Univ of Michigan Guard Trey Burke Wins Player of the Year
05 Apr, 2013
ATLANTA — Michigan guard Trey Burke was named Thursday as The Associated Press national college basketball player of the year, a recognition that comes just days after his late-game heroics fueled Michigan’s first Final Four appearance in two decades.
Burke heads into Friday’s national semifinal against Syracuse as Michigan’s team leader in points (18.8) and assists (6.8) per game. He’s averaged 15.5 points per game during the Wolverines’ four tournament wins, highlighted by a 23-point performance over the second half and overtime of Michigan’s memorable win over Kansas in the round of 16. He was named the Most Outstanding Player of the South Regional.
Asked at Thursday’s press conference what made Burke a national player of the year candidate, Michigan coach John Beilein praised his star guard’s leadership qualities despite his relative inexperience: Burke is only a sophomore, Beilein said, but his youth belies his ability to take charge of a team led entirely by underclassmen.
“The whole year, he has been just as calm and cool as if he was a fifth-year redshirt senior guard,” Beilein said. “He didn’t come in as a freshman, sophomore; he had all these veterans around him. He just has to fill in the pieces, much like he had to do this year.”
Burke becomes the second Michigan basketball player to be named the AP men’s player of the year, joining Cazzie Russell in 1966. He received 31 first-place votes, with Georgetown forward Otto Porter finishing second with 16 votes and Indiana guard Victor Oladipo third with 10 votes.
The AP also honored Miami (Fla.) coach Jim Larranaga as its national coach of the year after Larranaga led the Hurricanes to the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title, a program-record 29 wins and a Sweet 16 appearance.
“I want to thank the players, especially our senior class for the leadership they provided,” Larranaga said at Thursday’s award ceremony, “and our underclassmen for their tremendous energy and intensity and enthusiasm they brought to our program this year.
“To have the kind of season we did was very, very special not only for our team and our basketball program but for our student body, our alumni, our fans in the greater Miami area and throughout the country,” Larranaga said.
Miami first earned a national ranking in January before reaching as high as No. 2 in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll in mid-February, when the team opened 13-0 in ACC play. The Hurricanes’ season ended with a 71-61 loss to Marquette in the round of 16 on Mar. 28.
AP
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