Virginia picked to finish second in ACC by media, Brodgon co-ACC Player of the Year

The Virginia Cavaliers were picked to finish second in the Atlantic Coast Conference by the media at "ACC Operation Basketball" in Charlotte. North Carolina was tagged as the conference favorites, followed by Virginia, Duke, and Notre Dame.

Malcolm Brogdon made the preseason first-team, while Anthony Gill was the top vote-getter on the second-team.  Brogdon was also named co-ACC Player of the Year with Marcus Paige - both received exactly 36 votes.

Virginia, Duke, Notre Dame, and UNC all had one player on each of the first and second teams.

Virginia was picked fourth the past two seasons at the event, but went on both times to win the conference regular season with a combined 32-4 record. The Hoos did receive 18 (of 89) first-place votes this time. In goofier news, one person whose job is to cover ACC basketball voted for Syracuse to win the ACC.

The full results of the ACC Operation Basketball Preseason Poll follow. But I'll give Tony Bennett the final word:

Bennett on #UVa being picked second in the #ACC: "It doesn't matter."

— Whitelaw Reid (@WhiteysWorld365) October 28, 2015

ACC Operation Basketball 2015-16 Preseason Poll
(First-place votes in parenthesis)

Team & Points
1. North Carolina (60): 1292
2. Virginia (18): 1226
3. Duke (8): 1187
4. Notre Dame (1): 949
5. Miami: 841
6. Florida State (1): 827
7. Louisville: 821
8. NC State: 808
9. Syracuse (1): 666
10. Pitt: 623
11. Wake Forest: 391
12. Clemson: 359
13. Georgia Tech: 296
14. Virginia Tech: 260
15. Boston College: 134

2015-16 Preseason All-ACC Team

(votes in parenthesis)

First team
Marcus Paige, Sr., North Carolina (86)
Malcolm Brogdon, Sr., Virginia (77)
Xavier Rathan-Mayes, So., Florida State (43)
Brandon Ingram, Fr., Duke (29)
Demetrius Jackson, Jr., Notre Dame (28)

Second team

Anthony Gill, Sr., Virginia (27)
Grayson Allen, So., Duke (27)
Zach Auguste, Sr., Notre Dame (24)
Anthony "Cat" Barber, Jr., NC State (22)
Brice Johnson, Sr., North Carolina (22)

ACC Preseason Co-Players of the Year

Malcolm Brodgon, Sr., Virginia
Marcus Paige, Sr., North Carolina

ACC Preseason Freshman of the Year

Brandon Ingram, Duke