April 25, 2007
CONTACT: Rick Leddy, NABC Public Relations Director
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203-815-2437
Complete Release of the 2007 National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Season Awards in PDF Format
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (April 24, 2007) - University of Texas freshman Kevin Durant has been named Player of the Year and heads the first All-America team for the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.
Joining Durant on the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame team are junior Jeff Green of Georgetown University, sophomore Tyler Hansbrough of the University of North Carolina, senior Alando Tucker of the University of Wisconsin, senior Acie Law IV of Texas A&M University, and freshman Greg Oden of Ohio State University.
John Thompson III, who led his Georgetown Hoyas to the Final Four, was selected as Coach of the Year while Oden was named Defensive Player of the Year. Durant was also named Freshman of the Year.
The team was selected after voting by the founding class members of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, which includes all players, coaches and contributors who have already been inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame for men's college basketball.
The inaugural class of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, inducted in Kansas City in November, 2006, included the late Dr. James Naismith, who invented the game; John Wooden, elected as a coach for the UCLA Bruins and as a player for Purdue University; former University of North Carolina coach Dean Smith; the University of Cincinnati's Oscar Robertson, arguably the game's greatest all-around player; and consummate defender and team player Bill Russell of the University of San Francisco.
The induction ceremonies for the 2007 class will be held on Nov. 18 at the College Basketball Experience (CBE), which is the home of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, in Kansas City. The CBE will open this fall and shares a lobby with the new Sprint Center Arena. Founding class members to be honored include three-time national player of the year Kareem Abdul Jabbar of UCLA and legendary coaches Forrest "Phog" Allen of the University of Kansas, John McLendon of Tennessee State University, Adolph Rupp of the University of Kentucky, and Henry Iba of Oklahoma State University.
Among the first class of non-founding members to be inducted in November are players Dick Groat of Duke University, Austin Carr of the University of Notre Dame, and Dick Barnett of Tennessee State University; coaches Norm Stewart of the University of Missouri, Guy Lewis of the University of Houston, and Charles "Lefty" Driesell, who coached four different schools to the NCAA tournament; and contributor Vic Bubas, former Duke University coach and commissioner of the Sun Belt Conference.
NATIONAL COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL HALL OF FAME
2007 All-America Team
Kevin Durant, Fr., F, University of Texas
Jeff Green, Jr., F, Georgetown University
Tyler Hansbrough, So. F, University of North Carolina
Acie Law, IV, Sr., G, Texas A&M University
Greg Oden, Fr., C, Ohio State University
Alando Tucker, Sr., F, University of Wisconsin
Player of the Year
Kevin Durant, University of Texas
Coach of the Year
John Thompson, III, Georgetown University
Defensive Player of the Year
Greg Oden, Ohio State University
Freshman of the Year
Kevin Durant, University of Texas