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Utah Sophomore Bogut Selected AP Player of Year
Utah sophomore Andrew Bogut, who emerged from obscurity to national dominance in a single season, capped his college basketball career with The Associated Press national player of the year award Friday.
The 7-foot Australian led the Utes to the Mountain West Conference regular-season title and the third round of the NCAA tournament. He announced Monday that he would forgo his last two years of school and enter the NBA draft this summer, when he is projected as a lottery pick and possibly the first player chosen overall.
Bogut didn't even get honorable mention in preseason All-America balloting but went on to lead NCAA Division I with 26 double-doubles. He missed a double-double in only nine games this season and accomplished it 40 times in his Utah career.
He was second in the nation in rebounding at 12.2 a game, fourth in field-goal shooting at 62.0 percent and 15th in scoring at 20.4. He also averaged 2.3 assists while playing 35 minutes a game.
He received 31 votes from the 72-member national media panel that selects the AP's weekly Top 25.
J.J. Redick of Duke was second with 15 votes, and Wayne Simien of Kansas was third with nine.
Bogut is the first player from Utah to win the award, and the first from the West since Arizona's Sean Elliott in 1989.
The Utes finished 29-6 this season, losing 62-52 to Kentucky in the regional semifinals.
Bogut ended his career at Utah with 1,126 points and 753 rebounds, just the third player in school history to score 1,000 points in only two seasons.
He was a starter on Australia's Olympic team last summer and averaged 14.8 points and 8.8 rebounds.
Jameer Nelson of Saint Joseph's was player of the year last season.
Source: AP
The 7-foot Australian led the Utes to the Mountain West Conference regular-season title and the third round of the NCAA tournament. He announced Monday that he would forgo his last two years of school and enter the NBA draft this summer, when he is projected as a lottery pick and possibly the first player chosen overall.
Bogut didn't even get honorable mention in preseason All-America balloting but went on to lead NCAA Division I with 26 double-doubles. He missed a double-double in only nine games this season and accomplished it 40 times in his Utah career.
He was second in the nation in rebounding at 12.2 a game, fourth in field-goal shooting at 62.0 percent and 15th in scoring at 20.4. He also averaged 2.3 assists while playing 35 minutes a game.
He received 31 votes from the 72-member national media panel that selects the AP's weekly Top 25.
J.J. Redick of Duke was second with 15 votes, and Wayne Simien of Kansas was third with nine.
Bogut is the first player from Utah to win the award, and the first from the West since Arizona's Sean Elliott in 1989.
The Utes finished 29-6 this season, losing 62-52 to Kentucky in the regional semifinals.
Bogut ended his career at Utah with 1,126 points and 753 rebounds, just the third player in school history to score 1,000 points in only two seasons.
He was a starter on Australia's Olympic team last summer and averaged 14.8 points and 8.8 rebounds.
Jameer Nelson of Saint Joseph's was player of the year last season.
Source: AP
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