Freshman forward Moe Harkless of Queens, the highest rated prep player to sign with St. John’s since Ron Artest, more than lived up to expectations by winning the Big East Rookie of the Year Award, The Post has learned.
The official announcement will come today between the afternoon and evening sessions of the opening round of the Big East Tournament at Madison Square Garden.
The 6-foot-8, 209-pound Harkless is the first St. John’s player to win it since David Russell won the inaugural award in 1979.
Harkless, who set a Big East scoring record for a player in his first league game when scored he 32 against Providence, had 11 double-doubles and averaged 15.2 points and 8.6 rebounds.
“The highlight is his defensive rebounding and rebounding totals game in and game out,’’ assistant coach Mike Dunlap said. “There’s nothing glamorous about rebounding. People don’t write articles about it.
“He’s been willing to get into the trenches to do some dirty work for us. When I watched him in high school, I thought he was a talented, finesse player, but there’s nothing finesse about his ability to rebound.”