Tar Heels get top AP honors for RJ Davis and coach Hubert Davis to headline all-ACC team
North Carolina guard RJ Davis is the unanimous choice as The Associated Press men's basketball player of the year in the Atlantic Coast Conference, while the Tar Heels' Hubert Davis was voted as coach of the year.
Wake Forest guard Hunter Sallis, a transfer from Gonzaga, was named the newcomer of the year in balloting released Tuesday from 15 journalists who cover the ACC.
RJ Davis, a 6-foot senior, and Hubert Davis claimed top honors after helping No. 4 North Carolina win the ACC regular-season title outright for the first time since 2017. RJ Davis led the ACC in scoring at 21.1 points per game and has twice been selected as the AP national player of the week this season.
Hubert Davis earned 10 votes, with Syracuse's Adrian Autry the only other coach to receive two votes.
A year after missing the NCAA Tournament, the Tar Heels became only the second team to reach 17 league wins in a season since the league expanded its schedule to 18- and 20-game slates. They are the No. 1 seed in this week's ACC Tournament.
Sallis averaged 18.3 points in helping the Demon Deacons contend for an NCAA Tournament bid. He received six votes to edge Notre Dame freshman Markus Burton (five) for the league's top newcomer.
RJ Davis and Sallis were part of an all-ACC first team that featured three big men, including Duke's Kyle Filipowski and Clemson's PJ Hall as first-team picks on 14 of 15 ballots. North Carolina big man Armando Bacot and Virginia guard Reece Beekman rounded out the first team after tying for the last spot.
FIRST TEAM
u-RJ Davis, North Carolina, 6-0, 180, Sr., White Plains, New York.
Kyle Filipowski, Duke, 7-0, 248, So., Westtown, New York.
PJ Hall, Clemson, 6-10, 238, Sr., Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest, 6-5, 185, Jr., Omaha, Nebraska.
t-Armando Bacot, North Carolina, 6-11, 240, Gr., Richmond, Virginia.
t-Reece Beekman, Virginia, 6-3, 194, Sr., Milwaukee.
u-unanimous selection; t-tied for final spot
SECOND TEAM
Judah Mintz, Syracuse, 6-4, 185, So., Fort Washington, Maryland.
Blake Hinson, Pittsburgh, 6-8, 230, Sr., Deltona, Florida.
Norchad Omier, Miami, 6-7, 240, Jr., Bluefields, Nicaragua.
DJ Horne, North Carolina State, 6-2, 180, Gr., Raleigh, North Carolina.
t-Quinten Post, Boston College, 7-0, 235, Gr., Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
t-Jeremy Roach, Duke, 6-2, 180, Sr., Leesburg, Virginia.
t-tied for final spot.
INDIVIDUAL HONORS
Coach of the year – Hubert Davis, North Carolina
Player of the year – RJ Davis, North Carolina
Newcomer of the year – Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest
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AP All-ACC voting panel: Mike Barber, The Richmond (Virginia) Times-Dispatch; Rodd Baxley, Fayetteville (North Carolina) Observer; Mark Berman, The Roanoke (Virginia) Times; Chad Bishop, Atlanta Journal-Constitution; Rick Bozich, WDRB-TV, Louisville, Kentucky; Donna Ditota, The Post-Standard of Syracuse, New York; Jerry DiPaola, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review; Chapel Fowler, The State of Columbia, South Carolina; Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald; Kevin McNamara, WPRO, Providence, Rhode Island; Tom Noie, South Bend (Indiana) Tribune; J.B. Ricks, Spectrum News, Raleigh, North Carolina; Kate Rogerson, WTVD-TV, Durham, North Carolina; Jack Williams, Tallahassee Democrat, Tallahassee, Florida; Steve Wiseman, The Herald-Sun of Durham, North Carolina.
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