Dec. 18, 2008

NOTRE DAME, Ind. - Senior Kyle McAlarney (Staten Island, N.Y.) and junior Luke Harangody (Schererville, Ind.( are among 11 BIG EAST players named to the 50-player Naismith Early Season Watch List.

The BIG EAST players joining McAlarney and Harangody on the Watch List were Jeff Adrien (Connecticut), DeJuan Blair (Pittsburgh), Earl Clark (Louisville), Dominic James (Marquette), Jerel McNeal (Marquette), A.J. Price (Connecticut), Scottie Reynolds (Villanova), Hasheem Thabeet (Connecticut) and Sam Young (Pittsburgh).

The Naismith Trophy, sponsored by the Atlanta Tipoff Club, will be presented for the 40th time in 2009. The watch list was compiled by the Atlanta Tipoff Club's Board of Selectors, which based its criteria on player performances from the previous year and expectations for the 2008-09 college basketball season. The Naismith Trophy, presented by AT&T will be awarded at the 2009 NCAA Men's Final Four in Detroit, Mich.

For the sixth consecutive season, presenting sponsor AT&T once again will se the standard in allowing fans to participate in determining this year's winner. In February, the Naismith voting academy, comprised of leading basketball journalists, coaches and administrators from around the country, will narrow its early season list to the Top 30 players in the nation. Those players, and others, who distinguished themselves throughout the season, will be eligible for the final ballot in March.