Luke Maye and Marvin Bagley III have little in common as basketball players.
One is a former walk-on who burst into national prominence by making a game-winning shot against Kentucky in last year’s NCAA tournament. The other was the nation’s top-rated recruit and a bona fide star before he ever stepped onto a college campus.
Monday, however, the two were bound together by their selection to the ACC’s first weekly honor roll of the 2017-18 basketball season.
Maye, the former walk-on, was named the league’s Player of the Week for leading North Carolina to a season-opening 86-69 victory against Northern Iowa on Friday. Bagley, the Duke blue-chipper, earned the first of what promises to be many ACC Rookie of the Week awards for his play in the Blue Devils’ first two games.
A 6-foot-8 junior from Huntersville, Maye helped the Tar Heels overcome the absence of injured stars Joel Berry and Cameron Johnson by scoring a career-high 26 points on 11 of 16 shooting, including 2 of 3 from 3-point range.
It was the first time in his career in which he led UNC in scoring. Maye also added 10 rebounds for his second career double-double.
Bagley, on the other hand, lived up to his advance hype by scoring 25 points and grabbing 10 rebounds in his Duke debut, a 97-68 victory against Elon on Friday.
The 25 points were the most ever by a Blue Devils freshman in his first game. He followed that up 24 hours later by hitting for 24 points and 10 rebounds in a 99-69 win against Utah Valley.
In doing so, the 6-11 forward from Tempe, Ariz., became the first Duke rookie to record back-to-back 20-point/10-rebound performances since Jabari Parker in 2013.
