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The Courier Journal and the USA TODAY Network conducted an anonymous player survey during ACC Tipoff.We asked 27 players to name the conference’s best and most underrated players, the opposing coach they’d most like to play for and the best road environment.
The 2025-26 college basketball season is right around the corner, so it’s time to hand out some superlatives.
The Courier Journal and the USA TODAY Network conducted an anonymous survey of 27 players during ACC media days earlier this month in Charlotte, North Carolina. Here’s a rundown of the questions we asked:
Excluding the members of your team, who’s the best player in the ACC?Excluding the members of your team, who’s the most underrated player in the ACC?Which coach at another ACC program would you most like to play for?Are you for or against NCAA Tournament expansion?What’s the best road environment in the ACC?
The ACC had a rough showing in 2024-25. Half of its 18 members finished outside of the top 100 in the NET, and it sent only four programs to the NCAA Tournament. Commissioner Jim Phillips, however, was optimistic at media days that the conference will “take a strong step forward” in 2025-26.
“Everyone says the same thing: ‘Our league is better,'” he said. “To what degree, we’ll see.”
Here’s an unfiltered look at the ACC landscape — through the eyes of its players:
Notre Dame junior guard Markus Burton was the top vote-getter with nine. He led the ACC in scoring with 21.3 points per game on 44.2% shooting in 2024-25. Two newcomers to the conference, Duke freshman forward Cameron Boozer and N.C. State senior forward Darrion Williams, tied for second with five votes apiece.
Louisville freshman point guard Mikel Brown Jr. came in fourth with four votes. He was the only other player to receive multiple votes.
Honorable mentions: Duke sophomore guard/forward Isaiah Evans; Syracuse guards Naithan George and J.J. Starling; and Miami junior guard Tru Washington.
This question led to 16 different answers. In the end, Duke sophomore guard/forward Darren Harris stood above the rest with four votes. He totaled only 43 points across 21 appearances off the bench in 2024-25, so his colleagues must think the Herndon, Virginia, native is on the verge of a breakout sophomore season.
Another member of the Blue Devils’ roster, junior guard Caleb Foster, tied N.C. State senior forward Ven-Allen Lubin for second with three votes apiece. There was a three-way tie for fourth: George, Louisville senior guard Isaac McKneely and California junior guard Dai Dai Ames received two votes each.
Honorable mentions: Burton; Syracuse sophomore forward Donnie Freeman; Miami senior guard Tre Donaldson; Louisville sixth-year guard J’Vonne Hadley; N.C. State senior guard Tre Holloman; Georgia Tech junior forward Baye Ndongo; Notre Dame senior forward Kebba Njie; Wake Forest graduate forward Tre’Von Spillers; North Carolina senior guard Seth Trimble; and Florida State senior forward Chauncey Wiggins.
Duke coach Jon Scheyer, fresh off a trip to the Final Four, led the way with nine votes. Behind freshman phenom Cooper Flagg and four other 2025 NBA Draft picks, the Blue Devils went 35-4 and won the ACC Tournament in Year 3 of his tenure at the helm of his alma mater.
One of Scheyer’s former coworkers, first-year Miami coach Jai Lucas, came in second with four votes. North Carolina’s Hubert Davis and Louisville’s Pat Kelsey, the reigning ACC Coach of the Year, finished in a tie for third with three votes apiece. Boston College’s Earl Grant and N.C. State’s Will Wade tied for fifth with two votes each.
Honorable mentions: Syracuse’s Adrian Autry; Georgia Tech’s Damon Stoudamire; and Virginia Tech’s Mike Young.
In the most lopsided result of the survey, 20 of the 27 players said they wanted to keep the NCAA Tournament at 68 teams.
“There’s a royalty to it,” one player said. “If you’re trying to expand it — yeah, more people get in; but it makes it easier to get in. It’s more of a commonality compared to a playoff.”
The NCAA in August announced March Madness expansion was off the table for 2026. But senior vice president of basketball Dan Gavitt said expansion conversations will continue — with officials eyeing potential 72- or 76-team fields in 2027.
Duke’s small-but-mighty Cameron Indoor Stadium was the top choice for the ACC’s best road environment. The cozy, 9,314-seat arena received 16 votes.
North Carolina’s Dean E. Smith Center came in second with seven votes, followed by N.C. State’s Lenovo Center with two votes.
Honorable mention: Clemson’s Littlejohn Coliseum.
Fayetteville Observer reporter Rodd Baxley contributed to this report.
Reach Louisville men’s basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bh*****@*****tt.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.
