St. John’s Harkless Honored by Big East

Moe Harkless is second among freshmen players in the Big East with an average of 8.8 rebounds per game. (Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

St. John’s freshman forward Moe Harkless was named Big East Freshman of the Week Monday after averaging 26.5 points and 13.0 rebounds per contest in games against West Virginia and Duke.

Harkless, currently fourth among freshmen in scoring at 16.6 points per game, put up 23 points and pulled down 13 rebounds in the Red Storm’s 78–62 win over the Mountaineers on Wednesday. The 6'8” Harkless followed that performance with 30 points and 13 rebounds in St. John’s 83–76 loss to the Blue Devils on Saturday.

With the performance, Harkless became the first freshman opponent to score 30 or more points at Cameron Indoor Stadium since Virginia’s Courtney Alexander in 1996.

Harkless is the second St. John’s freshman to receive the conference award, following guard D'Angelo Harrison’s honor in early January.