Wake Forest Athletics
Deacons Picked Fifth In Men's Hoops
10/29/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Oct. 29, 2001
Greensboro, N.C. - For the sixth straight season, Mike Krzyzewski's Duke Blue Devils were picked as the ACC preseason favorite by the media at the conference's annual Operation Basketball event on Sunday in Greensboro.
Duke, the defending National Champions, picked up 69 of the 74 first place votes. The only other team to receive first place votes was Maryland. The Terps, a Final Four team last season, garnered five votes and are predicted to finish second in the league race.
The last time Duke was not picked to win the ACC was 1996, when the Devils were predicted to finish fourth. This season marks the eighth year that the Blue Devils have been predicted to finish first.
Virginia was picked to finish third. The Cavaliers are coming off an NCAA Tournament season which saw the club finish with an overall record of 20-9.
For the first time in the history of the poll, North Carolina did not occupy one of the top three spots. The poll, which began in 1970, has had the Heels listed as the top team a league leading 15 times, but this year is different with Matt Doherty's team occupying the poll's fourth spot.
The Tar Heels raced to the nation's No. 1 ranking last season in Doherty's first year as head coach, but lost two major contributors off that team in Joseph Forte and Brendan Haywood. North Carolina advanced to the NCAA Tournament's second round last season before falling to Penn State.
ACC rookie head coach Skip Prosser's team was picked to finish fifth. Prosser's Wake Forest Demon Deacons will put one of the conference's most experienced teams on the floor in 2001-02. Wake Forest is also coming of an NCAA campaign from a year ago.
The ACC's sixth NCAA team from last season, Georgia Tech, was picked sixth. The Jackets under second-year head coach Paul Hewitt must find a way to replace center Alvin Jones. Jones leaves a hole in the middle for Tech as he was the ACC's leading rebounder and second leading shot blocker last season.
The final three spots were occupied by NC State (7th), Florida State (8th) and Clemson (9th).
Poll Facts
Over the past 32 years, the media's No. 1 or No. 2 ACC Operation Basketball pre-season picks have gone on to win the ACC's regular season championship 27 times (including ties). The media's No. 1 pick has won outright, or tied, for the regular season title 15 times while the No. 2 choice has gone on to finish first on 12 occasions. Only twice in the long and distinguished history of ACC Operation Basketball has the assembled multitudes of ACC media been fooled. In 1980 and 1996, Maryland and Georgia Tech, respectively, finished first after being penciled in by the media for the sixth spot.
2001-02 ACC Preseason Basketball Poll
1st Place Votes Points1. Duke 69 6612. Maryland 5 5963. Virginia 4834. North Carolina 4215. Wake Forest 4076. Georgia Tech 2547. NC State 2428. Florida State 1409. Clemson 126
