ACC Analytics 2019 All-ACC Teams, led by Zion Williamson and De'Andre Hunter

Oh, boy. The last four-five months have absolutely flown by in another college basketball season. Let’s cut through the preamble and get right to the ACC Analytics Page’s All-ACC teams: First, Second, Third, Honorable Mention, Freshman and Defense.

(Note: There 15 teams in the ACC; some of those teams are very, very good — some, not so much. There are a lot of players to choose from for a finite number of spots. This is a tricky process, and some deserving players will be left off, unfortunately. The game is the game.)

First Team

Zion Williamson, Duke

This was the year of Zion Williamson in college basketball — or basketball, period. The hype, which started early, was justifiable, too. Williamson is arguably the best NBA prospect since LeBron James back in 2003; he also doubles as the best offensive player in the country and the best defensive player in the nation, too.

Williamson put up a comical stat line: 21.6 points (10 double-doubles), 8.8 rebounds (12.5 per 40 minutes), 2.2 steals, 1.8 blocks and 2.2 assists. There’s nothing this guy can’t do on the basketball court (13.2 percent offensive rebound rate); he was the most disruptive help defender in the country — blowing up opponent pick-and-rolls and protecting the rim — while scoring at will, especially around the basket.

On post-up possessions, according to Synergy Sports, Zion shot 77 percent and scored over 1.3 points per possession — both of which rank No. 1 in the nation.

Williamson, who tallied 52 dunks in 26 games (2.8 per 40 minutes), shot 72.7 percent at the rim in the half court — scoring 1.48 points per possession. These are monster numbers, both of which rank in the top 15 nationally. Even against the best defenders the ACC had to offer, he was virtually unstoppable — scoring 1.13 points per possession on isolations (No. 2 in the ACC).

This dude never disappointed; he showed up and played hard every game — popping off the screen or court with unprecedented aesthetics, and the numbers to match. Sometimes you would see all of it — the motor, power, defensive prowess, handles and explosive finishing — in one single burst. It was amazing.

He’s so special.

Duke lost just twice this year when Zion was able to play 15+ minutes: Gonzaga (22 points, 10 rebounds, 4 blocks, 2 steals, 2 assists) and Syracuse when Tre Jones got hurt (35 points, 11-of-15 2PA, 10 rebounds, 4 blocks). Put this guy on the floor, and this is one of the best teams in modern college basketball.

De’Andre Hunter, Virginia

I’ve made my case clear all season: De’Andre Hunter is a bonafide star, an amazing two-way NBA prospect and the second best player in the ACC.

Hunter returned to Charlottesville for his redshirt sophomore season and put together a spotless campaign. On offense, Hunter is a marvel of efficiency; in the 2018-19 season, he averaged 15.2 points on 63.1 percent true shooting with a usage rate around 24 percent.

Hunter’s face-up game — jab step, rocker step — is his bread and butter; it’s also what Virginia can go to when its half-court offense bogs down. Throw the ball to him at the nail or elbow and let him go to work. According to Synergy, Hunter posted an effective shooting clip of 56.8 percent on half-court jump shots this season.

However, Hunter can shoot/score from all three levels of the floor — while also avoiding turnovers (1.7 per 40 minutes). That package, along with his steady defense, are why he’s such a coveted NBA prospect. On catch-and-shoot attempts, Hunter (50 3P% in ACC play, No. 1 in the league) posted an effective shooting clip of 67.3 percent — No. 6 in the ACC.

Hunter’s passing took a leap this season, too. It will never be at the top of his scouting report, but Hunter showed the ability to make simple reads (15 percent assist rate) on face-up drives or over the top of the defense.

Once again:

Outside of the impact numbers, Hunter is the perfect cog for Virginia’s defense, which wants to avoid fouls and defend late into the clock. Hunter (2.5 fouls per 40 minutes) is long and can slide gracefully with a variety of player types — just ask future pros Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Coby White. (He spent time on Kerry Blackshear Jr. in the Virginia Tech games, too.)

For whatever it’s worth, I think — as Hunter moves to the pros — there’s untapped potential for him to emerge as a better stocks player.

RJ Barrett, Duke

When it comes to offensive production, few players in the country are more industrious than Duke’s RJ Barrett, who led the ACC in scoring (23.4 points), usage rate (32.7 percent) and field goals (269). He also ranked second in the conference with 188 free throw attempts.

https://twitter.com/DukeMBBStats/status/1103051875283279872

Playing next to the supernova that is Zion Williamson, would force a lot of players into the shadows; however, that wasn’t the case with Barrett. At this point, Duke’s offense isn’t the most creative; a lot was asked of Barrett to simply make things happen.

