Let the Gerry McNamara Week of Appreciation continue.

McNamara was one of 11 players named to the All-Big East First Team by the conference’s head coaches on Monday. It was the second straight year McNamara was named one of the Big East’s best.

Though he suffered through his worst season shooting – 35.5 percent from the field, 32.5 on 3-pointers – McNamara averaged a team-high 16.4 points and a career high 5.7 assists in 2005-06. In his final regular season game at the Carrier Dome on Sunday, he scored 29 points in a 92-82 loss to No. 4 Villanova.

But Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim, who spoke at length after the game about his senior guard, said that performance didn’t clinch his position on the team.

‘Gerry McNamara is going to be remembered for the work he’s done here not for one game or two or 10 or 20 or 30,’ Boeheim said. ‘You look at the four-year career that he’s had here and you really don’t need to say anything. There are a lot of stats there. There are a lot of those things. He won the national championship. That’s all you need to do.’

The Syracuse guard was not one of the four unanimous selections to the team – Connecticut forward Rudy Gay, Marquette center Steve Novak and Villanova guards Randy Foye and Allan Ray.

The other players named to team were Cincinnati forward Eric Hicks, Notre Dame guard Chris Quinn, Pittsburgh center Aaron Gray, Rutgers guard Quincy Douby and West Virginia guard Mike Gansey and center Kevin Pittsnogle.

McNamara was named to the Second Team in his sophomore year and to the All-Rookie Team in his freshman year.

Last year, the First Team was only comprised of only six players.

When McNamara spoke with the media after Sunday’s loss, he returned praise for his head coach.

‘Coach Boeheim isn’t the most outgoing, ‘tell you how he feels every day’ kind of guy, and after four years, we have a respect for each other that no one can ever take from us,’ McNamara said. ‘I’m just happy to play for a coach who gave me the opportunity to be in the situation that I’m in and thrive in it.’

The other guard

While no Syracuse player was named to the 10-player Second Team or was one of six players to receive Honorable Mention, guard Eric Devendorf was named to the All-Rookie Team on Monday. In the preseason, the Big East coaches picked Devendorf to win Freshman of the Year. The recipient of individual awards will be revealed tonight.

Devendorf became a starter in SU’s sixth game of season, replacing junior Louie McCroskey in the backcourt alongside McNamara. The freshman came on strong offensively toward the end of the season and finished third on the team in scoring at 12.4 points.

Like McNamara, Devendorf was not one of the unanimous choices. Those were Cincinnati guard Devan Downey, DePaul forward Wilson Chandler and Marquette guard Dominic James.

The others named to the 11-player team were UConn forward Jeff Adrien, Pittsburgh forward Sam Young, Marquette guard Jerel McNeal, Providence guard Sharaud Curry, Providence forward Geoff McDermott and Rutgers’ forward J.R. Inman and guard Anthony Farmer.

This and that …

Syracuse faces Cincinnati in the first round of the Big East tournament on Wednesday at noon in Madison Square Garden in New York. … Syracuse finished below .500 in the conference for only the second time in the Big East’s 27 seasons. The 1980-81 team finished 6-8.

Published on March 5, 2006 at 12:00 pm