Duke basketball dominates ACC preseason poll and awards

The Duke basketball program dominated the ACC preseason poll and awards. 

There was still one more gift for the Duke basketball program on the day after ACC Media Day wrapped up in Charlotte as the Blue Devils were picked as the favorites to win the league, the conference announced on Thursday.

Duke, the reigning ACC Tournament champions, was picked ahead of Miami, North Carolina, and Virginia in the poll voted on by select media members.

Jon Scheyer’s team amassed 44 of the 51 first place votes while the Hurricanes had five and, somehow, the Tar Heels and Cavaliers were each given one.

The Blue Devils finished in a tie for fourth in last year’s regular season standings, only one game behind first place in the loss column, but proved that the method to seeing the teams in the league tournament does not mean much as long as you are playing your best basketball in March.

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Duke won its final nine ACC games of the season a year ago and return four starters from that team — Jeremy Roach, Tyrese Proctor, Mark Mitchell, and Kyle Filipowski — as well as bringing in the No. 2 recruiting class in the country.

Duke basketball superstar earns top conference honors

Kyle Filipowski was not named as a First Team All-ACC selection last season.

He was the league’s Rookie of the Year and named to the Second Team All-ACC but this year the expectations are much higher for the Associated Press Preseason All-American after he was named as the ACC Preseason Player of the Year.

Filipowski was also the only unanimous selection to the Preseason First Team All-ACC, edging out North Carolina’s Armando Bacot in both categories.

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Sophomore guard Tyrese Proctor was named to the Preseason Second Team All-ACC and even got a vote to be the conference’s Preseason Player of the Year.

North Carolina’s Elliot Cadeu ran away with the Preseason Rookie of the Year race but Blue Devil freshmen Jared McCain and Caleb Foster were both distantly in the conversation behind the New Jersey native.

Duke, the No. 2 team in the Associated Press Preseason Top-25, begins its season on Monday, November 6 against Dartmouth (9:00p.m. ET).