|
 |   |
|
EVENTS Fantasy Central Inside Game Video Plus Statitudes Your Turn Message Boards Email Newsletters Golf Guide Cities 
CNNSI.com GROUP
COMMERCE
|  |
ACC trifecta Unanimous picks Battier, Williams, Forte make history
Updated: Monday March 05, 2001 1:01 PM
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Shane Battier, Joseph Forte and Jason Williams are expected to battle for Atlantic Coast Conference and national player of the year honors over the next few weeks. The first salvo was a dead heat. Battier and Williams of Duke, and Forte of North Carolina were unanimous selections to The Associated Press All-ACC first team released Monday. It was the first time since 1961 that at least three players were unanimous picks in the same season. Len Chappell, York Larese, Doug Moe and Art Heyman received such an honor 40 seasons ago.
Battier, Forte and Williams each received 74 first-team votes by members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Writers Association. The three were joined on the top squad by Juan Dixon of Maryland and Alvin Jones of Georgia Tech. Battier and Dixon made the first team last season, while Forte was a second-team member and Williams made the third team. Duke, which has won or shared a record five straight ACC regular-season titles, placed two players on the first team for the fourth straight year, while the Tar Heels had at least one first-team member for the 41st season. The ACC's top four teams dominated the first three squads as the Blue Devils, Tar Heels, Terrapins and Cavaliers landed three players each, or 12 of the possible 15 selected. N.C. State and Florida State had no players named to the all-conference teams. It was the third straight season no Wolfpack player has been picked - the school's worst drought since the league started in 1954. The 6-foot-4 Forte, a sophomore, led the ACC in scoring in the regular season, averaging 22 points to edge out Williams, who averaged 21.1. Battier is fourth in the league in scoring at 19.6 heading into the ACC tournament this week in Atlanta. Forte was also the top three-point shooter in ACC games and scored 20 or more points in 19 of North Carolina's 28 games. His top outing of the season was 38 in the second game against Tulsa and he had 36 against Florida State. The 6-2 Williams, also a sophomore, scored 25 or more points 13 times and was second in the ACC in assists at 6.4 a game. Battier, a 6-foot-6 senior, was in the top 10 in the ACC in scoring, field goal percentage, 3-point shooting, rebounding, steals and blocked shots. Widely regarded as one of the nation's best defensive players, Battier is the first player in ACC history to record at least 1,500 points, 500 rebounds, 200 blocks, 200 assists and 200 steals. Dixon, a 6-3 junior, averaged 18.5 points and led the ACC with 2.62 steals a game. The elusive guard was a major reason the Terrapins made a late-season surge and finished third in the league. Jones had a breakout season under first-year coach Paul Hewitt, averaging a career-best 13.6 points per game while leading the league in rebounding at 10.1. The 6-11 senior also finished second in the ACC in blocked shots. Travis Watson of Virginia, who led the ACC with 12 double-doubles, was a member of the second team that also included high-scoring Will Solomon of Clemson, Brendan Haywood of North Carolina, Lonny Baxter of Maryland and Josh Howard of Wake Forest. Solomon and Baxter were first-team selections in 2000. Chris Williams and Roger Mason Jr. of Virginia, Terence Morris of Maryland, Jason Capel of North Carolina and Nate James of Duke were named to the third team.
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
