To the Victors Go the Spoils: Cavaliers Well-Represented in ACC Postseason Honors

The members of the media who cover Atlantic Coast Conference men’s basketball took little notice of the University of Virginia’s team in their annual preseason poll, released Oct. 26, predicting the Cavaliers to finish sixth in the 15-team league. Not one of them foresaw a historic season; the Cavaliers received zero first-place votes.

With a victory over the University of Notre Dame on Saturday, UVA wrapped up a regular season that saw the Cavaliers finish as the nation’s top-ranked team and set new ACC records for both regular-season league victories (17) and road victories (nine, in nine games). They won the league’s regular-season championship by four games over runner-up Duke University, the media’s choice to win the conference title back in October.

A 57-member voting panel comprising many of those media members, plus the league’s 15 head coaches, made amends on Sunday as the ACC announced its postseason honors.

UVA head coach Tony Bennett was named 2018 ACC Coach of the Year, Isaiah Wilkins was named Defensive Player of the Year and De’Andre Hunter was named Sixth Man of the Year.

Three other Cavaliers earned All-ACC honors. Kyle Guy was named to the All-ACC first team, Devon Hall was named to the All-ACC second team and All-ACC Defensive Team, and Ty Jerome was named to the All-ACC third team.

Wilkins was also named to the All-Defensive Team and Hunter was named to the All-Freshman Team.

Bennett earned his third ACC Coach of the Year honor after guiding Virginia to its third outright ACC regular-season title in the last five years. The Cavaliers posted a 28-2 overall record and league-record 17-1 mark en route to their first No. 1 ranking since 1982.

Wilkins spearheads UVA’s top-ranked defense, which yields 52.8 points per game and ranks third nationally in field goal percentage defense at 37.5 percent. Wilkins, who has taken a team-leading 11 charges, ranks 10th in the ACC in blocked shots (1.5 bpg) and 17th in rebounding (6.4 rpg). Wilkins is the third Cavalier to earn Defensive Player of the Year honors, joining Darion Atkins (2015) and Malcolm Brogdon (2015 and 2016). He was also named to the All-ACC Defensive Team for the second straight season.

Hunter averaged 10.8 points off the bench during league play in his rookie season. The league’s top sixth man led UVA in scoring during five league games, including an ACC-high 22 at Miami. Hunter posted his first career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds at Pittsburgh. He banked in the game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer that capped the Cavaliers’ dramatic one-point win at Louisville on March 1.

Guy is averaging a team-best 13.9 points per game for top-ranked Virginia. He has drilled 74 shots from 3-point range to rank sixth in the ACC and is shooting 87 percent from the free-throw line. Guy has scored in double figures in 24 games, including a career-high 29 points against Virginia Commonwealth University. He has led Virginia in scoring in 11 games, including 22 points against Syracuse on Jan. 9 and Louisville on Jan. 31. Guy increased his scoring average by more than six points after averaging 7.5 points as freshman in 2016-17.

Hall earned his first All-ACC honors after averaging 11.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists. He is shooting a team-best 44.7 percent from 3-point range and leads the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio at 3.31. Hall scored in double figures in 13 league games, including a career-high 25 points against North Carolina State. Hall chipped in 25 steals and is UVA’s top perimeter defender.

Jerome shared the team scoring lead with Guy during ACC play, averaging 12.4 points. He scored a career-high 31 points against Boston College and leads the team in assists (3.7) and steals (1.5). He reached double figure scoring in 11 league games.

Joining Guy on the All-ACC first team were ACC Player of the Year Marvin Bagley III of Duke, Jerome Robinson of Boston College, Luke Maye of North Carolina and Joel Berry II of North Carolina.

Marcquise Reed (Clemson), Tyus Battle (Syracuse), Wendell Carter, Jr. (Duke) and Justin Robinson (Virginia Tech) joined Hall on the All-ACC second team.

Grayson Allen (Duke), Matt Ferrell (Notre Dame), Josh Okogie (Georgia Tech) and Omer Yurtseven (N.C. State) joined Jerome on the All-ACC third team.

No. 1 seed Virginia (28-2) will play No. 8 seed Louisville (19-12) or No. 9 seed Florida State (20-10) in ACC Tournament quarterfinal action on Thursday. Tipoff at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, is set for noon.

2018 Atlantic Coast Conference Post-Season Honors

All-ACC First Team
Marvin Bagley III, Duke, 280 points
Jerome Robinson, Boston College, 273
Luke Maye, North Carolina, 246
Joel Berry II, North Carolina, 223
Kyle Guy, Virginia, 168

All-ACC Second Team
Tyus Battle, Syracuse, 159
Marcquise Reed, Clemson, 143
Devon Hall, Virginia, 129
Wendell Carter Jr., Duke, 126
Justin Robinson, Virginia Tech, 123

All-ACC Third Team
Grayson Allen, Duke, 119
Matt Farrell, Notre Dame, 89
Ty Jerome, Virginia, 67
Josh Okogie, Georgia Tech, 57
Omer Yurtseven, N.C. State, 54

Honorable Mention
Deng Adel, Louisville, 51
Ky Bowman, Boston College, 37
Lonnie Walker, Miami, 30
Bryant Crawford, Wake Forest, 23
Markell Johnson, N.C. State, 21
Ray Spalding, Louisville, 19
Allerik Freeman, N.C. State, 18
Theo Pinson, North Carolina, 14
Terance Mann, Florida State, 12
Gabe DeVoe, Clemson, 12

All-Freshman Team
Marvin Bagley III, Duke, 57
Wendell Carter Jr., Duke, 56
Lonnie Walker, Miami, 51
De’Andre Hunter, Virginia, 33
Oshae Brissett, Syracuse, 33

All-Defensive Team
Isaiah Wilkins, Virginia, 49
Anas Mahmoud, Louisville, 37
Elijah Thomas, Clemson, 34
Devon Hall, Virginia, 32
Ben Lammers, Georgia Tech, 25

Player of the Year
Marvin Bagley III, Duke, 37
Jerome Robinson, Boston College, 14
Luke Maye, North Carolina, 5
Devon Hall, Virginia, 1

Rookie of the Year
Marvin Bagley III, Duke, 56
De’Andre Hunter, Virginia, 1

Coach of the Year
Tony Bennett, Virginia, 47
Brad Brownell, Clemson, 8
Kevin Keatts, N.C. State, 2

Defensive Player of the Year
Isaiah Wilkins, Virginia, 42
Anas Mahmoud, Louisville, 7
Elijah Thomas, Clemson, 3
Devin Wilson, Virginia Tech, 2
Jack Salt, Virginia, 1
Rex Pflueger, Notre Dame, 1
Wendell Carter Jr., Duke, 1

Most Improved Player
Luke Maye, North Carolina, 26
Frank Howard, Syracuse, 5
Omer Yurtseven, NC State, 5
Martinas Geben, Notre Dame, 5
Doral Moore, Wake Forest, 5
Kyle Guy, Virginia, 3
Marcquise Reed, Clemson, 3
Phil Cofer, Florida State, 2
Dewan Huell, Miami, 2
Ty Jerome, Virginia, 1

Sixth Man of the Year
De’Andre Hunter, Virginia, 39
Chris Clarke, Virginia Tech, 7
Chris Lykes, Miami, 5
Keyshawn Woods, Wake Forest, 3
Trent Forrest, Florida State, 2
Marques Bolden, Duke, 1