Written by Danny Morales
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Duke Blue Devils were voted the top team in the Atlantic Coast Conference by members of the media on Wednesday, marking the 15th time Duke has been given the top ACC preseason ranking.
The Blue Devils return six players from last years 26-9 team including Quinn Cook, Rasheed Sulaimon, Sean Obi and Amile Jefferson, all of which played significant minutes last season.
Duke’s rivals North Carolina got the number two spot with 12 first-place votes, while the conference’s newest member, Louisville, finished third in voting with threes first-place votes.
The Blue Devils return six players from last years 26-9 team including Quinn Cook, Rasheed Sulaimon, Sean Obi and Amile Jefferson, all of which played significant minutes last season.
Duke’s rivals North Carolina got the number two spot with 12 first-place votes, while the conference’s newest member, Louisville, finished third in voting with threes first-place votes.
“I think Duke and Carolina from a talent perspective this year are as good as anybody in the country,” said NC State head coach Mark Gottfried. “I do think this year that you’ve got teams that could be sixth, seventh,, eighth, ninth, 10th, that can be really good basketball teams just because of the depth of the league.”
Gottfried went on to compare the ACC in basketball to the SEC West in football, saying that a lot of teams this year have a chance to be really good.
Coach K’s bunch also has the luxury of having the ACC preseason Rookie of the Year in Jahlil Okafor, who won the honor by receiving 62 of the 65 total votes.
“There’s no question in my mind that Okafor is the real deal,” said Louisville head coach Rick Pitino of Duke’s top freshman. “You're not going to have a better player than Okafor, he’s physical, he’s big, he’s smart, you can’t move his lower body, he’s the real deal.”
North Carolina’s Marcus Paige was voted the ACC Preseason Player of the Year, beating out Louisville’s Montrezl Harrell and Okafor. All three of those players made the Preseason All-ACC Team, with Notre Dame guard Jerian Grant and Virginia guard Malcolm Brogdon filling out the rest of the team.
“It feels pretty good,” said Paige of winning the preseason player of the year “ I hope that means it can translate to some wins.”
Defending ACC champion Virginia was voted to finish fourth in the conference with seven first-place votes, while second-year member Syracuse rounded out the Top Five.
Florida State came in at No. 8 in the preseason poll, as their in-state rivals Miami were voted to finish 10th. Virginia Tech was voted to finish in last in the ACC by the media, as they received 29 less votes than Boston College who came in 14th.
Other notable teams in the preseason poll is Notre Dame who were voted seventh, while North Carolina State was selected to finish ninth.
Conference play in the ACC will begin on January 3, with 12 out of the 15 teams in action, starting with Pitt vs. NC State at noon EST. The first Duke-North Carolina game will take place on February 18, at Cameron Indoor Stadium with a schedule tip-off of 9 p.m. EST on ESPN.
ACC Preseason Poll:
(First-place votes in parenthesis)
1. Duke (41): 935
2. North Carolina (12): 870
3. Louisville (3): 847
4. Virginia: 824 (7)
5. Syracuse: 706 (2)
6. Pitt: 592
7. Notre Dame: 515
8. Florida State: 506
9. North Carolina State: 478
10. Miami: 442
11. Clemson: 330
12. Wake Forest: 221
13. Georgia Tech: 195
14. Boston College: 184
15. Virginia Tech: 155
Gottfried went on to compare the ACC in basketball to the SEC West in football, saying that a lot of teams this year have a chance to be really good.
Coach K’s bunch also has the luxury of having the ACC preseason Rookie of the Year in Jahlil Okafor, who won the honor by receiving 62 of the 65 total votes.
“There’s no question in my mind that Okafor is the real deal,” said Louisville head coach Rick Pitino of Duke’s top freshman. “You're not going to have a better player than Okafor, he’s physical, he’s big, he’s smart, you can’t move his lower body, he’s the real deal.”
North Carolina’s Marcus Paige was voted the ACC Preseason Player of the Year, beating out Louisville’s Montrezl Harrell and Okafor. All three of those players made the Preseason All-ACC Team, with Notre Dame guard Jerian Grant and Virginia guard Malcolm Brogdon filling out the rest of the team.
“It feels pretty good,” said Paige of winning the preseason player of the year “ I hope that means it can translate to some wins.”
Defending ACC champion Virginia was voted to finish fourth in the conference with seven first-place votes, while second-year member Syracuse rounded out the Top Five.
Florida State came in at No. 8 in the preseason poll, as their in-state rivals Miami were voted to finish 10th. Virginia Tech was voted to finish in last in the ACC by the media, as they received 29 less votes than Boston College who came in 14th.
Other notable teams in the preseason poll is Notre Dame who were voted seventh, while North Carolina State was selected to finish ninth.
Conference play in the ACC will begin on January 3, with 12 out of the 15 teams in action, starting with Pitt vs. NC State at noon EST. The first Duke-North Carolina game will take place on February 18, at Cameron Indoor Stadium with a schedule tip-off of 9 p.m. EST on ESPN.
ACC Preseason Poll:
(First-place votes in parenthesis)
1. Duke (41): 935
2. North Carolina (12): 870
3. Louisville (3): 847
4. Virginia: 824 (7)
5. Syracuse: 706 (2)
6. Pitt: 592
7. Notre Dame: 515
8. Florida State: 506
9. North Carolina State: 478
10. Miami: 442
11. Clemson: 330
12. Wake Forest: 221
13. Georgia Tech: 195
14. Boston College: 184
15. Virginia Tech: 155