BREAKING: Durant named NABC National Player of the Year

http://texassports.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=16&url_article_id=6212&url_subchannel _id=&change_well_id=2

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- University of Texas freshman swingman Kevin Durant has been selected as the Division I Player of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), the organization announced today.

Durant is the first freshman in the award's history and the first player from The University of Texas to earn the accolade.

Durant will receive his award on Sunday, April 1, at the annual NABC Awards Show presented by AT&T at the Sydney Marcus Auditorium at the Georgia World Congress Center at 6 p.m.

One of four finalists for the Naismith Award and one of five finalists for the Oscar Robertson Trophy (USBWA's National Player of the Year), Durant is the only player in the nation to rank in the Top 10 nationally in both scoring (fourth) and rebounding (fourth). He led the team in scoring (25.8 ppg), rebounding (11.1 rpg), blocked shots (67), steals (66), double-doubles (20) and minutes played (35.9 mpg). He reached the 30-point mark in a school-record 11 games, the 20-point plateau in 30 contests and posted double digits in points in all 35 games.

Durant recorded 903 points during the year, setting a school and Big 12 season record for scoring. The point total also marked the second-highest point total by a freshman in NCAA history (965 by Chris Jackson of LSU in 1988-89). Durant's 390 rebounds also are a school single-season record and rank second on the Big 12 season chart and third on the NCAA freshman season list.

Located in Kansas City, Mo., the NABC was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, the legendary basketball coach at the University of Kansas. Allen, a student of James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, organized coaches into this collective group to serve as Guardians of the Game. The NABC currently claims nearly 5,000 members consisting primarily of university and college men's basketball coaches. All members of the NABC are expected to uphold the core values of being a Guardian of the Game by bringing attention to the positive aspects of the sport of basketball and the role coaches play in the academic and athletic lives of today's student-athletes. The four core values of being a Guardian of the Game are advocacy, leadership, service and education.