SAN ANTONIO (AP) -Tyler Hansbrough had a very busy Friday morning on the biggest weekend of his young basketball career.
The North Carolina junior forward was selected The Associated Press’ college basketball player of the year, an honor that came less than an hour after he was presented the Oscar Robertson Trophy by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association as their player of the year.
The ceremonies were a couple of blocks apart, and the 6-foot-9 Hansbrough, his coach and parents made the short walk.
this and he’s still just a kid, a great kid who happens to be a darn good basketball player.”
Hansbrough led the Atlantic Coast Conference in scoring (22.8) and rebounding (10.3) as the Tar Heels (36-2) were ranked No. 1 for all but six weeks this season and were the overall top seed for the NCAA tournament.
Hansbrough was presented the award the day before the Tar Heels play Kansas in the second game of the Final Four.
“The No. 1 goal is getting wins here; that’s the most important thing,” he said. “Individual awards are great, but the national championship is the ultimate goal.”
Drake’s Keno Davis was selected coach of the year by the AP, and he, too, had a busy morning as he swept the awards given Friday.
He and his father, Dr. Tom Davis, who won the award in 1987 at Iowa, became the first father and son to win the award.
“I remember seeing this trophy when my father won it and thinking that except for championships there couldn’t be anything better to win,” Davis said.
Davis led Drake to a school-record 28 wins, its first Top 25 ranking since 1975 and its first NCAA tournament berth since 1971. He becomes the second straight first-year coach to win the award. Like Washington State’s Tony Bennett last season, he succeeded his father as head coach.
“I don’t want to speak for Tony, but since we were assistants we knew the players, recruited the players and that made the transition easier,” Davis said.
Hansbrough received 56 votes from the 72-member national media panel that selects the weekly Top 25. Freshman Michael Beasley of Kansas State had 15 votes, and junior guard Chris Douglas-Roberts of Memphis got one in the voting conducted before the NCAA tournament. Hansbrough and Beasley both were unanimous selections as first-team All-Americans.
“I am very honored to get this award because there are a lot of good players in college basketball. I just feel privileged to be in a situation with the coaches and players I am,” Hansbrough said.
Known for his all-out hustle and physical style of play, Hansbrough led the Tar Heels with 57 steals and was credited with drawing 42 charges from opponents.
When asked where he developed the no-holds barred style of basketball, Hansbrough returned to his youth.
“I’ve always played that way since the days in the backyard with my two brothers,” he said with a laugh. “It seemed there was always a brawl there, and then in high school and college it just continued to grow.”
Hansbrough, second on the North Carolina career scoring list with 2,151 points, 139 behind Phil Ford, joins Michael Jordan (1984) and Antawn Jamison (1998) as national players of the year from North Carolina. Freshman Kevin Durant of Texas was the player of the year last season. He was the second overall pick in the NBA draft.
Davis, whose team won the Missouri Valley Conference regular-season and tournament titles after being picked ninth in the preseason poll, received 29 votes. Bo Ryan, who led Wisconsin to the Big Ten regular-season and tournament titles, was second with 14. Bruce Pearl of Tennessee got six votes, and John Calipari of Memphis and Matt Painter of Purdue each had five.
Davis was an assistant to Pearl at Southern Indiana from 1995-97.
“Bruce Pearl taught me to work hard and at full speed,” Davis said.
The Bulldogs, a No. 5 seed in the NCAA tournament, lost 101-99 on an overtime buzzer-beating 3-pointer to Western Kentucky in the first round.
“I was hoping not to hear about that shot again, but this was a season of unselfish players succeeding,” Davis said.
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