Durant, Bennett honored by AP

By Associated Press     Mar 31, 2007

? A couple of rookies swept the national college basketball awards.

Freshman Kevin Durant of Texas and first-year coach Tony Bennett of Washington State were named player and coach of the year Friday by the Associated Press.

Durant, the smooth 6-foot-9 swingman who finished fourth in the country in scoring (25.8) and rebounding (11.1), is the first freshman to win the award since it was created in 1961.

Bennett, who succeeded his father at Washington State for his first head coaching job, led the Cougars to a 26-8 record, matching the most wins in school history, and to their first NCAA Tournament bid since 1994.

“I just hope I’m paving the way for other freshmen, to let them know you can compete,” Durant said.

Durant was a unanimous pick for the AP All-America team, and he and Ohio State center Greg Oden were just the third and fourth freshmen to be selected first-team.

Durant said he was jealous of Oden, who will play today against Georgetown.

“This is a great honor, but I’d rather be in the Final Four,” Durant said.

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.

The 37-year-old Bennett laughed when asked what it meant to be selected coach of the year after his first season in that position.

“What do you do from here?” he asked. “Having grown up with a father who was a coach and spending my life in this game, I know how fleeting things can be. So I will enjoy this and remember that it is a privilege to coach.”

The Cougars, who were picked ninth or 10th in Pac-10 preseason polls, finished second to UCLA in the conference and lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

Bennett, who agreed to a seven-year contract extension earlier this week, received 40 votes. Thad Matta of Ohio State and Billy Gillispie of Texas A&M each got 10 votes and Bo Ryan of Wisconsin seven.

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