Duke freshman Cameron Boozer named AP Player of the Year - ESPN

Cameron Boozer was at the center of everything for Duke this season.

The 6-foot-9, 250-pound forward proved tough enough to score through physical play. Rangy enough to space the floor and shoot from outside. Deft enough as a passer to find teammates, whether against constant double-teams coming for him as the top name on every scouting report or while running the entire offense from up top.

«You just want to affect winning in whatever way you can,» Boozer said.

The high-end NBA prospect did that all season for a team that won 35 games, reached No. 1 in the Associated Press Top 25 poll, claimed the top overall seed for March Madness and reached the Elite Eight. Now Boozer is the AP's men's college basketball national Player of the Year, only the fifth freshman to earn the honor and the second in a row for a Duke program that keeps adding to the longest list of winners in the country.

«It just goes to show more about what our team has done, just because I think that really helps awards like this, having great team success,» Boozer told the AP. «It's really just not me.»

Boozer, named a unanimous first-team AP All-American last month, received 59 of 61 votes from AP Top 25 voters in results released Friday. BYU freshman AJ Dybantsa, another potential top NBA pick, received the other two votes after averaging an NCAA-best 25.5 points per game.

Son of longtime NBA player Carlos Boozer, also of Duke, Cameron Boozer averaged 22.5 points (ninth in Division I) and 10.2 rebounds (12th) per game while finishing tied for the national lead with 22 double-doubles. He also averaged 4.1 assists while posting efficient shooting numbers at 55.6% overall and 39.1% from 3-point range.

He joins fellow Blue Devils star Cooper Flagg last