Sophomore center picks up both trophies during a busy Friday in St. Louis
April 1, 2005
ST. LOUIS - Andrew Bogut parleyed an international basketball background into an All-American story.
The 7-footer grew up in Australia with a passion for the game nurtured by his parents, both natives of Croatia. The desire to test himself against the best convinced Bogut to attend college in the United States, a stint at Utah that lasted two years. His college career was capped Friday by his selection as The Associated Press player of the year and the winner of the Oscar Robertson Trophy, honoring the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) national player of the year.
Bogut won the AP award by a landslide, collecting 31 votes from the 72-member national media panel that selects the AP's weekly Top 25. His runner-up, J.J. Redick of Duke, had 15 votes. Wayne Simien of Kansas (9), Dee Brown of Illinois (5) and Hakim Warrick of Syracuse (4) rounded out the top five in the voting.
Bogut's busy Friday in the host city of the Final Four began with the USBWA awards breakfast at the Missouri Athletic Club. The USBWA has been selecting a player and coach of the year since 1959.
Bogut was presented with the Oscar Robertson Trophy, named after the former three-time national player of the year (1959-60) from Cincinnati. This year's breakfast marked the unveiling of a bronze sculpture in the likeness of Robertson showing him in his famous spread-eagle pose rebounding a basketball.
Bruce Weber, who led Illinois to its winningest season ever and a berth in the Final Four, was an overwhelming choice as AP's coach of the year and was also named the UBSWA coach of the year.
Standing alongside the latest trophy in a growing collection at the AP presentation, Bogut said, "I have been coached by Australian guys, European guys and American guys and they have all helped me so many ways. They all tried to make me a better player."
It worked.
|
|
 |
Bogut led Division I with 26 double-doubles in 35 games this season. He was second in rebounding at 12.2 per game and fourth in field goal percentage at 62 percent. He averaged 20.4 points per game (15th in the nation) and 2.3 assists while playing 35 minutes. He was the leading vote-getter on the AP's All-America first team.
The Utes finished 29-6, won the Mountain West Conference regular season title and advanced to the third round of the NCAA Tournament before losing to Kentucky.
"He is one of the special, special people I have ever met," first-year Utah coach Ray Giacoletti said. "Basketball needs players, needs people like him."
Bogut announced earlier this week that he would forego his final two seasons at Utah and apply for the NBA draft. He's expected to be one of the top picks in June and he knows the work has just begun.
"I have to get ready, get stronger for the physical play that I'll see there," Bogut said. "I don't have any plan, like being an all-star in three years or anything like that. I know I want to get better and I'll show people how hungry I am for that."
The 20-year-old Bogut averaged 14.8 points and 8.8 rebounds last summer in Athens for the Australian Olympic team. Just four years earlier he was cut from his state team in Victoria.
"He got really angry when he was cut," his father, Michael Bogut, said. "He said, `Dad, this is the last time I'm last. Whatever it takes."' Bogut is the first player from Utah to win the award and the first from the West since Arizona's Sean Elliott in 1989.
Bogut is one of four finalists for the Naismith Trophy, which will be presented at the NABC "Guardians of the Game" Awards Show on Sunday night in St. Louis. He is also one of five finalists for the John R. Wooden Award, presented in Los Angeles on April 9.
