With the ACC regular season ending this Saturday, yearly awards are just around the corner. It’s time to review the season and determine who will earn season honors. How accurate were the preseason awards and who will win ACC Player of the Year?
ACC Yearly Award Predictions
With the last regular season ACC games ending on Saturday, ACC yearly awards will be rolling out within the next week. So, it’s time to take a look at who will win awards, such as ACC Player of the Year and Coach of the Year. It is focused on the major awards, so awards like Second and Third teams will not be included.
ACC Rookie of the Year
Duke has dominated this award in the last decade, with a Blue Devil winning it 8 out of the last 10 seasons. Given this information, it seems obvious that Duke’s best Freshman, Jared McCain, will win this award. However, Duke is not built the same this season as they have been in the past. Usually, a Freshman is Duke’s best player, like #1 draft picks Zion Williamson and Paolo Banchero. But with Duke returning four of their 5 starters from last season, McCain is more of a role player compared to those who have won the award in the past.
However, there is a Freshman for another team that fits the bill for this award, Notre Dame’s Markus Burton. He averages 17.0 PPG and 4.3 assists per game, which rank 7th and 5th in the conference respectively. Burton is also Notre Dame’s only double-digit scorer and probably the only reason they are not dead last in the conference standings. Burton having this kind of season is huge for a program that has struggled in recent seasons, and if Micah Shrewsberry wants to restore the program to its previous heights, he needs to make sure Burton stays around.
Winner- Markus Burton, Notre Dame
Runner Up- Jared McCain, Duke
ACC Defensive Player of the Year
Virginia is by far the best defensive team in the conference, and consistently one of the best in the country. They have a pair of guards who can be lockdown on any night in Reece Beekman and Ryan Dunn. One of them should and will win ACC Defensive Player of the Year. Beekman averages 2.1 steals a game and 0.5 blocks, while Dunn averages 1.3 steals and 2.4 blocks. With how close their stats are, it is a toss-up on who the voters will give it to. But considering Beekman won the award last year and improved statistically, they will probably lean towards him.
Winner- Reece Beekman, Virginia
Runner Up- Ryan Dunn, Virginia
ACC Most Improved Player
This one is a runaway as nobody in the conference has improved more than Wake Forest’s Hunter Sallis. He went from averaging 4.5 PPG to 18.2 PPG which is top five in the ACC. He got better in every other area from rebounding to free-throw shooting. Although Sallis should win the award nearly unanimously, an interesting second option is RJ Davis. It might sound odd considering Davis was no slouch in his previous seasons, but he didn’t make an All-ACC team last year or in the preseason vote. Now he is considered a lock for not only All-ACC First Team but is also competing to be ACC Player of the Year and an AP All-American.
Winner- Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest
Runner Up- RJ Davis, North Carolina
ACC Coach of the Year
Earlier in the season, it seemed like there might be stiff competition for this award. Brad Brownell and Steve Forbes looked poised to lead their programs to their best season in several years. However, it hasn’t quite worked out that way for either team. Clemson was hot early, being ranked as high as #13 in the country and it looked like they were a dark horse ACC Title Contender. But their early season success did not carry into ACC play, losing 6 of their first 10 conference games and meandering around .500 most of conference play.
Wake Forest didn’t impress in the non-conference but looked like a solid tournament team in the ACC. After a big win against Duke, it seemed they would make their first tournament since 2017. They have now lost three in a row to inferior teams and will most likely need to win the ACC Tournament to get to The Big Dance.
So, as most other ACC teams have had disappointing seasons, it just leaves the Blue Blood coaches, Hubert Davis and Jon Scheyer. It’s a close race, both coaches have led their schools to fantastic seasons and are Final Four contenders. However, Duke entered the season with lofty expectations being preseason #2, and they haven’t quite lived up to that. So, Hubert Davis gets the edge for leading an objectively less talented team to just as good of a season as Duke, if not better.
Winner- Hubert Davis, North Carolina
Runner Up- Jon Scheyer, Duke
All-ACC First Team
There are three essential locks for the First Team, RJ Davis, PJ Hall, and Kyle Filipowski. There is a bit of a debate for the last two spots, however. The first is between Hunter Sallis and Blake Hinson, they have almost identical stats when it comes to scoring statistics. However, Sallis is better when it comes to the other facets of the game, so he deserves the spot.
The other spot will be a bit more controversial. It’s between big men Armando Bacot and Norchad Omier. Both were on the preseason First team, but most likely only one will get the honor this time around. Most people seem to be leaning towards Bacot to be included. He’s got the bigger name and plays for the flashier school, but Norchad Omier deserves it more. He averages 17.0 points to Bacot’s 14.0 and only averages half a rebound less than Bacot. Also, Bacot has not been UNC’s best player and is not the biggest reason for their success. Miami (FL), while not having the best season, would be lost without Omier.
Winners- RJ Davis, North Carolina; PJ Hall, Clemson; Kyle Filipowski, Duke; Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest; Norchad Omier, Miami (Fl)
Honorable Mentions- Armando Bacot, North Carolina; Blake Hinson, Pittsburgh
ACC Player of the Year
ACC Preseason Player of the Year Kyle Filipowski had a great season but not the dominant season everybody expected. This left the door open for an unexpected player who has thrived in a new situation to run away with the award, RJ Davis. Caleb Love transferring to Arizona made Davis the clear #1 guard and gained new confidence in his game. He was always good, but he has been fantastic this year, averaging 21.5 points per game, and is the clear ACC Player of the Year. But if there is a second option, PJ Hall has also had a great season, averaging 18.8 points and 7.0 rebounds.
