ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) -- Duke sophomore center Elton Brand and Auburn's Cliff Ellis were honored today by The Associated Press as college basketball's player and coach of the year.
Brand, the only unanimous All-America selection this season, enters the Final Four averaging 17.8 points and 9.6 rebounds for the top-ranked Blue Devils, who have won a school-record 31 consecutive games.The 6-foot-8 Brand has had 17 double-doubles this season, nine in the last 15 games and two in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament. Brand is shooting 62 percent from the field and he has 83 blocked shots.
Brand received 28 votes from AP member newspapers and radio stations, while senior guard Andre Miller of Utah was runner-up with 17.
Brand is the third Duke player to win the Adolph Rupp Trophy, following Art Heyman in 1963 and Christian Laettner in 1992.
Ellis led Auburn to one the best seasons in school history as the Tigers finished 29-4, a school record for victories, and reached their highest ranking ever, No. 2. Auburn, which finished as the Southeastern Conference's regular-season champion, was fourth in the final rankings and earned a No. 1 seeding in the NCAA tournament, losing to Ohio State in the regional semifinals.