DePaul senior guard Max Strus staked his claim as one of the best players in the Big East Conference this season by earning a selection to the second team All-Big East squad for the first time in his career.

Strus joins Sam Hauser (Marquette), Alpha Diallo (Providence), Naji Marshall (Xavier), and Kamar Baldwin on the second team All-Big East squad. Jessie Govan (Georgetown), Markus Howard (Marquette), Shamorie Ponds (St. John’s), Myles Powell (Seton Hall), Phil Booth (Villanova), and Eric Paschall (Villanova) make up the first team. The Big East’s ten head coaches did the voting to determine the teams.

Strus’ selection to the second team marks the first time since 2008 [Draelon Burns] that DePaul has had representation on either the first or second team All-Big East squads. Powered by electric outside shooting, the Hickory Hills, Ill. native finished the regular season averaging 19 points per game (fourth in the conference) on 42.3/37.2/80.9 percent shooting splits and grabbing 6.1 boards per game. He led the Big East in minutes per game (36.7) and played in all but one of the Blue Demons games this season.

A tear down the stretch in Big East play aided Strus in solidifying himself amongst the best players in the conference. He averaged 27 points per game and five made 3-point field goals per game in the Blue Demons last five games. That stretch included a career high 43-point scoring outburst against St. John’s on March 3.

In his senior season at DePaul, Strus has inked a place for himself on program all-time lists in multiple categories. The 90 3-point field goals he has sunk this season is a school record. He also tied DePaul’s single game 3-point field goal school record by netting eight triples on two occasions this season (against the University of Illinois at Chicago and Georgetown). He currently sits at No. 3 on the Blue Demons all-time made 3-point field goals list (171) and became the 51st player in program history to eclipse 1000 career points.

During the course of the season, Strus earned Big East Player of the Week honors three times.

Strus helped the Blue Demons finish with seven conference wins, the most they’ve accumulated since the 2006-2007 season. The Blue Demons kick off the Big East Tournament with a showdown against St. John’s on Wednesday night. The action begins at 8:30 at Madison Square Garden.