Duke and UNC Tie?

Unfortunately, though it is just a preseason poll, it happened at the ACC media conference, where all the coaches from their respective teams, as well as a handful of players attend. During this meeting, the preseason picks are made as far as order of finish, Player of the Year, Rookie of the Year, and ACC First team.

This year, Duke and UNC were both picked to win the ACC; Duke had more first place votes, but they both had the same number total points. This is the first time in the 41 year history, but it is the fourth year in a row that UNC has been picked to win, so that's a good sign.

When I first read that there was a tie, I couldn't believe. I really still can't believe. I know that UNC has some question marks - the backcourt, the perimeter scoring, and probably defense will be mentioned at time point during the season - but it seems like Duke has many more question marks, but that's why they play the games instead of picking the order.

Kyle Singler was picked as Player of the Year and I know that's the trendy pick among many of the talking heads, but I'm just not 100% sold on him. I do know that Marcus Ginyard will lock him down for 2 games. ROY was nominated to Derrick Favors from Georgia Tech, with John Henson coming in at a distant second.

ACC First-Team consisted of Singler, Trevor Booker from Clemson, Greivis Vasquez from Maryland, Virginia Tech's Malcolm Delaney, and Ed Davis because somebody from UNC had to be on the list - right?

One more thing. Tar Heel Blue has some pictures from the event. If you look through it, you'll see Deon Thompson in a suit and tie. Marcus Ginyard also went to the event, but is not seen in any photos. The rest of the players there are wearing polos from their respective schools. My point comes down to classiness. UNC has it, others don't.

Triumphant Awards

So I thought I would post some of my awards for the ACC. It's tough to leave some people off, but here goes.

ACC 1st Team
-Tyler Hansbrough
-Ty Lawson
-Gerald Henderson
-Jack McClinton
-Toney Douglas

ACC 2nd Team
-Tyrese Rice
-Trevor Booker
-Kyle Singler
-Wayne Ellington
-Jeff Teague

ACC 3rd Team
-Danny Green
-Gani Lewal
-Greivis Vasquez
-James Johnson
-Malcolm Delaney

*If I went with a traditional C, PF, SF, SG, PG lineup, I would have moved Booker in and probably pumped Toney Douglas down, but then that would throw everything off. These are open to debate, but this is just my opinion.

All Freshman Team

Al-Farouq Aminu, Wake Forest
Sylven Landesberg, Virginia
Solomon Alabi, Florida State
Ed Davis, North Carolina
Iman Shumpert, Georgia Tech

*Not a lot of huge names as far as freshman, but if they stick around, I'm sure they will become more familiar. Especially that Ed Davis guy.

As for the big stuff:

Player of the Year: Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson
Rookie of the Year: Al-Farouq Aminu
Coach of the Year: Dino Gaudio and Leonard Hamilton
Defensive Player of the Year: Trevor Booker

*Yes, I gave Player of the Year to 2 guys on the same team. My feeling is that Ty Lawson will win this award. He had has a great year, probably a masterful year, but Tyler Hansbrough is being measured by last year's success and that is unfair to him. His scoring and rebounding are down, but that's because his teammates have all gotten better in other areas. And it's not like Hansbrough has just laid back this year. He still takes charges, he improved his outside shot, free throw shooting, and 3 point shooting. I can make a case for either one of these. ROY is a given. I gave COY to two coaches because Dino has made Wake competitive again, especially after Skip's passing. As far as Leonard Hamilton, name 3 players from Florida State. Exactly. Booker has been solid and is active on the blocks, boards, and steals.

*I will be blogging about the Duke/UNC game later.