ACC Basketball has a lot of talent returning to the hardwood next season. Here’s a look at the Top 10 players returning in 2018-19.
The ACC saw nine teams selected to the NCAA Tournament in 2018, more than any other Power 5 conference in college basketball last season. While a lot of that talent is gone from the likes of Duke and North Carolina, there’s still some top talent returning in 2018-19. A few players have ACC Player of the Year candidate written all over them, they’ll just need to prove themselves.
There’s quite a talented group across the board for the ACC, especially for a team like the Virginia Cavaliers. One key returner for them is ACC Sixth Man of the Year De’Andre Hunter. The 6-foot-7 wing averaged 9.2 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.1 assists off the bench for the Cavaliers in 2017-18.
The Syracuse Orange will rely on forward Frank Howard to play a key role as they look to make another deep run in the NCAA Tournament. Howard put up 14.4 points, 4.7 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.8 steals per contest through 37 appearances.
The Notre Dame Fighting Irish may not make too much noise, but if they do Temple “T.J.” Gibbs will be a catalyst. He produced 15.3 points, 3.0 assists, 2.8 rebounds and 1.0 steals per game as a sophomore in 2017-18. Those are just some of the honorable mentions on this year’s list. Here’s a look at the Top 10 players returning in ACC basketball in 2018-19.