The Triangle schools were well-represented on the media’s All-ACC teams released Monday. Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State combined for 13 representatives on the first, second, third, honorable mention and rookie teams as selected by the 77 voters of Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association.
Duke’s Mason Plumlee led all players with 226 points and 73 out of a possible 77 first-place votes. Plumlee finished the regular season second in the league in scoring (17.3 points per game), rebounding (10.3 boards per game) and field goal percentage (58.9 percent). He led the ACC with 17 double-doubles. Duke has had a first-team All-ACC selection in six straight seasons.
N.C. State’s Richard Howell was also a first-team selection with 192 points and 46 first-place votes. Howell and Plumlee were the only two players to average a double-double in league play, and the N.C. State senior led the league in rebounding with an average of 10.6 per game.
“He’s one of the most unique players in the country, Howell,” Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said after the Wolfpack’s Jan. 12 win over Duke. “He’s a kid that every team would want and start and would be so easy to play with. He doesn’t need the ball long, he plays with amazing maturity, and he rebounds the heck out of the ball.”
Joining Plumlee and Howell on the first team were Virginia Tech’s Erick Green, the nation’s leading scorer (225 points, 72 first-place votes), Miami’s Shane Larkin (224 points, 72 first-place votes) and Virginia’s Joe Harris (219 points, 67 first-place votes).
Duke’s Seth Curry received the most votes of those players on the second team, with 178 points. He was joined by N.C. State’s Lorenzo Brown (122 points), and North Carolina’s Reggie Bullock (119 points) and James Michael McAdoo (97 points).
N.C. State’s C.J. Leslie (80 points) and Duke’s Quinn Cook (43 points) were selected to the third team. Duke’s Ryan Kelly, whose right foot injury limited him to five ACC games, was an honorable mention selection along with North Carolina’s P.J. Hairston.
All three Triangle teams had a rookie selected to the All-Freshman team, with Duke’s Rasheed Sulaimon (63 votes), N.C. State’s T.J. Warren (63 votes), and UNC’s Marcus Paige (44 votes) named.
Wake Forest’s C.J. Harris and Travis McKie were honorable mention selections, and Devin Thomas made the All-Rookie team.
ACC Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year and Coach of the Year will be announced Tuesday.
Keeley 919-829-4556; Twitter @laurakeeley
