Starks and DSR Named to All Big-East Men's Basketball Teams

Press release from Georgetown:

Markel Starks Named First Team All-BIG EAST; Smith-Rivera Second Team

WASHINGTON - Georgetown University senior men's basketball player Markel Starks (Accokeek, Md./Georgetown Prep) was named to the All-BIG EAST First Team in a vote among the league's coaches.

He was one of two Hoyas selected to the all-league teams, joined by sophomore guard D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera (Indianapolis, Ind./North Central/Oak Hill), who was named to the second team.

Georgetown closed out the regular season on Saturday with a 17-13 overall record and an 8-10 mark in the BIG EAST following a loss at sixth-ranked Villanova. The Hoyas, seeded seventh in next week's BIG EAST Tournament, will play No. 10 seed DePaul (11-20, 3-15) on Wednesday, March 12 at 9 p.m. at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The game will be shown live on Fox Sports 1.

This is the second all-league honor for Starks, who was named to the All-BIG EAST Third Team last season.

Starks being named to the First Team marks the fifth-straight year a Georgetown player has been named to that team, following Greg Monroe (2009-10), Austin Freeman (2010-11), Jason Clark (2011-12) and Otto Porter Jr. (2012-13).

A two-year captain, Starks leads the team in scoring and assists, averaging 17.1 points and 4.1 assists. He ranks fourth in the BIG EAST in scoring, is seventh in the league in assists, fifth in free throw percentage (85.9%), 13th in three-point field goals made (1.7), 10th in assist/turnover ratio (1.7, 122 assists,71 turnovers) and second in minutes played (36.8). Overall this season, he has played 91.2 percent of the team's minutes (1,104-of-1,210) played.

Starks passed the 1,000-point mark for his career last month, becoming the 44th player in program history to pass that mark. He has now scored 1,188 points in 123 games (a 9.7 per game average) and needs five more points to pass Merlin Wilson ('76) for 29th all-time. Starks also ranks seventh all-time in three-point field goals made (158), sixth in three-point attempts (438), 20th in three-point percentage (36.1%), 11th in free throw percentage (80.3%) and 21st all-time in assists (287).

An All-BIG EAST Rookie Team selection as a freshman last year, this is the second postseason league honor for Smith-Rivera.

The sophomore, who was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll five times this year, is second on the team with 16.8 points per game, which ranks sixth in the BIG EAST Conference. He is second on the team with 2.7 assists, third on the team with 4.8 rebounds and leads the team with 1.2 steals per game. In BIG EAST games, he averaged 17.4 points per game.

Smith-Rivera, who has six games with at least 20 points this season and is fifth in the league in scoring, also ranks among the league leaders in field goal percentage (15th, 44.7%, free throw percentage (4th, 86.5%), steals (11th, 1.2), three-point field goal percentage (8th, 39.3%), three-point field goals made (10th, 1.9) and minutes played (5th, 35.2).

Georgetown's backcourt of Starks and Smith-Rivera is averaging 33.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, 6.8 assists and 2.1 steals. They have combined to score 47.9 percent of Georgetown's total points this season (1,017 of 2,121).

Under Thompson III, the Hoyas have had 24 All-BIG EAST selections, including eight first team selections, five second team honorees, four third team nods, two honorable mentions and five All-Rookie recognitions.

Starks being named to the All-BIG EAST first team gives Georgetown 26 all-time selections to that squad. Smith-Rivera's third team recognition marks the 18th time a Georgetown player has been placed on that squad. Since the BIG EAST was formed in 1979-80, Georgetown players have earned 83 all-conference honors.

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ALL-BIG EAST FIRST TEAM
Doug McDermott, Creighton, F, Sr., 6-8, 225, Ames, Iowa
Markel Starks, Georgetown, G, Sr., 6-2, 175, Accokeek, Md.
Bryce Cotton, Providence, G, Sr., 6-1, 165, Tucson, Ariz.
D'Angelo Harrison, St. John's, G, Jr., 6-4, 204, Missouri City, Texas
James Bell, Villanova, G, Sr., 6-6, 220, Orlando, Fla.
Semaj Christon, Xavier, G, So., 6-3, 190, Cincinnati, Ohio

ALL-BIG EAST SECOND TEAM^
Kellen Dunham, Butler, G, So., 6-6, 185, Pendleton, Ind.
D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, Georgetown, G, So., 6-3, 218, Indianapolis, Ind.
Davante Gardner, Marquette, F, Sr., 6-8, 290, Suffolk, Va.
Kadeem Batts, Providence, F, Sr., 6-9, 245, Boston, Mass.
Fuquan Edwin, Seton Hall, F/G, Sr., 6-6, 215, Paterson, N.J.
JayVaughn Pinkston, Villanova, F, Jr., 6-7, 240, Brooklyn, N.Y.

BIG EAST HONORABLE MENTION
Ethan Wragge, Creighton, F, Sr., 6-7, 225, Eden Prairie, Minn.
Ryan Arcidiacono, Villanova, G, So., 6-3, 195, Langhorne, Pa.
Darrun Hilliard, Villanova, G, Jr., 6-6, 215, Bethlehem, Pa.
Matt Stainbrook, Xavier, C, Jr., 6-10, 263, Bay Village, Ohio

BIG EAST ALL-ROOKIE TEAM^
Andrew Chrabascz, Butler, F, Fr., 6-7, 225, Portsmouth, R.I.
Billy Garrett Jr., DePaul, G, Fr., 6-5, 194, Chicago, Ill.
Tommy Hamilton IV, DePaul, F, Fr., 6-10, 284, Chicago, Ill.
Deonte Burton, Marquette, F, Fr., 6-4, 230, Milwaukee, Wis.
Rysheed Jordan, St. John's G, Fr., 6-4, 185, Philadelphia, Pa.
Jaren Sina, Seton Hall, G, Fr., 6-2, 180, Lake Hopatcong, N.J.
Josh Hart, Villanova, G, Fr., 6-5, 202, Silver Springs, Md.