The six-foot-nine swingman finished fourth in the country in scoring at 25-point-eight points per game, and rebounding at eleven-point-one boards per outing. He led the Longhorns to a 25-and-10 record, the Big 12 tournament championship game and the second round of the N-C-A-A tournament.
Durant received all but two votes from the 72-member national media panel that selects the weekly Top 25. Senior forward Alando Tucker of Wisconsin, the Big Ten player of the year, got the other two votes.
Durant is the first Texas player to receive the award, which was first presented in 1961.
