Men's Basketball Picked 10th in ACC

by Press Release - Sun Oct 23 20:15:09 GMT-04:00 2005

Greensboro -- Duke was the unanimous choice to capture the 2005-06 ACC regular season basketball title in voting by the media at the league’s 44th annual Operation Basketball day at the Grandover Resort & Conference Center in Greensboro, N.C. The Blue Devils received all 87 first place votes en route to being selected as the pre-season favorite for the fifth time in the past six years and 11th time overall. Boston College was picked to finish second, followed by Wake Forest and North Carolina State.

Duke’s J.J. Redick edged out teammate Shelden Williams in balloting for ACC Player of the Year. Redick was named on 45 ballots, while Williams received 33 votes and Boston College’s Craig Smith had four votes. Redick, a 6-4, 190-pound senior out of Roanoke, Va., was a unanimous first-team All-America selection in 2005 while leading the ACC in scoring (21.8), free throw percentage (.938), 3-point field goals per game (3.7) and minutes played (37.3).

North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough was tabbed as the ACC Rookie of the Year. Hansbrough, a 6-9, 235-pound freshman from Poplar Bluff, Mo., out-distanced Duke’s Josh McRoberts by 21 votes (50-to-29).

Redick and Williams head up the five-member pre-season All-ACC team. Also named to the first team were Boston College’s Craig Smith, Miami’s Guillermo Diaz and Wake Forest’s Justin Gray. Redick and Williams earned first-team All-ACC honors a year ago while Smith was a first-team All-Big East selection. Diaz and Gray were second-team All-ACC picks in 2005.

Pre-Season Team Predictions:

1. Duke (87) 1,044*

2. Boston College 918

3. Wake Forest 791

4. NC State 744

5. Maryland 707

6. North Carolina 573

7. Miami 540

8. Virginia Tech 451

9. Georgia Tech 380

10. Clemson 230

11. Florida State 216