LAWRENCE, Kan. -- University of Kansas forward Drew Gooden was named the Co-National Player of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, according to a release issued on Wednesday by the NABC. Gooden earned the award along with Jason Williams of Duke.

"This is an unbelievable honor," Gooden said. "I knew at the beginning of the season that Jason was everyone's pick to be the player of the year, so for me to play well enough to have my name mentioned along with his makes me really proud. There's no way this would be possible if our team wasn't having such a great year, so I'll have to give credit to my teammates and to Coach Williams once again. I've said before that I'm the luckiest guy on the All-America team, because I can have an off night, and yet I'm surrounded by guys who can pick up the slack, so I feel very fortunate for that."

A first-team All-American and the Big 12 Player of the Year, Gooden is a 6-10 junior from Richmond, Calif., who leads the league in scoring and rebounding with 20.2 points and 11.2 rebounds per game. He has led the Jayhawks in scoring 19 times and in rebounding 26 times, and he boasts a league-best 23 double-doubles this season -- setting Kansas and Big 12 single-season records. Gooden is a four-time Big 12 Player of the Week honoree this year, and he ranks 15th on KU's all-time scoring list and sixth on the Jayhawks' all-time rebounds chart.

Gooden, who is also a candidate for the prestigious Wooden Award, is the first KU player to be named National Player of the Year in any fashion since Danny Manning in 1988.