March 5, 2007

Colin Falls garners First Team All-BIG EAST honors.

NOTRE DAME, Ind. — For the first time since becoming a member of the BIG EAST Conference in 1995-96, Notre Dame has had two players earn first-team all-conference honors in the same year. Classmates and team captains Russell Carter (Paulsboro, N.J.) and Colin Falls (Park Ridge, Ill.) were among 11 players today named to the all-BIG EAST first team.

In addition, freshmen Tory Jackson (Saginaw, Mich.) and Luke Harangody (Schererville, Ind.) were named to the BIG EAST All-Rookie team. The naming of the Irish duo marked the first time in school history that the Irish had two players named to the league’s all-rookie team in the same season.

The four Irish players were selected by a vote of the league’s head coaches (who were not permitted to vote for their players).

With the selection of Carter and Falls to first-team all-league honors, it marks the second consecutive year a Notre Dame player has garnered first-team all-BIG EAST accolades and the fourth and fifth players in seven seasons under Irish head coach Mike Brey to earn first-team accolades. It also makes the seventh consecutive year that Notre Dame has had a player named to one of the all-conference teams under Brey.

Irish players who have earned first-team all-conference honors have included Pat Garrity (1996 and ’97), Troy Murphy (1999, ’00 and ’01), Ryan Humphrey (’02) Matt Carroll (’03) and Chris Quinn (’06).

Russell Carter garners First Team All-BIG EAST honors.

Carter leads the Irish in scoring at 16.9 points per game and has scored in double figures in all but three games this season. He also is averaging 4.7 rebounds per game. Carter has scored in double figures in nine contests and has led Notre Dame in scoring on 12 occasions, including a string of six straight contests earlier this season. The 6-4, 220-pound guard scored a career-high 32 points in a loss at St. John’s in early January that was the first and only 30-plus point effort of his career. Carter registered his only double-double of the season against Seton Hall when he finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds.

Named BIG EAST Player of the Week once and selected to the Honor Roll three times, Carter was the only Notre Dame player to start the season by scoring in double figures in the first 18 games of the season, which marked the longest consecutive double-figures scoring streak of his career. Carter has started 57 games in the 94 contests that he has played during his four-year career. As a two-year starter, he has scored 926 career points for a 9.9 scoring average, has grabbed 328 rebounds (3.5 per game) and has made 104 steals.

Falls has played in 118 games during his career and missed just two games. A three-year starter, he is one of 46 players in Notre Dame history to score 1,000 career points. He also ranks as the school’s as well as the BIG EAST Conference all-time career three-point leader with 318 and 189 three-point field goals, respectively.

Falls is averaging career bests of 14.9 points and 3.0 rebounds this season. He has netted double figures in each of the last three seasons and has scored 1,336 career points. Falls has scored in doubles figures in 21 games and netted 20-plus points in eight contests and in five of the last nine games. His current 12-game double-figure scoring streak is the longest of his career, while reaching double figures on 57 occasions.

The 6-5, 200-pound sharpshooter has been named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll three times this season and was the recipient of the Wendell Smith Award as MVP of the DePaul game on Feb. 20.

Harangody has played in all 29 contests and has been in the starting lineup in each of the last 13 games for the Irish. He is averaging 11.2 points (fourth best on the team) and is the team’s second-leading rebounder at 6.3 boards per game. The 6-8, 250-pound forward has six double-doubles, netted double figures on 20 occasions and finished with seven-plus rebounds in 14 games.

Tory Jackson garners BIG EAST All-Rookie team honors.

A three-time BIG EAST rookie-of-the-week honoree, Harangody had his best outing of the season against Marquette on Feb. 24 as he finished with a career-high 24 points and matched his career-best with 13 rebounds. Rivals. com also named him the National Freshman of the Week just one week ago.

Jackson has played in all 29 contests and been in the starting lineup each of the last 17 games. He is averaging 7.3 points, 4.2 assists and 3.0 assists. He finished as the BIG EAST leader in assists in conference games with 6.0 assist average. The 5-10, 185-pound point guard has scored in double figures in nine games this season and in five of the last six contests. He has dished off seven or more assists in seven contests, including a personal best 11 against South Florida. Jackson was instrumental in his team’s win over No. 16 Marquette in late February when he scored a career-high 21 points, grabbed seven rebounds and dished off seven assists while playing all 40 minutes of the contest. He has earned the Conference’s top rookie honor once this season.

