Hansbrough, Brey Take Home Big East Top Honors
The honors for the 4th ranked Notre Dame basketball team continued to roll in on Tuesday when senior guard Ben Hansbrough and head coach Mike Brey were named Big East Player and Coach of the Year.
Hansbrough’s candidacy for Big East Player of the Year gained momentum throughout the season and skyrocketed over the final month of the season while the former Mississippi State transfer led the Irish to 11 wins in their final 12 games to secure the #2 seed in this week’s Big East Tournament.
After playing a complementary role in his first season with the Irish a year ago, Hansbrough assumed leadership of the team this season and now has Notre Dame flirting with a top seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Hansbrough led the Irish in scoring this season with 18.5 points a game and was a deadly shot from the three point line nailing 45.1% of his three point attempts. Hansbrough elevated his game in conference play with 20.7 points per game against Big East foes.
Hansbrough is the 4th Notre Dame player to win Big East Player of the Year honors since the Irish joined the conference. Pat Garrity (1997), Troy Murphy (2000 & 2001), and Luke Harangody (2008) have previously won the award.
Hansbrough was the only person from Notre Dame taking home some hardware Tuesday. Head coach Mike Brey took home his 3rd Big East Coach of the Year Award after taking a team predicted to finish 7th in the Big East to the top 5 with a 25-5 record (14-4 in league play).
Brey previously won the award in both 2007 and 2008, but this season’s honors may have been the most deserved. After losing Jackson and Harangody to graduation, Brey guided the Irish through the toughest conference in the country to a school record 25 wins.
Hansbrough and Brey now have their eyes set on some more important hardware – a Big East Tournament Championship. Hardware Notre Dame has never won before. The Irish will start their quest on Thursday night at 7:00 PM in Madison Square Garden against the winner of tomorrow night’s South Florida/Cincinnati contest.
Frank Vitovitch has been Co-Owner and Editor in Chief of UHND.com since joining forces with Kyle Flavin in 1999. Since that time, he has written over 2,000 articles covering Notre Dame football, recruiting, and basketball. He also works with all staff and external writers on all articles published on UHND.com. Frank's love for Notre Dame football started at a young age watching Rocket Ismail give opposing coaches ulcers in the late 1980's. By day Frank works in marketing and holds a degree in Digital Media from Drexel University. Frank's work has been cited by online/print editions of NBC Sports, ESPN, and Sports Illustrated and has been quoted on air by ESPN's Collin Cowherd. He's conducted interviews with Notre Dame legends Rocket Ismail, Randy Kinder, Lee Becton, Reggie Brooks, Michael Stonebreaker, and Ned Bolcar among others over his 20+ years of covering Notre Dame football. He's also been published in the print edition of USA Today Sports Weekly and the USA Today College Football Preview multiple times. Other Published Works/Citations for Frank Three Reasons Notre Dame Will Beat Alabama - USA Today Notre Dame Suspends WR Kevin Stepherson, RB C.J. Holmes Indefinitely - Bleacher Report Notre Dame / Ohio State Fiesta Bowl Preview - Eleven Warriors Brace Yourself: The Fighting Irish are Relevant Again - Sports on Earth Interviews with the Enemy: A Q&A with Frank Vitovitch of UHND - Yahoo! Sports Five Good Minutes: Notre Dame Football Preview With UHND.com - BC Interruption Vicious Electronic Questioning with UHND - MGO Blog
Abromaitis was awarded for a second straight year: Big East scholar athelete of the year. ND captured three out of four major Big East “hardware awards.” Considering the trophies were all the same size congrats Tim.