USBWA names Jahlil Okafor winner of Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year Award

The U.S. Basketball Writers Association named Duke center and likely top NBA Draft pick Jahlil Okafor as the recipient of the 2015 Wayman Tisdale Freshman of the Year Award.

As the national freshman of the year, Okafor has led the Blue Devils to a 29-4 record and the No. 1 seed in the South Regional of the upcoming NCAA Tournament. He is the second consecutive winner from Duke, following Jabari Parker a year ago.

Okafor, a 6-11, 270-pound true freshman from Chicago, is a highly skilled big with a bagful of moves down in the low post, and is the first freshman to be named the Atlantic Coast Conference's Player of the Year.  He ranks among the top five in the ACC in scoring (17.7), rebounds (9.0) and field goal percentage (.669) as he attempts to become the first freshman to lead Duke in all three categories.

Okafor has recorded 11 double-doubles and 12 20-point games this season. His 28 straight double-digit scoring games, achieved earlier this season, is a freshman conference record. Eight times this season Okafor was named ACC Rookie of the Week.

In addition to selecting Okafor as the national freshman of the year, the USBWA chose four other first-year standouts for its 2015 Freshman All-America Team. Following is the complete team, all of whom were finalists for the Wayman Tisdale Award:

2014-15 USBWA FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICA TEAM

F Stanley Johnson, Arizona (6-7, 245, Fr., Fullerton, Calif.)
C Jahlil Okafor, Duke (6-11, 270, Fr., Chicago, Ill.)
G D'Angelo Russell, Ohio State (6-5, 180, Fr., Louisville, Ky.)
F Karl-Anthony Towns, Kentucky (6-11, 250, Fr., Piscataway, N.J.)
G Melo Trimble, Maryland (6-3, 190, Fr., Upper Marlboro, Md.)

ALL-TIME USBWA NATIONAL FRESHMEN OF THE YEAR

1989 Chris Jackson, LSU
1990 Kenny Anderson, Georgia Tech
1991 Rodney Rogers, Wake Forest
1992 Chris Webber, Michigan
1993 Jason Kidd, California
1994 Joe Smith, Maryland
1995 None selected
1996 None selected
1997 None selected
1998 Larry Hughes, Saint Louis
1999 Quentin Richardson, DePaul
2000 Jason Gardner, Arizona
2001 Eddie Griffin, Seton Hall
2002 T.J. Ford, Texas
2003 Carmelo Anthony, Syracuse
2004 Luol Deng, Duke
2005 Marvin Williams, North Carolina
2006 Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina
2007 Kevin Durant, Texas
2008 Michael Beasley, Kansas State
2009 Tyreke Evans, Memphis
2010 John Wall, Kentucky
2011 Jared Sullinger, Ohio State
2012 Anthony Davis, Kentucky
2013 Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State
2014 Jabari Parker, Duke

The late Wayman Tisdale was a three-time USBWA All-American at the University of Oklahoma and in 1983 was the first freshman ever to be named a first-team All-American by the USBWA. Following a stint on the 1984 U.S. Olympic basketball team, he played 12 seasons in the NBA before retiring in 1997 to focus on a blossoming jazz music career. In March 2007, he was diagnosed with cancer and, following a courageous and difficult battle that included the amputation of his right leg in 2008, he passed away in May 2009.

By Staff of TheDailySportsHerald.com and news services