NEW YORK – Pitt coach Jamie Dixon has good reason to call the Big East’s Most Improved Player “our award.” Pitt junior forward Sam Young became the fifth Pitt player in the past nine years to bring home the honor, in voting by conference coaches. Freshman center DeJuan Blair and senior guard Ronald Ramon also won trophies at the conference’s annual awards banquet, held Tuesday night at the Grant Hyatt ballroom in Manhattan. “It means a lot to me,” Young said. “Coming off two years of adjustments to the system and injury, I just had a lot of setbacks. It was nice to create this opportunity for myself and my teammates.” Blair shared Rookie of the Year honors with Syracuse point guard Jonny Flynn. Ramon shared the Sportsmanship Award with another senior guard, Darris Nichols of West Virginia. Young joins Aaron Gray, Carl Krauser, Brandin Knight and Ricardo Greer as Pitt players to be named the Big East’s Most Improved. Pitt has won the Most Improved Award five times. Only one other school, Syracuse (three), has won the award, started in 1997, more than once.

The winners Player of the Year: Luke Harangody, So., F, Notre Dame Coach of the Year: Mike Brey, Notre Dame Rookie of the Year: DeJuan Blair, Fr., C, Pitt; Jonny Flynn, Fr., G, Syracuse Sixth man: Patrick Ewing Jr., Sr. F, Georgetown Most Improved Player: Sam Young, Jr., F, Pitt Sportsmanship Award: Ronald Ramon, Sr., G, Pitt; Darris Nichols, Sr., G, West Virginia Defensive Player of the Year: Hasheem Thabeet, So., C, Connecticut

Notre Dame swept the top two awards at the event, held on the eve of the Big East Championships. Sophomore forward Luke Harangody earned Player of the Year honors, and Mike Brey became the first coach since P.J. Carlesimo to be named Coach of the Year in consecutive seasons. Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own players. Young, a 6-foot-6 forward, is averaging 18.0 points per game, third in the Big East, and 6.4 rebounds. He has started all 31 games for Pitt (22-9) and has been the team’s leading scorer in 21 games. He has surpassed 20 or more points 14 times. “What better award than ‘Most Improved,’ ” Dixon said. “That’s what we talk about when we are recruiting kids.” Other players considered frontrunners for the award were Harangody and Connecticut center Hasheem Thabeet, named Defensive Player of the Year. Young, a Clinton, Md., native, had started only five games in his first two seasons at Pitt and averaged 7.2 points and 6.4 rebounds as a sophomore while hampered with sore knees and playing behind senior Levon Kendall. “It’s a great sign,” Dixon said of the award, “because he works so hard and he wants it so bad.” Blair is only the second Panther in the past 19 years to win the Rookie of the Year, joining Chris Taft in 2004, and the fifth overall. The 6-7 center is averaging 12.3 points and 9.5 rebounds, third in the Big East, and has 13 double-doubles. Blair, the fifth Pitt player to be named Rookie of the Year, joins a list of past winners that includes Carmelo Anthony, Allen Iverson, Charles Smith and Patrick Ewing. “This is a big award for me,” Blair said. “This is a dream come true.” Ramon, a Bronx native, has played in 129 games at Pitt and will move into third all-time with three more games. He recently surpassed 1,000 career points. “This kind of represents the program,” Dixon said. “That says a lot more about a player than just his ability.”

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