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Four Johnnies earn All-Met honors
Draft-bound Ponds earns Haggerty Award as best player in the region
BY STEPHEN LEPORE
A St. John’s men’s
basketball team that returned
to the NCAA Tournament for
the first time in four years was
bound to bask in plaudits for
their efforts.
Four members of this year’s
Red Storm squad were named
to the All-Met team, named by
the Metropolitan Basketball
Writers Assosciation, a list
that comprises the best college
basketball players in the area.
Junior Shamorie Ponds
received the designation
for the second season
running, making All-Met
first team. However, he did
not successfully defend his
Haggerty Award title for best
player in the region, which
he lost to Seton Hall’s Myles
Powell.
Ponds was the fifth player
in St. John’s men’s basketball
history to earn a spot on the
All-Big East First Team more
than once, finishing fourth in
the league in scoring with 19.7
points per game in 2018-19. The
Brooklyn native also ranked
second in the conference in
assists (5.1 per game) while
leading the league in steals (2.6
per game). Ponds’ 2.6 steals per
game and 87 total thefts were
both good enough for ninth in
the country.
Mustapha Heron, who made
his debut with the Johnnies
after transferring from
Auburn, made the All-Met
second team. Heron finished
Shamorie Ponds, who’s declared for the NBA Draft, earned
the Haggerty Award from the Metropolitan Basketball Writers
Association. Courtesy of Red Storm Sports
second on the team in scoring
with 14.6 points per game.
Junior college transfer LJ
Figueroa and redshirt junior
Justin Simon were named to
the All-Met third team. Simon
was named Big East Defensive
Player of the Year. Figueroa led
the Red Storm in rebounding
and finished top 10 in the Big
East with 6.4 board per game.
He also had a team high five
double doubles.
St. John’s returned to
the NCAA Tournament in
2019 after four years away,
finishing with a 21-13 record
and an 8-10 performance in
conference play. They bowed
out to Arizona State in the
First Four round of March
Madness.
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