Barrett scored 0.85 points per possession (45.7 eFG%) on isolation possessions and 0.87 points per possession from the pick-and-roll, per Synergy.

There’s no doubt he can get to the midrange and score; Barrett shot 40 percent on 2-point attempts away from the rim — only 23 percent of which were assisted on. Late in the season, however, with Williamson out, Barrett became a dynamo at getting to the rim.

At times, Barrett’s playmaking and vision have been nitpicked, but for a freshman that’s yet to turn 19, he’s shown potential. By the end of the season, Duke ran plenty of flat 1-5 ball screens and let him facilitate.

Over Duke’s final seven games, Barrett averaged 5.8 assists per contest; in ACC play, he ranked ninth in assist rate (25.1 percent) and handed out 4.8 dimes per 40 minutes.

Ty Jerome, Virginia

Ty Jerome was already a really good basketball player a year ago, but one could easily make the case he’s the league’s most improved player, too. Across the board, Jerome’s output increased — a nice blend of high-usage and efficiency.

For the season, Jerome posted a top-50 assist rate (32.8 percent) while leading the conference during ACC play in that statistic (35.6 percent, 10.6 assists per 100 possessions).

As good as his passing and floor game are, Jerome is a serious bucket-getter, too. The junior guard averaged 13.5 points per game on 55.1 percent effective shooting. He got to the free throw line more frequently this season (3.3 FTA per 40 minutes), and even if he can’t get all the way to the rim Jerome has a potent floater to use as a weapon, too.

All Jerome needs is an angle, which should serve him well as defenders get faster and longer in the NBA; according to Synergy, Jerome shot 53.1 percent of floater attempts inside of nine feet.

Jerome also has incredible shooting range; Tony Bennett has clearly given him the green light, too. Once upon a time, early-clock 3-pointers where mythical for UVA hoops. That’s no longer the case.

From the half court, Virginia likes to run a lot of mover-blocker offense, or attack with its continuity ball screen approach. As Bennett and the Cavaliers diversified the offense — using more ball screens — Jerome continued to excel.

Few players in the country are more adept at shooting on the move than Jerome (42.4 3P%). The arrival of Kihei Clark allowed Jerome to get off ball more this season, which proved pivotal for Virginia’s offense. Through a combination of screen and dribble utilization, Jerome seems to always create enough space.

According to Synergy, Jerome scored 1.48 points per possession (73.6 eFG) on catch-and-shoots this season, which ranks No. 1 in the ACC — above Cameron Johnson, Kyle Guy and Coby White.

There’s more of that, too — this time against a man-to-man concept. He’s so good coming off screens, looking to score, even when an excellent defender, like Nickeil Alexander-Walker, closes out quickly.

Cameron Johnson, North Carolina

North Carolina’s Cameron Johnson is more than just a good story. Finally healthy, Johnson emerged as one of the most efficient offensive players (62.9 eFG%) in the country this season.

Early on, Johnson (46.9 3P%) established himself as a go-to guy for UNC, and never let up: 16.8 points per game (20.8 percent usage). He’s one of 15 Division I players (three from the ACC) shooting over 45 percent on 3-pointers with at least 150 3-point attempts. Similar to Ty Jerome and Kyle Guy, Johnson needs little time to get a shot off, too.

Watch how quickly he gets his feet set here.

During ACC play, Johnson led the conference with an offensive rating of 132.5, according to KenPom. For the season, he scored 1.32 points per possession (65.9 eFG%) on spot-ups — a top-25 number nationally, which also ranked No. 2 in the ACC.

Along with Guy and Jerome, Johnson was one of the league’s elite off-screen scorers. According to Synergy, Johnson posted a ridiculous 74 percent effective shooting clip on said possessions.

This kind of movement and accuracy allowed North Carolina to feature Johnson in a variety of methods, including one of their pet action: elevator door screens from a vintage UNC box set. (They brought this back in the home finale against Duke, too.)

Here he is again off that weak-side stagger-screen look. This right here — the ability to square his feet and hips (healthy now) — is an NBA-level move.

Johnson may have the profile of a pure catch-and-shoot weapon, which includes a turnover rate of just 10.3 percent in conference action; however, he did other stuff, too. In the half court, Johnson shot 37.5 percent (45.3 eFG%) off the dribble and 57.7 percent at the rim.

At 6-foot-9, Johnson’s defense is mostly fine (it’s certainly not a major weakness), but he did manage to record a steal rate of 2.1 percent in ACC play (No. 23).

