Shurna a first-team All-Big Ten pick

EVANSTON, Ill. - Northwestern senior forward John Shurna (Glen Ellyn, Ill./Glenbard West) was named a consensus first-team All-Big Ten selection, while junior forward Drew Crawford (Naperville, Ill./Naperville Central) was a consensus third-team pick when the conference's postseason honors were announced Monday evening.

In addition, guard Dave Sobolewski (Naperville, Ill./Benet Academy) was recognized as a member of the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.

Shurna becomes the first Wildcat since Evan Eschmeyer (1997, 1998, 1999) to be a three-time All-Big Ten honoree. In addition to this year's first-team selection, Shurna was a consensus second-team pick as a sophomore and a third-team choice of the coaches a year ago. He is the first Northwestern player to be named to the all-league first team since Jitim Young in 2004.

Shurna is NU's all-time leading scorer with 1,970 points and led the Big Ten with an average of 20.0 points per game in conference play. He is the first Wildcat to lead the league in scoring since Ray Ragelis in 1951.

In addition to ranking first in overall games in scoring (19.8 ppg), Shurna also ranks third with 1.6 blocked shots per game, 10th with a .421 3-point field goal percentage, 11th with a .762 free throw percentage and 14th with 5.3 rebounds per game. He also paces the team with a norm of 1.2 steals per contest.

Crawford is the Big Ten's fifth-leading scorer at 16.4 points per game. He ranks eighth in the conference with 1.9 3-point field goals per game, 11th with a .419 3-point field goal percentage and 12th with a .488 field goal percentage.

Tabbed the Big Ten Freshman of the Year by the media two years ago, Crawford was an honorable mention All-Big Ten selection in 2010-11. He scored at least 18 points in a game eight times in league play this season.

Sobolewski is the fourth Northwestern player to be named to the conference's All-Freshman Team over the last seven seasons. He is averaging 9.1 points and 3.5 assists per game while starting all 30 contests during his first campaign. Sobolewski ranks second in the Big Ten and leads all nation's freshmen with a 2.59 assist-to-turnover ratio, helping NU rank fourth nationally as a team in the category.

Senior Nick Fruendt was also honored as Northwestern's Sportsmanship Award recipient. The student-athletes chosen to receive the honor are individuals who have distinguished themselves through sportsmanship and ethical behavior. These student-athletes must also be in good academic standing and have demonstrated good citizenship outside of the sports-competition setting.

Northwestern (18-12, 8-10 Big Ten) is the No. 7 seed for this week's Big Ten tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The Wildcats square off against 10th-seeded Minnesota at 4:30 p.m. Central time Thursday.