All-ACC 2010-11 predictions

[NSDukeFan]

Since it is the summer, and I need other things to keep me occupied until the season starts, I was wondering how many of Duke's players would make one of the three all-ACC teams next year (not including freshmen of the year, or the all defensive team.)

I did a bit of research (and it would have been a lot easier if I had seen the ACC media guide online sooner http://www.theacc.com/sports/m-baskb...cmbkguide.html, and as far as I can tell, there have only been 3 all-ACC teams since 1989-90.

I was looking at some of Duke's better teams and the most all-ACC players Duke has had was 5, in 1998-99 (Brand and Langdon first team, Avery 2nd team, Battier and Carrawell third team).
The 1991-92 team had 4 all-ACC players (Laettner first team, Grant Hill and Hurley 2nd team, Thomas Hill third team) as did the 2003-04 team (Duhon first team, Redick and Williams second team, and Deng third team - Ewing was honorable mention.)
Most of our other top teams have had 3 all-ACC performers, including:
1990-91 (Laettner 1st team, Hurley and T. Hill 3rd team)
2000-01 (Battier and Williams 1st team, James 3rd team - Dunleavy and Boozer honorable mention)
2001-02 (3 1st teamers Williams, Boozer and Dunleavy)
2007-08 (DMarc 1st team, Paulus and Singler 3rd team)
Another of our top teams (2005-06) had only 2 all-ACC performers, (Redick and Williams 1st team) but they were both all-American candidates.

As most are aware, Kyle (1st team) and Nolan (2nd team) are Duke's returning all-ACC players. I believe there are 5 other all-ACC players returning (Delaney-VT 1st, T.Smith-NCSt 2nd, Hudson-VT 3rd, Trapani-BC 3rd and Singleton-FSU 3rd.)

Because I enjoy any Duke basketball discussion, I thought this could be a good forum for discussing how many all-ACC players people think we will have next year.
Will this be a year where there are two dominant first team all-ACC players and nobody else making an all-ACC?
Will Kyrie be one of the few freshmen (Singler, Deng, Redick and Williams were all 3rd team from Duke since Dawkins was 2nd team in 1983) to make an all-ACC team?
Is Curry good enough to make an all conference team?
Will Miles make enough of a jump to be a dominant big man in the conference?
Will Mason make a big freshman to sophomore jump, show his great versatility and be one of the best big men in the conference?
Will Andre or Ryan make it into the discussion?
How many players from Duke's 2010-11 team will make an all-conference team?
Edit: I didn't realize I could do a multiple choice poll so I did that instead of just picking how many people you think will be all-ACC.

[superdave]

If Kyle and Nolan play at last year's levels or better, then they are givens.

I also voted for Kyrie and Mason because I think they will have more minutes and scoring opportunities than the rest of the roster.

As for conference wide candidates, Barnes and a couple of the NCSU freshment stand a chance to make 2nd or 3rd. But 1st team is hard to pick. Delaney and T. Smith have a good shot but their teams have to win. Hmmm a young ACC this year.

[MisterRoddy]

I'm surprised Miles isn't getting more votes. It's obvious he has stepped up his game since last year and the addition of Kyrie and change in style of play will only inflate his stats.

[CDu]

I think getting three Devils on the list is a pretty safe bet, and four is not unreasonable. But I think more than four would be optimistic. I don't see any reserves making an All-ACC team - I suspect that's fairly rare. So that would likely rule out Dawkins, Kelly, and one of Miles/Mason/Curry.


As for the list, I'd suspect that Singler, Smith, and Delaney will make first team. And I think Irving will have a good shot to make at least 3rd team as he'll play PG for likely the best team in the conference. After that, perhaps one of the Plumlees or Curry if one of those guys really distinguishes himself.

Other than that, here are some guys who could make the list:
BC: Trapani, Jackson
Clemson: Stitt (that may be a reach)
Duke: Miles, Mason, Curry
FSU: Singleton, Snaer, Gibson (only because someone will replace Alabi at C)
GT: Shumpert
Maryland: Williams, ??? they're a complete question mark
Miami: Scott, Johnson
UNC: Zeller, Barnes, Drew
NCSU: Smith, Leslie, ??? (hard to know which guards will emerge)
VT: Hudson, Allen
WF: ??? (again, they're losing a LOT from last year)

I'd expect Smith and Trapani to make it again. Singleton is a tough guess - if the team tanks, his contributions may get overlooked (he's not a prolific scorer). Stitt, Jackson, Shumpert, and Scott are guys who'll have the ball in their hands a lot, so they will have a chance to put up big stats. And Allen, Williams, and Zeller are big men who'll get a reasonable chance to shine.

[MisterRoddy]

I think getting three Devils on the list is a pretty safe bet, and four is not unreasonable. But I think more than four would be optimistic. I don't see any reserves making an All-ACC team - I suspect that's fairly rare. So that would likely rule out Dawkins, Kelly, and one of Miles/Mason/Curry.


As for the list, I'd suspect that Singler, Smith, and Delaney will make first team. And I think Irving will have a good shot to make at least 3rd team as he'll play PG for likely the best team in the conference. After that, perhaps one of the Plumlees or Curry if one of those guys really distinguishes himself.