Second Team

Kerry Blackshear Jr., Virginia Tech

14.5 points (36.5 3P%, 59.7 TS%), 7.2 rebounds (14.6 percent offensive rebound rate in ACC play)
Post-ups: 1.07 points per possession (55.4 eFG%)
Pick-and-pops: 1.15 points per possession (59.6 eFG%)
3.2 assists per 40 minutes in ACC games (19.2 percent assist rate)
119.6 offensive rating, 4.2 percent block rate

Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Virginia Tech

16.6 points, 3.9 assists (4.6 per 40 minutes, 24.3 percent assist rate), 111.4 offensive rating
STOCKS: 1 of 23 Division I players with 15 blocks, 50 steals (2.3 per 40 minutes)

Spot-ups: 1.12 points per possession (59.8 eFG%)
Virginia Tech: 1.06 points per possession (53.8 eFG%) when Alexander-Walker passed out of the pick-and-roll

Coby White, North Carolina

16.3 points (26.8 percent usage rate, 57.7 TS%), 4.1 assists (5.9 per 40 minutes)
27.6 minutes per game; UNC’s offense: top-10 in adjusted efficiency and tempo/pace

6.9 FTA per 40 minutes (82.3 FT% in ACC play), 4.4 fouls drawn per 40 minutes

Catch-and-shoot 3PA, per Synergy: 47.8 3P% (37.9 3P% overall)
Spot-ups: 1.31 points per possession (67.2 eFG%)

Kyle Guy, Virginia

15.3 points (21.2 percent usage rate), 60.7 eFG%, 4.5 rebounds
Off screens, per Synergy Sports: 131 points (No. 1 in the ACC), 1.05 points per possession (54.5 eFG%)

Catch-and-shoots: 1.27 points per possession (63.2 eFG%)

Third in the ACC in 3PA (215, 8.4 per 40 minutes), first in 3-pointers (97)

Marcquise Reed, Clemson

19.4 points (28.7 percent usage), 57 percent true shooting, 5.7 FTA per 40 minutes
Isolations: 1.15 points per possession (56.6 eFG%), No. 1 in the ACC (minimum 20 possessions)
Spot-ups: 1.21 points per possession (60.6 eFG%), No. 73 in the nation (minimum 100 possessions)
3.9 percent steal rate in ACC play, No. 1 in the conference

Third Team

Jordan Nwora, Louisville

17.3 points (26.4 percent usage rate), 7.7 rebounds, 71 3-pointers (37.2 3P%)
21.8 percent defensive rebound rate, No. 148 in the country
Pick-and-pops, per Synergy: 1.6 points per possession (92.3 eFG%)
Spot-ups: 185 points (No. 2 in the ACC), 1.03 points per possession (55 eFG%)

27 dunks, 54 FG% at the rim in the half court

Ky Bowman, Boston College

19.2 points per game (26.4 percent usage rate), 7.5 rebounds, 4 assists
39.4 minutes per game, played in 99 percent of Boston College’s ACC minutes
Range shooting: 40 3P% in ACC play, 78 3-pointers total
Off dribble, per Synergy: 117 points (0.78 per possession), No. 4 in the ACC
18.4 percent defensive rebound rate, eight double-doubles

John Mooney, Notre Dame

14.1 points (24.6 percent usage rate, 55.4 TS%), 11.2 rebounds, 1 of 6 Division I players averaging 14 points and 11 rebounds
30.7 percent defensive rebound rate, No. 4 in the country; 32.6 percent defensive rebound rate in conference play, No. 1 in the ACC
Put-backs: 1.22 points per possession (63.6 FG%)

Terance Mann, Florida State

11.5 points (18.6 percent usage rate, 56.8 eFG%), 6.2 rebounds (9.5 percent offensive rebound rate), 2.5 assists, 43.9 3P% in ACC play (No. 4)
61 percent true shooting, 42.4 percent free throw attempt rate
Spot-ups: 1.07 points per possession (57.6 eFG%)
33 dunks (64.3 FG% at the rim, transition and half court)

Luke Maye, North Carolina

14.6 points (22.9 percent usage rate), 10.5 rebounds (13.6 per 40 minutes)
18 games with 10+ rebounds

108.5 offensive rating, 51.8 percent true shooting
Post-ups: 1.02 points per possession (48.1 FG%)
15.3 percent assist rate in ACC play

Honorable Mention

Mfiondu Kabengele, Florida State

Chris Lykes, Miami

Markell Johnson, NC State

Dwayne Sutton, Louisville

Christen Cunningham, Louisville

Torin Dorn, NC State