Villanova Awards: Acaden Lewis, Kevin Willard Miss Out On Honors

Villanova point guard Acaden Lewis ended up as the only freshman on the All-Big East Second Team, surpassing Third Team nominees Braylon Mullins (UConn) and Nigel James Jr. (Marquette).

In a surprising twist, Lewis was unable to capture the conference’s Freshman of the Year Award announced on Wednesday, March 11. Instead, James Jr. took home the honors.

Lewis finished the regular season posting 12.5 points, 3.2 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.0 steals per game, leading Villanova in each of the latter two categories. James Jr. scored 16.4 points per game and added 3.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 1.9 steals per game. As such, Lewis losing out isn’t a slight: if anything, it’s surprising he took the Second Team nod over James Jr.

Wildcats head coach Kevin Willard also missed out on his chance at a yearly award, with Seton Hall head man Shaheen Holloway bringing in Coach of the Year honors via unanimous vote. The Pirates finished last in the Big East last season and Holloway seemed in danger of losing his job, but he rebounded to go 20-11, locking up the conference’s fourth seed.