Pitt is ranked seventh in the ACC preseason poll, and Panthers senior guard Ishmael Leggett was named to the All-ACC second team, according to voting from a panel of 54 voters released Tuesday.
Leggett averaged 12.3 points, 5.5 rebounds (No. 1 among all conference guards), 1.9 assists, and 1.3 steals per game last season on his way to be named the ACC Sixth Man of the Year. He led the Panthers in rebounding and steals (41), made 35 3-pointers and shot 85.9% from the free-throw line.
The news was released on the ACC Network, and analyst Seth Greenberg believes Leggett and Pitt sophomore Jaland Lowe will be a productive guard tandem for coach Jeff Capel while the Panthers try to overcome the loss of Bub Carrington to the NBA.
“I am very high on this Pitt backcourt,” Greenberg said. “I think they are connected.”
North Carolina guard R.J. Davis was picked preseason pPlayer of the year while Duke’s Cooper Flagg is projected to be rookie of the year. Davis received 40 of 54 votes, and Flagg (10), Wake Forest’s Hunter Sallis (three) and Stanford’s Maxime Raynaud (one) also received consideration.
Flagg received 53 of 54 votes in the ROY balloting, with Jeremiah Wilkinson of California getting the other.
Greenberg said Flagg, a 6-foot-9 forward with a 7-foot wing span, can be a shot blocker and a 3-point shooter.
“He can also beat you off the bounce. To me, he’s ridiculously complete,” Greenberg said.
Joining Davis and Flagg on the projected first team are Markus Burton of Notre Dame, Nigel Pack of Miami and Hunter Sallis of Wake Forest.
Clemson’s Ian Schieffelin and Chase Hunter, Jamir Watkins of Florida State and Baye Ndongo of Georgia Tech join Leggett on the second team.
Duke and North Carolina, ranked Nos. 7 and 9 in the Associated Press preseason poll, were picked to finish in that order at the top of the 18-team ACC. The Blue Devils received 42 votes and North Carolina 11. They are followed by Wake Forest, who received one first-place vote, Clemson, Virginia, Miami and Pitt.
Nos. 8-18 are N.C. State, Louisville, Notre Dame, Syracuse, Georgia Tech, SMU, Virginia Tech, Florida State, California, Stanford and Boston College.
