ACC Basketball News & Notes: Conference Plays Begins This Weekend

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The Atlantic Coast Conference begins league play this weekend after wrapping up the first ACC/SEC challenge. Heading into the challenge, the league had a non-conference record of 62-22 (73.8%). As the week began, the conference had three teams in the Associated Press Top 25 poll. Duke at #7, Miami at #8, and North Carolina at #17. The same three teams hold spots in the USA Today Coaches Poll. Here is some of the news of the week.

One of the pleasant stories that has made the rounds is that of Boston College (5-2) forward Quinton Post. The graduate student has gotten off to a great start for the Eagles. He has already been named Player of the Week in the ACC. He has also been named National Player of the Week as well. Both of those awards came on November 20. Post was also named to the All-Tournament Team of the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Classic. He averaged 23.3 points, 6.5 boards, and 2.5 assists. Post is key to whatever success the Eagles have this season. His ability to score in the paint will be a big help to BC. The Eagles begin league play on Saturday vs NC State.

The Rookie of the Week in the ACC comes from the Wolfpack (4-2). Dennis Parker Jr. averaged 12 points, 5.5 rebounds, and two assists in two games in the Las Vegas Showdown. In their win over Vanderbilt, he ended the game a rebound short of a double-double. He had 18 points and nine rebounds. As they begin conference play, the Wolfpack will try to end a two-game losing streak. In the Challenge, they lost by twenty to Ole Miss.

North Carolina (7-1) guard RJ Davis was named Co-Player of the Week in the ACC. At the Battles 4 Atlantis tournament Davis averaged 22 points and three assists as the Tar Heels went 2-1 in the event. Their stay in the tournament was capped off by a victory over Arkansas. In the challenge, the Tar Heels were winners over Tennessee. Armando Bacot starts league play as the active leader in points with 1,904, rebounds with 1,405, and blocked shots with 169. Davis is third in assists with 320. He is also third in scoring with 1,413 points.

The other Co-Player of the Week is Florida State’s (4-3) Jamir Watkins who was named the MVP of the Sunshine Slam. He averaged 18.5 points, 7.5 boards, six assists, and two steals. The Seminoles posted wins over UNLV and #18 Colorado. The Seminoles lead the league in steals with 59 in five games for an average of 11.80. However, in the challenge, the Seminoles blew a 17-point lead at home to Georgia and would lose to the Bulldogs.

Clemson (6-0) senior PJ Hall’s 29-point outing vs Alcorn State was the second-highest point total by a Tiger center in the last 30 years. Back on Jan.12, 2008, Trevor Booker scored 29 vs Florida State. Hall starts conference play as the third-best active shot blocker in the league with 89. He also leads the league in scoring at 21 points per game. In the challenge, the Tigers defeated the #23 Alabama Crimson Tide 85-77.

Miami’s (5-1) junior guard Nijel Pack was named MVP of the Baha Mar Hopps Bahamas Championship after averaging 22 points and shooting 47% from 3-point range. He broke the tournament record for total points with 44. He also broke the single-game scoring mark with his 29 points vs Kansas State. He is also second in the league in minutes played with 176 minutes in five games. He is averaging 35.11 a game. He starts conference play as the 4th active scorer in the league with 1,367 points In the challenge the Hurricanes lost to Kentucky.

Senior Forward Black Hinson of Pittsburgh (5-2) is averaging 19.2 points and 4.7 boards in seven games for the Panthers. He is third in the league in scoring at 19.17 points a game. He is tied for second in 3-point makes with 19, averaging 3.17 a game. He is the 4th active rebounder in the league with 471 In the challenge the Panthers lost to Missouri 71-64. Hinson had 22 points, however, the rest of the team had a difficult time putting the ball in the basket. The rest of the team shot 9-for-35 (,257%).

That begins our season-long look at the ACC with notes throughout the season.