Dec. 10, 2012
Greensboro, N.C. – Georgia Tech’s Marcus Georges-Hunt has been selected the Atlantic Coast Conference Rookie of the Week for the second time this season, while NC State’s C.J. Leslie has been named the ACC Player of the Week, the conference office announced Monday afternoon.
In being named ACC Rookie of the Week for the second time this season, Georges-Hunt scored a game-high 18 points and grabbed six rebounds in leading Georgia Tech past in-state rival Georgia, 62-54 Tuesday night, then scored all 10 of his points in the last 10 minutes to lift the Yellow Jackets past UNC Wilmington, 73-66, Saturday night to complete a 2-0 week.
The 6-5 freshman from College Park, Ga., hit 5-of-10 shots from the floor, including 3-of-6 from three-point range, and added a pair of assists in the victory over Georgia. Saturday, after going scoreless for the first 30 minutes and battling foul trouble, Georges-Hunt helped rally the Jackets from deficits of four and five points in the final 10 minutes. First, he hit a three-pointer and a free throw to erase a four-point deficit at the 8:34 mark, then after Tech fell behind again by five, he contributed six points, two rebounds and an assist in Tech’s closing 16-4 run. He finished the game with 10 points (3-4 FG, 3-3 FT), five rebounds and two assists.
For the week, Georges-Hunt averaged 14.0 points, went 8-for-14 from the floor, 4-of-8 on threes, and 8-of-11 from the foul line in two games. He added four assists and 11 rebounds. He has scored in double figures in all but one game this season. He is the first multiple winner of the ACC’s Rookie of the Week honor since Derrick Favors won it four times in the 2009-10 season.
Leslie averaged 17.5 points, 10.5 rebounds and shot 80.0 percent from the field (12-for-15), leading the 25th-ranked Wolfpack to wins over Connecticut and Cleveland State. The Holly Springs, N.C., junior opened the week with a 16-point, 13-rebound, four-blocked shot performance in a 69-65 win over Connecticut at the Jimmy V Classic in New York’s Madison Square Garden. In Saturday’s 80-63 victory over visiting Cleveland State, Leslie had a game-high 19 points to go along with eight rebounds and one steal.
