Chris Mullin and Shamorie Ponds, Malik Sealy and D’Angelo Harrison, Mark Jackson and Marcus Hatten.
Julian Champagnie is now part of that exclusive club. The junior forward became just the seventh St. John’s player to be named to the Big East’s first team in consecutive years Sunday.
Champagnie, averaging 18.9 points, 6.6 rebounds, 1.9 steals and 1.2 blocks, was a preseason first-team selection, too. He is joined on the first team by Seton Hall senior Jared Rhoden, Villanova’s Collin Gillespie, Connecticut duo Adama Sanogo and R.J. Cole, and Marquette’s Justin Lewis. The Player of the Year, announced Wednesday before the start of the Big East Tournament at the Garden, will be one of those six players. Gillespie was the lone unanimous pick.
The big surprise was that regular-season champion Providence didn’t have a player selected to the first team. The Friars’ Jared Bynum and Nate Watson did make the second team. Also on the second team were Villanova’s Justin Moore, Creighton’s Ryan Hawkins and DePaul’s Javon Freeman-Liberty. St. John’s sophomore point guard Posh Alexander was an honorable mention selection. Seeded seventh, St. John’s (16-14) opens the Big East Tournament on Wednesday against No. 10 DePaul at 7 p.m.