Vernon Carey Wins NABC Freshman of Year Award
For the third straight year, a Duke player has been named the National Freshman of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).
Vernon Carey Jr. won the award, following Zion Williamson last year and Marvin Bagley III in 2018. The award was started in 2017, so Duke has accounted for three of the four winners.
Last week, Carey was honored by the United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) with the Wayman Tisdale Award as the Freshman of the Year. Carey was also named the USBWA District III (Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina) Player of the Year and was a consensus second-team All-America selection. He is a finalist for the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award.
The consensus second-team All-American and ACC Freshman of the Year, Carey played center for the Blue Devils despite having very little experience playing the post in high school or summer ball. He picked it up quickly and was the only player ranked in the ACC's top 10 in scoring (third, 17.8), rebounding (fourth, 8.8), field goal percentage (first, .577) and blocked shots (sixth, 1.6). He posted 15 double-doubles on the season, which ranked second among NCAA freshmen and second in the ACC. Ten of his double-doubles were 20-10 performances, while 14 of them were 15-10 games. Carey was second nationally among freshmen in scoring, third in field goal percentage and fourth in rebounds.
Carey has not yet discussed his plans for next season, although he’s expected to follow in the footsteps of the two previous NABC Freshman of the Year winners and go to the NBA Draft as a one-and-done player.
