Jamison Shares AP Honor With Team

Like the North Carolina tradition after an assist, Antawn Jamison pointed to his teammates after winning the Associated Press player-of-the-year award Friday.

“The thing I remember about this season is the way the team stayed close,” Jamison said. “There wasn’t a lot of selfishness or people pointing the finger saying they’re not getting the same opportunities as Antawn.

“For me, payback to them would be to win a national championship.”

The 6-foot-9 forward was the runaway winner, receiving 110 votes from a nationwide panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. Kansas center Raef LaFrentz was second with 35 votes and Duke’s Trajan Langdon third with 15.

Michigan State’s Tom Izzo was selected AP coach of the year.

Izzo received 39 votes, edging Princeton’s Bill Carmody, who had 36. North Carolina’s Bill Guthridge was third with 33.

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No longer willing to help carry the load for Michigan, Robert “Tractor” Traylor said he would pass up his senior season and declared himself eligible for the NBA draft.

“I’ve been through a lot the past three years and I loved it all, but I think right now, it’s time to do things to better myself and be a better man,” Traylor said.

“Hopefully, I’ll be as successful on the next level as I thought I was on this one.”

Said Ryan Blake, the NBA’s assistant scouting director: “Traylor’s a good athlete, a very large athlete, but he has to lose a lot of weight. If I were a general manager, I’d put a [no] McDonald’s clause in his contract.”

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The University of Texas pushed into next week the findings of its investigation into the release of a basketball player’s academic progress report.

More than a week after the grades of freshman guard Luke Axtell were given to an Austin radio station, the official conducting the school’s investigation said a report isn’t likely until at least Monday.

A high-ranking university source told the Associated Press that Tom Penders is out as coach, adding that if Penders doesn’t voluntarily step down, he’ll be reassigned. Penders has four years remaining on a contract that pays him $550,000 per year.

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Tevester Anderson, 61, an assistant to former coach Mark Gottfried, has been hired as Murray State’s new basketball coach. Before coming to Murray State three years ago, Anderson served as an assistant for 14 seasons at Georgia and Auburn.