ACC Basketball: All-time starting five for each program (1980-2019)

Virginia Cavaliers

PG – Malcolm Brogdon (2011-2016)

At 6-foot-5, he may not be a traditional point guard, but he played a bunch of it in college so I’ll seize the opportunity. Brogdon, the 2016 ACC Player of the Year,  was one of Tony Bennett’s first big recruiting wins, pulling the late-blooming guard out of Atlanta. He contributed right away for the Wahoos but was forced to redshirt his sophomore season due to a foot injury. He came back and really never missed a beat.

In his final three seasons, the Cavaliers won the ACC regular-season title twice and finished second once. In the four seasons in which he played, UVA went 111-29 overall. Since 2000, only Greivis Vasquez and Julius Hodge, along with Brogdon, have put up 1,800 points, 550 rebounds, 330 assists, and 100 steals. Brog was a 3x All-ACC selection as well as the 2016 ACC Defensive Player of the Year.

Brogdon was selected 36th in the 2016 NBA draft by the Milwaukee Bucks. He went on to become the lowest selected player in NBA draft history to win Rookie of the Year.

SG – Bryant Stith (1988-1992)

Another member of the 2,500 point club, Stith was a fantastic jump shooter. The fewest points Stith ever averaged was 15.5 as a freshman and averaged over 20 twice in his career. He was the 1989 ACC Rookie of the Year and a 3x All-ACC selection. His 2,516 points place him fourth on the ACC’s all-time list while his 856 field goals made place him third.

Stith was selected 13th overall in the 1992 NBA draft by the Denver Nuggets. He was a key component in the 1993-94 Nuggets team that upset the No. 1 seed Seattle Supersonics featuring Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton. In 586 career games, he averaged 10 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2 assists per game.

F – De’Andre Hunter (2017-2019)

The one-man zone buster. The man who hit possibly the most important shot in Virginia basketball history. It remains to be seen whether or not Hunter will be a force in the NBA, but when a man goes 66-5 over the course of his career playing in the ACC, you give him his due.

Hunter’s career totals will never wow you, but to watch him play was a thing of beauty that needs to be appreciated. He made it impossible or simply illogical to zone Virginia on one end and he was going to lock down your best player on the other.

Hunter followed up his 2018 Sixth Man of the Year award with a 2019 Defensive Player of the Year Award and an All-ACC Selection. He was just selected fourth overall by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2019 NBA Draft.

PF – Junior Burrough (1991-1995)

Burrough is another player I remember watching in that 1995 Tournament. His team lost to that Arkansas team a couple of rounds after Moten’s. JB was the leading scorer on what is probably Jeff Jones’ best-ever college basketball team. The Elite Eight Wahoos of 1995 featured Burrough, Harold Dean, Curtis Staples, and Cory Alexander.

The 2x All-ACC selection logged 1,970 points and 929 rebounds in his 129 career games. He was selected 33rd in the 1995 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics.

C – Ralph Sampson (1979-1983)

The GOAT. Another man who needs more than one trophy case. 3x ACC Player of the Year, 3x Naismith Award winner, 3x Rupp Trophy winner, 2x Wooden Award winner and it goes on and on. Sampson averaged a double-double in each of his four seasons in Charlottesville. He finished his career with 2,225 points and 1,511 rebounds. We can throw in the 462 blocks for good measure. Since 1992-93, do you know how many players have done that in the ACC? How about the country? The answer is the same for both. Zero.

Sampson was selected 1st overall in the 1983 NBA draft by the Houston Rockets. He formed the “Twin Towers” with Hakeem Olajuwon when The Dream was selected the following year. In 1987, Sampson suffered a knee injury that was the first of many, cutting down a man that could have been one of the greatest to have ever played the game. Being one of the best in college basketball history isn’t a bad consolation prize.

Others considered: Curtis Staples, Sean Singletary, Joe Harris, Anthony Gill, Harold Deane, Cory Alexander, Mike Scott, and Olden Polynice.