Hansbrough Unanimous All-Big East Selection

Notre Dame senior Ben Hansbrough is the only unanimous selection to the All-Big East First Team.

The conference’s head coaches choose the all-conference teams.  The coaches are not permitted to vote for their own players.

DePaul forward Cleveland Melvin was the lone unanimous pick on the Big East All-Rookie Team.

The conference will announce Player of the Year, Coach of the Year,  Rookie of the Year and  Scholar-Athlete of the Year on Tuesday.

The six first-team players are also the top six scorers in the Big East. The other first-team selections are: Kemba Walker of Connecticut, Austin Freeman of Georgetown, Ashton Gibbs of Pittsburgh, Marshon Brooks of Providence and Dwight Hardy of St. John’s.

Hansbrough, a 6-3 guard, led Notre Dame to a second-place finish in the BIG EAST regular season with a 14-4 record.  He led the Irish in scoring with an 18.5 average, which was third in the league.  He also was third in the BIG EAST in 3-point shooting, making 45.1 percent.

Walker was the unquestioned leader for Connecticut, The junior guard finished the regular season second in the BIG EAST in scoring at 23.1 ppg.  He has scored at least 24 points in a game 13 times this season.  Walker was an All-BIG EAST Third Team selection last year.

Freeman, the Preseason BIG EAST Player of the Year, is fifth in the conference in scoring, averaging 17.8 points while helping the Hoyas to a 21-9 record.  The senior guard was an All-BIG EAST Second Team pick last season.

Gibbs, who also was a second-team All-BIG EAST selection in 2009-10, helped lead Pittsburgh to the BIG EAST regular-season crown with a 15-3 record.  The league’s top 3-pointer shooter at 46.6 percent, he finished sixth in scoring with a 16.4 average.

Brooks was the BIG EAST scoring champion with a 26.0 scoring mark in league games.  In all games, he also was first, averaging 24.8 ppg.  The 6-5 senior improved his scoring mark from 14.2 ppg last season.

Hardy provided the critical offensive punch to help fuel the resurgence at St. John’s. The senior guard averaged 17.9 ppg which ranked fourth for the regular season.  The Red Storm’s 12-6 mark was their best since a 12-4 record in 1999-2000.

Melvin, a 6-8 forward, was DePaul’s top scorer and the leading freshman scorer in the BIG EAST with a 14.2 average.  He also averaged 5.0 rebounds.

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

BIG EAST NOTEBOOK

·         Ten teams will enter the Big East tournament with at least 20 wins this season. Since the Big East first received an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship, 128 of 132 league teams with 20 wins reached the NCAA tournament

·         Providence’s Marshon Brooks set the league’s single-season scoring record by scoring 468 points in 18 conference games this season. The previous record of 462 had been held by Connecticut’s Donyell Marshall since 1994.

·         Seton Hall’s Jeremy Hazell finished his regular-season career with a Big East-record 201 career 3-point field goals in conference games.

·         This year is the second consecutive year in which the defending Big East champion enters the tournament as the No. 6 seed.

·         The final Big East Player of the Week for the 2010-11 season is Seton Hall G Jeremy Hazell. The Big East Rookie of the Week is Rutgers F Gilvydas Biruta.

·         Big East  Commissioner John Marinatto will formally begin Big East Week in New York City Monday as he rings the Opening Bell at the New York Stock Exchange.

(Photo courtesy US Presswire)