April 2, 2002
Notre Dame, Ind. – The honors continue for Notre Dame point guard Chris Thomas (Indianapolis, Ind.). Today, the Irish freshman and the 2002 BIG EAST Rookie of the Year was named to the The Sporting News All-Freshmen Team.
Joining Thomas on the squad were: guard Maurice Williams (Alabama), guard T.J. Ford (Texas), guard Dajuan Wagner (Memphis) and center Emeka Okafor (Connecticut).
Thomas was recently named the national freshman of the year by Basketball Times. A third-team all-BIG EAST selection, he was the team’s second-leading scorer this season as he averaged 15.6 points per game. He set Notre Dame single-season marks for assists (252), steals (72) and steals per game (2.18). He also tied the single-season assist average record (7.64), sharing that honor with Jackie Meehan.
Thomas recorded the first triple double in Notre Dame basketball history when he scored 24 points, dished off 11 assists and made 11 steals in his first collegiate outing on Nov. 16, 2001 against New Hampshire. He scored in double figures in 24 games during the season and registered seven double doubles. The six-time BIG EAST rookie-of-the-week honoree also scored 20-plus points in nine games and led the Irish in scoring on nine occasions.