Yurtseven Named Third-Team All-ACC
NC State sophomore center Omer Yurtseven was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference Third Team, while guards Allerik Freeman and Markell Johnson both received Honorable Mention as the league office announced the 2017-18 season awards and All-ACC teams on Sunday.
Yurtseven averaged 13.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game in the regular season. He ranks 11th in the ACC in rebounding and eighth in blocked shots. The Istanbul, Turkey native has also connected on 58.0 percent of his field goal attempts. He finished the regular season third in the ACC in field goal percentage and is on pace for the highest field goal percentage at NC State since TJ Warren shot 62.2 percent from the field in the 2012-13 season.
In 18 ACC games, Yurtseven averaged 14.9 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game.
Yurtseven and Duke’s Wendell Carter, Jr., are the only players in the ACC to rank in the top-25 in scoring, the top-15 in rebounding, the top-10 in blocked shots and the top-5 in field goal percentage.
Freeman earned Honorable Mention honors after leading the Pack in scoring (15.3 ppg.) in his only season with NC State. The Charlotte, N.C. native ranked second on the team with 37 steals, third with 79 assists and fourth with 127 rebounds.
Freeman led NC State in scoring 14 times this season, including the Pack’s final six games of the regular season.
Johnson joined Freeman in earning All-ACC Honorable Mention honors. The sophomore guard led the ACC with an average of 7.5 assists per game. Johnson averages almost two more assists per game than the next closest player in the ACC. The Cleveland, Ohio native set an NC State record with five consecutive games of double-digit assists in the middle of the conference season. Johnson upped his assist average in ACC play, leading the conference with an average of 8.14 assists per outing.
Johnson’s season assist average of 7.5 is the highest at NC State since Chris Corchiani averaged 9.6 assists per game in the 1990-91 season.
NC State (21-10, 11-7 ACC) is the No. 5 seed in next week’s New York Life ACC Tournament held at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y. and will open the tournament Wednesday at 2 p.m. against the winner of Tuesday’s first round game between Boston College and Georgia Tech.
2018 Atlantic Coast Conference Post-Season Honors
All-ACC First Team
Marvin Bagley III, Duke, 280
Jerome Robinson, Boston College, 273
Luke Maye, North Carolina, 246
Joel Berry II, North Carolina, 223
Kyle Guy, Virginia, 168
Second Team
Tyus Battle, Syracuse, 159
Marcquise Reed, Clemson, 143
Devon Hall, Virginia, 129
Wendell Carter, Jr., Duke, 126
Justin Robinson, Virginia Tech, 123
Third Team
Grayson Allen, Duke, 119
Matt Farrell, Notre Dame, 89
Ty Jerome, Virginia, 67
Josh Okogie, Georgia Tech, 57
Omer Yurtseven, NC State, 54
Honorable Mention
Deng Adel, Louisville, 51
Ky Bowman, Boston College, 37
Lonnie Walker, Miami (FL), 30
Bryant Crawford, Wake Forest, 23
Markell Johnson, NC State, 21
Ray Spalding, Louisville, 19
Allerik Freeman, NC State, 18
Theo Pinson, North Carolina, 14
Terance Mann, Florida State, 12
Gabe DeVoe, Clemson, 12
All-Freshman Team
Marvin Bagley III, Duke, 57
Wendell Carter, Jr., Duke, 56
Lonnie Walker, Miami, 51
De'Andre Hunter, Virginia, 33
Oshae Brissett, Syracuse, 33
All-Defensive Team
Isaiah Wilkins, Virginia, 49
Anas Mahmoud, Louisville, 37
Elijah Thomas, Clemson, 34
Devon Hall, Virginia, 32
Ben Lammers, Georgia Tech, 25
Player of the Year
Marvin Bagley III, Duke, 37
Jerome Robinson, Boston College, 14
Luke Maye, North Carolina, 5
Devon Hall, Virginia, 1
Rookie of the Year
Marvin Bagley III, Duke, 56
De'Andre Hunter, Virginia, 1
Coach of the Year
Tony Bennett, Virginia, 47
Brad Brownell, Clemson, 8
Kevin Keatts, NC State, 2
Defensive Player of the Year
Isaiah Wilkins, Virginia, 42
Anas Mahmoud, Louisville, 7
Elijah Thomas, Clemson, 3
Devin Wilson, Virginia Tech, 2
Jack Salt, Virginia, 1
Rex Pflueger, Notre Dame, 1
Wendell Carter Jr., Duke, 1
Most Improved Player
Luke Maye, North Carolina, 26
Frank Howard, Syracuse, 5
Omer Yurtseven, NC State, 5
Martinas Geben, Notre Dame, 5
Doral Moore, Wake Forest, 5
Kyle Guy, Virginia, 3
Marcquise Reed, Clemson, 3
Phil Cofer, Florida State, 2
Dewan Huell, Miami, 2
Ty Jerome, Virginia, 1
Sixth Man of the Year
De'Andre Hunter, Virginia, 39
Chris Clarke, Virginia Tech, 7
Chris Lykes, Miami, 5
Keyshawn Woods, Wake Forest, 3
Trent Forrest, Florida State, 2
Marques Bolden, Duke, 1