TSN's ALL-AMERICAN Basketball Awards.(college basketball)(Brief Article)

Five months ago it wasn't hard to guess Duke's Shane Battier would finish as the national Player of the Year, and Eddie Griffin was the nation's top-rated freshman before he even arrived at Seton Hall last summer. But who would have guessed that Al Skinner would guide Boston College from three Big East wins last year to a Big East-best 13 and a tourney title this year? Based on votes from Division I coaches, those three are at the tops of their games. For details on the coaches' picks, including the honorable mention All-American list, go to sportingnews.com/cbasketball.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR Shane Battier DUKE

The folks who follow college basketball have debated the merits of the 3-point shot for nearly two decades, and they have turned the existence of one extra NCAA Tournament game into a constitutional crisis. But you would think everybody could agree upon Shane Battier: Magnetic personality. Bright student. Prolific scorer. Tenacious defender. Leader. Winner.

But he was not unanimous. Battier gained TSN's Player of the Year by outdistancing teammate Jason Williams and North Carolina's Joseph Forte.

Battier lived three years in the ACC without visiting second place. He has played on four No. 1 NCAA Tournament seeds. His career record entering the NCAA Tournament: 127-15.

But Battier, a 6-8 senior forward, enraged many opposing fans because of his penchant for drawing charges that may or may not have been theatrical. That obscured his season averages: 19.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and better than two steals and blocks per game. He is shooting 48 percent from the field and 43 percent from 3-point range.

He never has been the most spectacular player, but that hasn't been his goal. He does what is necessary to win games. He does enough that it was hard not to notice. --Mike DeCourcy