ACC basketball players of the week

Maryland’s Jordan Williams has been named as the ACC Player of the Week while Duke’s Kyrie Irving and NC State’s C.J. Leslie were named Co-Rookies of the Week following their outstanding performances this past week.

In earning Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career, Williams opened the 2010-11 season with three straight double-doubles to spark the Terps to a 3-0 week. The Torrington, Conn., sophomore opened the week with 17 points and 15 rebounds in a 106-76 victory over Seattle last Monday. Two nights later, the 6-11, 260-pounder had a career-high 26 points and 15 boards in a 75-74 win over the College of Charleston. Williams, an All-ACC Freshman performer a year ago, finished the week with 20 points and 11 rebounds in an 89-59 victory over Maine Sunday afternoon. For the week, the sophomore center averaged 21.0 points, 13.7 rebounds and shot .522 from the floor, extending his double-double streak to five- straight games dating back to last season.

Irving had 17 points, four rebounds, a freshman season-opener record nine assists, one block and two steals in 25 minutes of play as the top-ranked Blue Devils opened their season with a 97-60 win over Princeton on Sunday. The West Orange, N.J., native was 3-of-6 from three-point range and 6-of-6 from the foul line, while committing just one turnover.

Leslie came off the bench to help lead the Wolfpack to a 82-69 win over Tennessee Tech in the season opener Friday night at the RBC Center. The Holly Springs, N.C., native finished with a game-high 21 points, hitting on 7-of-10 from the field and 7-of-11 from the free throw line in his 31 minutes. Leslie also finished with six rebounds and six assists in the Pack’s 17th consecutive season-opening win.