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Araujo earns national honor

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Rafael Araujo

Rafael Araujo

BYU center Rafael Araujo was named honorable mention All-American by The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Araujo, the Mountain West Conference co-player of the year with Air Force's Nick Welch, led BYU to a 21-9 overall record and a second straight appearance in the NCAA tournament. Araujo averaged 18.4 points and 10.1 rebounds per game during his senior year, his second at BYU after transferring from Arizona Western College.

Welch was also named honorable mention All-American.

There was no debate when it came to Emeka Okafor and Jameer Nelson. They're unanimous All-Americans.

The stars at Connecticut and Saint Joseph's led the All-America voting, the first time since 1985 more than one player was chosen by every voter.

"It is hard to express just what it means to be recognized as one of the best players in the country," Okafor said. "Individual recognition like this is really a reflection of the great teammates and coaches that I am fortunate to work with every day."

Okafor, a 6-foot-10 junior center, and Nelson, a 5-11 senior guard, earned a perfect 360 points by being picked on all 72 first-team ballots.

Lawrence Roberts of Mississippi State was third with 308 points, while Josh Childress of Stanford had 235, and Ryan Gomes of Providence completed the first team with 208.