ATLANTA, GA – For a second-straight year North Carolina was a unanimous choice to finish first atop the Atlantic Coast Conference basketball race in voting by 40 media members at the league’s annual Basketball Media Day.
Duke was picked for second, while Wake Forest was voted third. Miami was fourth, followed by Clemson (fifth) and Virginia Tech (sixth).
The Tar Heels are led by pre-season ACC Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough. Hansbrough a 6-9, 250-pound senior forward from Poplar Bluff, Mo., averaged 22.6 points and 10.2 rebounds last season while earning first-team All-America honors for a third-straight year and consensus National Player of the Year honors.
Wake Forest Al-Farouq Aminu was the media’s choice for the ACC pre-season Rookie of the Year. Aminu, a 6-9, 215-pound freshman from Norcross, Ga., garnered 18 first-place votes, out-distancing Virginia’s Sylven Landesberg in the voting.
Hansbrough and Boston College’s Tyrese Rice were unanimous selections for the pre-season All-ACC team. Also named to the pre-season time were Miami’s Jack McClinton, North Carolina’s Ty Lawson and Gerald Henderson from Duke.
| 2008-09 Predicted Order of Finish | ||
| 1. | North Carolina (40) | 480 |
| 2. | Duke | 436 |
| 3. | Wake Forest | 354 |
| 4. | Miami | 344 |
| 5. | Clemson | 306 |
| 6. | Virginia Tech | 298 |
| 7. | Maryland | 192 |
| 8. | Georgia Tech | 186 |
| 9. | NC State | 179 |
| 10. | Florida State | 145 |
| 11. | Boston College | 123 |
| 12. | Virginia | 79 |
| First Place Votes in Parentheses | ||
| 2008-09 ACC Preseason All-Conference Team |
| Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina* |
| Tyrese Rice, Boston College* |
| Jack McClinton, Miami |
| Ty Lawson, North Carolina |
| Gerald Henderson, Duke |
| * - unanimous selection |
| 2008-09 Preseason ACC Player of the Year |
| Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina* |
| 2008-09 Preseason ACC Rookie of the Year |
| Al-Farouq Aminu, Wake Forest |
| * - unanimous selection |
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