Syracuse’s Edwards, Girard named to TJO Preseason All-ACC Team

Jesse-edwards
Syracuse basketball player Jesse Edwards at the 2022 ACC Tipoff in Charlotte, N.C., Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2022. (Photo by Nell Redmond/ACC)

As we head toward the start of the 2022-23 college basketball season, here are The Juice Online’s Preseason All-ACC Teams:

All-ACC First Team

Guard Isaiah Wong (Miami)
Guard Dariq Whitehead (Duke)
Forward Justyn Mutts (Virginia Tech)
Forward Jayden Gardner (UVA)
Center Armando Bacot (UNC)

Isaiah Wong – a veteran point guard goes a long way in the NCAA. Just ask Jeff Capel. Wong is back for another trip around the ACC, and adding Nijel Pack will only make Wong’s ability to create off pick-and-rolls and set plays even more dangerous. Wong will be an entertaining player this season and will play in the NBA Summer League in 2023. If he can get his free throw percentage back up into the 80 percent range, Miami will be a hard team to beat in the down-to-the-wire ACC games we have all come to love.

Dariq Whitehead – the No. 1 recruit in the country, Whitehead was the top recruit for a reason. Whitehead will be the next one-and-done star for Duke and ride off to the NBA in April as a top 5 pick in the upcoming draft. Whitehead accomplished all you could his senior year of high school; see McDonald’s All-American MVP. I expect him to show scouts across America why he will be a fantastic consolation prize for whoever does not get Scoot Henderson or Victor Wembanyama.

Justyn Mutts – Mutts returning to Blacksburg surprised me as he appeared set to enter the NBA draft. The NBA is a wing league, and if Mutts can develop his 3-point shot, he has the potential to be a great 3-and-D at the next level. Lucky for Hokie fans, Mutts will be looking to improve that long-range shot at Virginia Tech and not the G-league. Virginia Tech has the makings of a top-five team in the ACC this year, and Mutts looking to enhance his draft stock from a late second-rounder can potentially push them ahead of in-state rival UVA.

Jayden Gardner – The definition of a basketball Swiss Army knife. Gardner can guard all five positions and play on all three offensive levels. Gardner is a stud and the exact player we have known Tony Bennett to covet. UVA is back and will be a top-three team in the ACC; expect Gardner to be the star of the show in Charlottesville.

Armando Bacot – Despite most likely getting drafted last year, Armando Bacot is back in Chapel Hill to finish what Kansas prevented him from becoming. Was he filming Season 3 of Outer Banks with Netflix during the offseason? Yes. Will John B and Sarah Cameron affect Bacot’s season? No. Bacot is my choice for Pre-Season ACC Player of the Year. Bacot is everything you want in today’s NCAA, in terms of a center, and I expect him to pick up right where he left off in last year’s NCAA championship game.

» Related: 5 takeaways from 2022 Syracuse Basketball Media Day

All-ACC Second Team

Guard Terquavion Smith (NC State)
Guard Dane Goodwin (Notre Dame)
Forward Matthew Cleveland (Florida State)
Forward John Hugley (Pitt)
Center PJ Hall (Clemson)

All-ACC Third Team

Guard RJ Davis (UNC)
Guard Joseph Girard III (Syracuse)
Forward Jesse Edwards (Syracuse)
Forward Baba Miller (Florida State)
Center Dereck Lively (Duke)

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About Adam Silver Jr. 8 Articles
ACC and SEC by education, early 2000’s Big East at heart.