ACC unveils 2021-22 Men’s Basketball Awards

Courtesy ACC Media Relations

Wake Forest graduate guard Alondes Williams has been chosen as the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year and Demon Deacons head coach Steve Forbes is the ACC Coach of the Year, highlighting the 2021-22 All-ACC Men’s Basketball Team and award winners.

The 2021-22 All-ACC Team was determined by a 78-member panel consisting of the league’s 15 head coaches and 63 members of the media.

Duke earned two season awards, as forward Paolo Banchero was tabbed ACC Rookie of the Year, while sophomore center Mark Williams earned Defensive Player of the Year honors. Florida State freshman guard Matthew Cleveland received Sixth Man of the Year laurels, while NC State redshirt sophomore guard Dereon Seabron claimed ACC Most Improved Player honors.

This marks the 11th time a Demon Deacon has earned ACC Player of the Year honors and the first since Josh Howard in 2003. A native of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Williams averaged 19.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and a league-high 5.3 assists per game in the regular season in his first season at Wake Forest. Entering the ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament, he is just one point behind Syracuse’s Buddy Boeheim for the ACC scoring lead and has the potential to finish the season as the first player in league history to lead the league in scoring and assists.

In just his second season at Wake Forest, Forbes is the first Demon Deacons head coach to win ACC Coach of the Year honors since Skip Prosser in 2003 and the eighth all-time. Forbes has led Wake to a remarkable turnaround, with the Demon Deacons going from a 6-16 record (3-13 ACC) last season to a 17-win improvement and a 23-8 record (13-7 ACC) and fifth-place conference finish this year. The Deacs were projected to finish 13th in the preseason media poll. Wake Forest’s 13 ACC wins match its most in program history.

Banchero ranks second nationally in scoring among all freshmen this season with a 17.1 points per game average. The native of Seattle is sixth overall in the ACC in scoring and fourth in rebounding (7.7). He also owns eight double-doubles, fourth among all ACC players. He is the fourth Blue Devil in the last five years to win the Rookie of the Year award, joining Marvin Bagley III (2018), Zion Williamson (2019) and Vernon Carey Jr. (2020).

Williams led a Blue Devils defense that was the ACC’s best in field-goal defense (41.3%), three-point defense (30.2%) and blocked shots (5.5/game) this season. A native of Virginia Beach, Virginia, Williams topped the ACC in blocked shots per game (2.81).

Cleveland is the fourth straight Seminole to earn Sixth Man of the Year honors, joining Mfiondu Kabengele (2019), Patrick Williams (2020) and Scottie Barnes (2021). The freshman from Atlanta averaged 11.4 points and 4.6 rebounds in 28 games (20 off the bench).

Seabron averaged 17.3 points and 8.0 rebounds this season. His scoring output has improved by 12.1 points per game from the 2020-21 campaign, the best improvement among any ACC player. A native of Norfolk, Virginia, Seabron ranks fifth in the league in scoring and second in rebounding. He owns 11 double-doubles, second most in the ACC.

2021-22 ACC Award Winners

Player of Year: Alondes Williams, Wake Forest
Rookie of Year: Paolo Banchero, Duke
Coach of Year: Steve Forbes, Wake Forest
Defensive Player of Year: Mark Williams, Duke
Most Improved Player: Dereon Seabron, NC State
Sixth Man of Year: Matthew Cleveland, Florida State

2021-22 All-ACC Team

First Team

Armando Bacot, North Carolina, 380
Alondes Williams, Wake Forest, 373
Paolo Banchero, Duke, 372
Kameron McGusty, Miami, 315
Buddy Boeheim, Syracuse, 241

Second Team

Keve Aluma, Virginia Tech, 192
Dereon Seabron, NC State, 166
Wendell Moore Jr., Duke, 161
Blake Wesley, Notre Dame, 148
Jake LaRavia, Wake Forest, 147

Third Team

Dane Goodwin, Notre Dame, 131
Mark Williams, Duke, 119
Isaiah Wong, Miami, 119
Jayden Gardner, Virginia, 106
Michael Devoe, Georgia Tech, 105

Honorable Mention

Caleb Love, North Carolina, 84
PJ Hall, Clemson, 72
John Hugley, Pitt, 54
Charlie Moore, Miami, 42
Brady Manek, North Carolina, 38
Kihei Clark, Virginia, 22
AJ Griffin, Duke, 22
Paul Atkinson Jr., Notre Dame, 20
Terquavion Smith, NC State, 15
Reece Beekman, Virginia, 15

Note: All-ACC Team points are determined on a 5-3-1 system (five points for first team, three points for second team, one point for third team).

ACC Player of the Year

Alondes Williams, Wake Forest, 41 votes
Armando Bacot, North Carolina, 31
Paolo Banchero, Duke, 6

ACC Freshman of the Year

Paolo Banchero, Duke, 72 votes
Blake Wesley, Notre Dame, 4
Terquavion Smith, NC State, 1
Trevor Keels, Duke, 1

ACC Defensive Player of the Year

Mark Williams, Duke, 46 votes
Reece Beekman, Virginia, 20
Leaky Black, North Carolina, 7
Wendell Moore Jr., Duke, 3
Charlie Moore, Miami, 2

ACC Most Improved Player

Dereon Seabron, NC State, 33 votes
PJ Hall, Clemson, 28
Mark Williams, Duke, 4
John Hugley, Pitt, 4
Dane Goodwin, Notre Dame, 3
Jesse Edwards, Syracuse, 2
Wendell Moore Jr., Duke, 2
James Karnik, Boston College, 1
RJ Davis, North Carolina, 1

ACC Sixth Man of the Year

Matthew Cleveland, Florida State, 52 votes
El Ellis, Louisville, 6
Anthony Walker, Miami, 6
Khadim Sy, Wake Forest, 6
Kadin Shedrick, Virginia, 5
Quinten Post, Boston College, 2
Cam Hayes, NC State, 1

ACC Coach of the Year

Steve Forbes, Wake Forest, 40 votes
Mike Krzyzewski, Duke, 19
Mike Brey, Notre Dame, 13
Jim Larrañaga, Miami, 3
Mike Young, Virginia Tech, 1
Hubert Davis, North Carolina, 1
Tony Bennett, Virginia, 1

All-ACC Defensive Team

Mark Williams, Duke, 77 votes
Reece Beekman, Virginia, 69
Leaky Black, North Carolina, 55
Charlie Moore, Miami, 45
Wendell Moore Jr., Duke, 33

All-Rookie Team

Paolo Banchero, Duke, 77 votes
Terquavion Smith, NC State, 73
Blake Wesley, Notre Dame, 72
AJ Griffin, Duke, 66
Trevor Keels, Duke, 50