The UVA men’s basketball team had four players earn All-ACC awards Sunday as the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association (ACSMA) announced its 2014-15 honors. The Cavaliers tied a school record with three All-ACC selections, while Tony Bennett repeated as ACC Coach of the Year and senior Darion Atkins (Clinton, Md.) was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year.
Junior guard Malcolm Brogdon (Atlanta, Ga.) was named to the All-ACC first team, junior guard Justin Anderson (Montross, Va.) was named to the second team and junior forward Anthony Gill (High Point, N.C.) was named to the third team. In addition, both Brogdon and Atkins were named to the All-ACC Defensive Team.
Brogdon, who was a first-team All-ACC selection by the coaches and a second-team selection by ACSMA last year, was honored for the second consecutive season. He joins Buzzy Wilkinson (1954-55), Jeff Lamp (1979, 81), Ralph Sampson (1981-83), Bryant Stith (1990-92) and Sean Singletary (2006-08) as the only Cavaliers to earn first-team honors multiple times. Brogdon leads Virginia in scoring this season at 13.7 points per game and scored in double figures in 15 of 18 ACC games. He led the league by shooting 89.7 percent from the free throw line in conference games. Brogdon was also named to the All-ACC Defensive Team.
Anderson, who was the ACC Sixth Man of the Year last season, earns All-ACC honors for the first time in his career. He was selected to the second team despite missing the last eight games of the season due to a fractured finger suffered on Feb. 7 and an appendectomy on March 5. He is second on the team in scoring at 13.4 points per game and was leading the conference in three-point percentage at 48.4 percent when he was injured.
Gill also earned All-ACC honors for the first time in his career. He leads the team in rebounding (6.7 rpg), field goal percentage (59.3) and double-doubles (three), while ranking third in scoring at 11.6 points per game. Gill scored in double figures in 10 ACC games this season.
Sophomore guard London Perrantes (Los Angeles, Calif.), who leads the Cavaliers with 131 assists, was an honorable mention All-ACC selection.
The three All-ACC selections tie the 2000-01 Cavaliers for most in school history. That season Travis Watson was named to the second team and Roger Mason, Jr. and Chris Williams were named to the third team.
Bennett becomes the ninth coach to be named ACC Coach of the Year in consecutive seasons, joining Everett Case of NC State (1954-55), Bones McKinney of Wake Forest (1960-61), Vic Bubas of Duke (1963-64), Dean Smith of North Carolina (1967-68, 1976-77), Norm Sloan of NC State (1973-74), Terry Holland of Virginia (1981-82), Dave Odom of Wake Forest (1994-95) and Mike Krzyzewski of Duke (1999-00). It is the third career conference coach of the year honor for Bennett (two ACC, one Pac-10), who directed the Cavaliers to their second consecutive outright ACC regular season title in 2014-15.
Atkins becomes the first Cavalier to be named ACC Defensive Player of the Year in the 11-year history of the award. He is the only ACC player to lead his team in both blocks (31) and steals (26) this season. His 97 career blocks ranks tied for eighth all-time at Virginia.
No. 1 seed Virginia (28-2, 16-2 ACC) will play No. 8 seed Clemson or No. 9 seed Florida State in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals on Thursday, March 12. Tipoff at Greensboro Coliseum is set for 12 p.m. ET.
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