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Redick Wins AP National Player of the Year
3/31/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - North Carolina and Duke can get along.
Roy Williams, the coach of the Tar Heels, and J.J. Redick, the star guard of the Blue Devils, had good things to say about each other Friday when they received awards from The Associated Press as the national coach and player of the year.
What is considered college basketball's greatest rivalry - the schools are 8 miles apart and the programs are among the sport's most successful - took a break with Williams and Redick sharing a dais.
"When you talk about Duke as a coach, you talk about stopping J.J.," Williams said. "The things he did were amazing and it's going to be a long time before we see a player like him again."
Redick, a repeat All-America, finished as the Atlantic Coast Conference's all-time leading scorer and the NCAA career leader in three-point field goals.
"Coach Williams did a great job this season at North Carolina, but you did ruin my senior night," Redick said, referring to a loss to the Tar Heels in his final home game.
That was as close to trash-talking as it got.
Redick, whose three-point shooting led Duke to a 32-4 record and the No. 1 ranking for most of the season, was second in the nation in scoring this season. He is the record sixth Duke player to win the award, with five winners coming since 1992. The award was first presented in 1961.
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, bicoastal scoring race, got the other 29 votes in 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 86 percent from the free throw line. A tireless worker on offense and an extremely intense player, he averaged 37.1 minutes.
He finished his career with 2,769 points and an NCAA-record 457 3-pointers.
"This was a difficult year in that we were No. 1 in the preseason and it was a great burden on us every game," Redick said, "but I think Shelden and I did a good job of facing that."
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).
Players Mentioned
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