Dec. 13, 2010

PITTSBURGH - Duquesne's T.J. McConnell (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley) has been named Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Week for his performance in Duquesne's games against Green Bay and West Virginia last week.

The 6-0 freshman guard led the Dukes in scoring twice in averaging 19.0 points, 5.5 assists and 3.0 steals per game. He is the first DU player to earn league rookie honors since junior Eric Evans was named Rookie of the Week four times in 2008-09 - the last of which was on March 1, 2009.

McConnell scored 18 of his team-high 20 points in the second half of DU's 81-71 win at Green Bay. He finished 8-of-10 from the field and added seven assists against the Phoenix.

He followed that with 18 points, four assists and five steals in a 64-61 loss to West Virginia at CONSOL Energy Center.

McConnell, who shot .625 for the week, is averaging 12.1 points, 5.1 assists and 3.3 steals on the season. He is shooting .603 overall, including .500 (13-of-26) from the 3-point arc.

McConnell, the first Duquesne player to earn Atlantic 10 honors this season, ranks first in the conference in steals per game, second in assists per game, third in field goal percentage, fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.1-to-1) and fifth in 3-point percentage.

Duquesne (4-4) returns to action on Saturday, Dec. 18 when it hosts IUPUI (5-6) at the Palumbo Center at 7:00 p.m.