Virginia Basketball picked to finish second in ACC by media

As part of ACC Operation Basketball, media members in attendance were asked to submit their preseason ballots with projected order of finish, first team All-ACC members, and their votes for Player and Rookie of the Year. I shared my ballot yesterday, and the official results were shared today by the league.

Duke took the top spot in the projected order of finish, buoyed by three outstanding freshmen coming into the program in Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett, and Cam Reddish. The Virginia Cavaliers—who finished the regular season 17-1 (20-1 after winning the ACC tournament) and a full four games ahead of Duke in the standings last year—took second place.

North Carolina, Syracuse, and Virginia Tech round out the top five, while Georgia Tech, Wake Forest, and Pitt are the bottom-dwellers to start the season.

Only Kyle Guy made the preseason All-ACC First Team, with teammates Ty Jerome and De’Andre Hunter earning spots on the second team. UNC’s Luke Maye was the favorite to win player of the year, as was Duke’s RJ Barrett for Rookie of the Year.

Kyle Guy (five votes), De’Andre Hunter (four votes) and Ty Jerome (two votes) all received player of the year attention.

ACC Operation Basketball 2018-19 Preseason Poll

(First-place votes in parenthesis)

1-Duke (52) - 1709

2-Virginia (47) - 1699

3-North Carolina (20) - 1641

4-Syracuse (1) - 1268

5-Virginia Tech - 1187

6-Clemson (1) -1148

7-Florida State - 1127

8-NC State - 885

9-Notre Dame - 859

10-Miami - 816

11-Louisville - 735

12-Boston College - 568

13-Georgia Tech - 324

14-Wake Forest - 313

15-Pitt - 241

Preseason All-ACC

First Team

Luke Maye, North Carolina (111)

Tyus Battle, Syracuse (86)

RJ Barrett, Duke (76)

Kyle Guy, Virginia (62)

Ky Bowman, Boston College (58)

Second Team

Zion Williamson, Duke (55)

De’Andre Hunter, Virginia (32)

Justin Robinson, Virginia Tech (29)

Ty Jerome, Virginia (17)

Marcquise Reed, Clemson (16)

ACC Preseason Player of the Year

Luke Maye, North Carolina (50)

RJ Barrett, Duke (22)

Zion Williamson, Duke (15)

Tyus Battle, Syracuse (11)

Ky Bowman, Boston College (7)

Kyle Guy, Virginia (5)

De’Andre Hunter, Virginia (4)

Ty Jerome, Virginia (2)

Justin Robinson, Virginia Tech (2)

Cam Reddish, Duke (1)

T.J. Gibbs, Notre Dame (1)

Jaylen Hoard, Wake Forest (1)

ACC Preseason Freshman of the Year

RJ Barrett, Duke (66)

Zion Williamson, Duke (43)

Cam Reddish, Duke (4)

Jaylen Hoard, Wake Forest (3)

Coby White, North Carolina (2)

Jalen Carey, Syracuse (1)

Nate Laszewski, Notre Dame (1)

Jairus Hamilton, Boston College (1)