College Sports
2014-15 ACC basketball preseason picks: How we see it
Andrew Carter
1. North Carolina: The Tar Heels have the best player in the conference (Marcus Paige) and their most complete team, overall, in two seasons. The pieces are in place for UNC to play at Roy Williams’ preferred pace, and in his preferred style.
2. Virginia
3. Duke
4. Louisville
5. Syracuse
6. Florida State
7. Miami
8. Pittsburgh
9. Notre Dame
10. N.C. State
11. Clemson
12. Wake Forest
13. Georgia Tech
14. Virginia Tech
15. Boston College
First team All-ACC
Marcus Paige, G, UNC
Malcolm Brogdon, G, Virginia
Jerian Grant, G, Notre Dame
Montrezl Harrell, F, Louisville
Jahlil Okafor, C, Duke
Player of the year
Marcus Paige, UNC: He did it all for the Tar Heels last season, and he’ll have more help this season. His leadership and basketball intelligence can’t be overstated.
Rookie of the year
Jahlil Okafor, Duke: He’ll have some competition from his teammate, Tyus Jones, and from UNC’s Justin Jackson. But Okafor is in the best position to come in and make an immediate impact.
Luke DeCock
1. North Carolina: Roy Williams has spent the past few seasons fitting square pegs into round holes. When he has the right pieces, he knows how to make the whole machine work.
2. Virginia
3. Duke
4. Louisville
5. Miami
6. Syracuse
7. Pittsburgh
8. N.C. State
9. Florida State
10. Notre Dame
11. Clemson
12. Virginia Tech
13. Georgia Tech
14. Wake Forest
15. Boston College
First team All-ACC
Marcus Paige, G, UNC
Jerian Grant, G, Notre Dame
Malcolm Brogdon, G, Virginia
Jahlil Okafor, C, Duke
Montrezl Harrell, F, Louisville
Player of Year
Marcus Paige, North Carolina: While undersized, he’s the complete package otherwise: A shooter, a scorer, a distributor, a leader.
Rookie of Year
Jahlil Okafor, Duke: If Okafor is as good as coach Mike Krzyzewski says he is, he might be the best player in the league.
Laura Keeley
1. Virginia: Malcolm Brogdon is one of the best guards in the league, and Tony Bennett’s pack-line defense will cause problems again. The frontcourt of Justin Anderson, Anthony Gill and Mike Tobey will be as big and formidable as any in the ACC. Also, the unbalanced schedule tilts in Virginia’s favor (one game against UNC, Duke, Syracuse and Pitt).
2. North Carolina
3. Duke
4. Louisville
5. Pittsburgh
6. Syracuse
7. Miami
8. N.C. State
9. Florida State
10. Notre Dame
11. Georgia Tech
12. Wake Forest
13. Clemson
14. Virginia Tech
15. Boston College
First-team All-ACC
Marcus Paige, G, UNC
Jahlil Okafor, C, Duke
Malcolm Brogdon, G, Virginia
Montrezl Harrell, F, Louisville
Olivier Hanlan, G, Boston College
Player of the Year
Marcus Paige, UNC: He has proven he can put a team on his back (see last season’s win at N.C. State). This season, he’ll have more help from his supporting cast, and he will thrive in whatever role UNC needs him most (point guard, shooting guard, 3-point shooting, etc).
Rookie of the Year
Jahlil Okafor, Duke: The Blue Devils have dedicated their offense to showcasing Okafor’s talents – when Krzyzewski does that for a player, the accolades typically follow.
Joe Giglio
1. UNC: Justin Jackson, “Skinny” Kennedy Meeks, Joel Berry, J.P. Tokoto – the Tar Heels will be so much more than just Marcus Paige this season, but it doesn’t hurt that Paige is still around to lead the show.
2. Duke
3. Virginia
4. Louisville
5. Syracuse
6. N.C. State
7. Miami
8. Pittsburgh
9. Florida State
10. Notre Dame
11. Boston College
12. Wake Forest
13. Clemson
14. Georgia Tech
15. Virginia Tech
First-team All-ACC
Marcus Paige, G, UNC
Tyus Jones, G, Duke
Malcolm Brogdon, G, Virginia
Jerian Grant, G, Notre Dame
Montrezl Harrell, F, Louisville
Player of the year
Marcus Paige, UNC: It will be impossible to duplicate the improvement he had from the middle of his freshman season to his All-ACC sophomore season, but Paige is the conference’s best player and competitor.
Rookie of the year
Tyus Jones, Duke: It’s difficult to control games without the ball in your hands. That’s why I think the outstanding freshman point guard will be the key to Duke’s success.
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