Doug McDermott is the AP Player of the Year and the Wooden Award Recipient and the USBWA POY
ByDoug McDermott had one of the best seasons of college basketball one could have, so it was hardly a surprise when he was announced as the AP Player of the Year and Wooden Award recipient.
ESPN announced the Wooden Award, handed every year to college basketball's top individual player, on Friday's edition of "SportsCenter." The Associated Press announced its POY decision Thursday, coming from the same panel responsible for the weekly top-25 rankings.
McDermott accepted the AP award at a news conference Thursday from AT&T Stadium, the site of the Final Four joined by his sister, mother and father, who is also his coach at Creighton.
''This is a huge honor,'' McDermott said at the news conference. ''It's been a heck of a ride. It has been a great four years.''
The six-foot-eight senior forward averaged 26.7 points and 7 rebounds per game while averaging field goal, three-point and free throw percentages of .526, .449 and .864, respectively. McDermott received 64 of a potential 65 first place votes for the award, with Louisville's Russ Smith receiving the last one.
''It's hard to believe on a lot of levels,'' Creighton coach Greg McDermott said at the conference. ''As his father, I still see him as a little scrawny kid in a lot of ways.''
Doug McDermott was also recently named to the AP's list of All-Americans for the third consecutive year. He is the 11th player to ever make the list three times and the first to do so since Patrick Ewing did it nearly 30 years ago. McDermott, the 38th Wooden Award recipient, is the first senior to take home the honor since Jimmer Fredette did so in 2011 playing for BYU.
Also adding to his trophy case, McDermott was given the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Player of the Year Award Friday. Presenting it to him was Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson, whose name is on the award and who McDermott passed late this season for fifth all-time on the NCAA Division I scoring list.