Final Four. Shanley, the former Providence president, also attempted to woo Pitino away from Louisville to coach the Friars in 2011 before hiring Ed Cooley.

Through more than four decades at Boston University, Providence, Kentucky, Louisville and Iona, Pitino brings a career record of 834-293 to St. John’s, and remains the only coach in NCAA history to direct two schools to national championships, doing so with Kentucky in 1996 and Louisville in 2013. In between, his professional resume includes stints with the New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, and the Greek club Panathinaikos, for whom he coached prior to resurfacing at Iona. Pitino also directed the Puerto Rican and Greek national teams in the 2010s.

Hofstra vs. Cincinnati Photo Gallery

Photos from Hofstra’s 79-65 loss to Cincinnati in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament on March 18, 2023:

(All photos by Bob Dea/Daly Dose Of Hoops)