(With the ACC tournament set to get under way in Greensboro, the FOX Sports Carolinas staff weighs in on its regular season conference awards and All-ACC teams.)
Player Of The Year: Shane Larkin, Miami
The son of Hall of Fame shortstop Barry Larkin more than made a name for himself in leading the Hurricanes to their first regular-season title since 2000. He averaged 13.7 points and 4.4 assists a game and in the games that define an ACC player (Duke and North Carolina), he averaged 18 points per game.
Coach Of The Year: Jim Larranaga, Miami
He took a team that was unranked in the preseason and led it to a conference title, a run that also saw Miami become the first team since the ACC was founded in 1953 to beat Duke and North Carolina by 25 points in the same season.
Rookie Of The Year: Olivier Hanlan, Boston College
He has strong backcourt mate in fellow freshman Joe Rahon, but it’s Hanlan that gets the nod. The 6-foot-4 guard led all ACC freshman in scoring -- and ranked eighth overall – at 14.6 ppg and was sixth in minutes per game (34.0).
All-ACC Team
Mason Plumlee, Duke
Erick Green, Virginia Tech
Shane Larkin, Miami
Joe Harris, Virginia
Richard Howell, N.C. State
Player of the Year: Erick Green, Virginia Tech
The target of every defense Virginia Tech faced, Green led the nation in scoring even though he never played like someone trying to rack up points. He was unselfish, patient and was an excellent teammate. Green also scored nightly in a variety of ways, showing an amazing range to his game.
Coach of the Year: Jim Larranaga, Miami
Larranaga sewed up this honor weeks ago even before the Hurricanes opened with a 13-0 record in ACC play. Larranaga has taken a team of older players that have never played in an NCAA Tournament game to an outright ACC regular season title. No other coach stood a chance.
Rookie of the Year: T.J. Warren, N.C. State
Although Warren failed to score in three ACC games, he was good enough in the other 15 contests to earn this recognition. He scored 20 or more points five times this season, including a high of 31, and in the last seven games he has averaged 14.7 points and 7.1 rebounds for the Wolfpack.
All-ACC Team
Erick Green, Virginia Tech
Joe Harris, Virginia
Shane Larkin, Miami
Mason Plumlee, Duke
Lorenzo Brown, N.C. State
Player of the Year: Erick Green, Virginia Tech
Since this is a POY award, and not a Most Valuable Player coronation for the biggest asset from the conference champion, I'll side with Virginia Tech's Green here. For the season, Green posted 30 straight outings of double-digit scoring, eight conference games of 50-percent-or-better shooting and an ACC scoring title that has essentially academic since the end of January.
Coach Of the Year: Jim Larranaga, Miami
In hindsight, Miami fields one of the country's most athletic, experienced and versatile starting fives, justifying the program's top-10 ranking for the last two months. But Larranaga, who coached George Mason to an amazing Final Four run in 2006 (beating Michigan State, North Carolina and No. 1 Connecticut along the way), still deserves a ton of credit for shaping the Hurricanes into an ACC champ and national-title contender.
Rookie of the Year: Olivier Hanlan, Boston College
Has it really been 13 years since Troy Bell -- Boston College's last Newcomer of the Year recipient -- burst onto the scene? Well, it's time for the Eagles to get their due again with Hanlan (14.6 points, 4.2 rebounds per game), who tallied 26 double-digit scoring efforts and led BC to a respectable finish in conference play -- featuring three straight wins over Virginia, Clemson and Georgia Tech.
All-ACC Team
Erick Green, Virginia Tech
Michael Snaer, Florida State
Mason Plumlee, Duke
Richard Howell, N.C. State
Kenny Kadji, Miami
