Jones, Carey Jr. Sweep 2019-20 Major ACC Honors

DURHAM, N.C. – Duke sophomore Tre Jones has been named both the 2020 ACC Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year, while freshman Vernon Carey Jr., was voted as the ACC Freshman of the Year as the Blue Devils become the first program to sweep the conference’s major men’s basketball individual awards in a single season.

Both Jones and Carey earned first-team All-ACC mention, while Carey and classmate Cassius Stanley were selected to the All-Freshman Team. Jones was also tapped to the All-Defensive Team for the second straight season. The voting was conducted by a 75-member panel that included the league’s head coaches and selected media.

Jones, an honorable mention All-ACC pick last season, becomes just the second player in conference history to win Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season, joining Virginia’s Malcolm Brogdon in 2016.

Duke has boasted the ACC Player of the Year in three consecutive seasons (Zion Williamson and Marvin Bagley III), and all-time, the program’s 18 selections are the most in conference history — with 14 coming under head coach Mike Krzyzewski. Jones is the third Blue Devil to earn Defensive Player of the Year accolades a total of four times, joining DeMarcus Nelson in 2008 and Shelden Williams in 2005 and 2006. Carey becomes the 12th Blue Devil to be named ACC Freshman of the Year and ninth under Coach K. Duke has boasted the ACC Freshman of the Year in three consecutive years and in seven of the last nine seasons — a stretch that began with Austin Rivers in 2012.

With Jones and Carey named first-team All-ACC, Duke now touts 72 first-team All-ACC picks — 48 under Coach K. The Blue Devils have had a first-team All-ACC pick in 13 consecutive seasons – the ACC’s longest active streak by nine years. Jones and Carey’s selections mark the 18th time in school history, and second consecutive year, that Duke has had multiple first-team honorees.

Jones has been the floor general all season long for the No. 12 Blue Devils, who enter this week’s ACC Tournament as the No. 4-seed with a 25-6 overall record and 15-5 conference mark. The sophomore team captain, who is also a finalist for the Bob Cousy Point Guard of the Year Award and the Naismith Defensive Player of the Year, is sixth in the ACC in scoring (16.2), second in assists (6.4), fourth in assist/turnover ratio (+2.4), sixth in steals (1.8) and 11th in field goal percentage (.423). He is the only player ranked in the league’s top 11 in each of those categories.

A native of Apple Valley, Minn., Jones is a three-time ACC Player of the Week selection, and has posted three double-doubles this season, including his 21-point and 11-assist effort in Saturday’s win over North Carolina. He is averaging 17.8 points over Duke’s last 16 games, including his season-high 28 points in the win at UNC, punctuated by his late-game heroics where he hit the game-tying jumper at the buzzer and single-handedly out-scored the Tar Heels 18-15 over the final minute and through overtime.

A semifinalist for the Citizen Naismith Trophy and finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award, Carey is the only player ranked in the ACC’s top 10 in scoring (third, 17.8), rebounding (fourth, 8.8), field goal percentage (first, .577) and blocked shots (sixth, 1.6). The freshman from Miami, Fla., has posted 15 double-doubles this season, which are ranked second among NCAA freshmen and second in the ACC. Ten of his double-doubles have been 20-10 performances, while 14 have come as 15-10 games. Carey is second nationally among freshmen in scoring, third in field goal percentage and fourth in rebounds.

Stanley, who joins Carey on the All-Freshman team, ranks third on the Blue Devils this season in scoring (12.6) and second in rebounding (4.9). Duke was the only school with two players selected to the All-Freshman squad.

Florida State’s Leonard Hamilton was recognized as the ACC Coach of the Year, while Seminoles freshman Patrick Williams received the nod as the ACC Sixth Man of the Year. North Carolina junior Garrison Brooks was voted the ACC’s Most Improved Player.

Jones and Carey were joined on the All-ACC first team by Louisville’s Jordan Nwora, Notre Dame’s John Mooney and Syracuse’s Elijah Hughes.

2020 Atlantic Coast Conference honors

All-ACC

First Team

Vernon Carey Jr., Duke, 367

Jordan Nwora, Louisville, 359
John Mooney, Notre Dame, 351
Tre Jones, Duke, 348

Elijah Hughes, Syracuse, 305

Second Team

Mamadi Diakite, Virginia, 234
Devin Vassell, Florida State, 212
Garrison Brooks, North Carolina, 209
Trent Forrest, Florida State, 200
Markell Johnson, NC State, 101

Third Team

Kihei Clark, Virginia, 98
Jose Alvarado, Georgia Tech, 87
Aamir Simms, Clemson, 79
Cole Anthony, North Carolina, 69
Olivier Sarr, Wake Forest, 63

Honorable Mention

Landers Nolley II, Virginia Tech, 58
Michael Devoe, Georgia Tech, 48
Brandon Childress, Wake Forest 44
Chris Lykes, Miami, 32
M.J. Walker, Florida State, 22
Braxton Key, Virginia, 16
Dwayne Sutton, Louisville 15
Steffon Mitchell, Boston College, 11

ACC Player of the Year

Tre Jones, Duke, 34

Jordan Nwora, Louisville, 17
John Mooney, Notre Dame, 11
Elijah Hughes, Syracuse, 7
Trent Forrest, Florida State, 4
Mamadi Diakite, Virginia 2

Freshman of the Year
Vernon Carey Jr., Duke, 70

Landers Nolley II, Virginia Tech, 2
Cole Anthony, North Carolina, 2
Patrick Williams, Florida State, 1

All-Defensive Team

Tre Jones, Duke, 64

Mamadi Diakite, Virginia, 55
Trent Forrest, Florida State, 55
James Banks III, Georgia Tech, 34
Steffon Mitchell, Boston College, 30

All-Freshman Team

Vernon Carey Jr., Duke, 75

Cole Anthony, North Carolina, 55
Landers Nolley II, Virginia Tech, 54
Cassius Stanley, Duke, 36

Patrick Williams, Florida State, 29

Coach of the Year

Leonard Hamilton, Florida State, 62
Tony Bennett, Virginia, 12
Chris Mack, Louisville, 1

Defensive Player of the Year

Tre Jones, Duke, 45

Trent Forrest, Florida State, 18
Steffon Mitchell, Boston College, 8
Kihei Clark, Virginia, 3
Manny Bates, NC State, 1

Most Improved Player

Garrison Brooks, North Carolina, 17
Olivier Sarr, Wake Forest, 16
Devin Vassell, Florida State, 16
Buddy Boeheim, Syracuse, 10
Aamir Simms, Clemson, 6
Moses Wright, Georgia Tech, 6
Prentiss Hubb, Notre Dame, 2
DJ Funderburk, NC State, 1
Jay Huff, Virginia, 1

Sixth Man of the Year

Patrick Williams, Florida State, 35
Malik Williams, Louisville, 28
Dane Goodwin, Notre Dame, 9
Isaiah Wong, Miami, 3