Circulation e-Edition Classifieds Jobs Specialty Publications Buy Photos Archives Contact Us
Scheyer cracks All-ACC unanimously; UNC faces historic postseason shutout
23 months ago | 1859 views | 0 0 comments | 9 9 recommendations | email to a friend | print
By BRYAN STRICKLAND

bstrickland@heraldsun.com; 419-6671

Duke's big three of Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith claimed three of the top seven spots in voting for the All-ACC men's basketball teams announced Monday, while rival North Carolina got shut out for the first time ever.

Scheyer was a unanimous selection on the 53 ballots cast by members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association, along with Maryland guard Greivis Vasquez and Virginia Tech guard Malcolm Delaney. Duke forward Kyle Singler and Clemson forward Trevor Booker rounded out the first team.

Scheyer became the first senior in ACC history to be a unanimous All-ACC pick after not previously appearing on the first, second or third team. The Northbrook, Ill., native leads the Blue Devils in scoring (18.9), assists (162), 3-pointers (89), steals (51) and free-throw percentage (.889). He is the only player to rank in the top five in the ACC in seven statistical categories.

Duke junior Nolan Smith was second among the second-team members, behind Wake Forest sophomore Al-Farouq Aminu. In-state players claimed two other spots on the second team, with N.C. State's Tracy Smith and Wake's Ishmael Smith joining Virginia's Sylven Landesberg.

A fourth Duke starter, senior Lance Thomas, was named to the five-player all-defensive team.

North Carolina didn't place a player on any of the three All-ACC teams, a first in the 57th year of the conference. From 1954-89, when the league honored the top 10 players on two teams, and from 1990-present with 15 players on three teams, the Tar Heels always had at least one player picked.

The closest call previously came in 2002, when Jason Capel occupied with 15th and final spot for the Tar Heels' 8-20 team.

That UNC team, before the expansion of the league to the current 12 teams, was seeded No. 7 in the ACC Tournament; this team is seeded No. 10 -- the lowest seed in school history -- and opens play Thursday against No. 7 seed Georgia Tech at the Greensboro Coliseum (7 p.m., ESPN2).

The No. 4-ranked and top-seeded Blue Devils, by contrast, earned a bye. They won't open play until the quarterfinals on Friday and got some of their spoils of victory Monday.

Scheyer and Vasquez, who led the Terrapins to a share of the ACC regular-season title alongside Duke, are believed to the leading candidates for conference player of the year. That reward, along with rookie and coach of the year, will be announced today.

Scheyer and Singler gave the Blue Devils two players on the first team for the 10th time in Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski's 30 seasons.

Ten of the ACC's 12 teams had at least one All-ACC selection. Miami joined UNC on the outside looking in, though the Hurricanes did place Durand Scott on the all-rookie team along with Derrick Favors of Georgia Tech, Jordan Williams of Maryland, C.J. Harris of Wake and Michael Snaer of Florida State.

The top five seeds in the ACC Tournament grabbed 10 of the 15 All-ACC spots. No. 3 seed Florida State put a pair of players on the third team -- Chris Singleton and Solomon Alibi -- and No. 4 seed Virginia Tech put Dorenzo Hudson on the third team in addition to the unanimous selection of Delaney, the ACC's leading scorer.

Gani Lawal of Georgia Tech and Joe Trapani of Boston College completed the third team.

Singleton, Alabi and Booker joined Thomas on the all-defensive team, along with Wake senior L.D. Williams.

Voting results for the 2009-10 All-ACC basketball teams, as cast by 53 members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association.

First-team All-ACC

Jon Scheyer, Duke (159)

Greivis Vasquez, Maryland (159)

Malcolm Delaney, Virginia Tech (159)

Trevor Booker, Clemson (137)

Kyle Singler, Duke (134)

Second-team All-ACC

Al-Farouq Aminu, Wake Forest (126)

Nolan Smith, Duke (104)

Sylven Landesberg, Virginia (95)

Tracy Smith, N.C. State (82)

Ishmael Smith, Wake Forest (76)

Third-team All-ACC

Gani Lawal, Georgia Tech (73)

Dorenzo Hudson, Virginia Tech (51)

Chris Singleton, Florida State (50)

Joe Trapani, Boston College (38)

Solomon Alabi, Florida State (30)

ACC All-Rookie Team

Derrick Favors, Georgia Tech (52)

Jordan Williams, Maryland (51)

Durand Scott, Miami (44)

C.J. Harris, Wake Forest (41)

Michael Snaer, Florida State (35)

ACC All-Defensive Team

Chris Singleton, Florida State (48)

Solomon Alabi, Florida State (39)

Trevor Booker, Clemson (21)

Lance Thomas, Duke (17)

L.D. Williams, Wake Forest (16)
Featured Businesses >>