GREENSBORO — Virginia, the No. 4 team in the country in the preaseason AP Top 25 released Monday, has been picked by a media panel of 155 to rule the ACC this season.
The Cavaliers were last forecast to win the league when it was eight teams in 1982-83. Ralph Sampson, who that season would earn his third national player of the year honor, was the 7-foor-4 senior leader for coach Terry Holland.
Tony Bennett’s Cavaliers earned 97 first-place votes. Second pick Duke had 34 first-place votes, followed by Florida State (15), Carolina (7) and Louisville. The Blue Devils were ninth, the Tar Heels 16th and the Seminoles 21st in the Top 25 poll.
Florida State won the regular season last year, and was declared ACC champion when the league tournament lasted just two days and didn’t have any quarterfinal games played.
Carolina’s Garrison Brooks led the preseason all-ACC team and was forecast to be Player of the Year. The first team also included Virginia’s Sam Hauser, a Marquette transfer; freshmen Scottie Barnes of Florida State and Jalen Johnson of Duke; and Aamir Simms of Clemson and Chris Lykes of Miami tied for the fifth spot.
The second team includes Louisville’s David Johnson, Georgia Tech’s Jose Albarado, Florida State’s M.J. Walker, Virginia’s Kihei Clark and Duke’s Wendell Moore Jr.
Brooks (102 votes), a second team pick after last season, was followed in the top player balloting by Hauser (24), Walker (10), Moore (7), Simms (5), Hurt (3), Lykes (3) and Clark (1).
Barnes (64 votes) nipped Johnson (60) in balloting for Rookie of the Year. They were followed by Carolina’s Caleb Love (9) and Day’Ron Sharpe (6), Duke’s D.J. Steward (4), Virginia’s Reece Beekman (3), Duke’s Jeremy Roach (3), Carolina’s R.J. Davis (3), Duke’s Mark Williams (2) and N.C. State’s Cam Hayes (1).
Rounding out the projected order of finish for the league were Syracuse sixth, followed by Miami, N.C. State, Georgia Tech, Clemson, Virginia Tech, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Boston College and Wake Forest.