March 7, 2006

St. Louis - Collegeinsider.com has tabbed Saint Louis Billikens freshman guard Tommie Liddell (East St. Louis, Ill. / Hargrave Military Acad.) for its 2005-06 Freshman All-America Team. Liddell yesterday was named Atlantic 10 Conference Rookie of the Year and selected to the A-10 All-Rookie Team.

"I'm truly proud of what Tommie and his teammates have accomplished this season," Billikens head coach Brad Soderberg said. "Although we're not done playing yet, these kids finished tied for third in the A-10 when the preseason poll had us 13th. One thing we certainly have learned is that the more Tommie has his hands on the ball, the better we play."

A six-time recipient of the A-10 Rookie of the Week award, THE 6-foot-4 Liddell tops the Bills in assists with 76 and steals with 28. He is third on the club in scoring at 10.5 points per game and second in blocked shots with 18. He ranks ninth in the A-10 in rebounding at 7.0 rpg and has recorded five double-doubles, which ties junior center Ian Vouyoukas for the team lead. He ranks in the top 10 on the Billikens' all-time freshman lists in scoring, rebounding, assists, blocks and steals.

In its first season as a member of the Atlantic 10 Conference, Saint Louis (16-12 overall, 10-6 A-10) finished tied for third with La Salle, but will be the No. 4 seed in the 2006 A-10 Tournament as a result of Saturday's loss to the Explorers. The Billikens will open play in the quarterfinal round at U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati on Thu., Mar. 9, at 1 p.m. (CT). SLU will face the winner of the first-round game between Saint Joseph's and Dayton.

Liddell is the Billikens' first freshman All-American since Larry Hughes was the 1997-98 consensus national Freshman of the Year.

Rather than designate first, second and third teams along with honorable mention, collegeinsider.com lists its top 25 freshmen. The list follows:

2005-06 Collegeinsider.com Freshman All-Americans
Josh Alexander, G, Stephen F. Austin
Mario Chalmers, G, Kansas
Wilson Chandler, F, DePaul
Jeremy Chappell , G, Robert Morris
Devan Downey, G, Cincinnati
Bobby Frasor, G, North Carolina
Jamont Gordon, G, Mississippi State
Tyler Hansbrough, F/C, North Carolina
Jason Holsinger, G, Evansville
J.R. Inman, F, Rutgers
Juwann James, F, James Madison
Curtis Jerrells, G, Baylor
Brandon Johnson, G, San Diego
Tommie Liddell, G, Saint Louis
Luc Richard Mbah a Moute, F, UCLA
Tasmin Mitchell, F, LSU
Tyrese Rice, G, Boston College
Brandon Rush, F, Kansas
Diamon Simpson, F, St. Mary's
Rodney Stuckey, G, Eastern Washington
Tyrus Thomas, F, LSU
Mike Trimboli, G, Vermont
A.D. Vassallo, F, Virginia Tech
Marcus Williams, F, Arizona
Shawne Williams, G/F, Memphis