With the ACC regular season over and done, it's time to go back and give a few awards for the season.
Player of the Year: Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina. Only Antawn Jamison, Tim Duncan and Horace Grant have led the ACC in both scoring and rebounding in the same season over the past 25 years. All three of those guys went on to win the Player of the Year in the ACC (two won the national award).
Coach of the Year: Dino Gaudio, Wake Forest. Va Tech's Seth Greenberg or Miami's Frank Haith may win it (and they would deserve it). But Gaudio came into such a tough situation with a team that hadn't been very good lately. Sure, the magic of the win over Duke was dampered a bit with the ensuing four game losing skid, but this was a big year for
All-ACC Team: Hansbrough, Tyrese Rice (BC), DeMarcus Nelson (Duke), Sean Singletary (UVa) and Greivis Vasquez (UMd). Either this was a great year for guards or a poor year for big men. Either way, Rice and Singletary have been the lone reasons to pay attention to either of their teams. Vasquez, a sophomore, has really stepped into his leadership role at Maryland. Nelson fills the customary senior swingman spot on this team. Just like Vasquez, Nelson's leadership has meant more to Duke than his abilities ... and that is saying quite a bit!
Freshman of the Year: Kyle Singler, Duke. I have been on the J.J. Hickson bandwagon for most of the year, but his value to a bad NC State team doesn't hold a candle to what Singler has done at Duke. Singler has been forced to be the Blue Devils' big man at times due to injuries and ineffectiveness of what they have down low. In turn, he's become a tough matchup on the other end.
Game of the Year: North Carolina 103-Clemson 93, 2 OT. This game had great play from both teams, a huge run for the Tar Heels at the end of regulation and big shots in the first overtime. It also saw poor FT shooting and Clemson cooling off in the final OT.
Moment of the Year: Dorenzo Hudson, Virginia Tech. Anything more odd than Hudson yakking all over the court?
Surprise of the Year (Team): Miami. Respect due to Wake Forest and Virginia Tech, but Miami was picked last by many people before the season started. Now, this team is set to go to the NCAA tournament by using the Duke Philosophy: great defense and hitting the three.
Surprise of the Year (Player): James Johnson, Wake Forest. He didn't get the hype like many other freshmen did, but Johnson's play helped give the Deacons a shot at the NCAAs. Going into the weekend, he leads all freshmen in scoring and is 3rd in the entire ACC in rebounding.
Disappointment of the Year (Team): NC State. The Wolfpack were slated to be the #3 team behind UNC and Duke. They've never come close. Losing their last eight games and finished last in the conference wasn't in the plans.
Disappointment of the Year (Player): Brandon Costner, NC State. I had Costner pegged to be a darkhorse of ACC Player of the Year before the season started. With the addition of Hickson, Costner became lost in the offense and a dud. He still has all the skills to have a great career in Raleigh, but they need to figure out how to use them better.
