Redick wins Sullivan award

NEW YORK – Duke star J.J. Redick won the Sullivan Award on Wednesday night, becoming the first men’s basketball player since Bill Walton in 1973 to be honored as the nation’s top amateur athlete.

Redick beat out Texas quarterback Vince Young, who led the Longhorns to a national title with a win in the Rose Bowl over Southern California and its two Sullivan Award finalists – Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush.

Redick was second in the nation in scoring behind Gonzaga’s Adam Morrison with a 26.8 average. Morrison, a junior, averaged 28.1 points a game.

The Sullivan is presented by the Amateur Athletic Union and a third of the vote is determined by fans voting online.

The Sullivan Award went to a men’s basketball player for just the third time in its 76-year history. Before Redick and Walton, UCLA’s All-America center, Princeton’s Bill Bradley won the 1965 award.