March 5, 2009
NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Luke Harangody (Schererville, Ind.), a junior forward on the Notre Dame men’s basketball team, has been selected to the 2009 National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) All-District V first team.
The all-district teams recognize the nation’s best men’s collegiate basketball players. The 240 student-athletes, from 24 districts which were realigned this season, are now eligible for the State Farm Coaches’ Division I All-America teams to be announced on Saturday, April 4, at Hoop City in the COBO Center at 10 a.m. as part of the 2009 NABC Convention in Detroit.
Joining Harangody on the NABC All-District V first team are fellow BIG EAST Conference players Hasheem Thabeet (Connecticut), Jerel McNeal (Marquette), Terrence Williams (Louisville) and Jonny Flynn (Syracuse).
Harangody is the only player in the nation to rank in the top 10 in both scoring average (23.4) and rebounds per game (12.1) this season. After missing two games early in the season due to pneumonia, the junior has scored in double figures in 21 of 22 contests since his return. Overall this season, he has reached double figures in 26 of 27 games.
The junior has posted 20 double-doubles this season. That total ranks tied for fifth in program history for a single season. He ranks in a tie for fourth in Fighting Irish history with 45 career double-doubles. Harangody recently became just the seventh player in the 104-year history of the Notre Dame basketball program to score 1,500 points and grab 800 rebounds. He currently has 1,663 points and 876 rebounds during his two-plus seasons in an Irish uniform.
Last season, Harangody was a second team NCAA Consensus All-American as he averaged 20.4 points per game and 10.6 rebounds a game. In addition, he was named the BIG EAST Player of the Year. Harangody was tabbed as the 2008-09 BIG EAST Preseason Player of the Year along with being named to The Associated Press’ preseason All-America squad. He has been named to the Midseason Top 30 list for the 2009 John R. Wooden Award All-American Team and Player of the Year trophy along with the 30-man midseason list for the Naismith Trophy. Harangody also is among 15 finalists for the 2009 Oscar Robertson Trophy.
–ND–