Everyone else is doing it, so why can’t we?

First Team

Al-Farouq Aminu (Wake Forest)
Trevor Booker (Clemson)
Malcolm Delaney (Virginia Tech)
Jon Scheyer (Duke)
Greivis Vasquez (Maryland)

Second Team

Dwayne Collins (Miami)
Sylven Landesberg (Virginia)
Kyle Singler (Duke)
Nolan Smith (Duke)
Tracy Smith (North Carolina State)

Third Team

Solomon Alabi (Florida State)
Derrick Favors (Georgia Tech)
Gani Lawal (Georgia Tech)
Chris Singleton (Florida State)
Brian Zoubek (Duke)

All-Freshman Team

Derrick Favors (Georgia Tech)
C.J. Harris (Wake Forest)
Brian Oliver (Georgia Tech)
Durand Scott (Miami)
Jordan Williams (Maryland)

Player of the Year: Greivis Vasquez

Rookie of the Year: Derrick Favors

Thoughts below the jump.

Trevor Booker

I’m seeing Booker get left off first-team all-ACC lists. Just like last year. Last year, I must admit, the argument carried water thanks to the Lawson/Hansbrough/Douglas/Henderson quartet. This year, I don’t get it. Here we’re talking about a highly efficient scorer who does a little bit of everything. Booker plays a lot of minutes, rebounds well, blocks shots, gets steals, doesn’t turn the ball over, and isn’t exactly lacking in Sportscenter plays. No, he isn’t elite in any of those things, but he’s very good at all of them. I get the sense that some people think he’s a Greg Monroe type, a player who “should” dominate games more, but that’s, frankly, projection. Look at what’s in front of you; Booker’s steady performance has anchored Clemson for two years running now. He’s the obvious No. 4 on this ballot.

Dwayne Collins

Why the hell isn’t this guy on more all-ACC teams? Consider:

• Collins’ offensive numbers (106.6 ORtg, 26.5 Poss%) compare favorable to those of Al-Farouq Aminu (104.3, 27.7%).
• Collins is second in the league in offensive rebounding percentage, behind only the Mighty Zoubek, and tied for fifth in defensive rebounding percentage. Both those numbers are slightly better than Aminu’s.
• Collins is 10th in the ACC in block percentage. Aminu is 11th.
• Collins is fourth in the conference in true shooting percentage. It’d be even better if he could make free throws (57%), particularly because he’s third in the conference in fouls drawn per 40 minutes, ranking right ahead of, yes, Aminu.

Aminu gets the first-team nod because he plays more. But that’s about the only thing separating him from Collins. Let the haters hate.

Chris Singleton

Florida State has the best defense in the country. A lot of that is Alabi. Not all of it is Alabi.

The guys who got left out

Yes, no Heels. I can’t imagine an argument for anyone on the squad other than Ed Davis, a certain third-teamer if healthy, but alas.

Yes, no Eagles. It’s more a function of the equalizing nature of the flex than of a lack of decent players. Corey Raji, Joe Trapani and Reggie Jackson all have third-team cases, but none really stand out.

Yes, no Dorenzo Hudson. He’s almost a lock to make one of the real-life teams, possessing as he does the ability to go off in any given game, and possessing as he does a lofty ACC scoring average. But if you look at the stats for the entire season — including the non-conference schedule, during which Hudson put up 41 points against Seton Hall and a whole lot of nothing against everyone else — he’s been merely a decent third cog in the Virginia Tech offense (107.4 ORtg, 20.6 Poss%). The aformentioned Reggie Jackson has about the same ORtg, for example, and he takes a hell of a lot more shots.

And, yes, no Ish Smith. “It’s not about the numbers,” you say. I’d agree with you — if the numbers weren’t so damn bad. An ORtg of 96.1 as your team’s second option does not cut it. Smith is the main reason Wake has a below-average offense, period. No amount of late-game heroics can make up for the sheer number of early-game misses.

Freshman team

C.J. Harris over Michael Snaer is the only mild surprise here, but the numbers bear it out. Snaer is inefficient (90.8 ORtg, 23.1 Poss%). Harris (109.9 ORtg, 16.4 Poss%) is more of a role player, but he’s appreciably better in his role. Yes, he went through a pretty rough mid-ACC slump, but he scored 19 in Wake’s win over Gonzaga, 15 in the win over Xavier, 18 in the win over Maryland — he’s a key weapon for a team with a lack of them. He gets the spot.

Player of the year

It’s close. It’s really close. Scheyer is an exceptionally efficient scorer — sixth in the country — but he does it as part of a threesome. Greivis is less efficient, but he’s your classic star on a team full of role players, no matter how good those role players are (Jordan Williams and Eric Hayes are both very good).

Neither is a good rebounder. Greivis is a better assist guy. Scheyer is better at limiting turnovers.

So why does everyone now say that Greivis stole it away in Duke-Maryland? It’s one game. Scheyer outscored Greivis, 22-17, in the first game, and Duke won by 19. Late-season hyperbole is the freaking worst.

That said, I’m giving Vasquez the nod because he played better in the conference slate. I’m not much for the school of thought that picks all-conference teams based heavily on conference games, but in a tiebreak situation, why not?