NEW YORK - Marquette men's basketball big man Oso Ighodaro will leave the school after earning two degrees in four years.

For those efforts, the senior was named the Big East's scholar-athlete of the year Wednesday.

"I think it's really cool just to show that I can do my best at both (academics and athletics)," Ighodaro said. "I know my parents are really proud of that.

"And as the first (scholar-athlete award) in Marquette history, that's a big honor, for sure."

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The award was voted on by the conference's Academic Affairs Committee. Ighodaro will be given a $2,000 scholarship, which can be used to graduate or professional studies.

Ighodaro earned a finance degree in three years, compiling a 3.54 grade-point average. This year, he is earning a MBA and he will complete that in the summer.

"It's really cool, just for after basketball to have that under my belt," Ighodaro said.

The 6-foot-11 Ighodaro also earned all-Big East second team honors this season. He is averaging 14.4 points and a team-leading 7.2 rebounds per game. He is shooting 60.8% from the floor.

"Incredibly proud," MU head coach Shaka Smart said. "He's as high level of a person as I've ever been around in sports.

"Special individual. As I've said repeatedly, unbelievably selfless. Especially for someone who is an excellent player. It's a well-deserved award."

Both of Ighodaro's parents have spent time working in higher education in Arizona. They pushed academics on their son.

"I didn't play basketball until high school because of that," Ighodaro said. "They wanted to make sure education was at the forefront."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Marquette's Oso Ighodaro named Big East's scholar-athlete of the year