All-ACC: Duke's Smith unanimous

GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) – Duke guard Nolan Smith is the only unanimous selection to the all-ACC basketball team.

The all-ACC teams were announced Monday following a vote of 75 members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association.

Smith was joined by Duke teammate Kyle Singler, Maryland's Jordan Williams, Virginia Tech's Malcolm Delaney and Boston College's Reggie Jackson. Smith leads the ACC with an average of 21.6 points and is second in assists.

For the first time in league history, the outright ACC regular-season champion failed to place any players on the first team. North Carolina had three players make the second team and another on the third team.

All-ACC


First team

Nolan Smith, Duke (225)+

Jordan Williams, Maryland (210)

Malcolm Delaney, Virginia Tech (202)

Kyle Singler, Duke (199)

Reggie Jackson, Boston College (190)

Second team

Tyler Zeller, North Carolina (161)

John Henson, North Carolina (148)

Harrison Barnes, North Carolina (145)

Iman Shumpert, Georgia Tech (132)

Jeff Allen, Virginia Tech (131)


Third team

Chris Singleton, Florida State (126)

Demontez Stitt, Clemson (81)

Joe Trapani, Boston College (63)

Malcolm Grant, Miami (62)

Kendall Marshall, North Carolina (45)

All-freshman team

Harrison Barnes, North Carolina (75)+

Travis McKie, Wake Forest (74)

Kendall Marshall, North Carolina (71)

Terrell Stoglin, Maryland (62)

C.J. Leslie, N.C. State (46)

All-defensive team

John Henson, North Carolina (75)+

Chris Singleton, Florida State (64)

Iman Shumpert, Georgia Tech (60)

Nolan Smith, Duke (26)

Jerai Grant, Clemson (20)

+-unanimous selection

Krzyzewski: 'Confidence is not our problem'

CHAPEL HILL – Following Duke’s 81-67 loss to North Carolina on Saturday night, a reporter asked coach Mike Krzyzewski about his team’s confidence.

The Blue Devils had been ranked No. 1 in the nation a week earlier, but lost two of their last three games to close out the regular season.

“We’re 27-4,” Krzyzewski said in a defensive but somewhat humorous tone. “I would think we’re fairly confident. Does it look like we’re not confident?”

“Some games,” the reporter replied.

“Some games?” Krzyzewski said. “The 27? When we were not ranked No. 1?

“We’re a confident team. Just because you miss shots, it’s not about confidence. Sometimes you miss shots. If you’re not confident, you don’t take the shots. Confidence is not our problem. We’re OK.”

The Blue Devils have been derailed by missed shots, particularly 3-point shots for forwards Kyle Singler and Ryan Kelly.

Singler has been a good 3-point shooter for most of his career. But he has made just six of his last 33 3-point attempts. In the recent losses to Virginia Tech and North Carolina, Singler was a combined 1-for-12 from 3-point range.

Kelly has been a good 3-point shooter at times for the Blue Devils. He made eight 3-pointers in a row against ACC opponents during one stretch. But he shot a combined 0-for-10 from 3-point range in the losses to Virginia Tech and North Carolina.

When Singler and Kelly are hitting from the perimeter, Duke can be as good as anyone in the nation. If Singler and Kelly are cold, Duke might have difficulty getting past the regional semifinals in the NCAA tournament.

Without a strong low-post scorer, the Blue Devils depend on 3-pointers to win when they play opponents with formidable big men.

“We have to hit threes,” Krzyzewski said. “Because they [the Tar Heels] are bigger than we are. You’re not going to score on them inside. So you’ve got to hit threes.”

But in order to hit threes, you have to be confident. So it makes sense that Krzyzewski would say he has a confident team.

His best strategy is to continue showing his players that he believes in them, in hopes that they will break out of their slump at the perfect time.

“Look, we’re not starting over or anything,” Krzyzewski said. “Our kids have had a [heck] of a season. I’m OK with my team.”

Ken Tysiac

For Heels, Devils, let the cocktail party begin

Roy Williams’ disdain for the ACC tournament is as much a part of the current era of North Carolina basketball as the “I am a Tar Heel” montage.

He couldn’t hold it back Saturday, in the wake of clinching the No. 1 seed and ACC regular-season title with a 14-point win over Duke, but he also sounded a little more determined to win in Greensboro.

“I’m going to enjoy the regular-season title,” Williams said. “Everybody wants to hear me say it’s the biggest frickin’ cocktail party -- well, it is. But I’ll go play. And you know what? We’re going to try to win it.”

Williams paused at the podium, looked around, and started to stand up.

“I’m out of here, guys,” he said, exiting -- like George Costanza -- on a high note.

