April 9, 2002

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- Providence College senior guard John Linehan (Chester, Pa.) was named Basketball America Defensive Player of the Year in the April 2002 edition of the monthly magazine.

For Linehan, it marks the fifth Defensive Player of the Year honor he has earned this season. He also was named NABC Defensive Player of the Year, BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year, ESPN.com Defensive Player of the Year and College Insider.com National Defensive Player of the Year.

Other honors he has received this season are Associated Press Honorable Mention All-America, All-BIG EAST Second Team, NABC District 1 First Team, USBWA All-District 1, and College Insider.com 2002 All-Defensive Team member.

Linehan, who finished second in the nation in average steals per game (4.5), made 139 steals in 31 contests this season. He set the NCAA career steals record with his 377th steal on February 26. Linehan finished his career with 385 steals. In addition to the NCAA career steals mark, Linehan also established the BIG EAST career steals record (226), the BIG EAST single-season steals record (77) and the BIG EAST single-game steals record (11). This season, he averaged 12.5 points, 4.4 assists and 3.8 rebounds per game.

Linehan, who concluded his high school career at the Winchendon School, is the son of Elizabeth Linehan and Mike Shaw.

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