Onyekwe receives in-season accolade
Ugonna Onyekwe, a forward on the Penn men's basketball team, was named yesterday to the Division I all-District 3 second team.
The poll, which is run by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and Pontiac, qualifies Onyekwe and 149 other players from 15 districts the ability to be named a NABC/Pontiac Division I all-American at the conclusion of the 2001-02 season.
Onyekwe is having a torrid statistical year for the Quakers, averaging 17.3 points per game, up from 13.8 a year ago. The forward leads the Quakers in scoring and is third overall in the Ivy League.
He also leads the Red and Blue on the glass, with 5.6 rebounds per game. The junior also averages two assists, one steal, and 1.4 blocks per game.
Earlier this year, Onyekwe recorded his 1,000th career point in a 50-44 Quakers victory against Delaware on Jan. 17. He is also fourth all-time on the Penn career blocks list, with 108.
Onyekwe's season highs are 30 points -- recorded in a 79-74 win over Georgia Tech on Nov. 19 -- and 14 rebounds -- recorded in a 75-71 overtime loss to Davidson on Dec. 22.
The District 3 team includes seven players from the Big 5. Temple's Lynn Greer, St. Joseph's Marvin O'Connor, La Salle's Rasual Butler, Pitt's Brandin Knight and Seton Hall's Andre Barrett were named to the first team.
The second team includes Onyekwe, Villanova's Gary Buchanan and Ricky Wright, Rider's Mario Porter, and St. Joe's Jameer Nelson.
In the Ivy League, two other players were named All-District. In District 1, Brown's Earl Hunt, who leads the league with an average of 19.8 points per game, and Harvard's Patrick Harvey, who is second in scoring with an average of 19.0, were named to the second team.
It is Onyekwe's first selection to the all-District team.All time, the Quakers have had players named to the all-District teams 25 times. The most recent selection before Onyekwe was Michael Jordan in 1999-00.
-- Dan McQuade
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