Duke’s Williamson, Barrett named consensus all-Americans
Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett accomplished something Tuesday that no college basketball teammates have done in 18 years.
The Duke freshmen duo made the Associated Press’ all-American first team, becoming the first set of teammates since Duke’s Shane Battier and Jay Williams in 2001 to be named consensus first-team all-Americans in the same season.
The NCAA considers players who make all of the Sporting News, NABC, AP and USBWA teams consensus all-Americans.
They are the 18th set of teammates to be named consensus first-team all-Americans since 1930 and the first to both be freshmen.
Williamson and Barrett each averaged 22.6 points per game, becoming the first freshman teammates in NCAA history to both average more than 20 points per game.
They are the first set of freshman teammates to make the AP all-America team since Kentucky’s DeMarcus Cousins and John Wall in 2010.
Williamson was voted ACC player and rookie of the year, while the Sporting News named him national player of the year. USA Today named Barrett its national player of the year. Together they led Duke to a 32-6 season, including the ACC tournament championship. Their quest to reach the Final Four ended with a 68-67 loss to Michigan State last Sunday in the East Region final at Washington, D.C.
Both Williamson and Barrett are expected to enter the NBA Draft.
They were joined on the AP first team by Murray State’s Ja Morant, Michigan State’s Cassius Winston and Tennessee’s Grant Williams.
The AP second team includes Gonzaga’s Rui Hachimura, Purdue’s Carsen Edwards, Texas Tech’s Jarrett Culver, Marquette’s Markus Howard and Wisconsin’s Ethan Happ.
Virginia teammates DeAndre Hunter and Kyle Guy are on the third team along with Dedric Lawson of Kansas, Brandon Clarke of Gonzaga and PJ Washington of Kentucky.
Campbell’s Chris Clemons and North Carolina’s Cam Johnson, Luke Maye and Coby White were among several players listed as honorable mention.
This story was originally published April 2, 2019 at 5:28 PM.