UNC Basketball: Joel Berry II named co-ACC Player of the Week

UNC’s Joel Berry II named co-ACC Player of the Week

In the first week of the 2016-17 NCAA basketball season, North Carolina point guard Joel Berry and Pittsburgh power forward Michael Young have been named co-ACC Players of the Week. Duke point guard Frank Jackson earned Freshman of the Week honors.

In the Tar Heels’ first two games of the season, Berry averaged 20.5 points, 4.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game. UNC won both games, averaging a 30-point margin of victory over opponents Tulane and Chattanooga.

Berry started off the season with a hot hand at Tulane, scoring a career-high 23 points. He also grabbed six rebounds and dished out four assists. He followed that up with 18 points, five assists and four rebounds at home against Chattanooga.

For the week, Berry shot 11-of-20 (.550) from the floor, hitting six of his 11 (.545) attempts from 3-point range. He also hit 13-of-15 (.867) from the free throw line in the two games.

Berry has looked confident in the team’s first two games of the season, asserting himself as the clear leader of a squad that’s built to go deep into the month of March.

Pittsburgh senior Michael Young had 26 points,10 rebounds, and five assists in a double-overtime win over Eastern Michigan. Young went 7-of-10 from the field and 11-of-15 from the free-throw line in the win; the team’s 20th consecutive season-opening victory.

Young was especially impressive in the second half and overtime where he scored 15 of his 26 points, including eight in overtime, powering the Panthers to a 93-90 home victory.