Zion Williamson of the Duke Blue Devils. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – With a sweep of Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors, Duke’s Zion Williamson leads the league’s 2019 season award winners and the All-ACC basketball team announced on Monday.
Despite being sidelined since suffering a knee injury in the opening minute of Duke’s home game versus North Carolina on February 20, Williamson still ranks third among ACC players in total points scored. His 21.6 points per game scoring average is second among conference players, and he stands third in rebounding at 8.8 per game.
The 6-foot-7, 285-pound native of Spartanburg, South Carolina, has also provided an intimidating defensive presence, ranking fourth in the ACC in blocked shots with 1.85 per game. Williamson received 49 of 70 ACC Player of the Year votes cast by a selection panel consisting of the league’s 15 head coaches and 55 members of the media. Fellow Duke freshman RJ Barrett received 16 votes, while Virginia sophomore De’Andre Hunter was named on four ballots, and Boston College junior Ky Bowman received one vote.
Williamson received 47 votes for ACC Rookie of the Year, followed by Barrett with 21 and North Carolina’s Coby White with two.
Head coach Tony Bennett of the Virginia Cavaliers. (Photo by Brett Carlsen/Getty Images)
Williamson joins former Duke standouts Jahlil Okafor (2015) and Marvin Bagley III (2018) as the only players in the ACC’s 66-year history to be chosen as the league’s Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year in the same season.
Virginia’s Tony Bennett is the repeat selection as ACC Coach of the Year after leading the Cavaliers to a 28-2 overall record, a 16-2 league mark and a share of the ACC regular-season title. Virginia holds the No. 1 seed in the New York Life ACC Tournament for the second consecutive season and the fourth time in six years. The Cavaliers own a No. 2 national ranking and lead the nation in several defensive categories.
The ACC Coach of the Year honor is the Bennett’s fourth since he took the helm at Virginia prior to 2009-10 season. He was also recognized in 2014 and 2015.
Hunter received ACC Defensive Player of the Year honors, while Florida State sophomore Mfiondu Kabengele was recognized as the league’s Sixth Man of the Year. Louisville sophomore Jordan Nwora received the nod as the ACC’s Most Improved Player.
Dwayne Sutton of the Louisville Cardinals drives past De’Andre Hunter. (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images)
As ACC Defensive Player of the Year, Hunter has been a mainstay on a Virginia squad that ranks first in the nation in fewest points allowed per game (54.6) and field goal percentage defense (.374). Florida State’s Kabengele has come off the bench in all 31 games to lead the Seminoles in scoring (13.1 ppg) while pulling down 5.7 rebounds per contest. Nwora has emerged as the ACC’s fifth-leading scorer after averaging 12 minutes and 5.7 points per game a year ago as a freshman.
Williamson, Barrett (a league-leading 23.4 ppg) and Hunter (15.2 ppg) are joined on the All-ACC first team by North Carolina’s Cameron Johnson (ACC-leading .469 from 3-point range) and Virginia junior Kyle Guy (15.3 ppg, ACC-leading 97 3-pointers made).
North Carolina senior Luke Maye (14.6 ppg, 10.5 rpg) heads up the All-ACC second team, along with Boston College’s Bowman (19.2 ppg), Virginia’s Ty Jerome (13.5 ppg, ACC-leading 5.3 apg), North Carolina’s White (16.3 ppg) and Virginia Tech’s Kerry Blackshear Jr. (14.5 ppg).
The All-ACC third team includes Louisville’s Nwora (17.3 ppg), Clemson’s Marcquise Reed (19.4 ppg), Syracuse’s Tyus Battle (17.2 ppg), Virginia Tech’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker (16.6 ppg) and Notre Dame junior John Mooney (14.1 ppg, ACC-leading 11.2 rpg).
Williamson, Barrett, White, Pitt’s Xavier Johnson and Duke’s Tre Jones comprise the All-ACC Freshman Team.
In addition to Hunter, the All-ACC Defensive team includes Duke’s Jones and Williamson, Clemson’s Elijah Thomas and Georgia Tech’s James Banks III.
2019 Atlantic Coast Conference Post-Season Honors
All-ACC
First Team
Zion Williamson, Fr., Duke, 350*
RJ Barrett, Fr., Duke, 346
De’Andre Hunter, So., Virginia, 302
Cameron Johnson, Sr., North Carolina, 277
Kyle Guy, Jr., Virginia, 231
Second Team
Luke Maye, Sr., North Carolina, 221
Ky Bowman, Jr., Boston College, 188
Ty Jerome, Jr., Virginia, 177
Coby White, Fr., North Carolina, 171
Kerry Blackshear Jr., Jr., Virginia Tech, 170
Third Team
Jordan Nwora, So., Louisville, 135
Marcquise Reed, Sr., Clemson, 129
Tyus Battle, Jr., Syracuse, 128
Nickeil Alexander-Walker, So., Virginia Tech, 72
John Mooney, Jr., Notre Dame, 71
Honorable Mention
Mfiondu Kabengele, So., Florida State, 69
Cam Reddish, Fr., Duke, 37
Tre Jones, Fr., Duke, 18
Terance Mann, Sr., Florida State, 16
Elijah Thomas, Sr., Clemson, 10
ACC Player of the Year
Zion Williamson, Fr., Duke, 49
RJ Barrett, Fr., Duke, 16
De’Andre Hunter, So., Virginia, 4
Ky Bowman, Jr., Boston College, 1
ACC Rookie of the Year
Zion Williamson, Duke, 47
RJ Barrett, Duke, 21
Coby White, North Carolina, 2
ACC Coach of the Year
Tony Bennett, Virginia, 30
Buzz Williams, Virginia Tech, 12
Roy Williams, North Carolina, 11
Leonard Hamilton, Florida State, 10
Chris Mack, Louisville, 7
ACC Defensive Player of the Year
De’Andre Hunter, So., Virginia, 46
Tre Jones, Fr., Duke, 19
David Skara, Sr., Clemson, 3
Trent Forrest, Jr., Florida State, 2
ACC Most Improved Player
Jordan Nwora, So., Louisville, 30
John Mooney, Jr., Notre Dame, 27
Cameron Johnson, Sr., North Carolina, 5
Mfiondu Kabengele, So., Florida State, 4
Kerry Blackshear Jr., Jr., Virginia Tech, 2
Chris Lykes, So., Miami, 2
ACC Sixth Man of the Year
Mfiondu Kabengele, So., Florida State, 60
DJ Funderburk, So., NC State, 3
Jared Wilson-Frame, Jr., Pitt, 3
Nassir Little, Fr., North Carolina, 2
Braxton Key, Jr., Virginia, 2
ACC All-Defensive Team
De’Andre Hunter, So., Virginia, 60
Tre Jones, Fr., Duke, 56
Zion Williamson, Fr., Duke, 53
Elijah Thomas, Sr., Clemson, 31
James Banks III, Jr., Georgia Tech, 29
ACC All-Freshman Team
Zion Williamson, Duke, 70*
Coby White, North Carolina, 67
RJ Barrett, Duke, 66
Xavier Johnson, Pitt, 40
Tre Jones, Duke, 38
*unanimous