Duke has won two straight ACC tournaments after North Carolina won in 2007 and 2008, but at least one of the recent losses wasn't the worst thing for the Tar Heels. In Atlanta in 2009, North Carolina went out in the semifinals without the injured Ty Lawson, then used the extra day of rest to get ready for an NCAA tournament run that ended in a championship.

Last year, the 10th-seeded Tar Heels lost to Georgia Tech on Thursday. This year, they’ll be the No. 1 seed, playing at noon Friday against Virginia, Maryland, Miami or N.C. State.

Duke, the No. 2 seed, will play Maryland, Miami or N.C. State at 7 p.m.

"Look, when we get on the bus, we're 0-0," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We have to prepare for the next part of our season. ... This was a big game, but the upcoming games are the biggest games. The games we will play in the next few weeks are the biggest and most important games."

The Thursday matchups await the results of Sunday’s Florida State-N.C. State and Miami-Georgia Tech games. Florida State has locked down the No. 3 seed and Clemson the No. 4 seed, while Georgia Tech is the No. 11 seed and Wake Forest is the No. 12 seed.

Luke DeCock

Irving out of boot, but not expected back

Duke freshman guard Kyrie Irving had a protective boot removed from his injured right foot Friday, but coach Mike Krzyzewski said he isn’t expecting Irving back this season.

“We’re not expecting him to play,” Krzyzewski said. “That’s not in our crosshairs or sight or whatever. We just want him to get well. We have a responsibility that whatever his future might hold, that we take care of his future. That’s the commitment we give every kid that comes through our program.”

Irving injured his right big toe against Butler on Dec. 4 and chose a non-surgical recovery. He visited Dr. Robert Anderson on Friday in Charlotte.
Although Krzyzewski said doctors are pleased with Irving’s progress, he is just now ready to begin a few basketball-related activities at a slow tempo.

“It’s just unfortunate that a guy who could have been the best player in the country was not given an opportunity to see if he could end up being that way,” Krzyzewski said.

Ken Tysiac

Curry bounces back for Duke

DURHAM – On Wednesday night, Duke sophomore guard Seth Curry did what good players do after they have a poor performance.

Curry didn’t have a crisis of confidence.

He didn’t need what coach Mike Krzyzewski sometimes refers to as “couch time” – counseling to rebuild a shattered ego.

Instead, Curry treated his humbling effort Saturday at Virginia Tech as an aberration.

“A bad player goes into a funk,” Krzyzewski said. “A good player says, ‘I played poorly.’ If he goes into a funk, he shouldn’t have a Duke uniform on. I mean, this isn’t some middle school, Johnny had a bad game and Johnny had another bad game. You’ve got to be a man. Nothing against those middle school kids. They have time to grow up to be men.”

Curry went to Virginia Tech on Saturday as a starter for Duke, and that must have given him some measure of pride. His father, Dell Curry, had an outstanding college career for the Hokies before landing in Charlotte as an NBA guard.

But Curry had his worst performance of the season there in the Blue Devils’ 64-60 loss. He fouled out in 15 minutes and was held to zero points and zero assists.

When he came back to the bench after one of his fouls, the Virginia Tech students heckled him.

“Who’s your daddy?” they shouted.

His daddy must have been proud of the way Curry bounced back during Duke’s 70-59 defeat of Clemson on Wednesday. Curry played 35 minutes, scoring 18 points with two assists.

He hit three of Duke’s seven 3-pointers and hit a difficult, step-back 18-footer from the wing in the second half during a scoring surge that finally established a comfortable margin for the Blue Devils.

“I just tried to put it [Virginia Tech] out of my head,” Curry said. “I tried to take it as a learning experience and just come in, not get down on myself. I had a lot of people that had my back and gave me confidence coming into this game, so that meant a lot to me.”

Ken Tysiac

VIDEO: Davidson peaking at right time

Duke's Smith keeps emotions under wraps

Duke senior guard Nolan Smith has a plan for after tonight’s game with Clemson at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

“I’m an emotional guy,” Smith said. “I’ll say that now. If we take care of business and get the win, I expect my after-the-game speech to be very short so I can get out of there without anybody seeing me cry.”

Tonight is the final Duke home game for Smith and Kyle Singler, two seniors who helped lead the Blue Devils to the NCAA title last season and have led the current team to a 26-3 record and a No. 4 national ranking.

Smith is a candidate for national player of the year and seems almost certain to receive first-team All-America honors. Singler ranks fifth in Duke history in career points and has played in 119 wins.

“That’s a lot of basketball and a lot of winning basketball,” said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski. “It’s an emotional thing for them, and you have to be careful that those two kids don’t get too emotional about it and just play their game.”

