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Providence College Athletics
John Linehan Named NABC Defensive Player of the Year
3/28/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 28, 2002
PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Providence College senior guard John Linehan (Chester, Pa.) was named National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Defensive Player of the Year on Thursday, March 28. Linehan joins Georgetown's Alonzo Mourning (1992) as the only players from the BIG EAST Conference ever to receive this prestigious award. Linehan, who will be in Atlanta, Ga. to participate in the NABC College All-Star game versus the Harlem Globetrotters on March 29 at 7:30 p.m. at Georgia Tech's Alexander Memorial Coliseum, will receive his Defensive Player of the Year award on Sunday, March 31 at the NABC Awards Dinner at the Downtown Hilton in Atlanta.
For Linehan, it marks the fourth Defensive Player of the Year honor he has earned this season. He also was named BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, ESPN.com Defensive Player of the Year and College Insider.com National Defensive Player of the Year.
Other honors he has received this season are Associated Press Honorable Mention All-America, All-BIG EAST Second Team, NABC District 1 First Team, USBWA All-District 1, and College Insider.com 2002 All-Defensive Team member.
Linehan, who finished second in the nation in average steals per game (4.5), made 139 steals in 31 contests this season. He set the NCAA career steals record with his 377th steal on February 26. Linehan finished his career with 385 steals. In addition to the NCAA career steals mark, Linehan also established the BIG EAST career steals record (226), the BIG EAST single-season steals record (77) and the BIG EAST single-game steals record (11). This season, he averaged 12.5 points, 4.4 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game.
Linehan, who concluded his high school career at the Winchendon School, is the son of Elizabeth Linehan and Mike Shaw.
Previous Recipients of the NABC Defensive Player of the Year
1987 Tommy Amaker, Duke1988 Billy King, Duke1989 Stacey Augmon, UNLV1990 Stacey Augmon, UNLV1991 Stacey Augmon, UNLV1992 Alonzo Mourning, Georgetown1993 Grant Hill, Duke1994 Jim McIlvaine, Marquette1995 Tim Duncan, Wake Forest1996 Tim Duncan, Wake Forest1997 Tim Duncan, Wake Forest1998 Steve Wojciechowski, Duke1999 Shane Battier, Duke2000 Kenyon Martin, Cincinnati Shane Battier, Duke2001 Shane Battier, Duke
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