The Fifth Annual BTP Awards

There are a lot of great basketball players in the ACC, and as each season concludes they are properly recognized and rewarded. But why should those guys hog the attention and the hardware just because they have talent? Hardly seems fair.

It's that time again. You can review last year's winners here.

The Ekene Ibekwe Award
For hideous shooting during conference play.

Nominees:

Ryan Harrow, NC State, 36.2% eFG
Ari Stewart, Wake Forest, 37.6% eFG
CJ Harris, Wake Forest, 37.9% eFG
Jontel Evans, Virginia, 37.9% eFG

It's as true in basketball as it is in life--being a short guy is tough. Whether you're struggling to grab a box of cereal off  the top shelf at the grocery store or pleading for an unmolested jump shot inside of ten feet, the shame you feel is very real. Poor Jontel Evans made just 35% of his twos. And that's what makes Ari Stewart's efforts so impressive here. Not only is Stewart not a short guy, but he is a sorry example of all-encompassing obliviousness, or denial, as he took more than his fair share of shots. Ask him and he'll tell you he's simply living in the now.

The Quentin Thomas Award
For the most turnover-prone player during conference play.

Nominees:

Tyler Thornton, Duke, 40.0 TO%
Daniel Miller, Georgia Tech, 30.5 TO%
Luke Loucks, Florida State, 34.4 TO%
Gabriel Moton, Boston College, 28.5 TO%

Let me set the scene for you. Duke is up double digits on the latest ACC sacrificial lamb appointed by the schedule makers in the league office. Coach K reclines a bit in his chair on the sideline, horrified to discover a bit of self-satisfaction creeping in. "Thornton! Get in the ballgame." So Thornton stands in, a sacrificial lamb of a different sort, for theoretically teachable moments, faux anger, and hollow concerns are of critical importance at this particular juncture. K needs Tyler Thornton to keep him grounded, to remind him amid this opulence and ease, that GOD SWEET JIMINY DONGLE CABOODLE FLAM SWINKLE. ARE YOU FUCKING I CANNOT EVEN HOW THE FUCK DID YOU JUST DRIBBLE A BALL OFF YOUR ELBOW.

The Tunji Soroye Hole In The Lineup Award
Free lunches.

Nominees:

Bryan Narcisse, Clemson, 11.1 %Poss
Scott Wood, NC State, 11.6 %Poss
Tyler Thornton, Duke, 10.3 %Poss
Gabriel Moton, Boston College, 11.8 %Poss

Scott Wood wins here because he was a victim of circumstance more than anyone else, and his story is the only one approaching real tragedy. Wood doesn't belong in this company. These other guys were nearly invisible because they are terrible. Wood was nearly invisible because his teammates are terrible. Wood took full advantage of the opportunities he had, hit 44% of his threes in league play, but he was made to rot by the players around him. Players who couldn't hit an outside shot and get defenses off his back, players who scuttled possession after possession with self-interest.

The Anthony Harris Award
For the league's most inefficient player.

Nominees:

Tony Chennault, Wake Forest, 59.5 Offensive Rating
JT Terrell, Wake Forest, 82.7 Offensive Rating
Milton Jennings, Clemson, 83.8 Offensive Rating
Reggie Bullock, UNC, 88.1 Offensive Rating

The awards committee has always felt it important to look at the route as well as the end result, and so it is that JT Terrell takes home the hardware. Terrell took almost 28% of Wake Forest's shots while he was on the floor, which is a star-level workload and ridiculous and how Jeff Bzdelik survived it all I'll never know. But this is one of those things that makes Wake's historically bad offense totally understandable.

The Impressively Short Tall Guy Award
For defensive rebounding like a girl during conference play.

Nominees:

Ty Walker (7-0, 220), Wake Forest, 10.8 DR%
Kammeon Holsey (6-8, 209), Georgia Tech, 10.1 DR%
Tyler Zeller (7-0, 250), UNC, 12.3 DR%
Victor Davila (6-8, 245), Virginia Tech, 13.8 DR%

Among the players who had a better defensive rebounding percentage than Tyler Zeller: Lorenzo Brown, Tanner Smith, Sammy Zeglinski, Derwin Kitchen, Iman Shumpert, Joe Harris. It's kind of impressive when you think about it.