DURHAM, N.C. - The Duke men's basketball team was picked to finish second in the Atlantic Coast Conference, as voted on by the league's head coaches in the ACC Men's Basketball Coaches Preseason Poll announced on Monday. Senior forward Mason Plumlee was named to the Preseason All-ACC Team.
Duke received three first-place votes and 130 total points, trailing only NC State which topped the poll with 139 points and eight first-place votes. North Carolina rounded out the top three with 124 points and the other first-place vote. Following the top three were Miami (104 points), Florida State (103), Maryland (78), Virginia (68), Clemson (61), Georgia Tech (40), Virginia Tech (32), Wake Forest (32) and Boston College (25).
Duke returns four starters, including All-ACC selections Plumlee and Seth Curry, and 10 total letterwinners from a 2011-12 squad that went 27-7 overall and 13-3 in the ACC for a second-place league finish. Anchoring the squad will be the senior trio of Curry, Plumlee and Ryan Kelly who each averaged double-digit scoring last season. Junior point guard Tyler Thornton also returns after starting Duke's final 13 games last season.
Joining Plumlee on the Preseason All-ACC Team were NC State's Lorenzo Brown and C.J. Leslie, North Carolina's Michael McAdoo and Florida State's Michael Snaer. Leslie was picked as the Preseason ACC Player of the Year, while NC State freshman Rodney Purvis earned honors as the Preseason ACC Rookie of the Year.
Duke hosts the annual Countdown to Craziness Presented by PNC this Friday, Oct. 19, beginning at 8 p.m. in Cameron Indoor Stadium. A limited number of tickets are still available at https://tkt.xosn.com/tickets/TicketLanding.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=4200&db_oem_id=4200 or by calling (919) 681-BLUE.
-d-u-k-e-
