"People doubted me every time. I'm not a great athlete, I can't barely dunk. That was just my motivation every day. You know, I wanted to prove everybody wrong."
Those were the words of Greivis Vasquez today after he was named the Atlantic Coast Conference's 2009-10 player of the year, and boy, has he proved his critics wrong (this guy included) this season.
Justice was served in the voting, with Vasquez winning the award in a landslide (he received 39 votes, while Duke's Jon Scheyer finished in a distant second with 12). It was a down year for the ACC, but Greivis was clearly the conference's cream of the crop. He was second in the ACC in scoring with 22.1 points per game in 16 league games, and first in assists with 6.7 per game.
Gary Williams was named the ACC coach of the year today, too. Not much Gary hating going on this year, eh? When asked by reporters about the harsh criticism from fans and media last year, Williams refused to take the bait (of course).
"I don't want to talk about that," Williams said. "This is a happy day for all of us."
Fair enough, Gary. I'll address the debates over Vasquez's legacy in College Park and his pro prospects at a later date. But you won't hear me second guess the ACC voters. Greivis and Gary were the right choices.