2018 ACC postseason awards: One man’s vote

The ACC will announce their postseason honors on Sunday afternoon, less than a day after the regular season ends and a week before Selection Sunday. The awards are selected by a panel of voters that includes the conference’s head coaches, media relations directors and members of the media.

For the second year in a row, I am among those voters, and am disclosing how I voted as a way of looking at the conference over the course of the year. (I have voted for the conference’s weekly honors for a little longer.) There are some interesting things that emerged as I went through what was a challenging exercise:

• Virginia was clearly the best team in the regular season, winning by four games, but has just one player on the three All-ACC teams, showing how well-balanced and deep they are. (And chances are, every Cavalier is perfectly fine with the title over the individual honors.)
• Miami finished tied for third and will be the No. 3 seed in the ACC Tournament, yet did not land a single player on the three All-ACC teams. It is worth noting that one very good candidate missed over a month of action due to injury, and if healthy this outcome might well be different.
• Conversely, Boston College finished near the bottom, but had two players get votes on the All-ACC teams including one on the first team.
• With 15 teams and just 15 players, it’s even more remarkable that a team could land three players on the All-ACC teams, but Duke did just that.

While some of that may serve as mini-spoilers as to what you are about to read, they were all interesting observations that emerged. It reminds you that while we do vote on these as individual awards, teams win games, even as many of us also tend to reward (or not) individuals in part by how their teams do (i.e., an elite player in the conference might not get a first team vote if their team finishes last, while a good but not great player might land on the first team if his team won the conference).

This is all part of the challenge of voting for such honors, because it is not difficult to deliberate, send in the ballot, and then look back and think something feels off about your vote in light of things like this. One can even realize that one time they weighed team success more or less than they did on another occasion.

And with that, here is how I voted, starting with the individual awards and then with the teams, with players listed in alphabetical order.

Player of the Year: Marvin Bagley III, Duke

Bagley narrowly missed leading the conference in scoring and rebounding, as he finished second in the former by the slimmest of margins (less than a hundredth of a point if you want to know). But his impact was clear all year long, as he carried Duke to a number of victories and especially early on. While the Blue Devils never lost while he sat out nursing an injury, that doesn’t diminish his value, but rather, it shows that they have other very good players. He also made over 60 percent of his field goal attempts, including a respectable 36 percent of his limited three-point attempts.

Freshman of the Year: Marvin Bagley III, Duke

Bagley should win many national Freshmen of the Year awards as well. Selecting him as the conference’s top player should make his selection for this award self-explanatory.

Defensive Player of the Year: Isaiah Wilkins, Virginia

Wilkins anchored the best defense in the conference, as the Cavaliers allowed opponents to shoot below 38 percent from the field and below 30 percent from long range. They also had the best turnover margin, although a lot of that comes from giving the ball away less than nine times a game at the offensive end. Wilkins was in the top ten in the ACC in blocked shots and led the Cavaliers in rebounding and charges taken, and was the senior leader on this stellar defensive team.

Most Improved Player: Luke Maye, North Carolina

A one-time walk-on, Maye should win this in a landslide as he went from basically being a bit player (although he made a name for himself in hitting the shot that sent the Tar Heels to the Final Four last year) to one of the conference’s best players. He is one of two players in the conference to average a double-double and should beat out a few pretty solid candidates like Phil Cofer (Florida State), Martinas Geben (Notre Dame), Frank Howard (Syracuse), Dewan Huell (Miami) and Doral Moore (Wake Forest).

Sixth Man of the Year: Chris Clarke, Virginia Tech

An active forward, Clarke came off the bench to lead the Hokies in rebounding and contribute eight points a game, while also shooting around 56 percent from the field including 40 percent from deep. He also posted three double-doubles. When they went to their bench to bring him in, they lost very little with the boost he constantly gave them.