Other than that, here are some guys who could make the list:
BC: Trapani, Jackson
Clemson: Stitt (that may be a reach)
Duke: Miles, Mason, Curry
FSU: Singleton, Snaer, Gibson (only because someone will replace Alabi at C)
GT: Shumpert
Maryland: Williams, ??? they're a complete question mark
Miami: Scott, Johnson
UNC: Zeller, Barnes, Drew
NCSU: Smith, Leslie, ??? (hard to know which guards will emerge)
VT: Hudson, Allen
WF: ??? (again, they're losing a LOT from last year)

I'd expect Smith and Trapani to make it again. Singleton is a tough guess - if the team tanks, his contributions may get overlooked (he's not a prolific scorer). Stitt, Jackson, Shumpert, and Scott are guys who'll have the ball in their hands a lot, so they will have a chance to put up big stats. And Allen, Williams, and Zeller are big men who'll get a reasonable chance to shine.

I'd expect that Bullock would make it over Drew. Also, if Seth gets starters minutes as our sixth man and he produces as expected, I would say it's probable he makes All ACC. Also, Kyrie should make at least the 2nd team, there are definitely not 10 players better than KI in the ACC, that is barring injury or him not playing well, neither of which I expect (injuries obviously being unpredictable).

[Duvall]

I'd expect that Bullock would make it over Drew. Also, if Seth gets starters minutes as our sixth man and he produces as expected, I would say it's probable he makes All ACC.

Well, that's the problem. Our expectations for Curry aren't exactly moored to reality.

[MisterRoddy]

Well, that's the problem. Our expectations for Curry aren't exactly moored to reality.

I haven't really seen many unrealistic expectations for Seth, honestly. Our expectations for him are based on his performances in camps, summer leagues, etc. Also, from analysts such as Bilas. We also base them on the fact that Curry was leading scorer as a freshman (obviously, at a lower level school though), has had a year of coaching from the best living NCAA basketball coach under his belt, not to mention a year of practicing with a couple of top tier guards. Then you add in that Seth will have less attention on him in the games with our number of peremeter threats, giving him more uncontested shots and I'd say our basis for our expectations for Seth is pretty solid, therefor making them realistic.

[NSDukeFan]

I'd expect that Bullock would make it over Drew. Also, if Seth gets starters minutes as our sixth man and he produces as expected, I would say it's probable he makes All ACC. Also, Kyrie should make at least the 2nd team, there are definitely not 10 players better than KI in the ACC, that is barring injury or him not playing well, neither of which I expect (injuries obviously being unpredictable).

I hope you are right about Kyrie, but the last Duke freshman to be a second team all-ACC selection was Johnny Dawkins in 1983.

[gumbomoop]

My assumptions, for predictions below:

1. Voting "panel" not dominated by Duke-hate.
2. Duke finishes 14-2, followed by UNC and VT at 11-5 each.

1st team -
Singler, Smith, Irving, Barnes, Delaney

2d team -
Smith (NCS), Singleton, Scott (Miami), Williams (Md), Henson/Zeller [1 of these 2]

3d team -
Snaer, Jackson (BC), Drew, Allen (VT), MP1/MP2/Curry [1 of these 3]

[MisterRoddy]

I hope you are right about Kyrie, but the last Duke freshman to be a second team all-ACC selection was Johnny Dawkins in 1983.

Well, seeing as Duke will most likely be top ranked throughout the year and with Kyrie as talented as he is, he will get much exposure. Then you factor in that other then us and maybe VT, UNC and NCST, it's a pretty watered down ACC and you have to believe Kyrie has a good shot at making the 2nd team.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I said Kyle, Nolan, Mason, Kyrie and Seth.
R.O.Y. is gonna be an interesting battle between Kyrie and Barnes. I'm sure others will be in the mix, but those are the two I'll be watching.

[Bluedog]

I said Kyle, Nolan, Mason, Kyrie and Seth.
R.O.Y. is gonna be an interesting battle between Kyrie and Barnes. I'm sure others will be in the mix, but those are the two I'll be watching.

When was the last time a non-starter made first, second, or third team All-ACC? I'm saying this because according to Coach K, as of right now, one of those five you listed won't be starting. That lineup would obviously necessitate playing Nolan at the 3 (all 6'2" of him) and Kyle at the 4. While that would be a good defensive ball pressure lineup, rebounding might be a bit of an issue. And based on last year, we all know how important rebounding can be. Scheyer was one of the top sixth men in the country in 2007-08 (averaged third most minutes on the team) and didn't even get All-ACC honorable mention.

Edit: Marvin Williams was honorable mention in 2005, but still didn't make one of the top three teams.

[CDu]

I'd expect that Bullock would make it over Drew. Also, if Seth gets starters minutes as our sixth man and he produces as expected, I would say it's probable he makes All ACC. Also, Kyrie should make at least the 2nd team, there are definitely not 10 players better than KI in the ACC, that is barring injury or him not playing well, neither of which I expect (injuries obviously being unpredictable).

