10/12/2004 football Edit

Hoops Madness: Preseason 2nd Team All-ACC Picks

Justin Young

Devils Illustrated Editor

As the season approaches, so does the preseason chatter. In our second installment of a month long series of previews, we unveil the first round of All-ACC selections here at Devils Illustrated. Today, we release our picks for Second Team All-Conference. In this round, Duke sharp-shooter J.J. Redick gets the nod.

2nd Team

J.J. Redick, Duke

Raymond Felton, UNC

Jarrett Jack, Georgia Tech

John Gilchrist, Maryland

Sean May, UNC

Redick is a game changing shooter. When he’s coming off of screens, there isn’t anyone that can stop his deadly deep touch. The Duke sharp shooter has received national attention from the day he came to college. This year, his junior season, will need to be his best, especially with only eight scholarship players on Duke’s roster.

This is the year of the point guard in the ACC and the very best, judging by stats alone, is Felton. The UNC junior led the conference in assists (seven per game) last year. He has more weapons to work with this year (super frosh Marvin Williams) and experienced players around him to get the job done.

Jack came into his own last season, showing that he can score, pass, defend and rebound with the best of them. He has great size for a point guard and the NBA knows it. This is his season to audition for the game’s biggest stage. Along the way, he’ll be the anchor of Georgia Tech’s powerful offense.

Maryland has a tradition, of late, of putting out quality guards. Juan Dixon and Steve Blake are now on the NBA payroll. Gilchrist is doing a good job of making people aware that he can play at that level, too. The thick-chested point loves to attack the basket and utilize his ball handling skills to get his points and passes.

May is one of the best big men in the conference and that’s evident by his 9.8 rebounding average last year, tops in the ACC. Injuries have slowed him as has his fatigue issues. This summer he addressed those concerns and should be in the finest shape of his college career. That means bad news for the ACC once again.

3rd Team All-ACC