March 10, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, PA., March 10, 2008 - Penn State junior forward Jamelle Cornley (Columbus, Ohio) was named to the All-Big Ten third team by voting members of the conference media and honorable-mention by the conference coaches the Big Ten announced on Monday. Cornley underwent successful arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Monday to repair inflamed tissue and help speed the healing process in a severely bruised knee that has give him problems all season. He is expected to be out 3-4 months of physical activity following the operation.
Cornley, the 2006 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and an honorable-mention All-Big Ten pick last year, leads Penn State averaging 12.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game. He ranks among the top 12 in the Big Ten in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage hitting at 51.5 percent in Big Ten play. The team's Co-MVP last season, Cornley posted back-to-back double-doubles in Penn State's opening Big Ten road wins at Northwestern and Illinois and had back-to-back 20-point games at Minnesota and vs. Iowa in late February. He has posted 16 double-digit scoring games on the year and led the Lions in scoring five times and rebounding 13 times on the season.
Cornley's selection marks the 24th time a Penn State player has been named to one of the top three All-Big Ten post-season teams. He is the 12th Penn State player to earn All-Big Ten recognition and the second under Coach Ed DeChellis joining Geary Claxton, a second team selection in 2007 and third team pick in 2006. Senior Mike Walker (Lewisberry, Pa.) was honored as Penn State's Sportsmanship Award Winner.
Indiana's D.J. White earned unanimous selection from the coaches and media to the All-Big Ten first team and was named the conference Player-of-the-Year. He was joined on the media's first team by Eric Gordon (Indiana), Jamar Butler (Ohio State), Robbie Hummel (Purdue) and Brian Butch (Wisconsin). Drew Neitzel (Michigan State) replaced Butler on the coaches All-Big Ten first team. Gordon was named the Big Ten Freshman-of-the-Year and Purdue's Matt Painter was named Coach-of-the-Year by both coaches and media. Purdue's Chris Kramer earned Big Ten Defensive Player-of-the-Year from the coaches and Wisconsin's Jason Bohannon was named the Sixth Man-of-the-Year.