Creighton senior Doug McDermott wins Wooden and Oscar Robertson awards

Forward Doug McDermott's standout collegiate basketball career and NCAA title dreams have come to an end, and his ability to excel at the next level may be a continuous topic of debate topic by pundits, but today his status as the nation's top college player was confirmed when he was announced as the winner of both the John R. Wooden Award and the Oscar Robertson Trophy.

"He's a naturally gifted player, and he got a lot of that from his dad. But he's going to get better," Oscar Robertson said. "What he did in college, he's going to do more in the pros."

McDermott is a three-time Wooden All American and the No. 5 scorer in NCAA history.

McDermott earned the John R. Wooden Award, the preeminent men’s collegiate basketball player of the year honor, based on his ability to meet Coach Wooden’s idea of the “total basketball player.”

A voting base of nearly 1,000 college basketball experts throughout the nation ranked players from 10 to 1, and fans voted through the Fan Voting site woodenawardvote.com.

Voters were asked to take into account performance during the regular season and postseason through the first three rounds of the NCAA tournament, as well as a player’s character and academic performance, essential components of an outstanding player.

The Top 5 vote-getters (Wichita State’s Cleanthony Early, Arizona’s Nick Johnson, McDermott, Duke’s Jabari Parker, and Louisville’s Russ Smith) have been invited to Los Angeles for the Wooden Award Gala on April 11.

McDermott received 3,930 points, outdistancing Duke’s Parker, who had 2,569 points. Rounding out the top 10 in order were Smith of Louisville (2,228), Early of Wichita State (1,907), Arizona’s Johnson (1,758), Shabazz Napier of Connecticut (1,615), Andrew Wiggins of Kansas (1,555), Michigan’s Nik Stauskas (1,283), Florida’s Casey Prather (1,037), and Sean Kilpatrick of Cincinnati (987).

McDermott is the nation’s leading scorer at 26.7 points per game, as he shot 52.5% from the field and 45.4% from three-point range, showcasing his ability to be both an inside and outside presence. Although not an exceptional athlete, McDermott can score in the paint by moving well without the ball and by shooting a variety of quick-release, Antawn Jamison-style shots in the paint.

McDermott came back for his senior year to play for his father, the coach at Creighton, even surrendering his athletic scholarship to do so.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association also selected Creighton senior forward Doug McDermott as the winner of the 2013-14 Oscar Robertson Trophy, annually presented to the National Player of the Year.

"It's an unbelievable honor," McDermott said. "I was not old enough to see Oscar play, but I always heard from my father and grandfather how great he was."

Twice this season – and four times in his career – he was named the Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week by the USBWA.

On March 8, in a 45-point performance against Providence on Senior Night, McDermott passed Oscar Robertson on the NCAA's career scoring list and became just the eighth player to score 3,000 career points. Playing for his father, coach Greg McDermott, he scored 30-plus points in 13 of 35 games while averaging 33.7 minutes per game in a 28-7 season.

The Oscar Robertson Trophy is voted on by the entire membership of the association, which consists of more than 900 journalists. It is the nation's oldest award and the only one named after a former player. The legendary Oscar Robertson was the USBWA's first player of the year in 1959.

By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com and news services