Wake Forest's Williams, Forbes earn ACC basketball awards

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) — Wake Forest's Alondes Williams and coach Steve Forbes have earned the top individual honors from the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The league announced Williams as its player of the year and Forbes as its top coach on Monday. The Demon Deacons were picked 13th in the preseason but have enjoyed a 23-win season and hold the No. 5 seed at this week's ACC Tournament in New York.

It marks the first time the Demon Deacons have won both awards since 2003, when late coach Skip Prosser and Josh Howard were the picks.

that included the league’s head coaches and media members.

Duke freshman Paolo Banchero was voted rookie of the year, while teammate Mark Williams was chosen as defensive player of the year. North Carolina State's Dereon Seabron was most improved player, while Florida State's Matthew Cleveland was sixth man of the year.

Alondes Williams and Banchero joined North Carolina's Armando Bacot, Miami's Kameron McGusty and Syracuse's Buddy Boeheim on the all-ACC first team.

Seabron joined Virginia Tech's Keve Aluma, Duke's Wendell Moore Jr., Notre Dame's Blake Wesley and Wake Forest's Jake LaRavia on the second team.

Mark Williams joined Notre Dame's Dane Goodwin, Miami's Isaiah Wong, Virginia's Jayden Gardner and Georgia Tech's Michael Devoe on the third team.

The AP releases its ACC awards on Tuesday.

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