Deacons Sweep ACC Individual Honors
12/22/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 22, 2003
Sophomore Eric Williams and freshman Chris Paul, both of whom played vital roles in Wake Forest road wins at SMU and North Carolina last week, were named the ACC Player of the Week and ACC Rookie of the Week, respectively, today.
Williams wins an ACC individual weekly honor for the first time. Paul was named ACC Rookie of the Week for the second time this season. He is the first Deacon to win the honor twice in a season since Darius Songaila in 1999.
Wake Forest beat SMU 78-66 in Dallas last Monday, then topped fourth-ranked North Carolina, 119-114, in triple-overtime, in Saturday's memorable ACC opener. The Deacons are 7-0 overall, 1-0 in the ACC and return to action Dec. 30 against North Carolina A&T.
Williams scored a team-high 24 points in Saturday's win at North Carolina. The Wake Forest, N.C., native hit on 11 of 18 from the floor and pulled down eight rebounds and blocked one shot against the Tar Heels. The 6-9, 275-pound sophomore was also instrumental in Monday's victory at SMU with 22 points, 10 rebounds and a steal. For the week, Williams scored 46 points, grabbed 18 rebounds, made 19-of-30 field goal attempts, 8-of-10 free throw attempts had two steals and one blocked shot.
Paul, a Lewisville, N.C., product, averaged 15.5 points, 8.0 assists, 5.5 steals and 4.5 rebounds in the two wins. The 6-0, 168-pound freshman played 46 minutes in Saturday's victory at North Carolina, scoring 18 points, dishing out eight assists and recording five steals against the 4th-ranked Tar Heels.