April 4, 2008
GREENSBORO, N.C. - With his selection as the National Player of the Year by the Associated Press, The Sporting News and the USBWA, North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough becomes the fourth Tar Heel and the 16th player from the Atlantic Coast Conference, since 1975, to be a consensus National Player of the Year.
Since 1975, the ACC has produced 13 more consensus National Players of the Year than any other conference over that span. The Big Ten and the Big East are tied for second with three consensus National Players of the Year.
Using the same criteria employed in selecting yearly consensus All-Americans, the ACC has also had eight unanimous selections. Should the NABC name Hansbrough its' Player of the Year on Sunday, the Poplar Bluff, Mo., junior will be the third Tar Heel and ninth ACC player to achieve unanimous distinction. Consensus National Players of the Year (1975-2008)
| Year |
Player, School |
Conference |
| 1975 |
David Thompson, NC State* |
ACC |
| 1976 |
Scott May, Indiana |
Big Ten |
| 1977 |
Marques Johnson, UCLA* |
Pac-10 |
| 1978 |
Phil Ford, North Carolina |
ACC |
| |
Butch Lee, Marquette |
Independent |
| 1979 |
Larry Bird, Indiana State* |
Missouri Valley |
| 1980 |
Mark Aguirre, DePaul |
Ind. |
| 1981 |
Ralph Sampson, Virginia |
ACC |
| 1982 |
Ralph Sampson, Virginia* |
ACC |
| 1983 |
Ralph Sampson, Virginia* |
ACC |
| 1984 |
Michael Jordan, North Carolina* |
ACC |
| 1985 |
Patrick Ewing, Georgetown |
Big East |
| |
Chris Mullin, St. John's |
Big East |
| 1986 |
Walter Berry, St. John's* |
Big East |
| 1987 |
David Robinson, Navy* |
Colonial |
| 1988 |
Hersey Hawkins, Bradley |
Missouri Valley |
| 1989 |
Danny Ferry, Duke |
ACC |
| |
Sean Elliott, Arizona |
Pac-10 |
| 1990 |
Lionel Simmons, LaSalle* |
Met Atlantic |
| 1991 |
Larry Johnson, UNLV |
Big West |
| |
Shaquille O'Neal, LSU |
SEC |
| 1992 |
Christian Laettner, Duke |
ACC |
| 1993 |
Calbert Cheaney, Indiana* |
Big Ten |
| 1994 |
Glenn Robinson, Purdue* |
Big Ten |
| 1995 |
Joe Smith, Maryland |
ACC |
| 1996 |
Marcus Camby, UMass* |
Atlantic 10 |
| 1997 |
Tim Duncan, Wake Forest* |
ACC |
| 1998 |
Antawn Jamison, North Carolina* |
ACC |
| 1999 |
Elton Brand, Duke* |
ACC |
| 2000 |
Kenyon Martin, Cincinnati* |
C-USA |
| 2001 |
Shane Battier, Duke |
ACC |
| 2002 |
Jason Williams, Duke* |
ACC |
| 2003 |
T.J. Ford, Texas (2 of 4) |
Big 12 |
| 2004 |
Jameer Nelson, St. Joseph's* |
Atlantic 10 |
| 2005 |
Andrew Bogut, Utah |
Mountain West |
| 2006 |
J.J. Redick, Duke |
ACC |
| 2007 |
Kevin Durant, Texas* |
Big 12 |
| 2008 |
Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina |
ACC |
*denotes unanimous
| By Conference: |
| ACC |
16 |
| Big East |
3 |
| Big Ten |
3 |
| Atlantic Ten |
2 |
| Big 12 |
2 |
| Missouri Valley |
2 |
| Pac-10 |
2 |
| Independents |
2 |
| Big West |
1 |
| Colonial |
1 |
| Conference USA |
1 |
| Metro Atlantic |
1 |
| Mountain West |
1 |
| SEC |
1 |
Teams used for consideration:
Associated Press (1975-2008)
NABC (1975-2008)
U.S. Basketball Writers (1975-2008)
The Sporting News (1997-2008)
United Press International (1975-1996)
