The ACC announced that Duke phenom Paolo Banchero was named the conference’s Freshman of the Year.
The projected lottery pick made the All-ACC first-team after earning 372 points in coach-media voting. The 19-year-old forward averaged 17.1 points and 7.7 rebounds per game on 46.3 percent shooting from the field. Banchero won Freshman of the Week six times and posted eight double-doubles. Banchero finished the regular season fifth in the ACC in scoring (17.4) and second in rebounds in conference-only games (8.0).
Banchero is also a finalist for the Karl Malone Award and the only ACC representative to be named a finalist for the Wooden Award. He is also the Blue Devils’ 76th All-ACC first-team selection and the 51st player to earn first-team honors under Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski, most in conference history.
Banchero wasn’t the only Blue Devil to earn some regular-season accolades. Wendell Moore made the second team. Mark Williams was named Defensive Player of the Year and made the third team. AJ Griffin was an honorable mention. Griffin, Banchero, and Trevor Keels made the All-Rookie team. Moore and Williams were named to the All-Defensive team as well.
