ACC Basketball: 3 reactions to All-ACC selections

1. Marvin Bagley III has really been that good

Bagley III led the votes for First Team All-ACC, ACC Player of the Year, and ACC Rookie of the Year. To do that, someone has to be a truly special player.

All season long (outside of that brief injury spell), the Duke freshman has been proving his mettle. Bagley III tied with Robinson for the conference lead in points, averaging 20.7 per game. He dominated in rebounds, though, averaging 11.2 per game, 1.1 more than Luke Maye. He also made 60.4% of his buckets from the field, good for second in the conference.

The Blue Devils are loaded and have one of the best coaches of all-time at their disposal; they would have been just fine had Bagley III not reclassified before the season.

But with him, they’re a national championship threat. He’s a strong contender to win the player of the year and rookie of the year awards on the national level.

The last Duke player (and only other freshman) to win ACC Player of the Year was Jahlil Okafor in 2014-15. That season, the Blue Devils went on to win the National Championship over Wisconsin, their most recent title.

Oh, and by the way, Duke now has one more conference Player of the Year than North Carolina – bragging rights restored.