Rick Pitino wins 1st Big East Coach of the Year award and RJ Luis Jr. is Player of the Year

Rick Pitino won his first Big East Coach of the Year award Wednesday and RJ Luis Jr. took Player of the Year honors after they propelled a resurgent St. John's program to its best regular season in almost four decades. UConn forward Liam McNeeley was selected the league's Freshman of the Year despite missing eight games with a high ankle sprain. Voting is done by Big East head coaches, who aren't allowed to pick their own players.