Durant nearly unanimous choice as AP Player of the Year
March 30, 2007
CBS SportsLine.com wire reports
ATLANTA -- Kevin Durant of Texas was selected Friday as the Associated Press' college basketball Player of the Year, the first freshman to receive the honor.
The 6-foot-9 swingman finished fourth in the country in scoring (25.8) and rebounding (11.1) while leading the Longhorns to a 25-10 record, the Big 12 Tournament championship game and the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Durant received all but two votes for player of the year from the 72-member national media panel that selects the weekly Top 25. Senior forward Alando Tucker of Wisconsin, the Big Ten Player of the Year, got the other two votes.
Durant, the Big 12 Player and Freshman of the Year, shot 47 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3 point range and 82 percent from the free throw line. He averaged 36 minutes per game and also led the Longhorns in steals and blocked shots. He had 20 double-doubles and scored at least 30 points a Big 12-record 11 times.
In Texas five postseason games, he averaged 28.5 points and 9.6 rebounds.
He is the first Texas player to receive the award, which was first presented in 1961.
J.J. Redick of Duke won the award last season.
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Jayhawks' Wright says he will return for junior se
SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Regardless of what happens in Saturday's West Regional final between No. 1 seed Kansas and No. 2 seed UCLA at HP Pavilion, Jayhawks forward Julian Wright knows one thing: he'll be back with the Jayhawks next season.
Wright, a 6-foot-9 sophomore, said he will return to Kansas for his junior season in 2007-08, even though he is considered a potential lottery pick in June's NBA draft if he forgoes his final two seasons of college eligibility.
Wright, from Chicago Heights, Ill, has averaged 12.1 points and 7.9 rebounds in 37 games.
"I made the decision before this season that I'm not thinking about [the NBA] at all," Wright said. "I'm coming back."
Wright is still considered a somewhat raw prospect with tremendous abilities.
He scored 21 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in Kansas' 82-80 overtime upset of then-No. 2 Florida on Nov. 25, a game in which Wright dominated Gators forwards Al Horford and Joakim Noah, another pair of potential NBA lottery picks.
But Wright also has been plagued by inconsistency at times during his second college season. He scored 33 points and had 12 rebounds in a 92-74 win over Missouri on Feb. 10, then scored only four points with three turnovers in a 71- 62 victory over Kansas State nine days later.
"He's just a sophomore in college," Kansas coach Bill Self said of Wright. "He's a fabulous talent, and I've said that all along. When he's playing his best, his ceiling is higher than anyone else's. But he's not a natural scorer. That's not what he wants to do. So sometimes he can kind of give the appearance of not impacting the game as much because he's not scoring points."
Wright said part of the reason he plans to stay at Kansas is he hopes to earn a bachelor's degree in communication studies in only three years. He hopes to graduate from Kansas by summer 2008. On the court, Wright said he probably won't reach his full potential for "another five years."
"The route to getting better is to stay in college," Wright said. "The NBA is more of a skills setting."
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Davidson, Winthrop give Charlotte area NCAA tournament hopes
March 5, 2007
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -For an area best known for its big banks, NASCAR and sweet tea, another distinction has emerged here: mid-major hotbed.
Davidson (29-4) and Winthrop (28-4), on opposite ends of the sprawling Charlotte region, have each set school records for wins. Winthrop has won 18 straight games, while Davidson has won 25 of 26.
And fresh off conference tournament victories, both schools are determined to make noise in the NCAA tournament.
"Winning 29 games, and Winthrop winning 28 is extraordinary," Davidson coach Bob McKillop said Monday. "Coaches understand how difficult that is at any level. So right away we separate ourselves from so many other teams in the country."
At first glance, the two schools have little in common.
Davidson, a private school 20 miles north of Charlotte, has a rich basketball history including two trips to the Elite Eight in the late 1960s under Lefty Driesell. Since then, the school is 0-5 in the NCAA tournament.
But Davidson, behind superb freshman Stephen Curry, is headed back to the NCAAs for the second straight year after Saturday's 72-65 win over College of Charleston in the Southern Conference title game. It was the culmination of a remarkable season for the Wildcats, who were picked to finish fourth in the league's Southern Division in the preseason after losing seven seniors from last year's team.
Winthrop, a state school 25 miles south of Charlotte in Rock Hill, S.C., is a former all-women's school that didn't field a men's team since 1978-79. It was one of the worst programs in the nation until Gregg Marshall took over in 1998. He led the senior-laded Eagles to their seventh NCAA tournament appearance in his nine years Saturday with a 84-81 win over VMI.
On Monday, the Eagles - led by Torrell Martin and big man Craig Bradshaw - were No. 24 in The Associated Press poll, the first ranking in school history.
Neither school has a bad loss. Winthrop lost at No. 3 Wisconsin in overtime and led No. 8 North Carolina by nine early in the second half before losing. The Eagles' other losses are to No. 7 Texas A&M and No. 17 Maryland. Winthrop also won at Mississippi State, Missouri State and Old Dominion.
Davidson won at Arizona State, while its losses are to No. 21 Duke, Michigan, Missouri and league rival and 22-game winner Appalachian State.
Now both schools are looking ahead to the NCAA tournament. As coach, Marshall is 0-6 in the NCAAs, but Winthrop was never seeded higher than 14. That could change this year, with Winthrop looking at 10-seed or better.
"We've broken through the glass ceiling that you can't get better than a 14 seed in the Big South," said Marshall, whose 15th-seeded Eagles lost on a buzzer-beater to Tennessee in the first round of last year's NCAA tournament.
"Why can't we be 5 or 6 seed? But honestly I think we'll be a 10 or 11. Yes, we haven't advanced in the NCAA tournament. Give us a decent seed, and we'll talk about it."
McKillop feels his Wildcats also should be rewarded with something better than the 13 or 14 seed usually reserved for the Southern Conference champion.
"How many teams have won 29 games? Put us on the same line with teams that have won 25 of their last 26 games," McKillop said. "Put us in the same range with teams that have only lost one game since Nov. 25.
"Remember we're the second-youngest team in the nation. Factor all of those things in there and I've got to think we've got a pretty attractive seed."
Despite their proximity, Winthrop and Davidson haven't played since 1992, when they were both in the Big South. But Marshall said they've come close to scheduling each other as they struggle to find opponents.
"Most people hang up the phone when we call," Marshall said. "We've gotten really close. Scheduling is very difficult, but I think it's a natural. I'd love to play them."
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St. Mary's 63, Loyola Marymount 47
Feb. 27, 2007
LOS ANGELES (AP) -Diamon Simpson scored 17 points and had 12 rebounds to lead St. Mary's to a 63-47 victory over Loyola Marymount in the final game of West Coast Conference play Monday.
The Gaels (16-14, 8-6 West Coast) finished the regular season in third place and will draw a first round bye in the conference tournament Friday.
The Lions (13-17, 5-9) finished in sixth place and will play Portland in the opening round of the tournament.
Simpson made 6-of-11 shots, had five steals and locked four shots for St. Mary's. Wayne Hunter scored 13 points and Brett Collins added 12 for the Gaels.
Shawn Deadwiler led the Lions with eight points.
Simpson scored 10 points in the first half to lead St. Mary's to a 29-18 lead at halftime.
The Gaels went on a 10-2 run to start the second half and extended their lead to 39-20 with 16:39 remaining in the game.
The Lions never got closer than 16 points the rest of the game.
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