ACC rookies struggle in NBA

With more than a third of the NBA season gone, it's becoming more likely by the day that the ACC will not place a player on the 2009-10 all-rookie first team.

That's surprising in view of the fact that seven ACC players were selected during the first round of June's draft.

It's also becoming clear that several of those players - Wake Forest's Jeff Teague and James Johnson, North Carolina's Wayne Ellington and Duke's Gerald Henderson - could have used another season of college ball.

Among the ACC products, Florida State's Toney Douglas (New York Knicks) and Carolina's Ty Lawson (Denver Nuggets) are off to the best starts. Douglas was a senior in 2008-09 and Lawson a junior.

Former Tar Heels senior Tyler Hansbrough (Indiana Pacers) is improving quickly after early-season leg problems.

Only Lawson, among last season's non-seniors, has adapted quickly to the art of good shot selection in the NBA.

A reserve point guard, Lawson is averaging 8.3 points and shooting almost 50 percent. Those are roughly the same stats for Douglas. The other ACC guys, even Hansbrough with his 9.2-points-a-game average, are shooting in the 30-percent range.

The most successful rookies to date have been Memphis' Tyreke Evans (Sacramento Kings), Brandon Jennings (Milwaukee Bucks), Arizona State's James Harden (Oklahoma City Thunder), Syracuse's Jonny Flynn (Minnesota Timberwolves), Omri Casspi (Sacramento), Davidson's Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors) and Jonas Jerebko (Detroit Pistons).

Jennings, Jerebko and Casspi spent last season in international leagues.

Former Deacons Teague (Oklahoma City) and Johnson (Chicago Bulls), like Ellington (Minnesota), aren't playing much and are producing less.

Teague and Johnson, who left after their sophomore seasons, are averaging about 3.5 points and struggling to keep pace defensively.

Ellington, a 6-foot-4 junior at UNC last season and the Final Four most outstanding player, is averaging 4.8 points a game but shooting only 37 percent against taller and more physical wingmen.

The 6-5 Henderson, who averaged 16.5 points as a Duke junior last season, is averaging 3.2 points and shooting 38 percent for Charlotte.

Compared to No. 1 overall pick Blake Griffin, who left Oklahoma after two seasons and was snapped up by the Los Angeles Clippers, the ACC alums at least are getting some experience. Griffin, sidelined by a knee injury, may not play in a regular-season game until February.

The No. 2 overall pick, Connecticut center Hasheem Thabeet, averages 2.9 points in limited work for the Memphis Grizzlies. From Tanzania, he played three seasons in college.

Long term, the uneven transition to pro play could amount to no more than minimal trouble for the ACC products. Philadelphia 76ers forward Thaddeus Young, who left Georgia Tech after his freshman season in 2006-07, struggled early but now averages 15.3 points and has become a lineup mainstay.

But overall, most of the ACC newcomers are learning a familiar rookie lesson - the salary's high but game minutes can be low.