Tourney Time

Greetings, readers.  Sorry about the late post, It's been a busy week and I straight up forgot.  The Big East Tournament is upon us, and after the blowout win against DePaul, Syracuse earned the 4 seed and two byes so they don't have to play until tomorrow.  I have less to say about that, and more about how Rick Jackson got no love from whoever votes on awards for the Big East.  Jackson earned defensive player of the year, but was snubbed from the All-Big East first team and the conversation for player of the year.  Not to sound like a homer, but that is a farce.  The All-Big East first team is comprised of 5 guards: Ben Hansbrough of Notre Dame, Kemba Walker from Connecticut, Austin Freeman from Georgetown, Ashton Gibbs from Pittsburgh, Marshon Brooks from Providence and Dwight Hardy from St. John's.  Incidentally enough, those are the top six scorers in the conference as well.  The All-Big East team isn't supposed to be just the highest scorers, it should be an actual TEAM that selects the best player at each position, kind of like an all-star team that doesn't really play any games.  You can't tell me there was a power forward that played better than Ricky.  The guy was the only senior on the team and played his ass off every game.  He averaged 35 minutes a game out of a possible 40 and had 17 double-doubles on the season.  17! He also AVERAGED a double-double for the whole season, averaging 13 points and almost 11 rebounds a game, along with 2.5 blocks.  You can't tell me he didn't deserve a first-team nod.  It shouldn't be all about scoring.  Jackson meant more to his team that almost all of those other players, save for maybe Kemba Walker at UConn and Hansbrough at Notre Dame.  Syracuse wouldn't have been half as good without him as he was the only serviceable inside presence they had since Fab Melo and Baye Keita are both freshman.  I think it was the most egregious of snubs and the guy should be recognized for how much he accomplished and how far he came in his four years at Syracuse.