St. John's swingman Ron Artest became the Red Storm's 19th-ever Lt. Frank J. Haggerty Award winner as the top men's college basketball player in the metro area, as voted on by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association. The 68th annual collegiate awards dinner was held at the Meadowlands' Pegasus West in East Rutherford, NJ.   

Artest's sophomore season was his last at St. John's and he averaged 14.5 points and 6.3 rebounds as the Red Storm lost to Ohio State one game shy of the Final Four. Besides becoming one of the most well-known players ever to come out of Alumni Hall, he was one of the most energetic players ever to play for the Red Storm. A year earlier, Artest's teamate Felipe Lopez earned the Haggerty honor.

Artest was a first team All-Big East selection as a sophomore after being named to the All-Rookie team following his freshman season. He declared for the NBA Draft following the 1998 NCAA Tournament, leaving St. John's 93 points shy of becoming a 1,000-point scorer. A solid all-around player, he averaged 13.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.9 steals per game in his two seasons. He connected on 44.5 percent of his field goals (335-of-753) and 35.5 percent of his 3-pointers (92-of-259). He ranks tied for seventh all-time with 92 career 3-pointers.

Artest, a tenacious defender, left for the NBA after that season and played professional basketball for 17 seasons, notably being named a NBA all-stat and Defensive Player of the Year with the Indiana Pacers in 2004 and winning a NBA Championship with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2010 alongside Kobe Bryant. He retired from the NBA with over 13,000 career points, and has also had a significant career outside of basketball in the world of entertainment.