Despite returning a solid nucleus and adding talented depth to its roster, the outside expectations for the Pitt men’s basketball program still aren’t very high.
With the start of the season just two weeks away, the Preseason ACC Men’s Basketball predictions were announced Wednesday morning. These individual and team polls were voted on by media members in the ACC.
Jeff Capel’s 2020 squad was picked to only finish 13th in the 15 team ACC basketball conference. A year ago, the Panthers finished 14th in conference with a record of 16-17 and 6-14 in the ACC. Tony Bennett and the Virginia Cavaliers are the preseason ACC favorites, the first time this has happened since the 1982-83 season with Ralph Sampson.
ACC PRESEASON POLL:
1) Virginia (97 1st place votes)
2) Duke (34)
3) Florida State (15)
4) North Carolina (7)
5) Louisville (2)
6) Syracuse
7) Miami
8) NC State
9) Georgia Tech
10) Clemson
11) Virginia Tech
12) Notre Dame
13) PITT
14) Boston College
15) Wake Forest
Pitt was shutout in terms of players being nominated for any preseason honors, which is somewhat surprising considering the freshman season of Justin Champagnie. North Carolina senior forward Garrison Brooks was voted as the Preseason ACC Player of the Year. Last season, Brooks averaged 16.8 points per game, 8.5 rebounds and received the 2020 ACC Most Improved Player Award.
PRESEASON ALL-ACC 1ST TEAM:
Garrison Brooks, North Carolina
Sam Hauser, Virginia
Scott Barnes, Florida State
Jalen Johnson, Duke
Aamir Simms, Clemson
Chris Lykes, Miami
PRESEASON ALL-ACC 2ND TEAM:
David Johnson, Louisville
Jose Alvarado, Georgia Tech
M.J. Walker, Florida State
Kihei Clark, Virginia
Wendell Moore, Jr., Duke
PRESEASON ACC FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR:
Scott Barnes, Florida State (64 votes)
Jalen Johnson, Duke (60)
Caleb Love, North Carolina (9)
Day’Ron Sharpe, North Carolina (6)
DJ Steward, Duke (4)
Reece Beekman, Virginia (3)
Jeremy Roach, Duke (3)
RJ Davis, North Carolina (3)
Mark Williams, Duke (2)
Cam Hayes, NC State (1)
They are not there yet, my pick would be 11th.