Cardinals Picked to Finish 11th in ACC Preseason Poll

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- The University of Louisville men's basketball team was picked to finish 11th in the Atlantic Coast Conference, according to a vote of the media attending the league's annual 'Operation Basketball' earlier this week in Charlotte, N.C.

Louisville will be entering a new era this season under the direction of Chris Mack, who guided Xavier to a 215-97 record and eight NCAA Tournament appearances in nine seasons with the Musketeers.

Last season, the Cardinals posted a 22-14 record and reached the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament. The Cardinals return starter V.J. King, this season along with eight letterwinners and five newcomers.

Duke leads the 2018-19 preseason media poll. The Blue Devils, who finished 29-8 last season and earned the program's 23rd consecutive NCAA Tournament berth, received 52 first-place votes in the preseason poll released Thursday.

Defending ACC champion Virginia (47 first-place votes) placed second in the predicted order of finish, followed by North Carolina (20 first-place votes), Syracuse (one first-place vote) and Virginia Tech.

ACC preseason voters selected Clemson sixth, followed by Florida State, NC State and Notre Dame. Miami was picked 10th, while Louisville, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Wake Forest and Pittsburgh rounded out the voting.

North Carolina's Luke Maye earned the Preseason ACC Player of the Year honors. Duke's RJ Barrett was named the Preseason ACC Freshman of the Year.

ACC Operation Basketball 2018-19 Preseason Poll
(First-place votes in parenthesis)
1-Duke (52) - 1709
2-Virginia (47) - 1699
3-North Carolina (20) - 1641
4-Syracuse (1) - 1268
5-Virginia Tech - 1187
6-Clemson (1) -1148
7-Florida State - 1127
8-NC State - 885
9-Notre Dame - 859
10-Miami - 816
11-Louisville - 735
12-Boston College - 568
13-Georgia Tech - 324
14-Wake Forest - 313
15-Pittsburgh - 241

Pre-Season All-ACC
First Team
Luke Maye, North Carolina (111)
Tyus Battle, Syracuse (86)
RJ Barrett, Duke (76)
Kyle Guy, Virginia (62)
Ky Bowman, Boston College (58)

Second Team
Zion Williamson, Duke (55)
De'Andre Hunter, Virginia (32)
Justin Robinson, Virginia Tech (29)
Ty Jerome, Virginia (17)
Marcquise Reed, Clemson (16)

ACC Preseason Player of the Year
Luke Maye, North Carolina (50)
RJ Barrett, Duke (22)
Zion Williamson, Duke (15)
Tyus Battle, Syracuse (11)
Ky Bowman, Boston College (7)
Kyle Guy, Virginia (5)
De'Andre Hunter, Virginia (4)
Ty Jerome, Virginia (2)
Justin Robinson, Virginia Tech (2)
Cam Reddish, Duke (1)
T.J. Gibbs, Notre Dame (1)
Jaylen Hoard, Wake Forest (1)

ACC Preseason Freshman of the Year
RJ Barrett, Duke (66)
Zion Williamson, Duke (43)
Cam Reddish, Duke (4)
Jaylen Hoard, Wake Forest (3)
Coby White, North Carolina (2)
Jalen Carey, Syracuse (1)
Nate Laszewski, Notre Dame (1)
Jairus Hamilton, Boston College (1)

University of Louisville Athletics

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V.J. King

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