Durant chosen player of the year

~ Missouri's Hannah selected Big 12's newcomer of the year.

IRVING, Texas -- Texas forward Kevin Durant was named the Big 12 Conference's player of the year by league coaches Sunday, making him the first freshman to receive that honor.

Durant, who has averaged 28.9 points per game in league play, also received the freshman of the year award, while Texas A&M's Billy Gillispie was chosen as the Big 12 coach of the year.

Other winners of individual awards included Mario Chalmers of Kansas and Marcus Dove of Oklahoma State, who shared the defensive player of the year honor; Stefhon Hannah of Missouri, named the newcomer of the year; and Cartier Martin of Kansas State, who received the league's inaugural sixth-man award.

The league's six-man first-team all-conference list consisted of Durant, Julian Wright and Brandon Rush of Kansas, Mario Boggan of Oklahoma State, Acie Law of Texas A&M and Jarrius Jackson of Texas Tech.

Texas forward Kevin Durant (35) shot over Kansas' Darrell Arthur during Saturday's game in Lawrence, Kan. Kansas won the game 90-86 to capture the Big 12 regular season title. The conference's coaches voted Durant the Big 12 player of the year on Sunday. (CHARLIE RIEDEL ~ Associated Press)

The Associated Press will announce its All-Big 12 team on today, its coach of the year on Tuesday and its player, newcomer and freshman of the year on Wednesday.

Durant is the first player in Big 12 history to score 400 points or grab 200 rebounds in league play in a single season. He scored 30 points or more in nine Big 12 games, another league record.

Gillispie has guided Texas A&M to a 25-5 mark heading into this week's Big 12 tournament in Oklahoma City. The Aggies, who have been ranked in the top 10 for much of the year, are the tournament's second seed, behind regular-season champion Kansas.

Chalmers leads the Big 12 in steals for the second straight season with 79, while Dove has 31 blocked shots and 36 steals this season for Oklahoma State.

Hannah, the first Missouri player to receive the newcomer award, has scored in double digits in 25 of 29 games and is second in the Big 12 in steals with 71.

Martin is the first Kansas State player to win a major Big 12 award. He has scored in double figures in 16 of the 18 games he has not started and has 12 outings with 20 or more points. The Wildcats' fourth-place Big 12 finish was their best in league history.