March 5, 2001

NOTRE DAME, Ind. – Junior Troy Murphy (Morristown, N.J.) has been chosen unanimously to the 2000-01 BIG EAST All-Conference First Team, while teammate Ryan Humphrey (Tulsa, Okla.) garnered third-team honors. They duo was instrumental in leading Notre Dame to its first BIG EAST regular season crown as the Irish captured the BIG EAST West Division crown.

Murphy was joined on the First Team by Troy Bell of Boston College and Michael Bradley of Villanova, also unanimous selections, in addition to Preston Shumpert of Syracuse and Calvin Bowman of West Virginia. The 6-11 forward led the league in scoring for the second consecutive year at 22.8 points per game and was fourth in the conference in rebounding (9.3). Murphy, the 1999-2000 BIG EAST Player of the Year, became just the second player in conference history to win back-to-back scoring titles.

Humphrey, a 6-9 forward is second in both scoring and assists averaging 14.3 points and 9.0 rebounds. He led the Irish with 73 blocked shots which ranked second in the BIG EAST.

By virtue of its West title, Notre Dame is the top seed from that division and one of four team in the conference who will receives byes in the upcoming AT&T BIG EAST Championship which will run March 7-10 at Madison Square Garden in New York, N.Y. The Irish open up in the quarterfinals against the winner of a first-round matchup between Miami and Pittsburgh.