I'm avoiding putting expectations on players who haven't played a single game for Duke. I think there's a very reasonable chance for Irving to make 2nd team. And as PG for likely the top team in the conference, he should at least make 3rd team.

As for Curry, I will be VERY surprised to see four wing players from the same team make All-ACC. That has to be extraordinarily rare. And there is almost never a shortage of wing options for the All-ACC list, even on the bad teams. Hence, I think that Curry has a fairly decent hurdle to climb. He can be a perfectly solid contributor and still just not have the touches needed to make All-ACC. It's very hard for four wing players to get enough touches to earn the votes. And it's very very rare for a 6th man to make All-ACC (even if he gets starter's minute).

Let's just say that if we have four wings make the All-ACC team, it should be an amazing regular season for us.

[Duke of Nashville]

I am surprised Miles is not getting more love. Break out year for the big man.

[CDu]

I am surprised Miles is not getting more love. Break out year for the big man.

I'm hopeful that both Plumlees make big strides this season. I could see either of them making All-ACC if things play out right. The concern would be that the combine for great numbers together, but split their good games such that neither quite makes the All-ACC list.

But yes, with his size and athleticism, there's no reason he can't have a breakout year.

[CDu]

My assumptions, for predictions below:

1. Voting "panel" not dominated by Duke-hate.
2. Duke finishes 14-2, followed by UNC and VT at 11-5 each.

1st team -
Singler, Smith, Irving, Barnes, Delaney

2d team -
Smith (NCS), Singleton, Scott (Miami), Williams (Md), Henson/Zeller [1 of these 2]

3d team -
Snaer, Jackson (BC), Drew, Allen (VT), MP1/MP2/Curry [1 of these 3]

I think that's a pretty reasonable guess. My only hesitation would be Irving and Barnes on the 1st team. But it's certainly possible. Let's hope Irving makes it and Barnes doesn't.

[CEF1959]

I am surprised Miles is not getting more love. Break out year for the big man.

My thoughts exactly.

[MisterRoddy]

I'm avoiding putting expectations on players who haven't played a single game for Duke. I think there's a very reasonable chance for Irving to make 2nd team. And as PG for likely the top team in the conference, he should at least make 3rd team.

As for Curry, I will be VERY surprised to see four wing players from the same team make All-ACC. That has to be extraordinarily rare. And there is almost never a shortage of wing options for the All-ACC list, even on the bad teams. Hence, I think that Curry has a fairly decent hurdle to climb. He can be a perfectly solid contributor and still just not have the touches needed to make All-ACC. It's very hard for four wing players to get enough touches to earn the votes. And it's very very rare for a 6th man to make All-ACC (even if he gets starter's minute).

Let's just say that if we have four wings make the All-ACC team, it should be an amazing regular season for us.

I will not ever underestimate a Curry. Steph was underestimated in college and the NBA and we know what he is doing while Seth was underestimated as a Frosh in college and we know what he did. I think Seth has a good chance at making All ACC, that's my opinion and the opinion of a good portion of those here on DBR.

As for the bolded part, let's just say that's not out of the realm of possibilities either.

[ACCBBallFan]

I think getting three Devils on the list is a pretty safe bet, and four is not unreasonable. But I think more than four would be optimistic. I don't see any reserves making an All-ACC team - I suspect that's fairly rare. So that would likely rule out Dawkins, Kelly, and one of Miles/Mason/Curry.


As for the list, I'd suspect that Singler, Smith, and Delaney will make first team. And I think Irving will have a good shot to make at least 3rd team as he'll play PG for likely the best team in the conference. After that, perhaps one of the Plumlees or Curry if one of those guys really distinguishes himself.

Other than that, here are some guys who could make the list:
BC: Trapani, Jackson
Clemson: Stitt (that may be a reach)
Duke: Miles, Mason, Curry
FSU: Singleton, Snaer, Gibson (only because someone will replace Alabi at C)
GT: Shumpert
Maryland: Williams, ??? they're a complete question mark
Miami: Scott, Johnson
UNC: Zeller, Barnes, Drew
NCSU: Smith, Leslie, ??? (hard to know which guards will emerge)
VT: Hudson, Allen
WF: ??? (again, they're losing a LOT from last year)

I'd expect Smith and Trapani to make it again. Singleton is a tough guess - if the team tanks, his contributions may get overlooked (he's not a prolific scorer). Stitt, Jackson, Shumpert, and Scott are guys who'll have the ball in their hands a lot, so they will have a chance to put up big stats. And Allen, Williams, and Zeller are big men who'll get a reasonable chance to shine.

Your list looks pretty complete except for the other Scott, Mike Scott from 12th ACC team UVA.

[CameronBornAndBred]

When was the last time a non-starter made first, second, or third team All-ACC? I'm saying this because according to Coach K, as of right now, one of those five you listed won't be starting. That lineup would obviously necessitate playing Nolan at the 3 (all 6'2" of him) and Kyle at the 4. While that would be a good defensive ball pressure lineup, rebounding might be a bit of an issue. And based on last year, we all know how important rebounding can be. Scheyer was one of the top sixth men in the country in 2007-08 (averaged third most minutes on the team) and didn't even get All-ACC honorable mention.

I love watching "never-been-done's" finally be done.