NEW YORK, N.Y.

There were a few prerequisites for Big East player of the year this season.

The winner needed to lead his team in scoring, play for a division-champion team and have previously won the award for Big East Rookie of the Year.

One more thing, his name had to be Troy.

Luckily, Notre Dame forward Troy Murphy filled all the requirements as he shared the honor of Big East player of the year with Boston College's point guard Troy Bell.

"This year was really a team effort," Murphy said. "If they needed me to rebound the ball, I tried to do that. If they needed me to make the pass, I tried to do that. I did whatever the team needed from me, rather than last year, when I just tried to score a lot."

Many thought Murphy, a returning All-American would get the nod over Bell, particularly after Notre Dame beat Boston College in head-to-head competition, but the two players shared the wealth.

"Troy Bell had a great year," Murphy said. "He's definitely deserving of being player of the year. I was maybe surprised that they didn't have three guys. Michael Bradley [Villanova] had a heck of a year."

Murphy, a 6-foot-11 junior, became one of just four players to win the award multiple times, as he was the sole selection a year ago. None of the previous repeat-winners won more than one outright award. St. John's' Chris Mullin was the lone selection in 1983, but shared it with Georgetown's Patrick Ewing in 1984 and 1985.

Connecticut's Richard Hamilton, who captured the honor in '98 and '99, shared it with Miami's Tim Janes in '99.

"Everybody wants to kind of give it to another person," Murphy said of winning multiple times. "You have a higher standard held to you. They say you were player of the year last year. People are gunning for you; you have a bull's-eye on your back. It does make it more satisfying."

This year, Murphy led the Big East in scoring with 22.6 points per game and finished fourth in rebounding with 9.3 boards per game. He also pushed the Irish to win their first ever banner, as they won the Big East West Division with an 11-5 division record.

"I think this one means more than last year, even though you shared it, because we're part of a championship run," Irish coach Mike Brey told Murphy.

Murphy, whose parents Jim and Christine, were both in attendance, has yet to go home empty-handed from a Big East award ceremony. The New Jersey native won Rookie of the Year his freshman season.

Bell joined Murphy by taking Boston College from a 3-13 Big East record a year ago, the worst in the conference to 13-3 this season, the best of any team.

"The two guys who were selected player of the year were from championship teams," Brey said. "I think it just sends a great message. It's so good when your individual award winners come from championship teams or teams that are in the hunt."

In the process of rebuilding Boston College, the 6-1 sophomore Bell scored 20.1 points per game, good for third in the Big East, and a third-best 2.6 steals per game.

"I never envisioned myself being here so soon," Bell said.

Eagles' coach Al Skinner also got credit for Boston College's turnaround, capturing Big East coach of the year.

Seton Hall freshman Eddie Griffin won rookie of the year, after leading the Big East with 19 double-doubles and the nation with 4.5 blocks per game.

Providence junior John Linehan, a point guard, won defensive player of the year, as the

Friars improved from 4-12 in the league a year ago to 11-5 this season.

Syracuse's Preston Shumpert and West Virginia's Calvin Bowman shared the award for Most Improved Players, with the voting slighting Notre Dame senior point guard Martin Ingelsby.

Ingelsby, who played a limited reserve role a year ago, now averages 37.9 minutes per game as a team captain. He has posted the best assist-to-turnover ratio in the Big East at 3.49, while finishing near the top of the league in assists.

"I thought Martin was so deserving," Brey said. "I wanted it so bad for him — something, maybe most improved, maybe third team."

Ingelsby seemed more interested in getting more team wins than individual honors. The same goes for junior forward Ryan Humphrey, who was named to the third team All-Big East, but could have made a case for being a second team selection. Humphrey scored 14.3 points and pulled down nine rebounds per game in his first season as a transfer from Oklahoma.

"I've just got to take it as it comes," Humphrey said. "The only thing that matters are the team goals. As long as we win the championship, that's all that matters."

While Brey thought Humphrey could have been picked a bit higher, he also thought Ingelsby or sophomore shooting guard Matt Carroll had the types of seasons worthy of all-conference selection. Then again, the Irish coach recognized that their snubs indicated the quality of Big East players.

"There's a lot of good players in our league," Brey said. "They've really grasped winning and chasing a championship and going back to the NCAA Tournament. So the individual things have been brushed off pretty quickly, and they're going for the team goals."

Big East Tournament play begins today. The Irish have a first-round bye, and will face the winner of tonight's Miami-Pittsburgh face off Thursday at 7 p.m.

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