Temple University Athletics
ATLANTIC 10 ANNOUNCES ALL-CONFERENCE MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAMS
3.6.02 | Men's Basketball
West led his Musketeers to the Atlantic 10 West division title and theoverall top seed in this week's Verizon Atlantic 10 Championship. The 6-9
forward from Garner, NC is averaging a team-high 18.5 points per game and an Atlantic 10-leading 10.0 rebounds per game. He also leads the conference in field goal percentage (.548) and blocked shots (2.67 bpg). West joins St.Bonaventure's Earl Belcher (1980 and 1981) and James Bailey of Rutgers (1978 and 1979) as the only players to twice earn the league's Player of the Year award outright. Greg Jones of West Virginia earned Player of the Year honors in 1982 and co-player honors in 1983.
In addition to being tabbed Player of the Year, West also earned the Atlantic 10's Defensive Player of the Year award. Only West and Temple's Pepe Sanchez (1999-00) have won both awards in the same season.
Joining West on the All-Conference first-team are J.R. Bremer of St.Bonaventure, Rasual Butler of La Salle, Temple's Lynn Greer, and Jameer Nelson of Saint Joseph's.
The All-Conference second-team consists of George Washington's Chris Monroe, Smush Parker of Fordham, Marvin O'Connor and Bill Phillips of Saint Joseph's, and Xavier's Romain Sato. On the third-team are Lionel Chalmers of Xavier, Marques Green of St. Bonaventure, Dayton's Brooks Hall, David
Hawkins of Temple, Mike Skrocki of Richmond, and Duquesne's Wayne Smith.
Anthony Anderson of Massachusetts was named the league's Rookie of the Year. The 5-11 sophomore point guard from Lynn, MA sat out all of last year.
Despite the lay-off, Anderson enters the Verizon Atlantic 10 Championship as the Minutemen's second leading scorer at 9.9 ppg. His 96 assists are second on the squad, as are his 27 steals.
Joining Anderson on the All-Rookie team are Mike Cleaves of La Salle, St.Bonaventure's Mike Gansey, Brian Polk of Temple, and T.J. Thompson of George
Washington.
The All-Defensive team is comprised of West, Green, Greer, Sato, and Tony Dobbins of Richmond.
J.R. Bremer, who has been among the country's top five leading scorers all season, was named the Atlantic 10's Chris Daniels Award winner, presented to the conference's most improved player. The 6-2 senior from Cleveland Heights, OH leads the Atlantic 10 with a 24.8 ppg scoring average and in the three-pointers made per game (2.93). His .802 free throw percentage places him fourth in the league and his 1.9 steals per game is good for fifth in the conference. A year ago, Bremer netted 16.6 ppg.
Temple sophomore Brian Polk garnered Sixth Man of the Year laurels. The 6-4 guard from Harbeson, DE has played a more vital role in the Owls' rotation
as the year has progressed. Polk enters the Championship sporting an 8.3 scoring average and 3.9 rebounding average. His 36 steals also make him a threat when opponents have the ball.
For the second time in as many years, Bill Phillips was named the Atlantic 10's Student-Athlete of the Year. On the court, the senior from
Collegeville, PA averages 11.3 ppg and 7.3 rpg. He also leads the Atlantic 10 with a .522 three-point field goal percentage. Off the court, Phillips
has a 3.93 grade point average as a graduate student seeking his MBA. As an undergraduate, Phillips had a 3.63 gpa as a finance major. This year he earned his third straight Academic All-District award. The three-time member of the Dean's List was a 2001 third-team Verizon Academic All-America.
Phillips is joined on the Atlantic 10 Academic All-Conference team by Tony Dobbins, Mike Skrocki, and Scott Ungerer of Richmond and Jon Pawlak of
Duquesne.
For guiding Xavier to the Atlantic 10 West division title, Thad Matta was named Coach of the Year. In just his first season at Xavier, Matta led his Musketeers to a 14-2 league ledger and a 22-5
mark overall. The 24th-ranked Musketeers enter the Verizon Atlantic 10 Championship as the overall top
seed in the tournament. Prior to heading to Xavier, Matta was the head coach at Butler, guiding the squad to the NCAA Tournament and a 24-8 record.
2001-02 ATLANTIC 10 MEN'S BASKETBALL ALL-CONFERENCE TEAMS
First-Team, School
J.R. Bremer, St. Bonaventure
Rasual Butler, La Salle
Lynn Greer, Temple
Jameer Nelson, Saint Joseph's
David West, Xavier
Second-Team
Chris Monroe, George Washington
Marvin O'Connor, Saint Joseph's
Bill Phillips, Saint Joseph's
Smush Parker, Fordham
Romain Sato, Xavier
Third-Team
Lionel Chalmers, Xavier
Marques Green, St. Bonaventure
Brooks Hall, Dayton
David Hawkins, Temple
Mike Skrocki, Richmond
Wayne Smith, Duquesne
All-Rookie Team
Anthony Anderson, Massachusetts
Mike Cleaves, La Salle
Mike Gansey, St. Bonaventure
Brian Polk, Temple
T.J. Thompson, George Washington
All-Defensive Team
Tony Dobbins, Richmond
Marques Green, St. Bonaventure
Lynn Greer, Temple
Romain Sato, Xavier
David West, Xavier
All-Academic Team
Tony Dobbins, Richmond
Jon Pawlak, Duquesne
Bill Phillips, Saint Joseph's
Mike Skrocki, Richmond
Scott Ungerer, Richmond
Player of the Year: David West, Xavier
Rookie of the Year: Anthony Anderson, Massachusetts
Defensive Player of the Year: David West, Xavier
Chris Daniels Most Improved Player of the Year: J.R. Bremer, St. Bonaventure
Sixth Man of the Year: Brian Polk, Temple
Student-Athlete of the Year: Bill Phillips, Saint Joseph's
Coach of the Year: Thad Matta, Xavier
