Big East Blogger Roundtable: Player of the Year, all league team

Our Roundtables continue with some baseline answers on who the blogging community think will win the Big East's major postseason awards. Asked a couple of weeks ago, the consensus answers have been compiled and are shared on a spreadsheet linked below as we ramp up the coverage for a Big East season that some feel has a sense of finality to it, with a few major programs moving on to other conferences.

But that bit of butt hurt will wait for some time, as the league's teams brutalize each other into submission - it's the Big East way.

First question: who will be the Player of the Year in this year's Big East?

The Big East coaches have chosen Ashton Gibbs as the preseason player of the year - probably because of talent AND his seniority - and the Big East bloggers agree on that. 

In the Big East bloggers' blogpoll, Gibbs edged out Jeremy Lamb by one vote for player of the year. Both were near-unanimous picks for the All-League team. The five players, plus preseason POY:

Gibbs is probably the safe choice. He's talented, experienced, and an integral (high-usage) player on a Pittsburgh team that should challenge for the league crown. The coaches' Big East team was Gibbs, Abromaitis, Johnson-Odom, Joseph, Kevin Jones, and Lamb - the coaches are obviously smart people to agree. The Big East second team:

Scoop Jardine saw no votes/ mentions in our poll; Alex Oriakhi warranted a quick mention. The Big East's official Honorable Mention team:

The full spreadsheet is available on Google Docs. Some comments on the bloggers' Player of the Year decisions:

Orange 44: While Lamb will play well, I just think Gibbs has the edge.

Cardiac Hill: Gibbs was lights out in 2010-11, hitting 49% of his three-pointers and averaging just under 17 ppg. He'll also get even more touches this season with the trio of Brad Wanamaker, Gary McGhee, and Gilbert Brown all graduated. Jeremy Lamb is the trendy pick, but Gibbs may be more of a sure thing.

From the pro-Jeremy Lamb side:

The Nova Blog: After what he did last year as a freshman, the hype is going to be huge, but he's got the style of game to succeed at this level. He's always putting himself in good spots to be effective. Can he do it without Kemba, though?

Casual Hoya: Tri-Lamb will be the leading scorer on a UConn team that will contend for best in show.

Hoya Prospectus: I don't think Lamb is going to be the best player in the conference, but I think he's going to put up the best traditional numbers and win the award.

And the pro-Darius Johnson Odom faction should also be heard:

Cracked Sidewalks: Maybe a homer pick, but Marquette's leading scorer has the ability to score 20+ per game, especially if he plays at anywhere near the level that has earned him nationwide accolades all summer long. He no longer has to share the spotlight with Jimmy Butler, and will thrive because of it.

Rumble in the Garden: Oh, I know he won't be. But I look at those other players and think, "that guy?"

What do you think?