Roy Pac-10 Player of the Year
SEATTLE – If ever there was a poster boy for playing four years of college sports, it’s University of Washington men’s basketball player Brandon Roy.
Roy, who twice considered declaring for early entry into the NBA Draft, was rewarded for his patience when he was named the Pacific-10 Conference Player of the Year on Monday.
The award is voted on by the coaches. It’s believed Roy beat out Cal’s Leon Powe to become the second Huskies player to earn the award. Christian Welp won it in 1986.
Roy, a 6-foot-6 senior guard from Seattle’s Garfield High School, was quick to credit the prestige of the team and the players who helped build the program to its current level for helping him win the award.
“I’m like a kid in a candy store,” Roy said. “I’m excited for the program. It’s all big. Two freshmen made the all-freshman team. This is a great season for everybody.”
Washington’s Ryan Appleby was picked as the Newcomer of the Year last week.
UCLA’s Luc Richard Mbah a Moute was named Freshman of the Year and the Bruins’ Ben Howland is Coach of the Year.
It was a long journey for Roy from near-academic casualty to the league’s best player.
After a standout career at Garfield, Roy struggled to meet academic qualifying standards in his freshman season and played just half the year. He was a solid role player his first two seasons, then missed nine games last season with a knee injury. He returned as the sixth man and the team made its run to the Pac-10 tournament title and the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
Roy began to show what he was capable of in the NCAAs, leading the team with a 15.3 scoring average. He considered going to the NBA only to decide to return for his final season.
“I didn’t want to make it to the NBA and say, ‘Well, I could have won Pac-10 player of the year,’ ” Roy said. “To actually come back and prove to myself that I can be a Pac-10 player of the year and have a chance to be All-American, to prove those goals to myself and to people, it said a lot.”
“He went four years and now he’s receiving all the accolades and respect that you would want, and he’s going out a winner,” UW coach Lorenzo Romar said.
This season he made the team his own, leading the No. 12 Huskies – who lost all-conference guards Nate Robinson, Will Conroy and Tre Simmons – to a 24-5 record and second place in the Pac-10. He finished the regular season ranked in the Top 10 in 10 categories in Pac-10 play, including leading the league in scoring (22.0) and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.08). Overall, Roy is averaging 19.6 points.
Roy said despite his gaudy statistics, he likely would not have won the award if Washington hadn’t finished so strong.
“I looked at the list of Pac-10 players of the year,” Roy said. “To be mentioned with those guys, I’m speechless. I’m so happy to be a part of that group. I’m thankful to my teammates because they put me in position to win the award.”