Even in a top-heavy ACC that features seven teams ranked in the AP Top 25, Duke is the conference's preseason favorite.
The Blue Devils finished first in the ACC preseason media poll, pulling in 52 of the 121 first-place votes and 1,709 total points, just edging out Virginia for the top spot. The Cavaliers grabbed 47 first-place votes and topped North Carolina, which came in third. Syracuse, Virginia Tech and Clemson round out the top six, with the Orange and the Tigers each earning one first-place vote.
R.J. Barrett, the only Duke player represented on the league's preseason first team, earned preseason rookie of the year honors, leading a trio of Blue Devils who received votes. The Canadian got 76 All-ACC votes, trailing just Tar Heel senior Luke Maye and Syracuse's Tyus Battle. Barrett also finished second in preseason player of the year voting behind Maye, who got 50 votes to just 22 for Barrett.
The other members of the ACC's first team are the Cavaliers' Kyle Guy and Boston College's Ky Bowman.
Two of the Blue Devils' other freshmen earned some recognition. Zion Williamson barely missed out on the first team, pulling in 55 All-ACC votes to lead the league's second team. Williamson also picked up 15 player of the year votes and 43 freshman of the year votes. Cam Reddish earned four freshman of the year votes and one player of the year to round out Duke's presence on the preseason ballot.
Barrett, Williamson and Reddish topped the preseason rookie of the year voting. Barrett and Williamson combined for 109 to finish 1-2 and Reddish came in third with four. Eight total freshmen received votes in this category.
The full results from preseason voting can be seen below.
Order of finish
1. Duke (52 first-place votes) - 1709 points
2. Virginia (47) - 1699
3. North Carolina (20) - 1641
4. Syracuse (1) - 1268
5. Virginia Tech - 1187
6. Clemson (1) -1148
7. Florida State - 1127
8. N.C. State - 885
9. Notre Dame - 859
10. Miami - 816
11. Louisville - 735
12. Boston College - 568
13. Georgia Tech - 324
14. Wake Forest - 313
15. Pittsburgh - 241
Preseason All-ACC
First Team
Luke Maye, North Carolina (111 votes)
Tyus Battle, Syracuse (86)
RJ Barrett, Duke (76)
Kyle Guy, Virginia (62)
Ky Bowman, Boston College (58)
Second Team
Zion Williamson, Duke (55)
De'Andre Hunter, Virginia (32)
Justin Robinson, Virginia Tech (29)
Ty Jerome, Virginia (17)
Marcquise Reed, Clemson (16)
Preseason ACC Player of the Year
Luke Maye, North Carolina (50 votes)
RJ Barrett, Duke (22)
Zion Williamson, Duke (15)
Tyus Battle, Syracuse (11)
Ky Bowman, Boston College (7)
Kyle Guy, Virginia (5)
De'Andre Hunter, Virginia (4)
Ty Jerome, Virginia (2)
Justin Robinson, Virginia Tech (2)
Cam Reddish, Duke (1)
T.J. Gibbs, Notre Dame (1)
Jaylen Hoard, Wake Forest (1)
Preseason ACC Freshman of the Year
RJ Barrett, Duke (66 votes)
Zion Williamson, Duke (43)
Cam Reddish, Duke (4)
Jaylen Hoard, Wake Forest (3)
Coby White, North Carolina (2)
Jalen Carey, Syracuse (1)
Nate Laszewski, Notre Dame (1)
Jairus Hamilton, Boston College (1)
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Twitter: @mpgladstone13
A junior from just outside Philadelphia, Mitchell is probably reminding you how the Eagles won the Super Bowl this year and that the Phillies are definitely on the rebound. Outside of The Chronicle, he majors in Economics, minors in Statistics and is working toward the PJMS certificate, in addition to playing trombone in the Duke University Marching Band. And if you're getting him a sandwich with beef and cheese outside the state of Pennsylvania, you best not call it a "Philly cheesesteak."