AP Names Redick College Player of Year

INDIANAPOLIS - J.J. Redick, whose 3-point shooting led Duke to a No. 1 ranking for most of the season, was selected the national player of the year by The Associated Press on Friday.

The senior guard was second in the nation in scoring this season, capping his career as the Atlantic Coast Conference's all-time leading scorer and Division I's most prolific 3-point shooter.

Redick is the record sixth Duke player to win the award, with five winners coming since 1992. The award was first presented in 1961.

A repeat first-team All-America, Redick received 43 votes from the 72-member national media panel that selects the weekly Top 25. Adam Morrison of Gonzaga, who beat Redick in a season-long, bi-coastal scoring race, got the other 29 votes in the balloting conducted before the
NCAA tournament.

"There are so many great players in this country, specifically Adam Morrison and my teammate Shelden Williams, that it's a great honor to win this award," Redick said.

Redick averaged 26.8 points this season, shooting 47 percent from the field, 42 percent from 3-point range and 85 percent from the free throw line. A tireless worker on offense and an extremely intense player, he averaged 37.1 minutes for Duke, which finished the season with a 32-4 record.

The Blue Devils were ranked No. 1 for all but five weeks this season and were on top of the final poll for the fifth time since 1999.

He finished his career with 2,769 points and the record 457 3-pointers.

The other Duke players to be selected national player of the year were Art Heyman (1963), Christian Laettner (1992), Elton Brand (1999), Shane Battier (2001) and Jason Williams (2002).

"It's an honor to be one of the Duke players to win this award," Redick said. "Looking at the list, I know I'm the sixth man on that team."

UCLA is second with five awards — Lew Alcindor (1967, 1969), Bill Walton (1972, 1973) and Marques Johnson (1977).

Andrew Bogut of Utah won the award last season.