ACC Men’s Basketball Preview: Cooper Flagg, RJ Davis Could Provide a League Renaissance

The conference has gotten a lot of criticism in recent years, but the two National Player of the Year candidates will bring eyes in the regular season.

Duke freshman guard Cooper Flagg is projected to be one of the top prospects in the 2025 NBA draft. / Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

As part of its 2024–25 men’s college basketball preseason coverage, Sports Illustrated is rolling out previews for the five high-major conferences, plus the top mid-majors nationally. First up is the ACC.

Each of the past three seasons, a similar trend has taken place. For much of the year, the ACC has been panned by both analysts and analytics as perhaps the worst high-major conference, and then in March, the ACC has gotten the last laugh by sending a team to the Final Four. ACC defenders will say these March results illustrate flaws in the analytics; detractors point to early-season losses like Pitt losing to Missouri (winless in the SEC) and Wake Forest dropping games to Utah, LSU and Georgia as reasons why the league’s bubble teams didn’t get the same respect. 

Will things change this season? There’s certainly enough talent in the top half of this league for the ACC to experience a renaissance of sorts. And if nothing else, having two National Player of the Year candidates in North Carolina’s RJ Davis and Duke’s Cooper Flagg make ACC hoops a must-watch this season. 

SI’s Picks For … 

Player of the Year: RJ Davis, North Carolina

Breakout Player: Jaland Lowe, Pittsburgh

Newcomer of the Year: Cooper Flagg, Duke

Dark Horse Team: Georgia Tech

All-Conference First Team

• RJ Davis, North Carolina 
• Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest
• Markus Burton, Notre Dame
• Cooper Flagg, Duke
• Ian Schieffelin, Clemson

1. Duke Blue Devils 

Cooper Flagg mania is here. The nation’s highest-rated recruit and likely No. 1 pick in next year’s NBA draft will anchor a Duke team with legitimate national title aspirations. There’s a nice balance here between elite freshmen like Flagg, big man Khaman Maluach and guard Kon Knueppel and experienced pieces, like veteran guard Tyrese Proctor and transfers Sion James (Tulane), Mason Gillis (Purdue) and Maliq Brown (Syracuse). This group could be elite defensively with positional size and switchability, and there’s certainly enough offensive firepower here to be intrigued as well. 

2. North Carolina Tar Heels

Getting RJ Davis back for his fifth year made this offseason a win for North Carolina no matter what. But while the potential National Player of the Year gives the Heels a chance to do special things, they may rue some key misses in the transfer portal that would have solidified the frontcourt with Armando Bacot graduating. The eventual solution: Vanderbilt transfer Ven-Allen Lubin, who has had some big games (see his 25 points and 11 rebounds vs. Florida last March) but has struggled with consistency in his two-year career. Beyond Davis, the Heels are deep in the backcourt and have gotten more athletic on the wings with freshmen Ian Jackson and Drake Powell, but the center spot may determine whether this group is national title worthy. 

Davis is returning to North Carolina for his fifth collegiate season. / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

3. Louisville Cardinals 

Finishing this high would be a smashing success for Pat Kelsey in his first season on the job after inheriting a disaster from Kenny Payne, but there’s enough talent here to make a top-three league finish in the first year a possibility. This group may lack true star power, but it does possess the depth, positional size and versatility that Kelsey loved having at Charleston. Sun Belt Player of the Year Terrence Edwards Jr. was a huge recruiting win, as was South Florida transfer Kasean Pryor. And while Wisconsin transfer Chucky Hepburn isn’t without his flaws, adding an experienced point guard who has won a ton of games was critical. 

4. Wake Forest Demon Deacons

Wake Forest seemed well on its way to the NCAA tournament after beating Duke in late February, but three straight losses crippled its resume and left the Deacs out of the Big Dance for a seventh straight year. There are no excuses for not getting in this season, with star guard Hunter Sallis back and more depth across the board. How the Demon Deacons navigate the point guard spot with Sallis sliding into more on-ball reps and transfer Ty-Laur Johnson in the mix is a question, but this group is talented and deep enough to not just make the NCAA tournament, but make noise once there.  

