"Too Early" All-ACC Team

We’re heading into ACC play and I figured it’s a good time to see who are the best players the league has to offer right now. Let’s just get started with a little first and second team ‘All-ACC’, shall we?

FIRST-TEAM “TOO EARLY” ALL-ACC TEAM

G – John Scheyer (Duke)
The numbers alone, tell the story. He’s third in the league in scoring (18.8ppg) and first in assists (6.4apg). His 2.8 three’s per game leads the ACC, as does his 90.1 free throw percentage. His most impressive stat? His 4.9 assist-to-turnover ratio is twice as good as the next guy in the league (in fact, he leads the nation).He’s not only on pace for All ACC honors, but he’s looking at national honors if he keeps these stats up.

G – Greivis Vasquez (Maryland)
He had a horrid start and couldn’t hit a shot in an empty arena (30-93, 32% from the floor), but he’s really rediscovered his groove lately (46-83, 55%). He leads Maryland in scoring and assists, sitting fourth in rebounds. Also, his 2/1 assist-to-turnover ratio is nothing to sneeze at. However, his recent successful run has come against the likes of Eastern Kentucky, Winston-Salem, Florida Atlantic, William & Mary (loss) and UNC Greensboro. Let’s see what he can do now that the competition gets tougher.

F – Al-Farouq Aminu (Wake Forest)
If the player of the year isn’t Scheyer, then it’s Aminu. He has stepped beautifully into the lead role for Wake. He is fifth in scoring and first in rebounds, averaging a double-double (17.4/11.5). Against Xavier, he played 41 minutes and dominated with 26 points and 18 boards. If I had to nitpick, he’s turning the ball over way too much for a non-guard (3.2 per game) and he needs to get his shooting percentage above 50%. Currently he’s hovering around 47%, but that has a lot to do with the amount of three’s he’s shooting. He’s 9-28 from three. Last year he took only 39 all season long.Take away those threes and he’s hitting a respectable 53% from two.

F -Ed Davis (North Carolina)
One of only two players averaging a double-double (15/10). Carolina may have lost four games, but it isn’t because of this guy. He leads the league in shooting percentage, hitting a solid 63% from the floor. He gets the first-team nod over teammate Deon Thompson because defensively, Davis shins. He’s tied with Solomon Alabi in blocks at 2.9 per game and is the only player with over 100 defensive rebounds (1o6 for the season).

F – Tracy Smith (North Carolina State)
Don’t be ashamed if you don’t know much about him. Google him and he isn’t even the first “Tracy Smith” to pop up. The 6’8 forward is the highest scoring forward in the ACC (17.5ppg), fourth overall. He’s fourth in rebounding and third in scoring percentage. Overall, he really has improved each and every season at NC State. His points have gone up 7ppg each season (from 3.3ppg in 2007-2008, to 10ppg last year to 17.5ppg this year). Obviously this means he’ll average 24ppg next year, right? While he may not be as famous as the other forwards in this league, let’s not forget, he was a four-star recruit, ranked 18th best PF coming out of high school.

SECOND-TEAM “TOO EARLY” ALL-ACC TEAM

G – Ishmael Smith (Wake Forest)
Right now (and yes it’s early), Smith is looking like the best pure point guard in the ACC (although Larry Drew and his 6.3 assists could argue otherwise). The difference is, Smith can dish 5.8apg (2/1 assist-to-turnover rate) AND score (Smith averages 12ppg, while Drew only produces 8.4ppg). Hell, just for fun, Smith also grabs over four rebounds per game (despite barely standing six-feet tall) and is fifth in steals in the ACC (1.8spg). He had his breakout game this past weekend against Xavier, hitting on 10-14 shots, scoring 28, while dishing out nine assists. His two problems (and they are big problems)? His free throw average would make Shaq blush (He shoots 47% from the line, 17-40 on the season) and he only makes 26% of his three pointers, making him only the seventh best three-point shooter on his own team. Meaning? If Wake is down by three or trying to hold a three-point lead, the ball should not be in Smith’s hands.

