April 14, 2004
NOTRE DAME, Ind. — Junior Chris Thomas (Indianapolis, Ind.) was the recipient of the Notre Dame National Monogram Club MVP Award for the 2003-04 campaign, while sophomore Chris Quinn (Dublin, Ohio) received the Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley Rockne Student-Athlete Award at the annual Men’s Basketball Banquet on Wednesday evening.
The banquet honored members of the 2003-04 Irish team and more than 650 persons attended the event.
Notre Dame finished the season with a 19-13 overall record and 9-7 mark in BIG EAST play. The Irish advanced to the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament, marking the fourth consecutive postseason appearance under Mike Brey.
Thomas led the Irish in scoring with 19.7 points per game and earned honorable mention Associated Press and second-team all-BIG EAST league honors for the second consecutive year. He became the school’s career assist leader (638) during the 2003-04 campaign and was the Irish assist leader (4.7 per game) for the third time in as many seasons. A finalist for the Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award, Thomas was a first-team NABC (National Association of Basketball Coaches) District 10 and USBWA (United States Basketball Writers Association) District V honoree.
He led the Irish in scoring in 22 games overall and in 13 of the last 14 contests (including a streak of 11 straight games at one point during the season). The 6-1 guard topped the 20-point mark in 16 games and scored 30-plus points twice during the season. Thomas netted a career-high 39 points (the fifth 30-point outing of his career) in Notre Dame’s win over Saint Louis in the second round of the NIT.
Chris Quinn collects the Notre Dame Club of St. Joseph Valley Rockne Student-Athlete Award.
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Heading into his senior season, Thomas ranks eighth all-time in career scoring with 1,783 points and is the only player in Notre Dame history to score more than 1,700 points and dish off 600-plus assists. He has played and started all 99 games in his career. That streak of 99 consecutive games started ranks second all-time. Thomas has netted double figures in 85 gamed throughout his career, scored 20-plus point on 41 occasions and played 40-plus minutes in 35 contests.
Quinn started 25 of 32 games in his second season and finished second to Thomas in the scoring column with a 14.3 scoring average. He scored in double figures on 25 occasions, topping the 20-point mark five times. He led the BIG EAST Confernce with a 2.81 assist-to-turnover ratio as he dished off 104 assists and committed just 37 turnovers while averaging 35.8 minutes.
The 6-2 guard led the Irish in three-point field goal percentage (.379) and was second in three-point field goals made (74). He scored a career-high 25 points against Quinnipiac and Boston College.
Quinn is enrolled in the Mendoza College of Business and owns a 3.086 overall grade index. He was named to the 2002-03 BIG EAST Academic All-Star Team following his freshman season.