Glenn Robinson, the only unanimous selection to the All-America team, was the overwhelming choice today as The Associated Press college basketball player of the year.
The junior forward from Purdue received the Adolph Rupp Trophy, which is presented by the Commonwealth Athletic Club in the memory of the late Kentucky coach.Robinson, who led the nation in scoring at 30.3 points per game, became the 15th Division I player to score 1,000 points in a season as the Boilermakers won their first Big Ten championship since 1988 and advanced to the NCAA's Southeast Regional finals where they lost to Duke. The 6-foot-8 native of Gary, Ind., was the Big Ten's MVP and was the first player to lead the conference in scoring and rebounding since Minnesota's Mychal Thompson in 1978.
A second-team All-America selection as a sophomore, Robinson is Purdue's first national player of the year since John Wooden in 1932 and was the school's first first-team All-America since Joe Barry Carroll in 1980.
Robinson received 218 votes in the player of the year balloting which ended before the NCAA tournament began and easily outdistanced Donyell Marshall of Connecticut who had 21 votes. Jason Kidd of California and Grant Hill of Duke tied for third with 16 votes each.
Known as "The Big Dog," Robinson was hounded all season by talk of Purdue being a one-man team, but the Boilermakers set a school record for victories as they went 29-5 and finished third in the final poll of the season. Their most impressive victory may have come in the regional semifinals against Kansas when Robinson scored 30 his 44 points in the first half, while teammate Cuonzo Martin came on in the second half to finish with 29 points.
Robinson was a true inside-outside threat as he averaged 10.1 rebounds while shooting 48 percent from the field, including 38 percent from 3-point range.
He was named Indiana's Mr. Basketball after leading Roosevelt High in Gary to the state championship.