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ACC notebook: Louisville team concept helps Durr, Evans earn ACC accolades

By Steve Bittenbender

COLUMBUS, OH - MARCH 30: Asia Durr #25 of the Louisville Cardinals reacts after a missed shot to win the semifinal game of the 2018 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Final Four at Nationwide Arena on March 30, 2018 in Columbus, Ohio. Mississippi St. defeated Louisville 73-63 to advance to the national championship. (Photo by Justin Tafoya/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH - MARCH 30: Asia Durr #25 of the Louisville Cardinals reacts after a missed shot to win the semifinal game of the 2018 NCAA Division I Women's Basketball Final Four at Nationwide Arena on March 30, 2018 in Columbus, Ohio. Mississippi St. defeated Louisville 73-63 to advance to the national championship. (Photo by Justin Tafoya/NCAA Photos via Getty Images) /
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Durr repeats as ACC Player of the Year

COLUMBUS, OH – MARCH 30: Louisville Cardinals guard Asia Durr (25) drives into the lane in the division I women’s championship semifinal game between the Louisville Cardinals and the Mississippi State Bulldogs on March 30, 2018 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH. (Photo by Adam Lacy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
COLUMBUS, OH – MARCH 30: Louisville Cardinals guard Asia Durr (25) drives into the lane in the division I women’s championship semifinal game between the Louisville Cardinals and the Mississippi State Bulldogs on March 30, 2018 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, OH. (Photo by Adam Lacy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Asia Durr said she was speechless when she learned she won her second Atlantic Coast Conference on Wednesday morning.

That was perfectly fine — her game speaks volumes for her.

The Louisville senior led the conference in scoring, posting a career-best 21.4 points per game, and earned her third first-team All-ACC selection en route to leading the Cardinals to a share of the regular season championship. In addition, she transitioned her game from being primarily a 3-point shooter to an all-around player. Her 45.3 percent overall shooting and 3.1 assists per game are career bests, while she’s still averaging nearly three 3-pointers per game.

Once again Durr beat out Notre Dame’s Arike Ogunbowale for the award. Both players are among the 10 semifinalists for the Women’s Citizen Naismith Trophy, but the 5’10 guard said she never gave any thought that she might repeat for the award, given by both the league’s coaches and its Blue Ribbon Panel.

"“I don’t really think about that throughout the year,” she said on Wednesday. “I just want to win. Obviously, we’re playing in a league with such great players, anybody could have won that.”"

Durr wasn’t the only Cardinals player to win an award. Sophomore Dana Evans was honored by the coaches as the ACC’s Sixth Player of the Year. The 5’6 guard came off the bench in 25 of Louisville’s 29 regular season games, but her 10.5 scoring average ranks second on the team and her 4.1 assists per game lead the Cardinals.

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Like Durr, Evans was a McDonald’s All-American in high school and earned all-freshmen honors from the conference last season. However, while she could probably start on almost any other Division I program in the country, coach Jeff Walz has chosen to use Evans predominantly as a change of pace player off the bench.

“I tell them all the time, there’s nothing better than when you get put into the game, and your opponent is going, ‘Oh crap, she’s going to guard me now.,” Walz said.

It’s a role the five-star recruit took in stride, saying her play on USA international and all-star teams helped her realize there will be times when she’s not the only big-time player on the court.

“I’ve accepted my role since Day One,” Evans said. “Coming off the bench and just giving my team a spark. Whether it’s defense, scoring, whatever we’re lacking at the moment.”

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