Dennis Smith, Jr., Named ACC Freshman of the Year

NC State men's basketball freshman guard Dennis Smith, Jr., was named the ACC Freshman of the Year Sunday as the league announced the 2016-17 season award winners.

Smith was also selected to the All-ACC second team and All-ACC freshman team in voting by the 53-member panel (15 head coaches and 38 selected media).

Smith joins former Pack great Hawkeye Whitney as the only NC State players to be named ACC Freshman of the Year. Whitney shared co-Rookie of the Year honors with Duke's Mike Gminski in 1977.

After being overwhelmingly chosen as the ACC preseason Freshman of the Year by the league's media members last October, Smith met expectations by ranking fifth among ACC scorers with 18.5 points per game and leading the league in assists with 6.3 per contests. Smith has also registered 60 steals in 31 games (1.94 per contest), second among ACC players in that category. The Fayetteville, N.C., native became the only player in conference history to register two triple-doubles in the same season and he has scored at least 30 points in an ACC-best four games.

Smith's scoring average of 18.5 points is the highest for a freshman in NC State history and he needs two more steals to surpass Chris Corchiani for the most steals by a freshman in NC State history. The three-time ACC Freshman of the Week has 196 assists on the year and needs four more to become the second freshman in Pack history to record 200 assists in their freshman season (Corchiani – 235 in 1987-88).

Smith's inclusion on the All-ACC second team marks the fourth straight season and fifth time in last six seasons NC State has had either a first or second team selection on the All-ACC team. Smith is the first Pack player to make the league's All-Freshman team since TJ Warren in 2013.

Smith is one of 12 players named to the midseason watch list for the Wayman Tisdale Award (national freshman of the year) and one of 10 players named as a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award (best point guard in the country).

Smith and his teammates are back in action Tuesday in the ACC first round at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. NC State is the 13^th-seed in this year's tournament and will play 12^th-seed Clemson at noon with the game being televised on ESPN2 and the ACC Network.

2016-17 All-ACC Teams, Honors
53 total voters

Player of the Year: Justin Jackson, UNC-Chapel Hill
Freshman of the Year: Dennis Smith, Jr., NC State
Defensive Player of the Year: Ben Lammers, Georgia Tech
Most Improved Player: John Collins, Wake Forest
Sixth Man of the Year: Seth Allen, Virginia Tech
Coach of the Year: Josh Pastner, Georgia Tech

FIRST TEAM
Luke Kennard, Duke
Justin Jackson, UNC-Chapel Hill
John Collins, Wake Forest
Bonzie Colson, Notre Dame
Donovan Mitchell, Louisville

SECOND TEAM
Dwayne Bacon, Florida State
Dennis Smith, Jr., NC State
Ben Lammers, Georgia Tech
Joel Berry II, UNC-Chapel Hill
London Perrantes, Virginia

THIRD TEAM
Michael Young, Pittsburgh
Jaron Blossomgame, Clemson
Andrew White III, Syracuse
Davon Reed, Miami
Jayson Tatum, Duke

ALL-HONORABLE MENTION
Kennedy Meeks, UNC-Chapel Hill
Matt Farrell, Notre Dame
Zach LeDay, Virginia Tech
Jerome Robinson, Boston College
Jonathan Isaac, Florida State
Seth Allen, Virginia Tech
Jamel Artis, Pittsburgh
V.J. Beachem, Notre Dame
Steve Vasturia, Notre Dame
Tyler Lydon, Syracuse

ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM
Ben Lammers, Georgia Tech
Isaiah Wilkins, Virginia
Donovan Mitchell, Louisville
Davon Reed, Miami
Xavier Rathan-Mayes, Florida State
Matt Jones, Duke

ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM
Dennis Smith, Jr., NC State
Ky Bowman, Boston College
Jayson Tatum, Duke
Jonathan Isaac, Florida State
Josh Okogie, Georgia Tech

Dennis Smith, Jr., Named ACC Freshman of the Year

Players Mentioned

Dennis Smith, Jr.

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