The Atlantic Coast Conference announced its men’s basketball preseason awards on Wednesday, with Duke freshman Jalen Johnson and sophomore Wendell Moore Jr., earning Preseason All-ACC honors.
Johnson was named to the first team, with Moore earning a spot on the second team. Duke was picked to finish second in the league’s predicted order of finish. All voting was conducted by media that cover the ACC.
A 6-9 forward from Milwaukee, Wis., Johnson is a five-star small forward and entered Duke as the 12th-ranked overall player in ESPN 100’s rankings for the class of 2020. He was rated as the No. 1 player in the state of Wisconsin and the No. 4 player at his position in the ESPN 100.
Moore is back after a strong freshman campaign that saw the Academic All-ACC pick from Charlotte play in 25 games with 11 starts, averaging 7.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.9 assists. Moore, whose late-game heroics were on display against North Carolina, upped his scoring and rebounding averages in ACC play to 8.0 points and 4.6 rebounds. In the 98-96 overtime win at UNC, Moore’s tip in at the buzzer was the game winner after Duke stormed back from 13 down in the final four minutes of regulation. Moore finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds for his first career double-double.
Both Moore and Johnson were tapped to the preseason watch list for the Julius Erving Small Forward of the Year Award.
Duke opens the 2020-21 season versus Gardner Webb at Cameron Indoor Stadium on November 25.
2020 Operation Basketball — Preseason Predicted Order of Finish
School, Points
- Virginia (97), 2214
- Duke (34), 2146
- Florida State (15), 1973
- North Carolina (7), 1933
- Louisville (2), 1693
- Syracuse, 1234
- Miami, 1223
- NC State, 1149
- Georgia Tech, 1147
- Clemson, 1057
- Virginia Tech, 794
- Notre Dame, 769
- Pitt, 635
- Boston College, 404
- Wake Forest, 229
First-place votes in parentheses; 155 total voters
Preseason All-ACC Team First Team
Name, School, Points
Garrison Brooks, North Carolina, 137
Sam Hauser, Virginia, 89
Scottie Barnes, Florida State, 59
Jalen Johnson, Duke, 52
Aamir Simms, Clemson, 50
Chris Lykes, Miami, 50
Preseason All-ACC Team Second Team
David Johnson, Louisville, 46
Jose Alvarado, Georgia Tech, 43
M.J. Walker, Florida State, 38
Kihei Clark, Virginia, 37
Wendell Moore Jr., Duke, 32
Preseason ACC Player of the Year
Name, School, Points
Garrison Brooks, North Carolina, 102
Sam Hauser, Virginia, 24
M.J. Walker, Florida State, 10
Wendell Moore Jr., Duke, 7
Aamir Simms, Clemson, 5
Matthew Hurt, Duke, 3
Chris Lykes, Miami, 3
Kihei Clark, Virginia, 1
Preseason ACC Freshman of the Year
Name, School, Points
Scottie Barnes, Florida State, 64
Jalen Johnson, Duke, 60
Caleb Love, North Carolina, 9
Day’Ron Sharpe, North Carolina, 6
DJ Steward, Duke, 4
Reece Beekman, Virginia, 3
Jeremy Roach, Duke, 3
RJ Davis, North Carolina, 3
Mark Williams, Duke, 2
Cam Hayes, NC State, 1
