Search Shop
Announce

Buckner, Brand Receive ACC Basketball Honors

March 2, 1998

CLEMSON, SC– Clemson senior Greg Buckner was named ACC Player-of-the-Week, while Duke center Elton Brand claimed ACC Rookie-of-the-Week honors for the final week of the regular season.

It was the first player-of-the-week honor for Buckner this season, the second of his career. It was also the first rookie-of-the-week honor for Brand, who missed much of the season with an ankle injury.

Buckner closed out his regular season career in style. In two games last week that were pivitol to Clemson’s NCAA Tournament chances, Buckner scored 44 points, hit 17-25 from the field and hit 10-12 free throws. He played 61 minutes without a turnover.

First, in a 77-72 win over NC State in Raleigh, Buckner scored 14 second-half points including 10 in a row during a six-minute span late in the second half. He was 5-7 from the field and 5-6 from the foul line for the contest.

Then, in his final home game as a Tiger, Buckner hit 12-18 shots from the field, including 7-8 in the second half, to lead the Tigers to a 76-62 win over Georgia Tech. Buckner finished with 29 points in33 minutes, had five rebounds and two steals in the game that gave the Tigers a much needed 7-9 record in the ACC.

During the game, Buckner moved into third place on Clemson’s all-time scoring list ahead of Horace Grant. He also became just the third player in Clemson history to go over 1700 points. He has 119 consecutive starts, every game of his career, heading into the ACC tournament.

Brand paced Duke to victories over Georgia Tech and North Carolina. In the 77-75 victory over the Tar Heels had 16 points, five rebounds in 27 minutes. He scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half when Duke overcame a 17-point deficit with 11 minutes. In the win over Tech he had eight points and seven rebounds in 17 minutes.

For the season Brand is averaging 15.3 points and seven rebounds to go with 62 percent from the field.

News