March 11, 2008

DURHAM, N.C. (AP) - Duke's DeMarcus Nelson was named the Atlantic Coast Conference's Defensive Player of the Year on Tuesday.

Nelson, widely considered one of the league's top lockdown defenders, received 39 of a possible 90 votes cast by members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association.

Florida State guard Toney Douglas was second with 17 votes, followed by Maryland's James Gist (11), North Carolina's Marcus Ginyard (9) and Boston College's Tyrelle Blair (6).

Nelson's defensive statistics aren't gaudy - he's 10th in the league with 1.63 steals per game, and 19th in rebounding - he often guards his opponent's top scorer and hounds him into a poor night.

He forced Davidson's Stephen Curry, the nation's fifth-leading scorer, into eight turnovers; held Michigan's Manny Harris, the No. 3 scorer in the Big Ten, to less than half his average of 16.4 points; and pestered North Carolina's Wayne Ellington into a 3-of-14 shooting performance in last month's victory over the Tar Heels.

The voting for the 2008 Atlantic Coast Conference defensive player of the year, as determined by 90 members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association:

DeMarcus Nelson, Duke (39)
Toney Douglas, Florida State (17)
James Gist, Maryland (11)
Marcus Ginyard, North Carolina (9)
Tyrelle Blair, Boston College (6)