St. John's Ponds & Ahmed Receive Big East Weekly Honors

Bashir Ahmed puts one up against Georgetown. @StJohnsBBall.

After helping the St. John's Red Storm notch its seventh Big East victory of the season on Saturday afternoon, an 86-80 triumph over Georgetown, Shamorie Ponds and Bashir Ahmed have been recognized by the conference for their efforts.

Ponds was selected as the Big East Freshman of the Week, while Ahmed found a spot on the Big East Weekly Honor Roll.

Ponds takes home Big East Freshman of the Week honors for a league-high fifth time this season after averaging 19.0 points, 5.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists in a 1-1 week for the Red Storm. On Wednesday night against Marquette, the rookie from Brooklyn filled up the stat sheet with 14 points, seven rebounds, six assists and a pair of steals in a setback for the Johnnies.

Four days later at The Garden, Ponds exploded for his 10th 20-plus point performance of the season, scoring 24 points on 10-of-15 shooting against Georgetown.

On the season, Ponds ranks sixth in the Big East in scoring (17.3 ppg), eighth in assists (3.2 apg) and first in steals (2.0 spg). The sharpshooting lefty from Brooklyn ranks fifth among NCAA freshmen in scoring and has a chance to become the first freshmen to lead the BIG EAST in steals since John Linehan did so for Providence in 1998-99.

Ahmed finds a spot on the Big East Weekly Honor Roll for the third time this season after averaging 18.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in a pair of contests against the Golden Eagles and Hoyas.

Ahmed kicked off the week with 21 points, his third 20-point performance of the year, on 7-of-14 shooting in Milwaukee. Against the Hoyas on Saturday, Ahmed scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half to help the Red Storm outlast Georgetown in a thriller down the stretch.