Erick Green won the ACC Player of the year, Durand Scott won the ACC Defensive Player of the Year, Olivier Hanlan won ACC Freshman of the Year, and Jim Larranaga won Coach of the Year as the ACC announced individual award winners on Tuesday.
Below are the press releases.
LEWISVILLE, N.C. – Virginia Tech guard Erick Green has been named the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year, as selected by members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association on Tuesday.
Green received 38 of the 76 votes cast. Miami’s Shane Larkin was second with 23 votes and Duke’s Mason Plumlee was third with 12 votes.
The senior from Winchester, Va., becomes the first Virginia Tech player named the ACC Player of the Year. Green was named first team All-ACC yesterday by ACSMA.
“I am extremely proud of Erick,” head coach James Johnson said. “This is an honor that is well deserved. This young man has put in numerous hours and has relentlessly worked on his game to put himself in this position. To have the respect of the media and for people to recognize what he has done for this team, in such a tough conference against very good players and very good coaches, says a lot about Erick as a player. Erick is a great kid on and off the floor and the award couldn’t come to a better person.”
Green is the third Virginia Tech player to earn a conference’s Player of the Year award, joining Bimbo Coles in 1988 and Dell Curry in 1986, who won the Metro Conference Player of the Year Award. Green joins the late Len Bias of Maryland in 1986 as the only ACC Player of the Year honorees to play on a team in the bottom half of the league standings.
The nation’s leading scorer, Green has scored in double figures in every game this season and leads the ACC in scoring in both overall games and conference games. He is averaging 25.4 points per game and is shooting 48.2 percent from the field. He also leads the ACC in minutes played (36.4 mpg).
Green set a new shool record with 786 points scored this season, breaking the old mark of 785 by Bimbo Coles in the 1989-90 season. In the regular season finale at Wake Forest on Sunday, he scored his 1,700th career point and moved past Ace Custis into 10th place in career scoring at Virginia Tech.
The Hokies will return to action on Thursday, March 14, as they will play NC State in the first round of the 60th ACC Tournment in Greensboro, N.C.
BC's Hanlan Voted ACC Freshman of the Year
LEWISVILLE, NC (ACSMA) – Boston College guard Olivier Hanlan has been named as the 2012-13 Atlantic Coast Conference Freshman of the Year, in voting by members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association.
Hanlan received 43 of the 77 votes cast by ACSMA members to win in a landslide. The Aylmer, Quebec native tied for 8th in the ACC in scoring (14.6 ppg overall), while leading the Eagles in scoring in conference games (15.7 ppg).
BC head coach Steve Donahue said, “It is a great honor for him and well deserved, mostly because he is someone who is putting a great amount of work in to improve both on and off the basketball court.”
Donahue added, “It is also a credit to his teammates for trusting him with the ball quite a bit. Their unselfishness has made him better as well.” Duke guard Rasheed Sulaimon finished second, with 15 votes. NC State forward T.J. Warren was the only other freshman to receive more than four votes, with 12.
Scott ACC Defensive Player of the Year
LEWISVILLE, N.C. – Miami’s Durand Scott has been named as the 2012-13 Atlantic Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year, in voting conducted by members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association.
Scott (1.6 steals per game, 3rd in ACC) received 23 of the 77 votes cast to edge out Hurricane teammate Shane Larkin, who received 21 votes.
Miami head coach Jim Larranaga said, "Durand Scott is one of the greatest competitors I've ever been around and you really see that on the defensive end of the floor. He takes great pride in guarding the other team's best player on the perimeter. He takes great pride in playing harder than anybody else. I am so proud to be able to say that I coached Durand Scott for two years."
Florida State’s Michael Snaer finished third in the voting with seven votes, while Duke’s Mason Plumlee received six. Jontel Evans of Virginia, Julian Gamble of Miami and NC State’s Richard Howell each received four votes.
Larrañaga Voted ACC's Coach of the Year
LEWISVILLE, NC (ACSMA) – Miami’s Jim Larrañaga, whose Hurricanes surprised the Atlantic Coast Conference by winning their first 13 Conference games and their first-ever ACC regular season title, is the 2012-13 ACC Coach of the Year. Larrañaga received 75 of 77 votes, in balloting by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association (ACSMA).
Former ACC Coach of the Year Award winners Mike Krzyzewski of Duke and Roy Williams of North Carolina each received one vote.
Under Larrañaga, Miami (24-6) had its most-successful regular season, tying the school record for wins. The Canes finished 14-1 at home, where they played five games before sold-out crowds.
Larrañaga said, “Although being Coach of the Year is a great honor, especially being chosen amongst a host of great coaches in the ACC, this is really a team honor. The success of a coach is based on the success of his team, and I've got great players and they're a real joy to be around.”
Larrañaga, 63, is in his second season as Miami’s 12th head coach. Prior to joining the Hurricanes, Larrañaga spent 14 seasons at George Mason University, where he led the Patriots to the 2006 Final Four. He also spent 11 seasons at Bowling Green and two seasons at American International. In 29 seasons as a head coach, the 1971 Providence College graduate has a career record of 514-353.
Thanks as always to @hokiesmash for providing press release information.