Sallis will have more on-ball reps this season with the Demon Deacons. / Geoff Burke-Imagn Images

5. Clemson Tigers

After years of hovering near the hot seat, Brad Brownell finally has some security at Clemson after leading the program to the Elite Eight a year ago. A few key pieces from that March run are back, namely star guard Chase Hunter and double-double machine Ian Schieffelin. Hunter will get to play next to a more traditional point guard this year in Boston College transfer Jaeden Zackery, while Schieffelin replaces his frontcourt running mate in PJ Hall with a trio of new faces headlined by former Cincinnati starter Viktor Lakhin. 

6. Virginia Cavaliers

Virginia hasn’t won an NCAA tournament game since the 2019 national championship game, its 42-point embarrassment against Colorado State this year the latest in the program’s March woes. That game highlighted what has been bubbling for a few years: The Cavaliers’ offense desperately needs modernization. There’s your traditional preseason talk about playing faster, though we’ll see if that’s coach speak or an actual shift in philosophy from Tony Bennett. Upgrading the talent level was also important in improving the offense, and it does appear that UVA has done that with the likes of Duke transfer TJ Power and Kansas State transfer Dai Dai Ames. 

7. Pittsburgh Panthers

Jeff Capel has quietly engineered consecutive top-four finishes in the ACC at Pittsburgh, and third shouldn’t be out of the question either. Sophomore point guard Jaland Lowe has a chance to be among the sport’s biggest breakout stars after sharing the spotlight with NBA-bound Bub Carrington last season. Lowe, Ishmael Leggett and Houston transfer Damian Dunn look like a strong backcourt trio, and talented big man Guillermo Diaz Graham should be fun to watch in an expanded role given his unique skill set. 

Lowe could have a breakout season in the ACC. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

8. Miami Hurricanes

Miami didn’t win a game after Feb. 3 and saw a corresponding mass exodus once the season officially ended, but the talent level of this group is still high. Nijel Pack and Matthew Cleveland returned, and five-star freshman Jalil Bethea should be among the best shot makers in the country. Add in experienced portal pieces like Lynn Kidd and Brandon Johnson up front, and there’s enough here to bet on a bounce-back campaign in Coral Gables. 

9. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

The Yellow Jackets’ highs were very high in Damon Stoudamire’s first season, beating Duke and North Carolina at home and Clemson and Wake Forest on the road. Can they find more consistency in Year 2? The sophomore duo of big man Baye Ndongo and point guard Naithan George is spectacular, and George Tech gets help in the backcourt in the form of Oklahoma transfer Javian McCollum. That trio is an NCAA tournament-worthy nucleus, and if Stoudamire can build up some depth, the Jackets may be right in that conversation come Selection Sunday. 

10. Syracuse Orange

Syracuse has missed the NCAA tournament in three straight seasons, the program’s longest drought in over 50 years. The Orange have the talent to change that trend this season. The Orange are bigger and more athletic than they’ve been in awhile, adding Jyare Davis and Eddie Lampkin Jr. from the portal and Donovan Freeman from the prep ranks to bolster their frontcourt. In the backcourt, Hofstra transfer Jaquan Carlos is a pure PG, while former elite recruit Chance Westry is finally healthy and could make an impact alongside JJ Starling and Chris Bell. The opportunity is there for the Orange to break through and get back in the Dance, but it will require avoiding some of the letdowns that plagued them from building any real momentum a year ago. 

