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FOUR TO WATCH: Keith Appling | Elijah Johnson | Nerlens Noel | Mason Plumlee

Mason Plumlee

School: Duke
Position: Forward
Class: Senior
Height: 6-10
Weight: 235
Hometown: Warsaw, IN
2012 Averages: 11.1 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 1.6 bpg
Career Averages: 7.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.4 bpg

The Backstory: While Duke led the ACC in three-point shooting last season, Mike Krzyzewski prefers that his Blue Devils look inside first. For the 2012-13 campaign, that will mean a healthy dose of center Mason Plumlee. Duke's lone preseason First Team All-ACC selection, the senior has become a force offensively in the paint. Last season he averaged 11.1 points, shot 57.2 percent from the field — including over 58.0 the last two seasons — and grabbed 9.2 rebounds per game (tied for third in the ACC). Plumlee recorded 12 double-doubles, second in the ACC, with his final one being a 19-point, 12-rebound effort in the loss to Lehigh in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Plumlee will attempt to become the first Duke player to average a season double-double since Shelden Williams in 2006 (15.5 ppg, 11.2 rpg). He broke one record held by Williams last season, with his school-single-season record 60 dunks. On defense, Plumlee has become one of the ACC's top shot-blockers, with 117 rejections over the last two seasons and 147 for his career. Last year his 1.58 blocks per tied for fifth in the conference, and he recorded blocks in 28 games and had 19 multi-block outings (including a streak of six straight). The middle of three Plumlee brothers, all of whom have or will play at Duke — Miles graduated last year and Marshall is a red-shirt freshman — Mason's play in the middle, along with fellow 6-11 senior Ryan Kelly, will make Duke tough to stop inside and allow plenty of open looks for its solid three-point shooters.

Key Stat: .528: Free-throw shooting is Plumlee’s Achilles Heel, but his .528 percentage for the season was actually a tale of two seasons. He shot .423 over the season's first 17 games (41-for-97), but finished shooting .675 over the final 17 (56-83). That included going 8-for-9 in the ACC Tournament.

Did You Know: Last season, Mason, older brother, Miles and younger brother, Marshall, became the first trio of brothers in 54 years and (only the third ever) to play on the same team. The Plumlees joined Matthew, Thomas and William Brennan on the 1957-58 Villanova team and Bucky, Harold and Terry Bockhorn who played that same season at Dayton.