Jan. 16, 2002
Notre Dame, Ind. – For the third time this season, Notre Dame point guard Chris Thomas (Indianapolis, Ind.) has been honored as the BIG EAST Conference Rookie of the Week. Thomas, who led the Irish to a 2-0 week as his team posted wins on the road at West Virginia (67-64) and Pittsburgh (56-53), shares the honor with Emeka Okafor of Connecticut. He is the only BIG EAST first-year player to earn the rookie-of-the-week accolade three times in 2001-02.
The 6-1 guard averaged 11.0 points, 6.0 assists and 5.5 rebounds in the two victories. He scored 15 points, dished off eight assists, grabbed four rebounds and made three steals in Notre Dame’s come-from-behind victory over the Moutaineers. Against Pittsburgh, he tallied seven points, four assists and two rebounds while playing all 40 minutes of the contest.
Thomas ranks second in the Irish scoring column with 15.8 points per game and leads the team in assists (6.69), minutes played (35.5) and steals (2.44).