The final week of the final regular season for Smith and Singler has some drama associated with it. Tonight’s game is an opportunity for Duke to bounce back from Saturday’s disappointing, 64-60 loss at Virginia Tech.

On Saturday, Duke will visit rival North Carolina. Regardless of what happens tonight for Duke or for the Tar Heels at Florida State, the Duke-North Carolina winner will clinch the No. 1 seed for the ACC tournament.

“It’s definitely exciting,” Smith said. “Last home game, and then the next one will be against Carolina at Carolina. It’s two games we know we have to win, and it’s kind of like, ACC tournament, right now. You win two and you’re a champion. Wednesday night is the semifinals and next will be the championship.”

In between those games, Smith plans to keep his speech short and sweet.

Ken Tysiac

Breaking Singler out of slump a delicate job

One of the most delicate tasks a coach can handle is that of trying to help a shooter break out of a slump.

That’s the challenge Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski faces as the Blue Devils prepare for the final week of the regular season.

Duke senior forward Kyle Singler has missed 28 of his last 36 3-point attempts. Over his last four games, Singler is 1-for-11 from 3-point range.

He had three crucial misses on wide-open 3-point attempts late in the Blue Devils’ 64-60 loss Sunday that might have finished off Virginia Tech before the Hokies rallied late to win.

A coach can yell at a player for failing to box out, setting wimpy screens or neglecting to run back on defense at full speed. But if a player squares up in good rhythm to take jump shots that just don’t go in, yelling at him isn’t going to do any good.

How do you help a shooter who’s struggling? You watch tape carefully to see if there’s something mechanically wrong with the shooting motion in hopes of finding something to fix.

If not, you have a delicate psychological job on your hands. You don’t win four NCAA titles, as Krzyzewski has, if you don’t know how to do this job. Just last season, senior guard Jon Scheyer went through a late slump that Duke survived on the way to the national championship.

But make no mistake about it, Singler needs to get his shot together soon. The Blue Devils won’t easily get back to the Final Four or win the ACC regular season or tournament titles if that critical part of their offense is missing.

Ken Tysiac

Tickets going fast for Charlotte NCAA games

Fewer than 3,500 tickets remain for the NCAA basketball tournament second- and third-round games March 18 and 20 at Charlotte's Time Warner Cable Arena. Fans are encouraged to buy now rather than wait until after pairings are announced on Selection Sunday (March 13).

Tickets for the tournament games -- hosted by UNC Charlotte -- are available at www.ncaa.com/mbbtickets or by calling 704-688-9011.

There will be open practice sessions -- with free admission to the public -- at the arena on Thursday, March 17. -- David Scott

N.C. State crowd numbers still strong

N.C. State’s eye-popping attendance figure from Wednesday night’s game with North Carolina should serve as a reminder to those who are criticizing Wolfpack fans.

Attendance was announced at 19,700 at the RBC Center. There was a significant minority of Tar Heel blue in the arena, but Wolfpack fans showed up in force to watch an N.C. State team that lost for the 10th consecutive time to its rival.

That increased N.C. State’s season attendance average for 14 home dates to 13,587. With two home games to go, that’s an increase of 403 over last season’s average of 13,184, which ranked 24th in Division I.

Even though there are a lot of empty seats at the RBC Center, Wolfpack fans still are giving top-25 support to a team that’s barely sniffed the top-25 in the polls and hasn’t made the NCAA tournament in five seasons under coach Sidney Lowe.

With N.C. State (14-13, 4-9 ACC) struggling to stay in contention for the NIT, Lowe’s days as coach appear numbered. Because of that, many national and local columnists have weighed in on whether the N.C. State job is attractive to coaches.

Many seem to believe it’s a difficult job. When asked about this subject by a fan in a live online chat two weeks ago, I agreed.

The local competition, with Duke and North Carolina nearby, is stiff. And fans have high expectations because they understandably prefer to remember NCAA titles that happened 37 years and 28 years ago rather than the last 20 years of mostly mediocre basketball.

Nonetheless, to many of the players N.C. State is recruiting, 28 years ago might as well be the Dark Ages.

But if Lowe doesn’t return next season, N.C. State athletic director Debbie Yow will be able to make a different point to coaching candidates about the Wolfpack fans. If N.C. State can average 10,321 fans for its final two home dates against Georgia Tech and Florida State, it will show an increase over last season’s top-25 attendance mark.

That demonstrates a loyalty and a passion among N.C. State fans that isn’t equaled at many schools nationally. Wolfpack supporters still are delivering strong numbers.

It would be interesting to see what they would do if they had a team that held up its end of the bargain.

Ken Tysiac