Rice, Diaz Earn All-BIG EAST Honors
March 8, 2004
Coral Gables, Fla. (hurricanesports.com) – University of Miami senior forward Darius Rice (Jackson, Miss.) was named to the All-BIG EAST second team and freshman guard Guillermo Diaz (San Juan, P.R.) was named to the BIG EAST All-Rookie team by a vote of the league’s head coaches.
Rice averaged a team-high 16.9 points and 6.4 rebounds per game this season becoming just the second Hurricane in school-history to lead the team in scoring four consecutive seasons.
Rice, who has earned All-BIG EAST honors all four seasons at Miami, was a BIG EAST All-Rookie selection in 2000-01, an All-BIG EAST second team selection in 2001-02, and an All-BIG EAST third-team selection last season.
He finishes his UM career ranked No. 1 starts (113), fourth in scoring (1,865), sixth in field goals (631), tied for second in field goal attempts (1,564), second in three-point field goals (260), second in three-point field goal attempts (755), seventh in free throws (343), ninth in free throw attempts (443), 11th in steals (129), 10th in games played (116) and third in minutes played (3727).
In addition, Rice scored 1,060 points in BIG EAST play which ranks 19th in the 25-year history of the conference.
Diaz averaged 11.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.3 steals per game becoming the first Hurricane since Rice in 2000-01 to be named the BIG EAST All-Rookie team.
Diaz led the team in scoring four times and ended the regular season ranked second among all BIG EAST freshmen in scoring and was tied for third in steals. In BIG EAST play he averaged 12.4 points, 1.6 steals and shot 25-49 (.510) from three-point range.
2003-04 All-BIG EAST First TeamCraig Smith Boston College So. 6-7 265 Los Angeles, Calif.Ben Gordon Connecticut Jr. 6-3 200 Mount Vernon, N.Y.*Emeka Okafor Connecticut Jr. 6-10 252 Houston, Texas*Ryan Gomes Providence Jr. 6-7 245 Waterbury, Conn.Andre Barrett Seton Hall Sr. 5-10 172 Bronx, N.Y.Hakim Warrick Syracuse Jr. 6-8 209 Philadelphia, Pa.Bryant Matthews Virginia Tech Sr. 6-7 215 Columbia, S.C.
2003-04 All-BIG EAST Second TeamDarius Rice Miami Sr. 6-10 222 Jackson, Miss.Chris Thomas Notre Dame Jr. 6-1 185 Indianapolis, Ind.Jaron Brown Pittsburgh Sr. 6-4 229 Lexington, Ky.Carl Krauser Pittsburgh So. 6-2 200 Bronx, N.Y.Gerry McNamara Syracuse So. 6-2 179 Scranton, Pa.
2003-04 All-BIG EAST Third TeamGerald Riley Georgetown Sr. 6-6 217 Milledgeville, Ga.Chris Taft Pittsburgh Fr. 6-10 250 Coney Island, N.Y.Herve Lamizana Rutgers Jr. 6-10 215 Abidjan, Ivory CoastAllan Ray Villanova Jr. 6-2 175 Bronx, N.Y.Curtis Sumpter Villanova So. 6-7 205 Brooklyn, N.Y.
2003-04 BIG EAST Honorable MentionTaliek Brown Connecticut Sr. 6-1 195 Queens, N.Y.Torin Francis Notre Dame So. 6-11 252 Boston, Mass.Julius Page Pittsburgh Sr. 6-3 191 Buffalo, N.Y.Kelly Whitney Seton Hall So. 6-8 240 Chicago, Ill.
BIG EAST All-Rookie Team*Jared Dudley Boston College Fr. 6-7 210 San Diego, Calif.Josh Boone, Connecticut Fr. 6-10 230 Mt. Airy, Md.Charlie Villanueva Connecticut Fr. 6-11 230 Brooklyn, N.Y.Guillermo Diaz Miami Fr. 6-3 178 San Juan, Puerto Rico*Chris Taft Pittsburgh Fr. 6-10 250 Coney Island, N.Y.Quincy Douby Rutgers Fr. 6-3 175 Brooklyn, N.Y.Mike Nardi Villanova Fr. 6-0 170 Linden, N.J.
*denotes unanimous selectionNote: Ties in the voting added members to the First Team and All-Rookie Team.
