A Blue Devil guard earned first-team All-ACC accolades once again Sunday—just not the one everyone predicted entering the season.
Sophomore Luke Kennard was the only unanimous selection to the team, which was announced by the conference Sunday afternoon along with the rest of its postseason awards. Kennard established himself as one of the best players in the nation this season, averaging 20.1 points and 5.3 rebounds per game and shooting 50.4 percent from the field and 45.0 percent from the 3-point line. His 28 points Saturday at North Carolina earned the Franklin, Ohio, native the ACC scoring crown for the season.
Kennard was joined on the first team by North Carolina’s Justin Jackson—the league player of the year—Wake Forest’s John Collins, Notre Dame’s Bonzie Colson and Louisville’s Donovan Mitchell. Kennard finished fourth behind Jackson, Collins and Colson in ACC Player of the Year voting.
Many expected Grayson Allen—the preseason ACC Player of the Year—to compete for the award, but injuries have set the junior back and he did not land on any of the three all-conference teams.
Despite missing the start of the season with a lower-leg injury, freshman Jayson Tatum did, however. The St. Louis native garnered third-team all-conference honors and landed on the All-Freshman team after averaging 16.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game.
With those numbers, Tatum joined Jabari Parker as the only Blue Devil rookies to average at least 15 points and seven boards per contest. He finished a distant second in ACC Rookie of the Year voting behind N.C. State’s Dennis Smith Jr.
Senior Matt Jones was also recognized Sunday as part of the league’s all-defensive team, becoming Duke’s first honoree on the team since Mason Plumlee in 2013. The defensive stalwart has struggled with his shot lately but is routinely matched up with an opponent’s best player, and will look to shore up a leaky Blue Devil defense that struggled to end the season.
The No. 5 seed in the ACC tournament, Duke will open play at the Barclays Center in New York Wednesday against Clemson at 2 p.m.
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