Wake Forest Athletics
Program-Record Four Deacs Earn Academic All-ACC Honors
4/12/2022 11:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
GREENSBORO – N.C. – For the first time in program history, four members of the Wake Forest men's basketball team have earned Academic All-ACC Honors.
Transfers Jake LaRavia, Dallas Walton, Khadim Sy and Alondes Williams were named to the list, as announced by the conference office Tuesday morning. The upperclassmen have added leadership and growth to a historic year for Wake Forest and Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year Steve Forbes.
An All-ACC Second Team selection, LaRavia became the 55th player in program history to eclipse 1,000 career points when he tallied his ninth point of the game at the charity stripe in the first half against Louisville on Feb. 26. With nine rebounds against Notre Dame on Feb. 19, LaRavia eclipsed the 500 career-rebound mark as well. He is one of just 26 Demon Deacons to reach 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.
In the win over North Carolina Jan. 22, LaRavia tallied the sixth double-double of his career with a career-high 31 points and 10 rebounds. He is one of just four players over the past 10 years to record 30 and 10 against Carolina, joining the likes of Jabari Parker, RJ Barrett and Zion Williamson. Additionally, with 11 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks against Boston College on Jan. 24, the Indianapolis native became the first Demon Deacon since Tim Duncan to record 10, 10 and six in a conference game.
Dallas Walton anchored the second-best defense in the ACC with elite-level rim protection and post defense. Walton averaged 1.4 blocks per game in 25 minutes of action, and his 5.8 block percentage rates the sixth-best in the conference. Additionally, Walton's 44 blocked shots on the season is tied for the 25th most in program history. He swatted at least two shots 13 times during the regular season, including a trio of both four-block outings and three-block outings.
With the help of Walton in the paint, Wake Forest held all opponents to just 55.1 percent shooting at the rim during the regular season, the top mark in the ACC. Additionally, ACC starting centers combined to average just 8.6 points and 45.4 percent shooting in 20 games against Walton. Walton's elite ability to box out opponents on the defensive glass helped Wake Forest limit ACC opponents to just 10.4 offensive rebounds per game, the third-best mark in the conference.
Khadim Sy played a critical role off the bench on both ends of the floor for the Demon Deacons with his averages of 6.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 0.6 blocks and 0.5 steals. Sy's elite ball screen defense made generating offense from ball screens a difficult task for opposing teams and greatly contributed to Wake Forest's possession of the second-best defense in the conference.
Sy also was the team's best defensive rebounder by defensive rebounding percentage (18.2 percent) and recorded at least six rebounds in 13 contests including double-doubles against Florida State (16 points, 10 rebounds) and Notre Dame (15 points, 10 rebounds). No other ACC reserve tallied more than two double-doubles this season. During league play, Sy was one of two players to average at least 6.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in under 21 minutes per game.
As the ACC Player of the Year, Alondes Williams led the Demon Deacons in scoring and assists all year, with 18.5 points and 5.2 assists per game, and finished second and first in the league in those categories. He was also named the Associated Press ACC Player of the Year along with NABC All-District and USBWA District III honors. Before heading down to New Orleans for the NABC Reese's All-Star Game and State Farm College Slam Dunk Contest, Williams also earned NABC All-America honors and was named a finalist for the Lute Olson National Player of the Year award.
After reeling in back-to-back ACC Player of the Week honors, Williams was named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week on December 21. Williams was the first Wake Forest player in program history to receive the honor (since it was first awarded in the 2009-10 season) and the first ACC player since January 31, 2021.
Williams became the first Wake Forest player over the past 25 seasons to record at least 30 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in a game as he recorded 34 points on 15 makes, eight rebounds and seven assists against Charlotte.
The 34-point outing against Charlotte was the third for the transfer guard and second-consecutive after scoring 36 against VMI the week prior. He became the first Wake Forest player to log back-to-back 30-point games since former All-American Jeff Teague. Williams also scored 32 points against Western Carolina Nov. 12, becoming the first Demon Deacon to have three 30+ point games in a season since Jeff Teague in 08-09. Additionally, Williams recorded 16 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists against USC Upstate Dec. 11 for the Deacs' first triple-double since Tim Duncan (14 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 blocks) against Maryland on January 13, 1996.
Williams made history at Wake Forest as he (649 points, 181 assists) and Randolph Childress (644 points, 167 assists in 1994-95) are the only two Demon Deacons to rank inside the top 15 of the program's single-season scoring and assists leaderboard.
He also etched his name in the record books in a few other places as his 242 made field goals ranks 8th, 649 points ranks 7th and 181 assists ranks 11th in the all-time single-season lists.
