This article is part of our Conference Preview series.
Another season down, another national championship crowned for the ACC, further helping its perception as the nation's premier basketball conference. The league produced 10 first-round picks, including five in the lottery, a pretty standard amount of turnover in conference. As a result, only two of the ACC's top-10 scorers from a season ago are returning. There's lots of opportunities here to replace and replenish that production.
Top Three Players
Bonzie Colson (F)
A model of consistency and efficiency, Colson averaged a double-double as a junior (17.8 points, 10.1 rebounds) while not hurting you in any category, adding 1.6 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.1 steals. His ratios were excelent as well, shooting 52.6 percent from the field, 78.3 percent from the line and 43.4 percent from 3-point range (he hit 0.7 long balls per game). At 6-foot-5, there's some obvious Charles Barkley comparisons, and while Colson may not have much room to grow statistically, if he's got the green light from outside, he could flirt with 20 points nightly.
Bryant Crawford (G) 
Crawford may be the exact opposite of Colson in his overall lack of efficiency, but that greatly improved last season, and a further step forward would have him as an elite option. He averaged 16.2 points, 5.5 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals last season, while increasing his free throw percentage 14 points and cutting his turnovers from 3.5 to 2.3 per game. There's room for offensive growth with the Deacons losing three of their other top-four scorers from
Another season down, another national championship crowned for the ACC, further helping its perception as the nation's premier basketball conference. The league produced 10 first-round picks, including five in the lottery, a pretty standard amount of turnover in conference. As a result, only two of the ACC's top-10 scorers from a season ago are returning. There's lots of opportunities here to replace and replenish that production.
Top Three Players
Bonzie Colson (F)A model of consistency and efficiency, Colson averaged a double-double as a junior (17.8 points, 10.1 rebounds) while not hurting you in any category, adding 1.6 assists, 1.4 blocks and 1.1 steals. His ratios were excelent as well, shooting 52.6 percent from the field, 78.3 percent from the line and 43.4 percent from 3-point range (he hit 0.7 long balls per game). At 6-foot-5, there's some obvious Charles Barkley comparisons, and while Colson may not have much room to grow statistically, if he's got the green light from outside, he could flirt with 20 points nightly.
Bryant Crawford (G)
Crawford may be the exact opposite of Colson in his overall lack of efficiency, but that greatly improved last season, and a further step forward would have him as an elite option. He averaged 16.2 points, 5.5 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals last season, while increasing his free throw percentage 14 points and cutting his turnovers from 3.5 to 2.3 per game. There's room for offensive growth with the Deacons losing three of their other top-four scorers from last season, including power forward John Collins, who leaves a giant hole on the interior. It seems likely to be a perimeter-based offense, and Crawford's ability to drive and get to the line increases his chances offensively after shooting 82.6 percent from the charity stripe last year.
Jerome Robinson (G) 
Robinson is a bit of a volume scorer, shooting only 42.3 percent last season, but at the end of the day, he scores and scores frequently. Robinson added 7.0 points to his scoring total from his freshman to sophomore seasons, and while there's no way he'll do that again this year, there's also no real influx in talent for the Eagles, so he'll continue to be the focal point after averaging 18.7 points in 2016-17. His peripheral numbers remained steady last year, so he seems safe to pencil in for around four rebounds and assists nightly, a couple of 3-pointers and steady free throw shooting. He's a known commodity on a bad team, which lends itself to stable fantasy production.
Honorable Mentions - Joel Berry, G, North Carolina; Grayson Allen, G, Duke; Josh Okogie, G, Georgia Tech; Ben Lammers, C, Georgia Tech
Top Newcomers
Trevon Duval (G)
It's a bit of an odd year for freshmen in the ACC. Duke has the top-four incoming players, according to Rivals.com, while only four other five-star guys join the league. For as much hype as Marvin Bagley III's reclassification into this year's class has gotten, I find it continually challenging to fully trust any post players in Duke's offense. Further working against Bagley's prospects is the presence of 6-10 Wendell Carter. Truth be told, I have no idea how or if Duke's offense will look different with two capable post players. What I do know is with Frank Jackson leaving, the team doesn't have a true point guard, and they haven't really had one since Tyus Jones helped lead them to a championship in 2014-15. Duval will dominate touches in this offense, and there seems to be multiple avenues to fantasy success. Buy in to Duke's big-man lineup? Then Duval benefits from open perimeter jumpers from interior double-teams while having assist potential in feeding the post. Think Duke continues to spread the court? Then Duval has driving lanes galore, while also being able to dish at the basket. He seems like the least volatile option here with an equally high ceiling.
Chaundee Brown (F)
The Deacons need to replace the scoring they lost from power forward John Collins (19.2 points, 9.8 boards), as well as the outside shooting of Dinos Mitoglou and Austin Arians. And with no proven post player to replace Collins, it seems likely the Deacs will use a smaller, quicker lineup this year. Enter Brown, who at 6-5, 215 pounds figures to start from the get-go on the wing. He's a consensus Top-40 recruit nationally who appears to have gained over 20 pounds, presumably of muscle, over his recruiting profile in order to provide some inside-outside threat. His name seems lost a bit when considering top talent at some of the ACC's glamour programs, but Brown has as clear of a path to production as any.
Lonnie Walker (G) 
Walker is on track to be ready for the start of the season after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in July. While he could start slow, Walker is too dynamic of a scorer to not be included here. The 'Canes return a backcourt of Ja'Quan Newton and Bruce Brown, but must replace leading-scored Davon Reed's 14.9 points and 4.8 rebounds. Newton and Brown both were rather inconsistent last season, further giving Walker the opportunity to be a lead-dog as quickly as possible.
Honorable Mentions - Marvin Bagley III, F, Duke; Gary Trent, G, Duke; Wendell Carter, F, Duke; Jalek Felton, G, North Carolina; Lavar Batts, G, North Carolina State, M.J. Walker, G, Florida State
Pair of Sleepers
Cameron Johnson (G/F)
Johnson has big shoes to fill for the Heels, as he's coming in to replace reigning ACC Player of the Year Justin Jackson. And for as much fun as it was watching Jackson develop over three years into that special talent, Johnson has the ability to make UNC fans forget those memories in a hurry. Johnson averaged 11.9 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists last season while shooting 41.5 percent from 3-point range. If he shoots that well this year, he'll see a real boost in scoring in the Heels' higher-paced offense. UNC has only Luke Maye as a proven option on the interior. They're going to play a lot of small ball, and Johnson's length will allow him to play as a stretch 4 or 5, creating driving lanes on offense and additional rebound chances on defense. Jackson's 18.3 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.8 assists may be far-fetched, but Johnson may not be far from those totals.
Elijah Thomas (F) 
Thomas simply needs to stay on the floor, and that will lead to huge production. He averaged 3.5 fouls last season while playing a hair under 17 minutes nightly. But with Jaron Blossomgame (17.7 points, 6.3 rebounds) gone, Thomas, though not the same style of player, has a starting opportunity staring him in the face. Thomas posted 7.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.2 blocks and 0.7 steals in those limited minutes, and if he maintains that efficiency and adds 10+ minutes to his playing time, he's going to be a fantasy star, especially when considering his defensive potential.
Honorable Mentions - Temple Gibbs, G, Notre Dame; Dewan Huell, F, Miami; Marques Bolden; F, Duke
