March 4, 2002
Senior Ryan Humphrey has been chosen to the 2001-02 BIG EAST All-Conference First Team, while teammates Chris Thomas and David Graves garnered all-rookie, third-team and honorable mention honors.
Because of ties in the balloting, seven players were named to the first team. The others are: Caron Butler of Connecticut, Mike Sweetney of Georgetown, Troy Bell of Boston College, Preston Shumpert of Syracuse, Brandin Knight of Pittsburgh and Marcus Hatten of St. John’s.
Humphrey led Notre Dame to its third straight 20-win season and a second-place finish in the West Division.
The 6-8 senior averaged 18.9 points and a league-leading 10.6 rebounds. He had 18 double-doubles in 27 games.
Graves is the third-leading scorer for the Irish, averaging 14.6 points per game. The senior captain ranks second on the team in steals with 49 this season.
Three players were unanimous selections on the BIG EAST All-Rookie Team. They are Connecticut’s Emeka Okafor, Providence’s Ryan Gomes and Thomas.
Thomas is the second-leading scorer for Notre Dame, averaging 16.0 points per game. He has also garnered BIG EAST Rookie of the Week honors six times this season.
2001-02 All-BIG EAST First Team
Troy Bell, Boston College, Jr., 6-1,171, Minneapolis, Minn.
*Caron Butler, Connecticut, So., 6-7,235, Racine, Wisc.
Mike Sweetney, Georgetown, So., 6-8,260, Oxon Hill, Md.
Ryan Humphrey, Notre Dame, Sr., 6-8,233, Tulsa, Okla.
Brandin Knight, Pittsburgh, Jr., 6-0,175, East Orange, N.J.
Marcus Hatten, St. John’s, Jr., 6-3,225, Baltimore, Md.
Preston Shumpert, Syracuse, Sr., 6-6,198, Fort Walton Beach, Fla.
All-BIG EAST Second Team
Darius Rice, Miami, So., 6-10, 205,Jackson, Miss.
John Salmons, Miami, Sr., 6-7, 200,Philadelphia, Pa.
John Linehan, Providence, Sr., 5-9,165, Chester, Pa.
Rashod Kent, Rutgers, Sr., 6-6, 265,Fairmont, W. Va.
Ricky Wright, Villanova, Jr., 6-7, 215, East Chicago, Ind.
All-BIG EAST Third Team
Emeka Okafor, Connecticut, Fr., 6-9, 240, Bellaire, Texas
Kevin Braswell, Georgetown, Sr., 6-2,190, Baltimore, Md.
James Jones, Miami, Jr., 6-8, 211,Miami, Fla.
Chris Thomas, Notre Dame, Fr., 6-1,165, Indianapolis, Ind.
DeShaun Williams, Syracuse, Jr., 6-3, 202, Paterson, N.J.
Chris Moss, West Virginia, Sr., 6-8, 225, Chesterfield, Va.
All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention
David Graves, Notre Dame, Sr., 6-6, 208, Lexington, Ky.
Jaron Brown, Pittsburgh, So., 6-4, 225, Lexington, Ky.
Julius Page, Pittsburgh, So., 6-3, 180, Buffalo, N.Y.
Jerome Coleman, Rutgers, Jr., 6-2, 190, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Gary Buchanan, Villanova, Jr., 6-3,205, St. Louis, Mo.
BIG EAST All-Rookie Team
Ben Gordon, Connecticut, Fr., 6-2, 185, Mount Vernon, N.Y.
*Emeka Okafor, Connecticut, Fr., 6-9, 240, Bellaire, Texas
* Chris Thomas, Notre Dame, Fr., 6-1, 165, Indianapolis, Ind.
*Ryan Gomes, Providence, Fr., 6-7, 235, Waterbury, Conn.
John Allen, Seton Hall, Fr., 6-5, 197, Coatesville, Pa.
* – unanimous selection
Ties in the voting created additional positions on first and third teams.