Texas F Durant becomes first freshman to win Wooden Award

Apr 7, 2007 - 9:36 PM LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- Kevin Durant garnered a tremendous amount of national attention this season as one of the top freshmen in recent history. He is collecting some impressive hardware as well.

Durant won the John R. Wooden Award on Saturday, becoming the first freshman to capture the coveted award honoring college basketball's best player.

The announcement came just six days after Durant also became the first freshman to win the Naismith Award, which also is presented to the top collegiate men's player.

Durant received 4,351 points from a panel of over 1,000 voters, including sports media and college hoops experts. The 19-year-old won in a landslide over Ohio State freshman center Greg Oden, who was second with 2,858 points.

It marked the first time in the 31-year history of the award that two freshmen have been included in the top five finalists.

Wisconsin senior swingman Alando Tucker was third with 2,779 points, followed by Texas A&M senior guard Acie Law IV (2,708) and North Carolina sophomore forward Tyler Hansbrough (2,142).

"I am humbled to receive this award," said Durant, who received the award at the Los Angeles Athletic Club. "I'd like to congratulate Acie, Alando, Greg and Tyler, as I have a lot of respect for them and how they have handled themselves, both on and off the court."

Joining a team that had lost all five starters from the previous season, Durant led the Longhorns to a 25-10 record and an appearance in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

The 6-9 Durant became the first freshman to garner the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year Award, leading the conference in scoring (25.8 points), rebounding (11.1) and blocks (67).

Durant also set the league's single-season scoring mark with 903 points, becoming just the second freshman in NCAA history to eclipse 900 points. Louisiana State's Chris Jackson was the first with 965 in the 1988-89 season.

"I want to thank all my teammates and coaches at Texas, as this is a team award," said Durant, who joined T.J. Ford (2003) as the only Longhorns to win the award. "I look forward to sharing this award with all of them back in Austin."

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

The 7-foot Oden was instrumental in leading Ohio State (35-4) to the national championship and both the regular-season and tournament titles in the Big Ten Conference.

Oden averaging team highs of 15.4 points, 9.5 rebounds and 3.3 blocks this season.

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.

Law averaged 18.1 points and 5.0 assists to pace the Aggies to a 27-7 mark. 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 6-9 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.