Vasquez, Williams win ACC awards

On a day when he knew the ACC was announcing the winner of its highest individual men's basketball honor, Greivis Vasquez spent part of his morning talking to youngsters at nearby Hollywood Elementary School with his cell phone turned off.

The Terrapin guard did not want to be bothered with calls and questions as he waited for the news to break, so he arranged to visit the College Park grade school yesterday to sign autographs, pose for pictures and visit with some of his youngest fans.

When Vasquez was finished, he had more than 40 congratulatory text messages waiting for him, a clear indication of what he had missed.

Vasquez became the fifth player in Terps history to be named the ACC Player of the Year, garnering 39 of 53 votes to handily win the award over Duke guard Jon Scheyer. The Venezuelan became the first international player to earn the honor thanks to a season in which he was the lone Division I player to average more than 19 points and six assists per game.

Coach Gary Williams won his second ACC Coach of the Year award after leading his team to an unlikely share of the regular season championship to complete the Terps' banner day.

"I'm a little concerned about that because if I talk to [Williams] face-to-face, I guess we're going to really cry in front of each other," Vasquez said, while looking forward to his first encounter of the day with his coach. "We're both so emotional."

During a previously scheduled media session yesterday afternoon, humility was the theme as Vasquez and Williams attempted to deflect praise toward teammates and each other, while focusing on the Terps' upcoming postseason run.

Vasquez plopped down in a chair wearing one of the gold T-shirts distributed to students before his Senior Night game a week ago and mentioned each of his teammates individually for helping him earn the honor.

The senior, long one of the conference's most polarizing figures, downplayed the accomplishment and said he would have been satisfied sharing the award with Scheyer and Virginia Tech guard Malcolm Delaney, the other two players to receive votes.

Williams, who beat out Duke's Mike Krzyzewski for his award, outlined the qualities needed within a coaching staff to win in his own statement.

The 21st-year Terps' coach also heaped praise on his star player, who spurned professional basketball last summer in favor of a final season in College Park.

"A lot of that when guys don't come back to school, it's an ego thing. ‘What do you mean I'm not good enough to play in the NBA? I'm staying. I'll show you.' And then they wind up not making the NBA," Williams said. "Greivis has come back and put himself in a completely different situation for that, as well as being a great team player for us."

After attending ACC Media Day in October, forward Landon Milbourne said he felt his teammate was not viewed as a threat to win the award, which a Terp hasn't captured since 2002, when Juan Dixon won. Duke forward Kyle Singler earned the preseason Player of the Year nod with Vasquez finishing a close second.

Once the season started, some still questioned the fiery guard's candidacy, wondering if the Terps would win enough games and if Vasquez could garner enough support from the North Carolina-heavy voting base to beat out Scheyer.

But down the stretch, Vasquez played some of the best basketball of his career. That run included scoring a career-high 41 points in a double overtime win against Delaney's Hokies on Feb. 27 and leading the Terps to an upset against Scheyer's Blue Devils a week ago.

"I don't think they could've denied it from him this time," Milbourne said.

Both Vasquez and Williams benefited from the Terps' late surge, which has included seven straight wins to close the regular season. After being picked fifth in the preseason, the No. 19 Terps went undefeated in conference play at home en route to sharing the ACC regular season championship with No. 4 Duke.

Vasquez, who has earned All-America honors from two national websites, acknowledged he never could have imagined winning the award when he arrived in the United States fewer than six years ago.

But yesterday, Vasquez reiterated the bigger goals he has focused on since withdrawing his name from the NBA Draft pool last June are still out there.

"I wanted to win something special, not the ACC Player of the Year — I'll tell you that," Vasquez said. "I wanted to win the ACC regular season. And I want to win the ACC Tournament and maybe go to the Final Four. It's going to be tough."

TERP NOTE: Forward Jordan Williams finished as the runner-up in ACC Freshman of the Year voting to Georgia Tech's Derrick Favors, a day after becoming the first Terp since Steve Blake in 2000 to earn a spot on the conference's All-Freshman team.

edetweiler@umdbk.com