Syracuse was picked to finish second in the ACC behind Duke at ACC basketball media day. SU forward CJ Fair was selected as ACC Preseason Player of the Year after leading the Orange in scoring (14.5 ppg) and rebounding (7.0 rpg) in his junior season.
Syracuse received three first place votes, while Duke received 50 of 54 first place votes. North Carolina rounded out the top three, receiving the other top vote. Fair received 17 votes, narrowly edging Virginia’s Joe Harris, who finished with 16 first place votes.
The two were also named to the ACC First Team, along with Duke’s Rodney Hood and Jabari Parker, and Notre Dame’s Jerian Grant, the older brother of Syracuse sophomore Jerami Grant. Parker was named the Preseason Rookie of the Year, while Syracuse guard Tyler Ennis received a vote.
It was an auspicious day for the old Big East, which also featured No. 5 Notre Dame and No. 6 Pittsburgh. Louisville, who will join the ACC in 2014, would likely have been in the top six, as well.
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ACC Basketball 2013-14 Preseason Poll
(First place votes in parenthesis)
1. Duke (50), 805
2. Syracuse (3), 773
3. North Carolina (1), 668
4. Virginia, 612
5. Notre Dame, 08
6. Pittsburgh, 477
7. Maryland, 473
8. Boston College, 457
9. Florida State, 334
10. NC State, 332
11. Georgia Tech, 311
12. Miami, 224
13. Wake Forest, 220
14. Clemson, 141
15. Virginia Tech, 65
2013-14 Preseason All-ACC Team
CJ Fair, Syracuse
Joe Harris, Virginia
Rodney Hood, Duke
Jerian Grant, Notre Dame
Jabari Parker, Duke
ACC Preseason Player of the Year
CJ Fair, Syracuse
ACC Preseason Rookie of the Year
Jabari Parker, Duke
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