Oct. 17, 2012
Photos from ACC Operation Basketball
Charlotte, N.C. – Mirroring the pre-season poll by the Atlantic Coast Conference basketball coaches announced Monday, Georgia Tech has been projected to finish ninth in the pre-season poll by the media attending Wednesday’s annual Operation Basketball.
In their second season under head coach Brian Gregory, the Yellow Jackets return all five starters from a team that went 11-20 a year ago, and 4-12 in the ACC (tied for 10th). Among those are 6-2 senior point guard Mfon Udofia (Stone Mountain, Ga.), 6-5 ½ junior wing Jason Morris (Augusta, Ga.) and post players Daniel Miller (6-11 ½ junior, Loganville, Ga.) and Kammeon Holsey (6-8 ½, junior, Sparta, Ga.).
Tech, the only team in the ACC to return all five starters, opens its 2012-13 campaign Nov. 9 against Tulane. The Jackets also boast a recruiting class ranked as high as 14th in the nation.
The top three spots in the media poll are the same as the coaches poll. For the first time since the 1974-75 season, NC State has been picked as the favorite to win the ACC title. The Wolfpack, which returns four starters from last season’s team that posted a 24-13 record and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament, received 26 of the 53 first-place votes and totaled 601 points.
Duke, which also returns four starters, was second with 589 points, including 21 first-place votes while North Carolina was third with 520 points.
Defending ACC Florida State received the remaining six first place votes and placed fourth with 484 points. In the coaches poll, Miami was picked fourth and FSU fifth.
Miami was picked fifth in the media poll with 436 points, followed by Maryland (341), Virginia (287), Clemson (277), Georgia Tech (189), Virginia Tech (169), Wake Forest (151) and Boston College (90).
NC State junior forward C.J. Leslie, who averaged 14.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game last season, was voted the Preseason ACC Player of the Year while teammate Rodney Purvis was named Preseason ACC Rookie of the Year.
Leslie heads up the ACC Preseason All-ACC team and is joined by Wolfpack teammate Lorenzo Brown, Duke’s Mason Plumlee, Florida State’s Michael Snaer and North Carolina’s James Michael McAdoo.
Listed below are results of the voting in the ACC Operation Basketball preseason poll.
Team Predictions 1. NC State (26) 601 2. Duke (21) 589 3. North Carolina 520 4. Florida State (6) 484 5. Miami 436 6. Maryland 341 7. Virginia 287 8. Clemson 277 9. Georgia Tech 189 10. Virginia Tech 169 11. Wake Forest 151 12. Boston College 90 (53 ballots)
Preseason All-ACC Lorenzo Brown, Jr., NC State C.J. Leslie, Jr., NC State James Michael McAdoo, So., North Carolina Mason Plumlee, Sr., Duke Michael Snaer, Sr., Florida State
Preseason ACC Player of the Year C.J. Leslie, Jr., NC State
Preseason ACC Rookie of the Year Rodney Purvis, Fr., NC State
