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Many ACC observers expected Georgia Tech's Derrick Favors (voted the league's preseason rookie of the year) and North Carolina's John Henson (the runner-up with eight votes) to make early impressions this season. But one of the freshmen making the biggest impact in the league shouldn't even be a freshman .
Duke's Andre Dawkins, an 18-year-old who left high school a year early to help give some depth to the Devils' perimeter after Elliot Williams transferred, is averaging 11.8 points and 50 percent shooting off the bench for his 6-0, seventh-ranked team.
He scored a career-high 20 points against Radford, then 8 and 11 in Duke's semifinal and championship wins in the NIT Season Tip-Off.
"Both of these games, he didn't play like a freshman," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said Friday night. "He was very, very good in both games, and that gives us a little bit more depth on the perimeter."
And more than depth, the 6-foot-4, 190-pounder gives them a guy who can score. Duke's 17-4 second half run against the Huskies was highlighted by both a 3-pointer and three-point play from Dawkins.
Kryzyewski called him "as good a shooter as we have," and his ability also gives the Blue Devils the option to go to a smaller lineup if they want to move wing Kyle Singler to power forwardand play Dawkins, Jon Scheyer and Nolan Smith on the perimeter.
"Oh, man, it's pretty amazing what he's doing," Scheyer said. "He's a real confident guy, and fits right in with us. He's a guy that, every time he shoots it, I think it's going in. So he's been a huge help to us this year."
Some other key rookie outputs from around the league, through the first two weeks of the season:
Durand Scott, Miami: The shooting guard's 7.7 points per game and 5.2 rebounds aren't the ah-hah here; he was, after all, a 5-star recruit. It's the way it has helped the Hurricanes. They are off to a 6-0 start, won the Charleston Classic, and have some wondering whether 10th in the league was too low of a preseason pick.
Henson, North Carolina: The 6-10 "small" forward makes the list for the impact he's not making. He would be downright forgettable if it wasn't for the occasional highlight -- such as blocking a shot, then saving the ball from going out of bounds by bounce-passing it between his legs to start a fast break.
Favors, Georgia Tech: His 13.6 points and 7.8 rebounds through the first five games are second on the team only to Gani Lawal.
Ari Stewart, Wake Forest: The 6-7 forward is athletic. He can get to the basket. He can dunk. And key to a team that can't swish much from the outside: he can also hit 3-pointers. Scott Wood, N.C. State: The 6-7 wing from Indiana has been the most impactful of coach Sidney Lowe's once-anticipated recruiting class. Wood is starting and averaging nine points on 46.4 percent shooting.
Numbers watch
Saturday's North Carolina-Kentucky showdown (this year, in Lexington) boasts a lot of potential headlines: Wildcats guard (and former Word of God star) John Wall playing against a home-state team, Kentucky trying to stay undefeated, while the Tar Heels try to find a go-to guy.
And then there's the matter of the all-time-winningest program mark.
Over the past five seasons, North Carolina has pushed to within striking distance of the Wildcats' record, securing two national titles and averaging 31.4 wins; Kentucky has averaged 22.4 wins, pushing past the first weekend of the NCAA tournament only once and settling for an NIT bid last March. The tally as of today: Kentucky 1994, UNC 1989.
Dribbles
Because the Big Ten has 11 teams, one of the ACC's dozen squads must sit out of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The ACC does it by excluding the team that finished last in the conference the previous season. This season, that means Georgia Tech.
Problem is, that doesn't take into account rebuilding teams, or incoming recruits. Wouldn't you rather see the Yellow Jackets' Favors, Lawal and Iman Shumpert play on national TV, rather than N.C. State or Virginia?
