The two players in the lead for ACC’s Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year honors extended their margins with terrific performances, including the top effort of the week in the league by a developing freshman at Duke.
So, with respect to Florida State’s Michael Snaer, N.C. State’s T.J. Warren, Scott Wood and Lorenzo Brown, Virginia’s Joe Harris and Akil Mitchell, Miami’s Shane Larkin, North Carolina’s P.J. Hairston, Georgia Tech’s Marcus Georges-Hunt, Maryland’s Logan Aronhalt and Nick Faust, Boston College’s Olivier Hanlan, Duke’s Seth Curry, Virginia Tech’s C.J. Barksdale, Clemson’s Devin Booker and Jordan Roper, and Wake Forest’s Codi Miller-McIntyre here are this week’s Big Men on Campus:
C.J. Harris, Wake Forest: The senior guard put forth one of the best performances of his career in scoring 23 points while hitting all five of his 3-point attempts in an 80-65 victory over then-second ranked Miami in the Demon Deacons’ only game of the week. Harris has been through a lot in his Wake Forest career, and he helped his school earn every bit of that victory.
James Michael McAdoo, North Carolina: The sophomore forward totaled 36 points, 18 rebounds and six steals in a pair of victories at Georgia Tech and at home over N.C. State for the surging Tar Heels. McAdoo responded nicely to a stretch where he wasn’t producing as much as UNC needs.
Reggie Bullock, North Carolina: Bullock had a huge game in the Tar Heels’ crucial victory over N.C. State by scoring 22 points, tying a career-high with 13 rebounds and also handing out three assists. For the week, he had 31 points and 20 rebounds while also playing excellent defense.
Mason Plumlee, Duke: Blue Devils’ coach Mike Krzyzewski praised Plumlee on Sunday for how he responded to a four-point, three-rebound performance at Maryland a week earlier. Plumlee totaled 32 points, 27 rebounds, nine assists and four blocked shots in wins over Virginia Tech and Boston College.
Erick Green, Virginia Tech: The most consistent player in the ACC continued doing his thing, and quite frankly, should be close to nailing down the league’s player of the year honor. Green scored 48 points and handed out eight assists in a loss to Duke and win over Florida State.
Florida State: Leonard Hamilton has never been known much as an offensive coach, but his team looked totally disjointed at an N.C. State team that isn’t always interested in playing defense, and then the defensive coach’s club allowed 80 points in a loss at last-place Virginia Tech. FSU is now 6-8 in the ACC and could be in danger of missing the NIT, as its NCAA streak of four straight appearances likely will end.
Rasheed Sulaimon, Duke: The freshman wing continues to get better and better, and last week he totaled 44 points, grabbed eight rebounds, and handed out five assists in wins over Virginia Tech and Boston College. His 27 points versus Boston College is a career high. Sulaimon’s improved play isn’t just reflected in stats, his floor game on both ends of the court is much better than two months ago.
Jeff Bzdelik, Wake Forest: Credit must go where it’s due, and while Bzdelik’s three seasons have been rightfully heavily criticized, you can’t dismiss the fact that the Demon Deacons own home wins over Xavier, Virginia, N.C. State. By 26 over Florida State and last weekend by 15 over then-No. 2 Miami, ending the Hurricanes’ 13-game ACC winning streak.
