Manny Bates named to ACC All-Defensive team; Jericole Hellems honorable-mention All-ACC

The ACC announced its men’s basketball season honors on Monday morning, and to nobody’s surprise, NC State didn’t have a player represented on the All-ACC teams, though Jericole Hellems did merit an honorable mention. Devon Daniels probably would have landed somewhere had he remained healthy.

Manny Bates made the ACC’s All-Defensive team after another stellar year redirecting opponents’ pathetic shot attempts. Bates ranks 11th nationally in block rate, and in league play, he is tops among all ACC players. Well-deserved recognition for him.

And Hellems deserves recognition for how much he’s raised his game as a junior: he’s shooting a career-best 49.7% inside the arc and a career-best 39.4% from beyond it, and that’s with an increased workload this season. He’s become an indispensable part of NC State’s offense, especially in Daniels’ absence.

Georgia Tech big man Moses Wright is the ACC Player of the Year, while Virginia Tech’s Mike Young won Coach of the Year honors despite his team hardly playing over the last month.