We’re entering the home stretch of the regular season, and teams need their best players to lead the way to the post-season — or at least to a respectable finish.
As awards season approaches, let’s take a look at the likely most valuable player for each ACC team and the short list of candidates for first-team All-ACC honors. Not surprisingly, Duke’s Nolan Smith and Boston College’s top the list. Their head-to-head stats are eerily similar, with Smith claiming a slight edge. That advantage — and Duke’s position in first place — will likely give Smith the conference player of the year title.
To pick team MVPs, I took a look at the players’ statistics and Total Impact Quotient ratings, which do a good job of highlighting a player’s relative importance to his team. So here we go.
Candidates for First-Team All-ACC
- Nolan Smith, Duke
- Reggie Jackson, Boston College
- Jordan Williams, Maryland
- Malcolm Delaney, Virginia Tech
- Jerai Grant, Clemson
- Iman Shumpert, Georgia Tech
- Jeff Allen, Virginia Tech
- John Henson, North Carolina
- Mason Plumlee, Duke
- Chris Singleton, Florida State
- Kyle Singler, Duke
Boston College MVP Candidate
Reggie Jackson: 18.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists, 1.1 steals in 33.8 minutes per game. Plus 50.8 percent shooting, 79.2 percent free throw shooting and 43.4 percent three-point shooting. TIQ of 11.6, No. 6 among ACC guards.
Clemson MVP Candidate
Jerai Grant: 12.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 1.0 steals, 2.4 blocks in 26.4 minutes per game. Plus 58.3 percent shooting and 71.6 percent free throw shooting. TIQ of 16.9, No. 1 among ACC forwards.
Duke MVP Candidate
Nolan Smith: 21.4 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.5 steals in 33.4 minutes per game. Plus 48.1 percent shooting, 82.3 percent free throw shooting and 36.5 percent three-point shooting. TIQ of 10.2, No. 8 among ACC guards.
Florida State MVP Candidate
Chris Singleton: 13.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 2.1 steals, 1.6 blocks in 30.2 minutes per game. Plus 44.3 percent shooting, 67.5 free throw percent shooting and 37.5 percent three-point shooting. TIQ of 11.3, No. 12 among ACC forwards.
Georgia Tech MVP Candidate
Iman Shumpert: 17.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 2.7 steals in 31.9 minutes per game. Plus 40.9 percent shooting and 80.7 percent free throw shooting. TIQ of 14.2, No. 2 among ACC guards.
Maryland MVP Candidate
Jordan Williams: 17.1 points, 11.7 rebounds, 0.6 assists, 1.2 blocks per game. Plus 54.9 percent shooting. TIQ of 19.0, No. 2 among ACC centers.
Miami MVP Candidate
Reggie Johnson: 12.2 points, 9.5 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 1.3 blocks in 25.1 minutes per game. Plus 58.3 percent shooting and 69.0 percent free throw shooting. TIQ of 19.4, No. 1 among ACC centers.
North Carolina MVP Candidate
John Henson: 11.4 points, 9.0 rebounds, 0.9 assists, 3.0 blocks in 24.4 minutes per game. Plus 53.7 percent shooting. TIQ of 13.6, No. 6 among ACC forwards.
North Carolina State MVP Candidate
C.J. Leslie: 11.4 points, 7.5 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 1.4 blocks in 24.3 minutes per game. Plus 45.2 percent shooting. TIQ of 13.0, No. 8 among ACC forwards.
Virginia MVP Candidate
Mustapha Farrakhan: 13.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists in 30.5 minutes per game. Plus 43.2 percent shooting, 76.7 percent free throw shooting and 36.4 percent three-point shooting. TIQ of 7.9, No. 17 among ACC guards.
Virginia Tech MVP Candidate
Malcolm Delaney: 19.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.6 steals in 38.0 minutes per game. Plus 43.0 percent shooting, 87.3 free throw shooting and 42.0 three-point shooting. TIQ of 7.8, No. 18 among ACC guards.
Wake Forest Team MVP Candidate
C.J. Harris: 11.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists in 32.6 minutes per game. Plus 41.0 percent shooting, 83.6 percent free throw shooting and 38.6 three-point shooting. TIQ of 9.4, No. 10 among ACC guards.
