Durant, Law lead AP All-Big 12 first team

KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Kevin Durant of Texas, lauded by many as perhaps the finest freshman in NCAA history, and Texas A&M point guard Acie Law are unanimous first-team selections to The Associated Press All-Big 12 team for 2006-07.

Joining them on the first team are Texas Tech senior Jarrius Jackson, Oklahoma State senior Mario Boggan, and sophomore Julian Wright of regular-season champion Kansas.

The team was selected by a panel of media representatives who regularly cover the Big 12.

The 6-foot-9 Durant was the only player in the country ranking in the top 10 nationally in both scoring and rebounding. With a full repertoire of skills and an astounding 3-point touch for a man of his height, the willowy Maryland native is a leading candidate for national player of the year.

Still a teenager, he may also be the overall No. 1 selection in the NBA draft next summer.

At Kansas in the regular-season finale title showdown, he scored 32 points and raised his season average in Big 12 games to a conference-record 28.9. He also set the record for rebounds in conference games with a per-game average of 12.5.

"Name one thing he does not do extremely well," said Kansas State coach Bob Huggins.

Can't do it.

Durant also led the league with 55 blocked shots and hit 80 percent from the foul line. A terrific passer, he would be double-teamed but whip the ball out to teammates who had been left with uncontested looks at the basket.

"I've never seen a player like him," said Kansas coach Bill Self.

Surrounded by a talented but inexperienced cast of teammates, including standout freshman point guard D.J. Augustin, Durant scored 30 or more points nine times.

While Durant was the most dominant player in the Big 12, nobody was greater in the clutch than the 6-foot-3 Law

The senior guard's ascension as one of the nation's top players will forever be linked to A&M's amazing turnaround as a program, going from 0-16 in the league the year before coach Billy Gillispie arrived to national prominence.

His dramatic 3-pointer in the dying minutes at Kansas lifted the Aggies past the Jayhawks and broke an 0-30 drought for South Division teams in Allen Fieldhouse.

Later, showing the class and leadership befitting a respected senior, he apologized to Kansas fans for the frenetic way he and his teammates had celebrated on the court.

He goes into the postseason averaging 18.2 points and ranking third in the conference with 159 assists.

"He's been fantastic for us," said Gillispie. "I've been around some really good players. I don't know how anyone who could have had a better year at that position.

"Every game, he plays well. That sounds simple, but it's very, very difficult. He's put our team on his shoulders, and that's what great players do."

Wright, a rubbery-legged, rubbery-armed 6-foot-8 sophomore, was the most consistent performer for No. 3 Kansas. He averaged 12 points and more than eight rebounds and made the defensive play of the game in the title-clinching victory over Texas when he blocked Augustin's 3-point attempt in the final minute.

He scored 33 points against Missouri, the most by any Jayhawk in a conference game in almost 20 years.

Jackson, 6-foot-1, 185 pounds, finished second behind Durant in scoring with 20.2 points per game, just fractions ahead of the 20.1 average Boggan took into Monday's makeup game at Nebraska, which ends the Cowboys' regular season.

With 2,170 points, Jackson is the second-leading scorer in Big 12 history. He was also the key component in the season Bob Knight became the winningest coach in major college history.

The top vote-getters on the second team were Kansas guard Brandon Rush and Nebraska's 6-foot-11 center Aleks Maric, whose 8.4 rebound average trailed only Durant and was just ahead of Wright's.

Filling out the second team are Augustin, the 5-foot-11 point guard who led the Big 12 with 205 assists, Kansas State senior Cartier Martin and Texas A&M junior Joseph Jones.

On the third team are Missouri's Stefhon Hannah, Oklahoma's Nate Carter, Kansas State's David Hoskins, JamesOn Curry of Oklahoma State and Martin Zeno of Texas Tech.