{"id":127771,"date":"2025-03-10T13:30:36","date_gmt":"2025-03-10T17:30:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=127771"},"modified":"2025-03-10T13:17:03","modified_gmt":"2025-03-10T17:17:03","slug":"acc-award-predictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/03\/10\/acc-award-predictions\/","title":{"rendered":"ACC Award Predictions: Duke Dominates"},"content":{"rendered":"

With the 2024-25 regular season finished, it’s time for ACC award predictions. In an extremely top-heavy ACC, it only makes sense that Duke, Louisville, and Clemson win the major awards. In a time where the transfer portal dominates Louisville has masterfully orchestrated<\/a>, Duke has relied on elite freshmen to bring together some transfers and create a super team. Certain races have been over since February others are more up in the air. So who will bring home the ACC’s biggest awards?<\/p>\n

ACC Award Predictions: Duke Dominates<\/h2>\n

Sixth Man of the Year<\/h3>\n

LWOS Finalists: Ian Jackson (UNC), Kario Oquendo (SMU), Duncan Powell (GT)<\/strong><\/p>\n

This race is wide open. All of these players even started several games for their teams throughout the season but remained primarily as a bench player. Ian Jackson<\/a> ascended to stardom early<\/a> but fell off the radar at times during the season. He started because of injuries and saw a reduced role with returning players. Duncan Powell<\/a> had breakout performances at times but struggled to put together continual good play, leading to his bench role. Kario Oquendo<\/a> sat behind elite guards at SMU, so he played whenever he could get the opportunity. All three thrived in bench roles throughout the season, so this race is open. Any of them could win, and another play could steal the award. However, give me Jackson, as his role had the biggest direct effect on a team’s success.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Ian Jackson<\/strong><\/p>\n

Most Improved Player<\/h3>\n

LWOS Finalists: Donald Hand Jr. (BC), Jaland Lowe (Pitt), Andrej Stojakovic (Cal)<\/strong><\/p>\n

ACC award predictions continue with one of my favorite categories. Each year, some players take a huge step forward and improve beyond what people thought previously. Donald Hand Jr.<\/a> leaped from role player to star for Boston College. He drastically jumped from 5.0 to 15.7 points per game in an increased role for the Eagles. Andrej Stojakovic<\/a> saw a significant jump as well following his transfer from Stanford. The sharpshooting guard helped Cal make a relatively smooth transition to a subpar ACC<\/a>. Jaland Lowe<\/a> played a more subtle role last year in Pitt’s turnaround, but with Carlton Carrington<\/a> going to the NBA, Lowe was allowed to shine at Pitt. Each candidate has their flaws, but their leaps were all admirable. This award is up in the air and could be taken by another candidate. However, I believe Stojakovic will pull it out.<\/p>\n

Predicition: Andrej Stojakovic<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rookie of the Year<\/h3>\n

LWOS Finalists: Cooper Flagg (Duke), Kon Knueppel (Duke), Samet Yigitoglu (SMU)<\/strong><\/p>\n

This race has been over for a long time. Kon Knueppel <\/a>went through a slump during the middle of the season, but he has been a key contributor for the Blue Devils, especially in recent weeks as Duke has trampled their opponents. Samet Yigitoglu<\/a> has been a great presence under the rim for SMU. He certainly has looked like a freshman at times but produced well for the Mustangs in a starting role. But Cooper Flagg<\/a> will certainly win. Flagg has been one of if not the, best player in the country. There is no chance another rookie in the ACC stands any chance. In the world of ACC award predictions, this one is about as easy as they come.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Cooper Flagg<\/strong><\/p>\n

Defensive Player of the Year<\/h3>\n

LWOS Finalists:\u00a0<\/strong>Zach Austin (Pitt), <\/strong>Cooper Flagg, Viktor Lahkin (Clemson)<\/strong><\/p>\n

This one is far from certain. I even struggled to put together three finalists that have set themselves apart from the crowd. I believe the winner will come from this group, but other candidates could pull through and win. Viktor Lahkin <\/a>has been a great defensive presence underneath the rim for Clemson. The Tigers’ resurgence in conference play relies heavily on three-point shooting, but Lahkin’s rim protection has been elite. Zach Austin<\/a> has put together some of the flashiest plays in the ACC. He leads the ACC in blocks, many of which come on the perimeter. On a subpar team<\/a>, Austin will only win if the voters believe in his flashy defensive style.<\/p>\n

Flagg returns to the list with statistics and overall defensive prowess. Duke’s defense ranks fourth in KenPom<\/a>, and Flagg is the anchor of that defense. Steals and blocks can’t quite quantify his defensive presence. He still averages more than one steal and block per game, like his other contenders here do. However, the numbers just don’t explain it enough: Flagg is everywhere. Even when he isn’t making the play, Flagg is affecting the play. It’s the most difficult ACC award prediction, so don’t be surprised if somebody else takes this award. With that being said, give me the freshman.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Cooper Flagg<\/strong><\/p>\n

Coach of the Year<\/h3>\n

LWOS Finalists:\u00a0<\/strong>Brad Brownell (Clemson), <\/strong>Pat Kelsey (Louisville), John Scheyer (Duke)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The other coaches in the ACC have been on teams that underperformed, while all three of these coaches have put together very solid seasons. However, this award is also over. Scheyer should be applauded for putting together such a dominant Duke team. He is a great coach, but the talent he has certainly makes it easier. Brownell has led Clemson to another NCAA Tournament appearance where they hope to go a step further following their Elite Eight run last year. They even gave Duke their only loss<\/a> since November. However, Kelsey will win. Again, the ACC award predictions don’t get much easier than this. Louisville has more than doubled their win total<\/a> from the previous TWO seasons. The rapid turnaround has changed the perspective for future coaching hires in the years to come. Kelsey has this one in the bag.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Pat Kelsey<\/strong><\/p>\n

Player of the Year<\/h3>\n

LWOS Finalists: Cooper Flagg, Maxime Raynaud (Stanford), Jamir Watkins (FSU)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The ACC award predictions close with another fairly simple judgment. Maxime Raynaud<\/a> certainly took the ACC by storm and is a player to watch in the All-ACC selections. Jamir Watkins<\/a> has put together a strong showing for an average Florida State team. He scores at an elite rate when he is hot and can get his bucket whenever he chooses. However, once again, Flagg is almost guaranteed to win this award. Flagg is battling with Johni Broome<\/a> for National Player of the Year.\u00a0The freshman has been dominant on the best team in the country. When the moment gets brightest, Flagg plays his best. Flagg will show up in March. Nobody wants to play the Blue Devils and Flagg is the main reason why.<\/p>\n

Prediction: Cooper Flagg<\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Photo credit: \u00a9 Bob Donnan-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the 2024-25 regular season finished, it’s time for ACC award predictions. In an extremely top-heavy ACC, it only makes sense that Duke, Louisville, and Clemson win the major awards. In a time where the transfer portal dominates Louisville has masterfully orchestrated, Duke has relied on elite freshmen to bring together some transfers and create […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5370,"featured_media":127841,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,773],"tags":[3002,3120,48964,861,882,914],"class_list":["post-127771","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-college-basketball","tag-acc-awards","tag-acc-basketball","tag-cooper-flagg","tag-duke-blue-devils","tag-louisville-cardinals","tag-north-carolina-tar-heels"],"modified_by":"Eamon Cassels, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127771","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5370"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127771"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127771\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":127843,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127771\/revisions\/127843"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127841"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127771"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127771"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127771"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}