10 questions for ACC players

Virginia guard Sylven Landesberg voted for Wake Forest's Ish Smith as the ACC's fastest player. Then he wanted to know how many other ACC players had cast votes for Smith.

"He's got all six votes so far," Landesberg was told.

Landesberg nodded knowingly and laughed. Even the ACC players surveyed were curious to learn the results of a player poll done by a reporter from The Charlotte Observer and The News & Observer at the league's media tipoff event last month in Greensboro.

One player from each of the conference's 12 teams was asked 10 questions about ACC basketball. The only rule in the poll was that players were not allowed to vote for members of their own team.

Here are the results of the poll, with the number of votes received in parentheses:

1. Who is the ACC's fastest player?

Ish Smith, Wake Forest (11)

Also receiving a vote: Malcolm Delaney, Virginia Tech (1)

Quotable: "We tried to press him. He caught the ball and took it coast to coast against our press, and we have one of the toughest presses in the country. To see him get through our press like that just shows his raw speed." - Clemson wing David Potter on Smith.

Fact: Entering his senior season, Smith ranks seventh in school history with 427 career assists.

2. What is the toughest arena to shoot in?

Tie, Duke and Georgia Tech (3 votes each)

Also receiving votes: North Carolina (2), Florida State (1), Virginia (1), Virginia Tech (1), Wake Forest (1).

Quotable: "It's so loud in there with the fans. It's crazy. They give you a hard time." - Clemson wing David Potter on Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium.

"It just seems like the rims are higher. I don't know why. It feels like the rims are, like, 12 feet high." - Maryland forward Landon Milbourne on Georgia Tech's Alexander Coliseum.

Facts: Over the last 13 seasons, Duke is 186-13 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Nine of Georgia Tech's 17 opponents at Alexander Coliseum shot 40 percent or less from the field last season.

3. Who is the ACC's most physical player?

Trevor Booker, Clemson (9)

Also receiving votes: Gani Lawal, Georgia Tech (2); Jeff Allen, Virginia Tech (1).

Quotable: "He's strong, and he can jump. He is probably the most explosive player I've ever played against." - Boston College forward Joe Trapani on Booker.

Fact: Booker averaged 9.7 rebounds and blocked 63 shots last season but didn't foul out of a single game.

4. Who is your favorite ACC player from your childhood?

Michael Jordan, North Carolina (4)

Also receiving votes: Tim Duncan, Wake Forest (3); Vince Carter, North Carolina (1); Steve Francis, Maryland (1); Sean Singletary, Virginia (1); Jason Williams, Duke (1); Shammond Williams, North Carolina (1).

Quotable: "He's the greatest. That's why I wear his number. He works hard. He does it all. Offense and defense." - Miami guard James Dews on Jordan.

Fact: Jordan remains an icon for today's players even though he played his last game for North Carolina 25 years ago - before they were born.

5. Who is the player you least want to have the ball with a shot to beat your team at the end of the game?

Greivis Vasquez, Maryland (6)

Also receiving votes: Malcolm Delaney, Virginia Tech (4); Jon Scheyer, Duke (2).

Quotable: "He likes those situations a lot. He really believes it's going in when he shoots it." - Duke guard Jon Scheyer on Vasquez.

Fact: Vasquez scored eight of Maryland's 12 points in overtime last season in a defeat of eventual NCAA champion North Carolina, including a 3-pointer with 1:16 left to put the Terps ahead to stay.

6. What is your favorite ACC road trip?

Tie, Maryland and Miami (3 votes each)

Also receiving votes: Duke (2); Boston College (1); Clemson (1); North Carolina (1); Virginia Tech (1).

Quotable: "They hate us [at Maryland]. We get a lot of attention. We're popular there. It's a great crowd." - Duke guard Jon Scheyer.

"I love the warm weather. You can go down there in January and it's, like, 70 degrees." - Wake Forest forward David Weaver on Miami.

Facts: Maryland has spent significant resources over the last five years trying to improve fan behavior at the Comcast Center after a campus task force survey released in 2004 revealed that 37.8 percent of 217 students polled said that if they were parents, they would hesitate to bring a young child to Maryland sporting events.

The average high temperature in Miami for each date in January is either 76 or 77 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

7. Who is the ACC's best defender?

L.D. Williams, Wake Forest (3)

Also receiving votes: Solomon Alabi, Florida State (2); DeAndre Bell, Georgia Tech (1); Ed Davis, North Carolina (1); Malcolm Delaney, Virginia Tech (1); Marcus Ginyard, North Carolina (1); Ish Smith, Wake Forest (1); Demontez Stitt, Clemson (1); Lance Thomas, Duke (1).

Quotable: "L.D. was on the ACC's All-Defensive Team last season, and he deserved to be there. He's as good an on-the-ball defender as anyone else in the league. One of the reasons why is because he's so athletic and strong." - Clemson wing David Potter

Fact: Williams won the Deacons' team award for best defender last season for the second straight year. He's the only Wake Forest player to receive the team award more than once.

8. Which player is the ACC's nicest guy or could be the best man at your wedding?

Marcus Ginyard, UNC (3)

Also receiving votes: Gani Lawal, Georgia Tech (2); Nolan Smith, Duke (2); Jeff Allen, Virginia Tech (1); Al-Farouq Aminu, Wake Forest (1); Trevor Booker, Clemson (1); Eric Hayes, Maryland (1); Kyle Singler, Duke (1).

Quotable: "We played together on an all-star team in high school. He was always class on the court. He'd pick you up when you got knocked down." - Wake Forest forward David Weaver

Fact: Ginyard is president of North Carolina's Student-Athlete Advisory Council and was voted the most inspirational player on the 2008-09 NCAA championship team despite missing all but three games with a foot injury.

9. Which school has the most uncomfortable visiting locker rooms?

Duke (5)

Also receiving votes: Georgia Tech (2); Virginia Tech (2); Clemson (1); Miami (1); North Carolina (1).

Quotable: "It's so small, and you feel like people can hear us. I don't know why. I just feel like people are listening to what we're doing. You just feel like you don't have any privacy." - Maryland forward Landon Milbourne on Duke's visitors' locker room.

Fact: Duke is the only ACC arena where the visiting locker room is essentially in the basement - down a narrow staircase below the level of the playing floor.

10. If you were starting a team from scratch and could pick one player from the ACC to start it, who would you pick?

Trevor Booker, Clemson (4)

Also receiving votes: Greivis Vasquez, Maryland (2); Solomon Alabi, Florida State (1); Al-Farouq Aminu, Wake Forest (1); Ed Davis, North Carolina (1); Rakim Sanders, Boston College (1); Kyle Singler, Duke (1); L.D. Williams, Wake Forest (1).

Quotable: "He's really tough. He competes every time we play him. He's a mismatch. He's a tough guy. When a bigger guy is on him, he can take them outside. When a smaller guy's on him, he can take him inside." - Duke guard Jon Scheyer on Booker.

Fact: As a junior last season, Booker was the first underclassman to lead the ACC in rebounding and field-goal percentage since Clemson's Dale Davis in 1989-90.

Panel: Joe Trapani, Boston College; David Potter, Clemson; Jon Scheyer, Duke; Solomon Alabi, Florida State; Gani Lawal, Georgia Tech, Landon Milbourne, Maryland; James Dews, Miami; Deon Thompson, North Carolina; Dennis Horner, N.C. State; Sylven Landesberg, Virginia; Jeff Allen, Virginia Tech; David Weaver, Wake Forest.