Coach of the Year: Tony Bennett, Virginia

Forget that Virginia was picked sixth in the conference’s preseason poll, although that is often a big factor in voting for this award. Virginia won the conference by four games, going 17-1 in one of the best conferences in the country, and he did so quite possibly without a first team All-ACC player, but rather, a well-balanced group of very good players. He should net a few national Coach of the Year awards as well. In almost any other year, any of Brad Brownell (Clemson), Kevin Keatts (NC State) or Jim Larranaga (Miami) would be a solid choice for this.

First Team
Marvin Bagley III, Duke
Matt Farrell, Notre Dame
Luke Maye, North Carolina
Marcquise Reed, Clemson
Jerome Robinson, Boston College

Bagley was the conference’s best player, nearly leading the conference in both scoring and rebounding to at times carry Duke. Farrell was vitally important to Notre Dame, even more than his great numbers would suggest, and that was partly shown by the Fighting Irish going 1-4 when he was out due to injury. Maye joins Bagley as the only players in the conference to average a double-double, and he made a big jump this year. Reed was a constant for Clemson all year, including after a couple of players went down to injury. Robinson barely led the conference in scoring and was the top three-point shooter, while also making over 50 percent of his shots from the field.

Second Team
Grayson Allen, Duke
Tyus Battle, Syracuse
Joel Berry II, North Carolina
Ty Jerome, Virginia
Justin Robinson, Virginia Tech

Allen had his moments all year, though he especially thrived when Bagley had to sit several games while nursing an injury. Battle had a great year as the conference’s third-leading scorer and also being among the leaders in steals in addition to leading the conference in minutes. Berry was again the heartbeat of the Tar Heels, a player whose value to them is understated by looking at numbers like how he finished fourth in the conference in scoring. Jerome made a nice jump as a sophomore and ran the show nicely for the Cavaliers, and he also made his share of clutch shots. Robinson is one of the hidden gems of the conference, as he was second in assists and is among the best in assist-to-turnover ratio.

Third Team
Deng Adel, Louisville
Ky Bowman, Boston College
Wendell Carter, Jr., Duke
Terance Mann, Florida State
Omer Yurtseven, NC State

Adel has had a nice year for the Cardinals, and he’s overall been a little better in ACC play. Bowman has an impressive stat line from the guard spot, as he’s seventh in scoring, averages a little under seven boards a game and is in the top ten in assists and steals. Carter was the other half of Duke’s dynamic freshman inside duo, and he missed averaging a double-double by about half a rebound per game. Mann had a breakout season for the Seminoles with an expanded role and led a balanced team, and that included making 56 percent of his shots, which is excellent for a perimeter player. Yurtseven came alive in ACC play to lead a balanced Wolfpack team that should be en route to the NCAA Tournament.

All-Freshman Team
Marvin Bagley III, Duke
Oshae Brissett, Syracuse
Wendell Carter, Jr., Duke
Gary Trent, Jr., Duke
Lonnie Walker, Miami

Bagley should win the conference’s Freshman of the Year award in a landslide, and given who else is in this group, that says a lot about him. Brissett had a fine campaign that saw him finish among the leaders in rebounding and double-doubles. Carter and Trent had fine campaigns that were often overshadowed by Bagley’s stellar play, with Carter finishing third in rebounding and Trent coming in second in three-point field goal percentage. Walker got better as the season went along and especially excelled in the clutch in the latter part of the campaign.

All-Defensive Team
Ben Lammers, Georgia Tech
Anas Mahmoud, Louisville
Ray Spalding, Louisville
Elijah Thomas, Clemson
Isaiah Wilkins, Virginia

Lammers had another fine season on the defensive end as one of the bright spots for a Georgia Tech team that had its struggles in part due to injuries. Mahmoud led the conference in blocked shots, while teammate Spalding did it all at that end as he was fifth in rebounding and in the top ten in both steals and blocks, a rare feat. Thomas anchored Clemson’s defense and tied for the lead in blocked shots in ACC games. Wilkins anchored Virginia’s defense, which was clearly the best in the conference.