Following the conclusion of the regular season, the ACC announced its season awards Monday afternoon, and the Blue Devils are adding some more hardware to their trophy case.
Flagg, who was named the conference’s Rookie of the Week a record 12 times, was voted Newcomer of the Year (79 of 81 votes) and Player of the Year (76 of 81 votes). Flagg finished second in voting for Defensive Player of the Year to Louisville’s Chucky Hepburn, was named to the All-ACC first team and was joined on the All-Rookie team by Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach. Knueppel was named a second-team All-ACC player, and junior Tyrese Proctor made the All-ACC third team. Finally, Flagg was one of two Blue Devils on the ACC’s All-Defensive team, as graduate guard Sion James also got the nod.
Following the conclusion of the regular season, the ACC announced its season awards Monday afternoon, and the Blue Devils are adding some more hardware to their trophy case.
Flagg, who was named the conference’s Rookie of the Week a record 12 times, was voted Newcomer of the Year (79 of 81 votes) and Player of the Year (76 of 81 votes). Flagg finished second in voting for Defensive Player of the Year to Louisville’s Chucky Hepburn, was named to the All-ACC first team and was joined on the All-Rookie team by Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach. Knueppel was named a second-team All-ACC player, and junior Tyrese Proctor made the All-ACC third team. Finally, Flagg was one of two Blue Devils on the ACC’s All-Defensive team, as graduate guard Sion James also got the nod.
Another key piece of Duke’s defensive prowess was James, who transferred into Scheyer’s man-to-man system after playing a matchup zone at Tulane. James was tasked with guarding the opposing point guard, and made it difficult to run offense comfortably.
His 30 steals were second on the team to Flagg, but even when he didn’t poke the ball away James used his impressive size and wingspan to force bad decisions. James also used his physicality to become one of the Blue Devils’ best defensive rebounders, finishing with six or more boards nine times this season.
Proctor was named to the All-ACC third team after a third-year renaissance. Proctor played point guard in his first two seasons in Durham, but found his stride playing off the ball this season, improving his field-goal percentage, 3-point shooting and scoring averages. The Sydney native assumed a leadership role on this year’s squad, and flourished alongside James and his younger teammates.
Head coach Jon Scheyer was second to the Cardinals’ Pat Kelsey in ACC Coach of the Year voting, earning 25 votes.
Thanks to the contributions of Flagg, Knueppel, Maluach, James, Proctor and the rest of the roster, Duke finished the regular season atop the ACC and will enter the conference tournament as the No. 1 seed. The Blue Devils will face either Georgia Tech or Virginia Thursday at noon.
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