G -Nolan Smith (Duke)
In reality, Smith probably should be first team player. He’s put up better numbers than Vasquez, but we’re giving it to the Maryland guard simply because he’s more valuable to his team right now. After a so-so start, where Nolan was scoring a lot, but taking too many shots to get there (31-80, 39%), he’s been on fire in his last six games. He’s averaged a career best, 18.4ppg (10 more points than last year), while leading the ACC in three-point shooting (51%), after hovering below 40% his first two seasons). Hell, his 1.9/1 assist-to-turnover ratio is the ninth best in the league, which is pretty good for a guy who doesn’t really play the point.

G – Malcolm Delaney (Virginia Tech)
I decided to go with three-guards in the second-team, simply because I can’t ignore the league’s top scorer, although I wouldn’t put him ahead of any of the four other guards who make up the first and second teams. Like I said, he’s first in scoring (19+ per game) and is third in three pointers made. However, despite hitting many threes, he’s taking a lot of shots. In fact, he’s only 10th in the league in three-point average. He needs to get more out of his shots and get that percentage up.

F – Gani Lawal (Georgia Tech)
Freshman Derrick Favors may get all the press in Atlanta, but it’s Lawal getting it done. He’s 10th in the league in scoring (15.3ppg) and third in rebounds (9.4rpg). He nails down 55.5% of his shots and can swat the ball away on the defensive end (5th in the ACC in blocks at 1.4bpg). Still, Georgia Tech’s schedule has been weak (Not Miami Hurricanes-weak, but weak none-the-less), so let’s see what this guy can do against some of the front lines he’s going to meet in the ACC. It should be fun to watch.

F -Deon Thompson (North Carolina)
The Carolina senior is playing like a leader, knocking in a team leading 15.9ppg, while his 7.4 rebounds is second only to Davis. Most amazingly, he has yet to receive a fourth foul in a game this season (not an easy feat for a big man who likes to get down and dirty inside the paint). In fact, no Carolina big man has fouled out this season. This can become an important stat now that we’re entering more physical play in the ACC.

SO WHO’S MISSING FROM THESE LISTS?

F – Trevor Booker (Clemson) – His stats aren’t bad (14+ ppg and nearly nine boards), but here’s my question…he’s clearly the best player on Clemson, but has failed to hit double-digits in shot attempts in seven of their fifteen games. Why?

F – Derrick Favors (Ga Tech) – Despite hitting a solid 60% of his shots as a freshman, he’s only scoring 12ppg. What’s the deal? Well, he tends to pick up fouls (he’s had 3+ fouls in 11 of Tech’s 13 games), thus he’s only played 30+ minutes three times and taken 10+ shots only twice. Trust me, Favors is a freak of nature. Every minute he’s not on the floor, is a bad minute for the Yellow Jackets.

F – Kyle Singler (Duke) – He was my preseason pick as ACC player of the year and so far he’s having a fine season. On the best team in the ACC, he’s third in scoring, first in rebounds and third in assists, all while learning to play at a new position. Yet his 43% shooting percentage (including 36% from three) tells me we have yet to see the best we can see from Kyle.

F – Soloman Alabi (Florida State) – Sure he leads the league in blocks and his 12 points and seven rebounds per game are all well and good, but my gut says he could be so much better. I really though Alabi was going to make a very special sophomore-to-junior jump and while his numbers are slightly up from last year, only his free throw percentage has really jumped up (60 to 80%).

G – Sylven Landesberg (Virginia) – He’s 7th in scoring, but let’s face it, he’s a 6’6 guard, facing off against a ton of six-footers. He should be dominating. It doesn’t help that he’s a guard afraid to shoot a three. He’s taken only 14 three pointers in 11 games (hitting 36%). As a guard, this makes him one-dimensional.