On Monday, the ACC released their end of season awards and as expected, Duke freshman forward Cooper Flagg was named ACC Player of the Year. Runner up was Stanford senior center Maxime Raynaud and in third place was Louisville senior guard Chucky Hepburn. All three were named All-ACC First Team along with Chase Hunter (Clemson) and Hunter Sallis (Wake Forest).
READ: Cooper Flagg wins ACC Player of the Year
READ: ACC Men's Basketball 2024-25 Season Honors
The way the voting for ACC Player of the Year works is you rank the top 15 players in the league and whoever your rank at the top is your vote for ACC Player of the Year. At the top I voted for Maxime Raynaud and right behind him was Cooper Flagg. I felt like it was a two-horse race between Raynaud and Flagg. One of those two guys should have been ACC Player of the Year and in the end that’s exactly what happened.
While I do believe that Cooper Flagg should undoubtedly go number one in the upcoming NBA Draft, I personally believe that my vote for Raynaud is still justified and easy to defend. No matter what the Cameron Crazies say.
For starters, Raynaud leads the nation in double-doubles and is averaging a double-double with 20.1 points & 10.9 rebounds per game. He was the also the only player in the nation averaging 20+ points and 10+ rebounds per game. Night in, night out, Raynaud has delivered the goods for the Cardinal all while constantly facing double teams and sometimes even triple teams. Every team in the ACC knew that Stanford was going to go to Raynaud and that the whole offense ran through him. Despite that, he still put up those numbers. That’s mighty impressive.
Secondly, Stanford was picked to finish 17th in the ACC and they finished 7th. Stanford far exceeded expectations. Nobody had Stanford being anywhere close to as competitive in the ACC as they were. While Stanford is currently looking like an NIT team, just the fact that Raynaud greatly raised the level of play that Stanford was expected to play at is something that cannot be ignored. He really had to carry the load for Stanford and the vast majority of the time, he delivered.
Third, Raynaud also is just one of three players since 2002-03 to average 20+ points & 10+ rebounds per game while also making 50+ 3-pointers in a season. The other two: Kevin Durant (2006-07) and Carmelo Anthony (2002-03). It might sound like an arbitrary stat, but that still speaks to just how good and rare of a season that Raynaud has had. He can do it inside and outside an elite level. He’s not just a one trick pony. He’s very versatile as a 7-footer, which is why he’s been such a tough guy to contain.
If you notice, none of what I wrote takes anything away from Cooper Flagg being named ACC Player of the Year. I’m perfectly fine with how the awards turned out. For Flagg to do what he did as a true freshman is simply sensational and as I said on the outset, he’s without a doubt the top NBA prospect in the upcoming NBA Draft.
At the same time, Maxime Raynaud had a phenomenal season in which he was the only player in the nation averaging 20 & 10, led the nation in double-doubles, and put himself in rare company with Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony. If that doesn’t get you ACC Player of the Year, the guy who won it better be out of this world good. And Cooper Flagg certainly is.
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