Two former America East men's basketball standouts have joined the select fraternity of NBA champions.
Three-time all-conference standout Jose Juan Barea (Northeastern) and former league Rookie of the Year Rick Carlisle (Maine) were crowned NBA champions last night after leading the Dallas Mavericks to their first-ever Larry O'Brien Trophy.
Barea, who racked up 1,680 career points during three seasons in America East, scored 15 points and added five assists in last night's 105-95 clinching win over Miami. The fourth-year player, who added 17 points in Dallas' Game 5 win, averaged 8.8 points and 3.4 assists during the playoffs and reached double figures seven times.
Carlisle, the America East Rookie of the Year in 1979-80, became the 11th person to win a title as a player (Celtics, 1986) and a head coach. He averaged 14.3 points and 3.8 rebounds in two seasons in Orono before tranferring to Virginia. He is the
Barea and Carlisle join a select group of former America East players to have won NBA titles. Three-time America East Player of the Year Malik Rose (Drexel) won three rings with the Spurs (1999, 2003, '05) while Craig "Speedy" Claxton (Hoftra), the conference Player of the Year in 2000, was Rose's teammate in '03.