NC State’s TJ Warren voted ACC Player Of The Year by ACC coaches

NC State sophomore forward T.J. Warren has been chosen as the 2014 Atlantic Coast Conference Coaches Basketball Player of the Year. Additional honoree as announced by the ACC were Duke’s Jabari Parker as ACC Freshman of the Year, Clemson’s K.J. McDaniels as ACC Defensive Player of the Year and Virginia’s Tony Bennett as ACC Coach of the Year.

The league’s 15 head coaches made the selections. Balloting took place during the final week of the ACC regular season and was based on regular-season performance.

NC State’s Warren leads the ACC in scoring at 24.8 points per game and in field goal percentage at .532. The 6-foot-8 forward closed the regular season with back-to-back scoring games of 41 and 42 points in wins over Pitt and Boston College. Warren has scored at least 20 points in 26 of the 30 games in which he played, and has scored more than 30 points on nine occasions.

Duke’s Parker, who was named the ACC Rookie of the Week a record-tying 10 times during the regular season, ranks second in the ACC in scoring at 19.2 points per game and leads in rebounding at 9.0 per contest.

A native of Chicago, Parker leads the ACC with 14 double-doubles on the season and will take a 15-game double-figure scoring streak into this week’s ACC Tournament.

Clemson’s McDaniels was voted the ACC Defensive Player of the Year after leading the ACC in blocked shots during the regular season (2.8) per game. The Birmingham, Ala., native also leads the Tigers in steals with 1.2 per game.

In addition to his Defensive Player of the Year honor, McDaniels was a Second Team All-ACC selection and a member of the ACC’s All-Defensive team.

Bennett led Virginia to a 25-6 overall record and a 16-2 ACC finish that produced the program’s first outright regular-season conference title since 1981. The Cavaliers tied the conference record for league wins in a season and will head to this week’s ACC Tournament in Greensboro as  the No. 1 seed. Bennett’s Virginia team has allowed an ACC-low 55.4 points per game and opponents to shoot a collective .384 percent.

 

Coaches 2014 ACC Player of the Year
T.J. Warren, NC State

Coaches 2014 Rookie of the Year
Jabari Parker, Duke

Coach of the Year
Tony Bennett, Virginia

Defensive Player of the Year
K.J. McDaniels, Clemson