Roy Williams could make a strong case for four basketball players being named the Associated Press Big 12 Conference Co-Players of the Year.

“I wouldn’t have been surprised if there had been ‘quatro-players of the year’ this year,” Williams, Kansas University’s coach, said Tuesday, applauding the selection of Oklahoma’s Hollis Price as player of the year, while also making a case for KU’s Nick Collison and Kirk Hinrich and Texas’ T.J. Ford.

“I do believe it was the closest race in my 15 years in the league — the first-place guy to fourth,” Williams added.

Price, OU’s 6-foot-1, 170-pound senior guard from New Orleans, received 11 votes from a media panel, compared to eight for Collison, KU’s senior forward from Iowa Falls, Iowa. UT point guard Ford received four votes, while senior guard Hinrich was blanked in the voting despite being a unanimous all-league pick.

“Hollis Price is a fantastic player,” Williams said. “I love him to death. I would have loved it to be Nick, I would have loved it to be Kirk, but I have zero problem it being Hollis. I’d have had zero problem it being T.J. All four of those kids had great, great years.”

Price finished second in the league in scoring at 19.4 points a game. Collison averaged 18.6 points for the league-champion Jayhawks.

“I’d definitely like the award,” the 6-9 Collison said, “but there are probably four guys who really deserved it, and three can’t get it.

“I think Hollis is a good guy and a great player,” he added of Price, who led Oklahoma to a 105-25 record over four years. “He’s had to lead his team. He’s done a great job for four years. He deserves it as much as anybody.”

Price, who has hit 93 percent of his free throws, cashed 45 percent of his three-pointers and 46.7 percent of his overall shots.

“He may be my favorite (opposing) player in my 15 years in the league,” Williams gushed.

He’s one of Sooner coach Kelvin Sampson’s all-time favorites in Norman, Okla.

“He had a great sophomore year for a sophomore, then he had a better junior year,” Sampson told the AP. “He took a team to the Final Four, carried us in a lot of games. Then he had a better senior year.

“Everything you read or hear about him is true and it still may not be giving him justice,” Sampson added.

The freshman of the year was Antoine Wright of Texas A&M. Oklahoma State’s Tony Allen was chosen newcomer of the year.

Wright was a unanimous pick after averaging 14.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. A junior-college transfer, Allen averaged 14.7 points per game. Allen received 13 votes, Ricky Clemons of Missouri had nine and Nate Johnson of Nebraska one.

— Owen Canfield and Doug Tucker of the Associated Press contributed to this report.