Duke Blue Planet BLOG

The annual All-ACC teams were announced today with Austin Rivers earning a spot on the first team and Seth Curry and Mason Plumlee named to the third team.  The teams are voted on by the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association (ACSMA).

Austin, the lone freshman earning All-ACC honors and just the second in 16 years to earn first-team All-ACC accolades, finished the regular season tied for seventh in the ACC in scoring at 15.3 PPG, while also ranking ninth in field goal percentage (.442).  He has reached double-figures in scoring a team-high 27 times, including eight game with 20 or more points.  He is on pace to become the first freshman to lead the team in scoring since Johnny Dawkins in 1983.

Seth is second on the team and 12th in the ACC in scoring at 13.5 PPG.  He leads the ACC in free throw percentage (.864), while also pacing the Blue Devils in assists (75) and steals (39).

Mason is averaging 11.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.5 blocks per game while shooting 55.4 percent from the field.  He ranks 23rd in the league in scoring, fourth in rebounds and seventh in blocks heading into the ACC Tournament.  The big man was also named  First Team Academic All-America earlier this season.

The conference coach, player, rookie and defensive players of the year will be announced tomorrow.

All-ACC By the Numbers
*In 32 years at Duke, Coach K has 38 first-team All-ACC choices.  Current ACC coaches have 19 first-team choices in 41 years combined.

*Duke has had a first-team All-ACC pick in 15 of the past 16 years, including five years in a row.

First Team All-ACC Picks – Last 15 Years
Duke- 24, UNC- 15, Maryland- 6, UVA- 4, BC- 4

All-ACC Picks Since 1985
Duke- 44, UNC- 39, Maryland- 28, Wake Forest- 21, UVA- 17

With Duke’s win at Wake Forest, the Blue Devils became just the fourth ACC team in history to finish 8-0 on the road in conference games.  Three of the four teams have been Blue Devils squads (1999, 2000, 2012).

Said Seth Curry, “I’m proud.  It’s leaving a mark on this conference that will be here forever.  That was our goal coming in and it is tough to do in any conference, let alone the ACC, so we are really proud of that.”

Before the game, the Duke coaches emphasized a “Road Warriors” theme and passed out a flyer to the team to help inspire one more ACC road win.  Here’s a look at an updated version following Duke’s 79-71 win in Winston-Salem.

Photo Gallery: Miles Wins THE BELT

This past week, Miles Plumlee made history when he was honored as the first-ever winner of the THE BELT.  This prestigious award will be given annually to the “Iron Devil Champion” whose overall strength and conditioning performance, improvement and test results are the best on the Duke men’s basketball team.  Strength and conditioning coach Will Stephens leads Duke’s strength and conditioning program and is in charge of THE BELT.

Miles won the award thanks to outstanding improvement along with very impressive test results.  THE BELT will be engraved with Miles’ name and hang in the weight room to inspire future winners.

“THE BELT is pretty sick,” said Miles.  ”I am really proud of that.  I’ve put in a lot of work here and I’m excited for other guys to strive and work for that.  It is a really nice belt.”

Duke fan David Lanham was also impressed by THE BELT.  He tweeted @dukeblueplanet, “That belt is incredible!  I’ve worked in pro wrestling for years, that makes all other belts look like kiddie toys.”

Links: Coach K on the Dan Patrick Show | Kyrie on the Dan Patrick Show

Both Coach K and Kyrie Irving were featured today on the popular Dan Patrick Show.  Coach K talked about Austin Rivers, Jeremy Lin and the season so far, while Kyrie spoke of Duke his adjustment to life in the NBA.

Kyrie also was interviewed on a local Cleveland radio station.  When asked about his basketball education, Kyrie said:

“It takes awhile to get adjusted to the pace of the game.  That’s kind of what Coach taught me coming into Duke, which helped accelerate that process coming into the NBA.  Three-hour practices, first-class traveling, we had it all at Duke.  I was more prepared, I’d say, than other rookies coming into the NBA game.”

*Duke trailed by 16 at halftime, rallying for the largest second-half comeback of the Coach K era (and second largest in Duke Basketball history).

*In the last 11:06, Duke went 10-for-16 from the floor with no turnovers.  NC State was 4-for-17 with five turnovers in that span.

*After trailing by 20 with 11:30 left, Duke closed the game outscoring NC State 37-12.

*If Duke had outscored NC State over the entire 40 minutes at the same rate as the final 11:20, the Blue Devils would have won by more than 85 points.

*Duke closed the game with scoring runs of 13-0 and 20-3.

*The last time NC State beat a Coach K-led Duke team in Cameron was 1988.  Seth Curry was born in 1990.

*Seth Curry scored a career-high 26 points, including 21 in the second half.