Men's Basketball Recognizes Terrier Standouts At Banquet
April 28, 2002 | Men's Basketball
BOSTON - The Boston University men's basketball team, fresh off its sixth NCAA Tournament appearance, handed out its end-of-season awards and honors at the team's breakup banquet held on Sunday, April 28.
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER
The Most Valuable Player award was presented to junior forward Billy Collins (Concord, NH). An America East First Team All-Conference selection, Collins was among the league leaders in nearly every statistical category this season. He led the Terriers with eight double-doubles, and had the highest single-season three-point shooting percentage (.482) in B. U. history. The tri-captain was the emotional leader of the Terriers, playing the entire postseason with a broken right wrist. Collins averaged 12 points and 8.1 rebounds per game this season.
MOST IMPROVED PLAYER
Freshman forward Rashad Bell (Queens, NY) was voted the Terriers' Most Improved Player. Averaging only 2.4 points and 1.4 rebounds in the Terriers' first 16 contests, Bell exploded in the season's second half, tallying 10.6 points and 5.6 boards per game. The America East All-Rookie Team selection scored a team-leading 16 points and added eight rebounds in the Terriers' NCAA Tournament loss to Cincinnati.
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
An America East Second Team All-Conference and All-Rookie Team performer, freshman guard Chaz Carr (Manchester, CT) earned the Terriers' Rookie of the Year award. After the season-ending injury to Matt Turner in early December, Carr took over the two-guard roll in earnest, leading the team in scoring at 13.5 points per game. He was named the league's Player of the Week on Jan. 20, becoming only the second freshman in 21 years to win the award. He also earned the conference's Rookie of the Week award four times during the season.
BEST DEFENSIVE PLAYER AWARD
Senior forward Stijn Dhondt (Bornem, Belgium) earned the team's Best Defensive Player award after another season spent doing the "dirty work" for the Terriers along the front line. He was fourth on the team in steals and fifth in rebounding, usually marking the opposition's best big man. He made his largest contribution, however, at the offensive end, when he hit a buzzer-beating, off-balanced shot to defeat Hartford in the semifinals of the America East Championship.
REGGIE STEWART AWARD
Senior forward Nacho Rodriguez (Canary Islands, Spain) was presented with the Reggie Stewart Award, which recognizes the Terrier who exhibits a spirit, dedication, and commitment to Boston University basketball. The award is named in honor of the late Reggie Stewart '91, a four-year member of the men's basketball team who died unexpectedly from a heart attack while playing basketball in Case Gym.
FRIENDS OF BASKETBALL AWARD
B. U.'s Friends of Basketball Award was given to sophomore guard Kevin Fitzgerald (Belle Harbor, NY). The award goes to the player whose accomplishments were most overlooked during the season. Arguably the most consistent point guard in the conference, Fitzgerald was a stabilizing force for the Terriers at point guard, leading the league in assist-to-turnover ratio at 2.53. With others grabbing the headlines and major awards, Fitzgerald led the team and did the little things that ultimately led to the team's NCAA bid.
STEVE WRIGHT ACADEMIC AWARD
Rodriguez was also presented with the first annual Steve Wright Academic Award. Rodriguez will graduate in May with a degree in Engineering, and earned a spot on the America East Academic Honor Roll, which recognizes student-athletes with grade-point averages of 3.0 or higher. Wright, who is one of six former Terriers to have his number retired, was an academic All-American during his career at B.U.
Boston University is coming off one of its most successful seasons in the program's 100-year history. The Terriers finished with a 22-10 record, won the America East Conference Championship, and made the school's sixth-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
