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The ACC has named Shane Larkin the ACC POTW for this past week, when the Canes went on the road to take on Virginia Tech and North Carolina State. Here are the numbers that earned Larkin this award:
- 19 points per game
- 61% shooting
- 47% three point shooting (7 makes!)
- 4 assists per game
- 3 rebounds per game
- 4 steals per game
As if those numbers weren't impressive enough, Larkin should be commended for a few other things as well.
- In the game at Virginia Tech, VT guard Erick Green was hitting everything in sight. Green finished the game 11-20 for 30 points. With 13:37 remaining in the 2nd half, Green hit his 3rd three on as many possessions. Coach L switched Larkin on to Green for the rest of the game, and he was held silent basically the rest of the game. He put up 9 points the rest of the way, but 5 of them came during garbage time with less than a minute left. Larkin did a phenomenal job chasing Green around screens for the last 14 minutes of the game.
- On top of defending Green on the defensive end, Larkin matched him nearly shot for shot on the offensive end, going 9 of 14 from the floor, and 5 of 10 from deep, for 25 points on the night.
- This may not seem like a huge deal, but trust me, it is. Even though Shane Larkin is the youngest Miami Hurricanes starter (he's a sophomore, everybody else is a senior,) Larkin was trusted by Coach Jim Larranaga to take the final shot against the Wolfpack. While Larkin missed the shot, he had the court savvy to shoot it with enough time to give his team a chance for an offensive rebound, which they not only got, but also converted in to two points and a victory. It says a lot about the way coach feels about Shane that he would give him the final shot in a situation like that.
Congrats, Shane!