Sir’Dominic Pointer. Photo by: Stacy Podelski/1495 Sports
Sir’Dominic Pointer was named the 2014-15 BIG EAST Co-Defensive Player of the Year and earned the conference’s Most Improved Player Award announced by the league Monday. One day after being selected to the All-BIG EAST Second Team, the 6-foot-6 senior became only the second St. John’s player to receive each of the awards joining Mark Jackson, the 1987 BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, and Dwight Hardy who received Most Improved Player honors in 2011. Pointer shared the Defensive Player of the Year award with Providence’s Kris Dunn.
Pointer created havoc for opponents all year on the defensive end. He finished the regular-season ranked third in the conference in both steals (2.0) and blocks (2.5), while grabbing 174 of his team-high 236 rebounds on the defensive glass. Pointer is fourth in the league averaging 5.6 defensive rebounds per game.
The swingman from Detroit recorded 61 steals during the regular-season, nine away from breaking into the top-10 of St. John’s single season list. Pointer set a career-high with seven steals on Dec. 28 helping St. John’s to a 25-point win over Tulane at Barclays Center. It tied for the highest single game total in the BIG EAST this season.
Pointer’s 77 rejections in 2014-15 are more than double the block totals he recorded in a season in his first three years at St. John’s. He posted three or more blocks in 14 games this season, including five contests with five or more swats. His eight blocks in the Red Storm’s victory over Creighton on Feb. 7 marked a career-high and matched teammate Chris Obekpa for the highest total in the conference this year.
Pointer’s tremendous work ethic in the offseason helped the senior elevate his game to an elite level for his final year in Queens. He currently ranks in the top-10 of the BIG EAST in scoring (13.7), rebounding (7.6), field goal percentage (52.6) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.6). Pointer’s scoring averaged increased 7.8 points, his rebounds went up 4.4 per game, and he leads St. John’s with 95 assists, 34 more than he recorded as a junior.
The 50th 1,000-point scorer in St. John’s history, Pointer scored double-figures 21 times this season, including six 20-point performances. He posted eight double-doubles which are the second most in the BIG EAST.
St. John’s (21-10, 10-8) finished the regular-season red-hot winning seven of the last nine games for the second straight year. After matching the program’s highest win total in the regular-season since 1998-99, the Red Storm will enter 2015 BIG EAST Tournament as the No. 5 seed and meets No. 4 Providence (21-10, 11-7) in the quarterfinals Thursday at 2:30 p.m. FOX Sports 1 will carry the national telecast from Madison Square Garden.
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