Oct. 25, 2006
Notre Dame senior shooting guard Colin Falls has received preseason recognition from the BIG EAST Conference, as one of 14 total players in the 16-team men’s basketball league to receive preseason all-BIG EAST honors for the 2006-07 season. The league’s coaches selected 11 players to the preseason all-BIG EAST team, with Falls joining two others who received honorable mention distinction. The BIG EAST preseason coaches poll forecasts an 11th-place finish for Notre Dame, in what has become the nation’s premier basketball conference.
Falls heads into his final season as one of the nation’s top long-range shooters and needs 71 three-pointers in 2006-07 to become Notre Dame’s career leader. The Park Ridge, Ill., native set the Irish single-season record with 102 three-point baskets during his junior season (’05-’06), when he averaged 13.8 points per game and finished 13th nationally in three-point baskets per game (3.4). His 2005-06 highlights included making eight three-pointers as part of a career-high 32 points versus Seton Hall. Falls averaged 10.2 points per game during his first three seasons with the Irish while shooting better than 40 percent from three-point range (232-for-576; .403) and .829 from the free-throw line (141-for-170), spanning 91 career games played and 60 starts.
2006-07 BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year – Aaron Gray, Pittsburgh
2006-07 BIG EAST Preseason Rookie of the Year – Paul Harris, Syracuse
2006-07 Preseason All-BIG EAST Team
*Aaron Gray, Pittsburgh (Player of the Year), C, Sr., 7-0, 270, Emmaus, Pa.
Jeff Adrien, Connecticut, F, So., 6-7, 245, Brookline, Mass.
Wilson Chandler, DePaul, F, So., 6-8, 210, Benton Harbor, Mich.
Sammy Mejia, DePaul, G, Sr., 6-6, 195, Bronx, N.Y.
*Jeff Green, Georgetown, F, Jr., 6-9, 235, Hyattsville, Md.
*Roy Hibbert, Georgetown, C, Jr., 7-2, 283, Adelphi, Md.
Juan Palacios, Louisville, F, Jr., 6-8, 245, Medelin, Columbia
*Dominic James, Marquette, G, So., 5-11, 175, Richmond, Ind.
Lamont Hamilton, St. John’s, F, Sr., 6-10, 253, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Terrence Roberts, Syracuse, F, Sr., 6-9, 235, Jersey City, N.J.
Curtis Sumpter, Villanova, F, Sr., 6-7, 220, Brooklyn, N.Y.
*unanimous selection
2006-07 Preseason All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention
David Padgett, Louisville, F/C, Jr., 6-11, 250, Reno, Nev.
Colin Falls, Notre Dame, G, Sr., 6-5, 200, Park Ridge, Ill.
Eric Devendorf, Syracuse, G, So., 6-4, 175, Bay City, Mich.
2006-07 Preseason Coaches Poll
School – Points
1. Pittsburgh (10) – 219
2. Georgetown (4) – 212
3. Syracuse (1) – 182
4. Marquette (1) – 181
5. Connecticut – 173
6. Louisville – 149
7. Villanova – 146
8. DePaul – 134
9. St. John’s – 105
10. Providence – 102
11. Notre Dame – 80
12. West Virginia – 72
13. Cincinnati – 52
14. Rutgers – 49
15. Seton Hall – 42
16. South Florida – 22
First-place votes in parentheses