11. NC State Wolf Pack

After last year’s miracle run to the Final Four, what do Kevin Keatts and NC State have in store for an encore? Things will look a lot different with star big DJ Burns and guard DJ Horne each out of eligibility. Replacing Burns’s skill level in the post is nearly impossible, so NC State is turning to a more traditional center in Louisville transfer Brandon Huntley-Hatfield at that spot. Huntley-Hatfield, fellow Cardinals transfer Mike James and Georgetown transfer Dontrez Styles will be a good test of the oft-repeated theory from coaches that recruiting players who’ve won at previous stops are the best transfers to target, given the ineptitude of Louisville and Georgetown a year ago. 

12. SMU Mustangs 

Andy Enfield ushers the Mustangs into their new league after the Mustangs’ administration decided to dump Rob Lanier after just two seasons. This is an old team, with a rotation built mostly out of seniors and grad students headlined by a pair of newcomers in Kevin "Boopie" Miller (Wake Forest) and Matt Cross (UMass). This group’s best hope at a serious NCAA tournament push though likely rides on Turkish freshman big Samet Yigitoglu proving ready for a big role from the jump. The 7' 2" 20-year-old is physically impressive, but the transition to college from Europe can be a big adjustment. 

13. Notre Dame Fighting Irish

The Irish were at a fairly significant talent deficit in essentially every ACC game a year ago but were rather feisty by the end of the season. Can they build on that in Year 2 under Micah Shrewsberry? Point guard Markus Burton should be among the best in the conference as a sophomore, while Princeton transfer Matt Allocco has a chance to make a significant impact on the wing. This team may still be a year away from serious NCAA tournament contention, but Shrewsberry has the program on the right track. 

Burton should be among the best players in the ACC as a sophomore. / Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

14. Virginia Tech Hokies

It’s a complete roster reset in Blacksburg, with just one player who averaged more than two points per game a year ago (reserve big Mylyjael Poteat) back from last season’s 19–15 campaign. The Hokies look more athletic than they did a year ago, but adjusting to Mike Young’s offensive system may take time for this new-look group. Temple transfer Hysier Miller has plenty of experience under his belt, but will have to up his efficiency to anchor this offense. Defensively, VCU import Toibu Lawal should make an impact at the rim. 

15. Cal Bears

Mark Madsen got Cal back to competence in Year 1 and produced a first-round draft pick (Jaylon Tyson) in the process. It’s a long road from there to the NCAA tournament, but the Bears are a lot closer now than they were 18 months ago. Madsen built another strong portal class: Air Force transfer Rytis Petraitis should be outstanding, while beating Kentucky and North Carolina for Andrej Stojaković was a big deal. The big question this season is point guard play, with transfers Jovan Blacksher Jr. (Grand Canyon) and Christian Tucker (UTSA) competing for the starting job. 

16. Stanford Cardinal

This was always a multi-year rebuild for Kyle Smith given how limited a pool Stanford recruits from academically, but all things considered it was a strong spring in Palo Alto. Getting skilled big Maxime Raynaud to stick around after initially testing the portal was huge, as were strategic portal adds like Harvard transfer Chisom Okpara and UC Irvine transfer Derin Saran. Smith has always been an overachiever, so don’t be surprised if the Cardinal win a few games they shouldn’t in Year 1. 

17. Florida State Seminoles

An otherwise disastrous offseason in Tallahassee turned a bit better when Jamir Watkins surprisingly spurned NBA and portal interest to return to FSU. Watkins should be one of the best players in the ACC, but the cupboard is bare otherwise. Junior-college transfer forward Malique Ewin will be relied upon to solidify the frontcourt, while freshman guard Daquan Davis should get plenty of early minutes after starring in the Overtime Elite league a year ago.

18. Boston College Eagles

BC’s top five scorers all departed in the offseason, four of whom had eligibility remaining. That’s a tough pill to swallow for a team that had slowly gotten better in each of Earl Grant’s first three seasons, an upward trend that will be tough to maintain with how this roster looks on paper. Transfers Dion Brown (UMBC) and Chad Venning (St. Bonaventure) should raise the floor some, but a lot rides on young talent like Chas Kelley III and Donald Hand Jr. to emerge.