The strongest college basketball conference in America named it’s best today. Six players were named to the All-BIG EAST First Team. The BIG EAST Player of the Year will come from that group. The conference will announce Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Scholar-Athlete of the Year on Tuesday, March 8.
ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM
Kemba Walker, Connecticut, G, Jr., 6-1, 172, Bronx, N.Y.
Austin Freeman, Georgetown, G, Sr., 6-3.5, 227, Mitchellville, Md.
*Ben Hansbrough, Notre Dame, G, Sr., 6-3, 206, Poplar Bluff, Mo.
Ashton Gibbs, Pittsburgh, G, Jr., 6-2, 190, Scotch Plains, N.J.
Marshon Brooks, Providence, G-F, Sr., 6-5, 200, Stone Mountain, Ga.
Dwight Hardy, St. John’s, G, Sr., 6-2, 195, Bronx, N.Y.
ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM
Preston Knowles, Louisville, G, 6-1, 190, Winchester, Ky.
Darius Johnson-Odom, Marquette, G, Jr., 6-2, 215, Raleigh, N.C.
Brad Wanamaker, Pittsburgh, G, Sr., 6-4, 210, Philadelphia, Pa.
Rick Jackson, Syracuse, F, Sr., 6-9, 240, Philadelphia, Pa.
Corey Fisher, Villanova, G, Sr., 6-1, 200, Bronx, N.Y.
ALL-BIG EAST THIRD TEAM
Chris Wright, Georgetown, G, Sr., 6-1, 208, Washington, D.C.
Tim Abromaitis, Notre Dame, F, Sr., 6-8, 235, Unionville, Ct.
Jeremy Hazell, Seton Hall, G, Sr., 6-5, 188, Bronx, N.Y.
Kris Joseph, Syracuse, F, Jr., 6-7, 207, Montreal, Quebec
Corey Stokes, Villanova, G, Sr., 6-5, 220, Bayonne, N.J.
BIG EAST HONORABLE MENTION
Peyton Siva, Louisville, G, So., 5-11, 180, Seattle, Wash.
Jimmy Butler, Marquette, F, Sr., 6-7, 220, Tomball, Texas
Scoop Jardine, Syracuse, G, So., 6-2, 190, Philadelphia, Pa.
Kevin Jones, West Virginia, F, Jr., 6-8, 255, Mount Vernon, N.Y.
BIG EAST ALL-ROOKIE TEAM
Sean Kilpatrick, Cincinnati, G, Fr., 6-4, 215, White Plains, N.Y.
Jeremy Lamb, Connecticut, G-F, 6-5, 185, Norcross, Ga.
Shabazz Napier, Connecticut, G, Fr., 6-0, 170, Randolph, Mass.
*Cleveland Melvin, DePaul, F, Fr., 6-8, 210, Baltimore, Md.
Brandon Young, DePaul, G, Fr., 6-3, 175, Washington, D.C.
Gilvydas Biruta, Rutgers, F, Fr., 6-8, 230, Jonava, Lithuania
*denotes unanimous selection
Senior Ben Hansbrough (Poplar Bluff, Mo.), who was not named to any one of the preseason all-BIG EAST teams, unanimously was selected today.
In addition to Hansbrough, graduate student Tim Abromaitis (Unionville, Conn.) earned third-team all-conference selection.
All four were selected by a vote of the league’s 16 head coaches who were not permitted to vote for their own players. The selection of the four marks the 11th straight year that Notre Dame has placed an individual on the one of the all-conference teams and the sixth consecutive year that an Irish player has been selected for first-team.
Hansbrough is the 10th different Irish player to earn first-team honors. Notre Dame’s other first-team honorees have included Pat Garrity (1996-97 and 1997-98), Troy Murphy (1999-2000 and 2000-01), Ryan Humphrey (2001-02), Matt Carroll (2002-03), Chris Quinn (2005-06), Colin Falls (2006-07), Russell Carter (2006-07), Kyle McAlarney (2007-08) and Luke Harangody (2007-08, 2008-09 and 2009-10).
Abromaitis becomes the fourth Notre Dame player to earn third team all-conference honors. Notre Dame’s past third-team honorees have been Pat Garrity (1995-96), Ryan Humphrey (2000-01) and ChrisThomas (2001-02 and 2004-05).
Hansbrough is currently averaging 18.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists for the Irish who currently are 25-5 on the season. The 25 wins are the most in the modern era for a Notre Dame team during the regular season.
In leading his team to a 14-4 record in regular-season (matching the best in program history), Hanbrough averaged 20.7 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 18 BIG EAST regular-season contests.
DePaul’s Cleveland Melvin and Brandon Young were named to the BIG EAST All-Rookie team as the league announced all-conference honors. The duo led all BIG EAST freshmen in scoring the entire season.
Melvin was the only unanimous pick for the All-Rookie Team after averaging 14.3 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game this season. In league play, he ranked among the league’s leaders with 17.4 points per game. Young, a two-time BIG EAST Rookie of the Week, led all BIG EAST rookies in assists per game this season and was second behind Melvin in scoring. Melvin and Young are the fourth and fifth DePaul players to be named to the BIG EAST All-Rookie Team. They follow Wilson Chandler (2006), Dar Tucker (2008) and Mac Koshwal (2008).