Does a Duke basketball star own the ACC’s top fantasy season since 2010-11?
The last decade of ACC hoops introduced us to some future NBA All-Stars, including a few of the Duke basketball variety. There were exceedingly memorable single-season statistical performances throughout the conference.
For instance, North Carolina’s Tyler Zeller averaged nearly a double-double during his senior season with 16.3 points and 9.6 rebounds per game. North Carolina State’s T.J. Warren scored 871 points during his sophomore year in Raleigh, good for second best in the nation. And Virginia’s ACC Player of the Year Malcolm Brogdon scored 18.2 points per game while grabbing 4.1 rebounds and doling out 3.1 assists per contest.
However, there were 10 players whose point, rebound and assist averages yielded unmatched statistical seasons over the last decade of ACC play. Last month, I penned an article that used a quantitative system of metrics for evaluating single-season player performance. I have simplified that metric for this particular exercise. At the conclusion of the year, players earn 1.0 fantasy points here for each point scored, 1.5 points for each rebound, and 2.0 points for each assist.
ALSO READ: Top 10 individual fantasy seasons under Coach K
A very mediocre statistical season might be one of 10-point, four-rebound, and two-assist averages. These metrics are roughly comparable to those put up by Boson College senior Nik Popovic last season. The Eagles’ forward averaged 10.5 points, 5.2 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game. Those metrics would equate to a fantasy-like score here of 21.5 points per game.
By comparison, the 10th best statistical season over the last decade of ACC basketball was almost 15 points higher than Popovic’s metric…