UNC’s James McAdoo, Duke’s Jabari Parker named ACC Players of the Week

North Carolina junior James Michael McAdoo has been named the Atlantic Coast Conference Basketball Player of the Week, while Duke’s Jabari Parker earned ACC Rookie of the Week honors for the fourth consecutive week.

McAdoo received ACC Player of the Week honors after his game highs of 24 points and 12 rebounds  in Saturday’s 75-71 homecourt win over 25^th-ranked Pittsburgh.  The Norfolk, Va., native posted his fifth double-double of the season while connecting on 11 of 18 shots from the floor. He had seven offensive rebounds and just one turnover in 37 minutes and scored six of his 24 points in the final 4:44, including back-to-back buckets for the Tar Heels after Pitt had gone on a 7-0 run to cut UNC’s lead to 63-61.

Duke’s Parker scored a game-high 23 points and added eight rebounds, one assist, two blocks and a steal in a 69-67 win over Maryland on Saturday. The Chicago native knocked down a pair of 3-point field goals and went 9-of-10 from the free throw line as Duke overcame a late three-point deficit to earn its 20^th win of the season. With Duke trailing, 60-59, with just over 4:30 remaining, Parker picked up a loose ball and found Rasheed Sulaimon for a three-point field goal to give Duke a one-point lead. With 1:17 remaining and Duke trailing by one, Parker pulled through from the left wing for an emphatic dunk between three Maryland defenders to give Duke a 68-67 lead. He added a defensive rebound with 59 seconds left and added a block with five seconds remaining as Duke’s defense held Maryland scoreless over the final 2:45of play.

McAdoo, who has scored in double figures in 17 consecutive games, earned his first ACC Player of the Week honor of the season and the third by a North Carolina student-athlete.

Parker now has 15 20-point games, tied for the third-most by a freshman in league history. He has 10 total ACC weekly honors, having been named ACC Rookie of the Week eight times and ACC Player of the Week twice. Georgia Tech’s Kenny Anderson (1990) and North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough (2006) share the record for ACC Rookie of the Week selections with 10.