Duke men's basketball's Zion Williamson beats out R.J. Barrett for ACC Player of the Year

Despite not seeing the floor in any of Duke's final five games, Zion Williamson is ACC Player and Rookie of the Year.
Despite not seeing the floor in any of Duke's final five games, Zion Williamson is ACC Player and Rookie of the Year.

For the second time in as many seasons, a Blue Devil is the best player in the ACC.

Freshman Zion Williamson was honored as the league's Player of the Year Monday afternoon, finishing with 49 votes well ahead of teammate R.J. Barrett's 16. The Spartanburg, S.C., native also becomes just the third player in ACC history to win Player and Rookie of the Year in the same season, following in the footsteps of former Duke stars Marvin Bagley III last year and Jahlil Okafor in 2015.

Both Williamson and Barrett were also named to the All-ACC first team, with Williamson as the only unanimous pick, followed by Virginia's De'Andre Hunter and Kyle Guy and North Carolina's Cameron Johnson.

Despite missing the last five games of the season and most of a sixth after getting injured on the first play against the Tar Heels Feb. 20, Williamson took the ACC and the rest of the nation by storm when he was on the floor and is averaging 21.6 points and 8.8 rebounds per game this season. He is expected to return for this week's ACC tournament.

Point guard Tre Jones and Williamson were both selected to the All-Defensive team behind just Hunter, who won Defensive Player of the Year.

Three Duke freshmen—Barrett, Williamson and Jones—were named to the All-Freshman team along with North Carolina's Coby White and Pittsburgh's Xavier Johnson. This is the eighth straight year the Blue Devils have had at least one freshman earn that honor.

The full results of all the ACC awards are listed below:

Player of the Year

Zion Williamson, Duke, 49 votes

R.J. Barrett, Duke, 16

De'Andre Hunter, Virginia, 4

Ky Bowman, Boston College, 1

Rookie of the Year

Zion Williamson, Duke, 47 votes

R.J. Barrett, Duke, 21

Coby White, North Carolina, 2

First Team

Zion Williamson, Duke, 350 points

R.J. Barrett, Duke, 346

De'Andre Hunter, Virginia, 302

Cameron Johnson, North Carolina, 277

Kyle Guy, Virginia, 231

Second Team

Luke Maye, North Carolina, 221 points

Ky Bowman, Boston College, 188

Ty Jerome, Virginia, 177

Coby White, North Carolina, 171

Kerry Blackshear Jr., Virginia Tech, 170

Third Team

Jordan Nwora, Louisville, 135 points

Marcquise Reed, Clemson, 129

Tyus Battle, Syracuse, 128

Nickeil Alexander-Walker, 72

John Mooney, Notre Dame, 71

All-Freshman Team

Zion Williamson, Duke, 70 votes

Coby White, North Carolina, 67

R.J. Barrett, Duke, 66

Xavier Johnson, Pittsburgh, 40

Tre Jones, Duke, 38

All-Defensive Team

De'Andre Hunter, Virginia, 60 votes

Tre Jones, Duke, 56

Zion Williamson, Duke, 53

Elijah Thomas, Clemson, 31

James Banks III, Georgia Tech, 29

Defensive Player of the Year

De'Andre Hunter, Virginia, 46 votes

Tre Jones, Duke, 19

David Skara, Clemson, 3

Trent Forrest Jr., Florida State, 2

Most Improved Player

Jordan Nwora, Louisville, 30 votes

John Mooney, Notre Dame, 27

Cameron Johnson, North Carolina, 5

Mfiondu Kabengele, Florida State, 4

Kerry Blackshear Jr., Virginia Tech, 2

Chris Lykes, Miami, 2

Sixth Man of the Year

Mfiondu Kabengele, Florida State, 60 votes

D.J. Funderburk, N.C. State, 3

Jared Wilson-Frame, Pittsburgh, 3

Nassir Little, North Carolina, 2

Braxton Key, Virginia, 2

Coach of the Year

Tony Bennett, Virginia, 30 votes

Buzz Williams, Virginia Tech, 12

Roy Williams, North Carolina, 11

Leonard Hamilton, Florida State, 10

Chris Mack, Louisville, 7


Mitchell Gladstone | Sports Managing Editor

Twitter: @mpgladstone13

A junior from just outside Philadelphia, Mitchell is probably reminding you how the Eagles won the Super Bowl this year and that the Phillies are definitely on the rebound. Outside of The Chronicle, he majors in Economics, minors in Statistics and is working toward the PJMS certificate, in addition to playing trombone in the Duke University Marching Band. And if you're getting him a sandwich with beef and cheese outside the state of Pennsylvania, you best not call it a "Philly cheesesteak." 

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