Transfers Jake LaRavia, Dallas Walton, Khadim Sy and Alondes Williams were named to the list, as announced by the conference office Tuesday morning. The upperclassmen have added leadership and growth to a historic year for Wake Forest and Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year Steve Forbes.
An All-ACC Second Team selection, LaRavia became the 55th player in program history to eclipse 1,000 career points when he tallied his ninth point of the game at the charity stripe in the first half against Louisville on Feb. 26. With nine rebounds against Notre Dame on Feb. 19, LaRavia eclipsed the 500 career-rebound mark as well. He is one of just 26 Demon Deacons to reach 1,000 points and 500 rebounds.
In the win over North Carolina Jan. 22, LaRavia tallied the sixth double-double of his career with a career-high 31 points and 10 rebounds. He is one of just four players over the past 10 years to record 30 and 10 against Carolina, joining the likes of Jabari Parker, RJ Barrett and Zion Williamson. Additionally, with 11 points, 10 rebounds and six blocks against Boston College on Jan. 24, the Indianapolis native became the first Demon Deacon since Tim Duncan to record 10, 10 and six in a conference game.
Dallas Walton anchored the second-best defense in the ACC with elite-level rim protection and post defense. Walton averaged 1.4 blocks per game in 25 minutes of action, and his 5.8 block percentage rates the sixth-best in the conference. Additionally, Walton's 44 blocked shots on the season is tied for the 25th most in program history. He swatted at least two shots 13 times during the regular season, including a trio of both four-block outings and three-block outings.
With the help of Walton in the paint, Wake Forest held all opponents to just 55.1 percent shooting at the rim during the regular season, the top mark in the ACC. Additionally, ACC starting centers combined to average just 8.6 points and 45.4 percent shooting in 20 games against Walton. Walton's elite ability to box out opponents on the defensive glass helped Wake Forest limit ACC opponents to just 10.4 offensive rebounds per game, the third-best mark in the conference.
Khadim Sy played a critical role off the bench on both ends of the floor for the Demon Deacons with his averages of 6.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 0.6 blocks and 0.5 steals. Sy's elite ball screen defense made generating offense from ball screens a difficult task for opposing teams and greatly contributed to Wake Forest's possession of the second-best defense in the conference.
Sy also was the team's best defensive rebounder by defensive rebounding percentage (18.2 percent) and recorded at least six rebounds in 13 contests including double-doubles against Florida State (16 points, 10 rebounds) and Notre Dame (15 points, 10 rebounds). No other ACC reserve tallied more than two double-doubles this season. During league play, Sy was one of two players to average at least 6.5 points and 5.0 rebounds in under 21 minutes per game.
As the ACC Player of the Year, Alondes Williams led the Demon Deacons in scoring and assists all year, with 18.5 points and 5.2 assists per game, and finished second and first in the league in those categories. He was also named the Associated Press ACC Player of the Year along with NABC All-District and USBWA District III honors. Before heading down to New Orleans for the NABC Reese's All-Star Game and State Farm College Slam Dunk Contest, Williams also earned NABC All-America honors and was named a finalist for the Lute Olson National Player of the Year award.
After reeling in back-to-back ACC Player of the Week honors, Williams was named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association Oscar Robertson National Player of the Week on December 21. Williams was the first Wake Forest player in program history to receive the honor (since it was first awarded in the 2009-10 season) and the first ACC player since January 31, 2021.
Williams became the first Wake Forest player over the past 25 seasons to record at least 30 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists in a game as he recorded 34 points on 15 makes, eight rebounds and seven assists against Charlotte.
The 34-point outing against Charlotte was the third for the transfer guard and second-consecutive after scoring 36 against VMI the week prior. He became the first Wake Forest player to log back-to-back 30-point games since former All-American Jeff Teague. Williams also scored 32 points against Western Carolina Nov. 12, becoming the first Demon Deacon to have three 30+ point games in a season since Jeff Teague in 08-09. Additionally, Williams recorded 16 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists against USC Upstate Dec. 11 for the Deacs' first triple-double since Tim Duncan (14 points, 15 rebounds, and 10 blocks) against Maryland on January 13, 1996.
Williams made history at Wake Forest as he (649 points, 181 assists) and Randolph Childress (644 points, 167 assists in 1994-95) are the only two Demon Deacons to rank inside the top 15 of the program's single-season scoring and assists leaderboard.
He also etched his name in the record books in a few other places as his 242 made field goals ranks 8th, 649 points ranks 7th and 181 assists ranks 11th in the all-time single-season lists.
Players Mentioned
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