March 29, 2011
PITTSBURGH - Duquesne's T.J. McConnell (Pittsburgh, Pa./Chartiers Valley) has added to a growing list of postseason awards by being named ECAC Division I Men's Basketball Rookie of the Year it was announced today.
McConnell, the 2011 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year, has also been named to the CollegeInsider.com Freshman All-America Team as well as the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team.
The 6-0 Pittsburgh native, who broke the A-10 freshman record for steals set by Pepe Sanchez in 1997, finished fourth nationally with a 2.8 spg. average. His 91 thefts also broke the DU single-season record of 89 set by teammate Damian Saunders last season.
McConnell averaged 10.8 points, 3.8 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 2.8 steals per game in helping the Dukes to a 19-13 record and tied for fourth place finish in the A-10 at 10-6. He tied the DU school record for most A-10 Rookie of the Week honors with five.
McConnell shot .498 from the field, including .402 from the 3-point arc. He scored in double digits 19 times and posted two or more steals in 26 of 32 games. His 2.50 assist-to-turnover ratio was second-best in the conference and tied the sixth-best freshman effort in NCAA history.
ABOUT THE ECAC
The Eastern College Athletic Conference is the nation's largest athletic conference and only multi-divisional conference, with 287 member institutions and over 122,000 student-athletes ranging from Maine to North Carolina and westerly to Illinois. The ECAC publicizes the achievements of over 750 student-athletes annually through the postseason all-stars program. In men's basketball, the ECAC awards one Division I and Division II all-star team each, and four regional Division III all-star teams (New England, Upstate, Metro and South).
2010-11 ECAC DIVISION I MEN'S BASKETBALL ALL-STARS
Player of the Year
Kemba Walker, Jr., G, Connecticut
Rookie of the Year
T.J. McConnell, Fr., G, DUQUESNE
First Team
F - Kyle Singler, Sr., Duke
G/F - Marshon Brooks, Sr., Providence
G - Nolan Smith, Sr., Duke
G - Kemba Walker, Jr., Connecticut
G - Charles Jenkins, Sr., Hofstra
Second Team
F - Jordan Williams, So., Maryland
F - Ryan Rossiter, Sr., Siena
G/F - John Holland, Sr., Boston U.
G - Ashton Gibbs, Jr., Pittsburgh
G - Dwight Hardy, Sr., St. John's
