Oden, Durant among Wooden Award finalists

Mar 28, 2007 - 6:43 PM LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Greg Oden and Kevin Durant took college basketball by storm this season. Now the freshmen attempt to make an unprecedented mark on the sport's record books.

Oden and Durant were among five finalists named Wednesday for the John Wooden Award, honoring college basketball's best player.

It marks the first time in the 31-year history of the award that two freshmen have been included in the top five finalists. No freshman has won the award.

North Carolina sophomore forward Tyler Hansbrough, Texas A&M senior guard Acie Law IV and Wisconsin senior swingman Alando Tucker were the other finalists selected from a panel of over 1,000 writers and experts.

The winner will be announced April 7 during a national telecast from the Los Angeles Athletic Club.

The 7-foot Oden has been instrumental in leading Ohio State to the No. 1 ranking in both polls. The Buckeyes (34-3) captured both the regular-season and tournament titles in the Big Ten Conference and advanced to the NCAA Tournament's Final Four for the first time since 1999.

One of the most heralded freshmen in recent history, Oden is averaging team highs of 15.4 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.3 blocks this season. Ohio State takes on Georgetown in the national semifinals Saturday.

Durant arrived with much less fanfare than Oden but emerged as arguably the most explosive scorer in the country. The 6-9 forward averaged 25.8 points and 11.1 rebounds, leading Texas to a 25-10 overall record and earning the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year Award.

The nation's fifth-leading scorer and fourth-leading rebounder, Durant also recently was named the winner of the Adolph Rupp Trophy and the Oscar Robertson Trophy.

The 6-9 Hansbrough averaged team highs of 18.4 points and 7.9 rebounds to lead the Tar Heels to a 31-7 overall record and an appearance in the East Regional final of the NCAA Tournament.

Law averaged 18.1 points and 5.0 assists to pace the Aggies to a 27-7 mark this season. But the 6-3 guard missed a key layup down the stretch in Texas A&M's loss to Memphis in the South Regional semifinals.

The 6-6 Tucker averaged 19.9 points and 5.4 rebounds for the Badgers (30-6), who won all 19 of their home games this season. However, second-seeded Wisconsin was ousted by Nevada-Las Vegas in the second round of the NCAA Tournament Midwest Region.