Who is picked to win the ACC basketball title? Two shades of blue are dominant (again)
After being named the ACC’s top player last season, RJ Davis is back with a similar honor with the new season approaching.
But will the North Carolina standout guard play for the league’s top team? That’s up for debate.
Davis is the ACC’s preseason player of the year, according to votes tabulated following the league’s tipoff media event last week.
The ACC announced the voting results on Tuesday. Davis averaged 21.2 points per game last season and was voted ACC player of the year after leading the Tar Heels to the league’s regular season championship.
UNC, however, lost to N.C. State, 84-76, in the ACC Tournament final, giving the Wolfpack its first ACC championship since 1987.
Tar Heels coach Hubert Davis is counting heavily on RJ Davis, a fifth-year senior, to lead this UNC that features a host of newcomers around him.
“Him being in his fifth year,” Hubert Davis said, “it would be very easy — he’s had a historic career. ACC player of the year, first team All-American — for him to stay in that spot and be disconnected with the others. His ability to reach out and connect the three freshmen, the three transfers, the four walk-ons. Being able to bind us together as a team has been something that’s been really special to all of us.”
Voters selected Duke as the preseason favorite this season, with UNC second, Wake Forest third and Clemson fourth.
It’s the best Wake Forest has finished in the preseason poll since the Demon Deacons were picked to finish third in 2009.
Coming off its first Final Four appearance since 1983, N.C. State was picked to finish No. 8 in the 18-team league that now includes Stanford, California and SMU.
Both Duke and Wake Forest joined UNC with a player named to the preseason all-ACC first team. Freshman Cooper Flagg, a 6-foot-9 forward already projected to be the No. 1 pick in next summer’s NBA Draft, represents the Blue Devils while Wake Forest guard Hunter Sallis is also on the first team.
Davis was the only unanimous preseason all-ACC selection as he appeared on all 54 ballots. He also received 40 votes for preseason player of the year, followed by Flagg with 10.
Joining Davis, Flagg and Sallis on the first team were Notre Dame guard Markus Burton and Miami guard Nijel Pack.
Flagg received 53 votes for preseason ACC rookie of the year and was the runaway selection for that award.
This is the second season in a row Duke has been named the preseason favorite. The Blue Devils finished second, behind UNC, in last season’s regular-season race.
Clemson, after advancing to the Elite 8 in last season’s NCAA Tournament, has two players on the preseason all-ACC second team in forward Ian Schieffelin and guard Chase Hunter. They are joined by Jamir Watkins of Florida State, Baye Ndongo of Georgia Tech and Pittsburgh’s Ishmael Leggett.
Preseason ACC men’s basketball poll
| Rank | Team |
| 1 | Duke (42) |
| 2 | North Carolina (11) |
| 3 | Wake Forest (1) |
| 4 | Clemson |
| 5 | Virginia |
| 6 | Miami |
| 7 | Pittsburgh |
| 8 | NC State |
| 9 | Louisville |
| 10 | Notre Dame |
| 11 | Syracuse |
| 12 | Georgia Tech |
| 13 | SMU |
| 14 | Virginia Tech |
| 15 | Florida State |
| 16 | California |
| 17 | Stanford |
| 18 | Boston College |
First place votes in parenthesis
Preseason ACC player of the year
RJ Davis, North Carolina, 40 votes
Cooper Flagg, Duke, 10
Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest, 3
Maxime Raynaud, Stanford, 1
Preseason ACC Rookie of the Year
Cooper Flagg, Duke, 53 votes
Jeremiah Wilkinson, California, 1
Preseason All-ACC Team
First Team
RJ Davis*, North Carolina, 54
Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest, 52
Cooper Flagg, Duke, 52
Markus Burton, Notre Dame, 41
Nijel Pack, Miami, 37
Second Team
Ian Schieffelin, Clemson, 36
Chase Hunter, Clemson, 31
Jamir Watkins, Florida State, 26
Baye Ndongo, Georgia Tech, 21
Ishmael Leggett, Pitt, 20
(* unanimous selection)
This story was originally published October 15, 2024 at 6:05 PM.