Virginia should be in revamping mode subsequent to winning the NCAA competition in 2019 and losing their top three players to the NBA draft.
Tony Bennett guided the Wahoos to second place in the ACC and a 15-5 conference record all things being equal.
Bennett and UVa were the preseason single out Wednesday to win the ACC this school b-ball season. The Hoos return five of their main seven players from last season and add one of the top enlisting classes of Bennett’s 12-year residency and maybe the top exchange in the group in senior gatekeeper Sam Hauser. Hauser, who arrived at the midpoint of 14.9 points at Marquette in 2018-19, was picked for the first-team All-ACC.
UVa got 97 of the 155 first-place votes to be named the preseason ACC top pick for the first time since 1982-83 and just the second time in the 52-year history of the league poll.
Duke was picked second followed by Florida State and North Carolina.
NC State was slotted eighth while Wake Forest was picked to complete toward the end in mentor Steve Forbes’ first season.
UNC senior forward Garrison Brooks was casted a ballot the preseason player of the year and was joined on the main group All-ACC by Duke rookie wing Jalen Johnson.
ACC Operation Basketball 2020-21 Preseason Poll
(First-place votes in parenthesis)
- Virginia (97), 2214
- Duke (34), 2146
- Florida State (15), 1973
- North Carolina (7), 1933
- Louisville (2), 1693
- Syracuse, 1234
- Miami, 1223
- NC State, 1149
- Georgia Tech, 1147
- Clemson, 1057
- Virginia Tech, 794
- Notre Dame, 769
- Pitt, 635
- Boston College, 404
- Wake Forest, 229
Preseason All-ACC Team
First Team
Name, School, Points
Garrison Brooks, North Carolina, 137
Sam Hauser, Virginia, 89
Scottie Barnes, Florida State, 59
Jalen Johnson, Duke, 52
Aamir Simms, Clemson, 50
Chris Lykes, Miami, 50
Second Team
David Johnson, Louisville, 46
Jose Alvarado, Georgia Tech, 43
M.J. Walker, Florida State, 38
Kihei Clark, Virginia, 37
Wendell Moore Jr., Duke, 32
Preseason ACC Player of the Year
Name, School, Points
Garrison Brooks, North Carolina, 102
Sam Hauser, Virginia, 24
M.J. Walker, Florida State, 10
Wendell Moore Jr., Duke, 7
Aamir Simms, Clemson, 5
Matthew Hurt, Duke, 3
Chris Lykes, Miami, 3
Kihei Clark, Virginia, 1
Preseason ACC Freshman of the Year
Name, School, Points
Scottie Barnes, Florida State, 64
Jalen Johnson, Duke, 60
Caleb Love, North Carolina, 9
Day’Ron Sharpe, North Carolina, 6
DJ Steward, Duke, 4
Reece Beekman, Virginia, 3
Jeremy Roach, Duke, 3
RJ Davis, North Carolina, 3
Mark Williams, Duke, 2
Cam Hayes, NC State, 1
