March 10, 2013
WASHINGTON - Georgetown University sophomore men's basketball player Otto Porter Jr. (Morley, Mo./Scott County Central) was the only unanimous selection to the All-BIG EAST Conference First Team, announced by the league offices on Sunday morning. Porter Jr. was one of six players selected to the First Team by the league's coaches, who could not vote for their own players.
Georgetown had three players recognized on the all-league teams, all for the first time. Junior guard Markel Starks (Accokeek, Md./Georgetown Prep) was named All-BIG EAST Third Team and freshman guard D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera (Indianapolis, Ind./Oak Hill) was named to the All-Rookie Team.
Porter Jr. being named to the First Team marks the fourth-straight year a Georgetown player has been named to that team, following Greg Monroe (2009-10), Austin Freeman (2010-11) and Jason Clark (2011-12).
The Hoyas closed out the regular season on Saturday with a resounding 61-39 win over No. 7/8 Syracuse in front of 20,972 fans at Verizon Center, the largest crowd to see a college basketball game in D.C. Metro history.
The win improved Georgetown's overall record to 24-5 and 14-4 in the BIG EAST as the Hoyas clinched a share of the BIG EAST Regular Season Championship and the No. 1 seed in next week's league tournament. The regular season championship is the third in nine seasons under Head Coach John Thompson III.
Porter Jr. one of 25 finalists for the Wooden Award recognizing the top player in college basketball, leads the team in scoring and rebounding with 16.4 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. Porter Jr. was named the BIG EAST Player of the Week last Monday, the third-straight week he has been recognized. It is the first time a BIG EAST player has won the award in three-straight weeks since the 2003 season.
Porter Jr. also leads the team in steals (2.0 spg), is second on the team in blocked shots (1.0 bpg) and ranks third on the team in assists per game (2.7 apg). He has scored in double figures 25 times this season, has eight games with at least 20 points - including a career-high 33 points in win at Syracuse on Feb. 23 - and has six double-doubles.
Against BIG EAST opponents, Porter Jr. averaging 18.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, while shooting 49.8 percent from the floor (104-of-209) and 44.1 percent from three-point land (30-of-68) and 80.7 percent from the free throw line (88-of-109). Porter Jr. missed parts of two games this season and his per-40 minute averages are 18.8 points and 8.6 rebounds per game.
Starks was one of five players named to the All-BIG EAST Third Team. Starks is second on the team in scoring with 12.4 points per game, and leads the team in assists (84, 2.90 per game) and with 54 three-point field goals. He ranks sixth in the BIG EAST in three-point field goal percentage (41.5%) and is 12th in the league in three-point field goals made. Starks, who scored a game-high 19 points in the win over Syracuse and set a career-high with five three-pointers, has reached double figures in scoring 18 times this season, including four games with at least 20 points.
Smith-Rivera was one of five players selected to the All-Rookie Team. Smith-Rivera has been the team's first player off the bench for much of the season and is fourth on the team in scoring with 9.0 points per game, adding 2.9 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 37 three-point field goals in the process. In 18 BIG EAST games, he was third on the team with 11.1 points and fourth with 3.8 rebounds. Smith-Rivera, who was named BIG EAST Rookie of the Week on Feb. 25, scored a career-high 33 points in a win over DePaul on Feb, 20, the most points for a Georgetown freshman since 1996.
Under Thompson III, the Hoyas have had 22 All-BIG EAST selections, including seven first team selections, four second team honorees, four third team nods, two honorable mentions and five All-Rookie recognitions.
Porter Jr. being named to the All-BIG EAST first team gives Georgetown 25 all-time selections to that squad. Starks' third team recognition marks the 17th time a Georgetown player has been placed on that squad. Since the BIG EAST was formed in 1979-80, Georgetown players have earned 81 all-conference honors.