Harangody and Jackson become the fifth and sixth different Irish players to be named to the league’s all-rookie team. Other Notre Dame players who have earned all-rookie distinction have been Martin Ingelsby (’98), Troy Murphy (’99), Chris Thomas (’02) and Torin Francis (’03).

The Irish are 23-6 and earned a first-round bye in the BIG EAST Championship after finishing league play with an 11-5 record. The 11 wins matched the most by an Irish team in BIG EAST regular-season play.

2006-07 All-BIG EAST First Team
*Jeff Green, Georgetown, Jr., 6-9, 235, Hyattsville, Md.
*Roy Hibbert, Georgetown, Jr., 7-2, 283, Adelphi, Md.
Dominic James, Marquette, So., 5-11, 175, Richmond, Ind.
Russell Carter, Notre Dame, Sr., 6-4, 220, Paulsboro, N.J.
Colin Falls, Notre Dame, Sr., 6-5, 200, Park Ridge, Ill.
*Aaron Gray, Pittsburgh, Sr., 7-0, 270, Emmaus, Pa.
*Herbert Hill, Providence, Sr. 6-10, 240, Kinston, N.C.
Lamont Hamilton, St. John’s, Sr., 6-10, 255, Brooklyn, N.Y.
*Demetris Nichols, Syracuse, Sr., 6-8, 212, Boston, Mass.
Curtis Sumpter, Villanova, Sr., 6-7, 225, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Frank Young, West Virginia, Sr., 6-5, 215, Tallahassee, Fla.

Luke Harangody garners BIG EAST All-Rookie team honors.

2006-07 All-BIG EAST Second Team
Jeff Adrien, Connecticut, So., 6-7, 238, Brookline, Mass.
Wilson Chandler, DePaul, So. 6-8, 210, Benton Harbor, Mich.
Sammy Mejia, DePaul, Sr., 6-6, 195, Bronx, N.Y.
David Padgett, Louisville, Jr., 6-11, 250, Reno, Nev.
Terrence Williams, Louisville, So., 6-6, 220, Seattle, Wash.
Jerel McNeal, Marquette, So., 6-3, 185, Chicago, Ill.
Levance Fields, Pittsburgh, So., 5-10, 190, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Brian Laing, Seton Hall, Jr., 6-5, 215, Bronx, N.Y.
Kentrell Gransberry, USF, Jr., 6-9, 270, Baton Rouge, La.
Scottie Reynolds, Villanova, Fr., 6-2, 195, Herndon, Va.

2006-07 All-BIG EAST Honorable Mention
Draelon Burns, DePaul, Jr., 6-4, 220, Milwaukee, Wis.
Jonathan Wallace, Georgetown, Jr., 6-1, 188, Harvest, Ala.
Geoff McDermott, Providence, So., 6-7, 240, New Rochelle, N.Y.
Sharaud Curry, Providence, So., 5-10, 165, Gainesville, Ga.
McHugh Mattis, USF, Sr., 6-6, 190, North Lauderdale, Fla.
Eric Devendorf, Syracuse, So., 6-4, 175, Bay City, Mich.
Mike Nardi, Villanova, Sr. 6-2, 170, Linden, N.J.

BIG EAST All-Rookie Team
Deonta Vaughn, Cincinnati, Fr., 6-1, 200, Indianapolis, Ind.
*Jerome Dyson, Connecticut, Fr., 6-3, 190, Rockville, Md.
Hasheem Thabeet, Connecticut, Fr., 7-3, 255, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania
DaJuan Summers, Gerogetown, Fr., 6-8, 235, Baltimore, Md.
Edgar Sosa, Louisville, Fr., 6-2, 170, New York, N.Y.
Luke Harangody, Notre Dame, Fr., 6-8, 250, Schererville, Ind.
Tory Jackson, Notre Dame, Fr., 5-10, 185, Saginaw, Mich.
*Eugene Harvey, Seton Hall, Fr., 6-0, 165, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Paul Harris, Syracuse, Fr., 6-5, 228, Niagara Falls, N.Y.
*Scottie Reynolds, Villanova, Fr., 6-2, 195, Herndon, Va.
Da’Sean Butler, West Virginia, Fr., 6-7, 205, Newark, N.J.

*denotes unanimous selection