A year ago, Brandon Roy was climbing fast into the college basketball elite. En route to taking the Washington basketball team to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA tournament, Roy was cleaning up on the banquet circuit, getting named Pac-10 player of the year, as well as being named a first team All-American.

Little has changed for Roy in his first season as a professional. Yesterday, Roy was named the Rookie of the Year in the NBA, receiving an overwhelming 127 votes out of 128 possible.

"To hear that I won 127 of the 128 votes just validated a lot of what I did," Roy said. "I played a bigger role than I ever thought I would. And because of that, I was able to do a lot of things I set out to do."

As a member of the Portland Trail Blazers, Roy contributed like a veteran for his team with 16.8 points, 4.4 rebounds and four assists per game. His steady — if not spectacular — play went largely noticed by the voters, despite missing significant time with a foot injury.

"That was probably the most surprising thing," Roy said. "To miss 25 games and still win by a landslide was the really [amazing] thing. The voters were almost willing to give [the award] to me a month ago, so it really validated what I've done."

All he did was lead his class of rookies — a class including No. 1 pick Andrea Bargnani, Tyrus Thomas and NCAA Player of the Year runners-up Adam Morrison, all of whom went ahead of Roy — in points per game, as well as place in the top five in rebounds and assists.

"The biggest challenge for me was to play above expectations," Roy said. "For me, it was the pressure. Overcoming pressure and playing through adversity."

Roy went on to credit much of his success in his first season to his time at Washington. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Roy chose to spend four years in college, something that he sees as a benefit.

"Playing four years at Washington was great," he said. "If I had left after my junior year, I wouldn't have been ready. If I had left after my freshman year, I wouldn't have been ready. Playing under coach [Lorenzo] Romar did so much for my game, so it meant everything to me."

With one season in the books, Roy is now looking to the future. As he continues to grow as a pro, he said that he is ready to move on to the next stage, to get his team to the playoffs and eventually to be an NBA All-Star, or as he put it, "make it to the varsity game."

Reach Justin Chartrey reporter at sports@thedaily.washington.edu.