Mason Plumlee said all year he made the right decision to come back to school. Now, everyone can see that. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

Earlier this week, Mason Plumlee won the Pete Newell award, given annually to the best big man in the country. He was also a consensus second-team All-American Tuesday.

What a difference a year makes.

Last April, Plumlee was deciding between returning to Duke for his senior year or going pro and entering the NBA draft. There was great debate between outsiders about what he should do, and even his high school coach, David Gaines, spoke out in favor of Plumlee leaving.

DURHAM — It’s not officially official yet, but Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski didn’t hesitate on Wednesday to praise Chris Collins, the Blue Devils assistant who is reportedly set to become the next head coach at Northwestern.

“I hope that’s what it turns out to be,” Krzyzewski said. “That’s not a done deal. But I hope that it will be, and that will be terrific, and I’ll comment on it if that’s what happens.”

Duke's Mason Plumlee joins a long list of Blue Devil all-Americans. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

Mason Plumlee is a first-team all-ACC selection by the coaches and the media. Now, he has another descriptor he can add to his bio: All-American.

Plumlee was named a second-team all-American by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, which released its two teams Monday. Plumlee is the second Blue Devil to receive all-American honors this year, joining Seth Curry, a second team all-American selection by the Sporting News.

Mason Plumlee and Seth Curry continued to add to their postseason awards collection when both were named to the inaugural coaches all-ACC team.

Plumlee was a unanimous selection along with Virginia's Joe Harris. Plumlee ranks second in the league in scoring (17.2 points per game), rebounding (10.2 boards per game) and field goal percentage (59.2 percent). He also ranks among the top five in blocked shots and minutes played. Earlier this month, the senior was named to the all-ACC team voted on by the media.

Plumlee was also a member of the coaches all-ACC defensive team.

Mike Krzyzewski was right on when he called Mason one of the best in the country in October. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

The postseason will officially be upon us at noon tomorrow, when the first game of the ACC Tournament tips. But before that, there is a bit of time to reflect on the regular season that was.

Ending the regular season with a 27-4 record was a major accomplishment for the Blue Devils. It would not have been unreasonable for them to have accumulated four losses in November alone (look back at the Battle 4 Atlantis field and remember the matchups with Kentucky and Ohio State). But Duke ran the table in the nonconference season and, to borrow a metaphor from Mike Krzyzewski, kept the ship afloat for the 13 games Ryan Kelly missed with his right foot injury.

The main reason for all of this success is two-fold: better defense (Duke ranks 24th in Ken Pomeroy's adjusted defensive efficiency ratings, a 46-spot improvement from last year—but more on that Friday), and a better Mason Plumlee.

Mason Plumlee is a candidate for ACC Player of the Year. Credit: ROBERT WILLETT

The 2012-13 All-ACC Teams will be released Monday at 1 p.m., and the player and coach of the year will come out Tuesday. As a member of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association (ACSMA), I'm entitled to vote. I spent a while figuring out whether I wanted to vote—you'd probably be surprised how many writers in this area opt not to vote for various reasons. But in the end, I decided to participate in the process. I watch an awful lot of ACC basketball. In fact, I have Maryland vs. Virginia on in the background now.

The two hardest decisions were Player of the Year and the fifth member of the first-team. I made a spreadsheet with the names of 21 sophomores, juniors and seniors (I knew going in that I didn't think any freshmen deserved consideration for the main teams). I looked at a variety of traditional and "advanced" stats: points per game, possessions percentage, offensive rating, field goal percentage, effective field goal percentage, rebounds per game, offensive rebounding percentage, defensive rebounding percentage, assists per game, free throw rate and steals per game. I used Statsheet, the best college hoops statistics site out there. And it's free.

I didn't go strictly by the numbers, but I did use them to gather more information to go along with the observations I've made throughout the year.

The stats I used were through Saturday's games—what happened in Wake Forest vs. Virginia Tech and Virginia vs. Maryland wasn't going to change my mind.

Here's the ballot I turned in, followed by explanations:

When Mason Plumlee plays to his dominant averages, Duke's chances of success are high. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

Every Saturday, the News & Observer takes a look around the ACC. That also provides an opportunity to check in with the Blue Devils and look for any emerging trends.

Mike Krzyzewski has repeatedly said that no ACC player is as important to his team as Mason Plumlee is to Duke. And when you look at Plumlee’s performances in Duke’s most recent losses, Krzyzewski appears right.

In Duke’s two losses to unranked teams—at Maryland Feb. 16 and at Virginia Feb. 28—Plumlee was a combined 4-of-12 for 14 points and 10 rebounds. Throughout this season, he has averaged 17.3 points and 10.5 rebounds per (single) game.

Mason Plumlee poured in a career-high 32 points against Wake Forest Wednesday. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

WINSTON-SALEM—The Wake Forest game plan was to take away Duke’s looks from 3-point range. And that worked, for the most part, but Mason Plumlee set a new career-high in points as Duke pulled out a late 75-70 win.

Plumlee scored 32 points on 12-of-15 shooting from the field and an 8-of-10 performance from the free throw line. The No. 5 Blue Devils (18-2, 5-2 in the ACC) planned before the game to feed him in the post, and, when they did, he found just Devon Thomas, the freshman assigned to guard Plumlee by himself.

“They decided not to double in their game plan, and guys got me balls in the right positions,” Plumlee said. “It was just sets. There were some moves, but a lot of it was just lay-ups.”

DURHAM—Mason Plumlee was asked about the good looks he had at the basket in the first half of Duke's win over Georgia Tech, and he interrupted the question.

"They were great looks," he said. "Man, I might never get those looks again. I've got to to finish."

Plumlee went 2-for-12 in the first half for six total points. In the second half, though, he found his touch—"You've got to shoot through it," he said—and finished 7-for-20 for 16 points. The 20 attempts were a career high, topping the 16 he had against Marquette as a sophomore.

RALEIGH — Move over, No. 1 Duke, and make room for first-place N.C. State.

No. 20 N.C. State knocked off previously unbeaten Duke 84-76 on Saturday afternoon in a throwback ACC game which reset the conference order.

With 16 points and 18 rebounds from forward Richard Howell and a game-high 25 points from forward C.J. Leslie, N.C. State won its 10th straight game and improved to 3-0 in the ACC.

N.C. State hasn't hit either of those milestones since the 1988-89 season, which happens to be the last time the Wolfpack won an ACC title.

Rather than make declarative statements about the meaning of the win, only the fifth over Duke in 26 tries since 2000, N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried kind of shrugged when asked about it.

"I don't know that it validates anything," Gottfried said. "I don't really get into all that, I'm just happy for our players."