Boston College Athletics
Bell, Smith Capture BIG EAST Honors
December 16, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 16, 2002
Boston College senior guard Troy Bell earned BIG EAST Co-Player of the Week honors and freshman teammate Craig Smith captured BIG EAST Co-Rookie of the Week honors, according to an announcement made by the league office.
Bell shared the award with Notre Dame senior guard Matt Carroll, while Smith split his honor with Syracuse forward Carmelo Anthony.
The honor marks the second consecutive week that Smith has been recognized by the league. Last week, he shared Rookie of the Week honors with Notre Dame forward Torrin Francis.
Bell (Minneapolis, Minn./Academy of Holy Angels) gained the honors after averaging 24.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 3.0 steals per game in the Eagles' victories over Iowa State and Stony Brook. He shot 53.1 percent (17-for-31) from the field. He scored 26 points (9-for-16 FG, 4-7 treys) in 33 minutes at Iowa State.
Bell netted 22 points in the victory over Stony Brook. He recorded his 2000th collegiate point on a lay-in with 4:49 remaining in the contest. He became the fourth player in BC history to reach that milestone, joining Dana Barros '89, Bill Curley '94 and Danya Abrams '97. He now trails Abrams (2,053 points from 1993-97) by 50 points for third place on the school's all-time scoring list.
Smith (Los Angeles, Calif./Fairfax) averaged 21.0 points, 8.5 rebounds and 2.5 steals per game in the two wins. He shot 60.7 percent (17-for-28) from the field. He tallied 14 points and six rebounds at Iowa State. All of his points came in the second half. He then scored a career-high 28 points and added 11 rebounds against Stony Brook. The game marked his second collegiate double-double.
Smith made 13 field goals against Stony Brook. Since the start of the 2001-02 season, only two BIG EAST players have made more field goals in one game (both with 14) and only four others have matched his total. Bell made 13 field goals against Providence on Feb. 13, 2002.
