Mason Plumlee
A tradition of By David Teel
T
yler Zeller knows balance sheets as well as stat sheets. Mason Plumlee added a second major after visiting the Great Wall. Tanner Smith chose his academic path to enhance his charitable foundation. Say hello to three of ACC Basketball’s academic beacons and the latest examples of the conference’s time-honored commitment to the student-athlete. Last month, North Carolina’s Zeller, Duke’s Plumlee and Clemson’s Smith earned Academic All-District honors from the College Sports Information Directors of America. Zeller and Plumlee then made CoSIDA’s first-team Academic All-America, with Zeller named the Academic All-American of the Year. A 2011 selection as well, Zeller is the seventh ACC basketball player to earn multiple first-team honors. The others are three-time honorees Mike Gminski (Duke) and Tom McMillen (Maryland) and two-time recipients Shane Battier (Duke), Todd Fuller (NC State), Terry Gannon (NC State) and Jim Spanarkel (Duke). “It definitely is challenging,” said Zeller, a senior business adminis-
90 2012 ACC Basketball Tournament