ACC Coaches Recognize Larra'aga, Jekiri & Mac

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Miami Head Coach Jim Larrañaga has been voted the Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year by the league’s head coaches, while Sheldon McClellan and Tonye Jekiri picked up all-conference honors.

McClellan was named to the All-ACC Second Team and Jekiri was voted to the All-ACC Defensive Team and the All-ACC Third Team.

Larrañaga was chosen the ACC Coach of the Year for the second time in the four seasons the coaches have voted on postseason honors. Miami (24-6 overall) shared second place in the final ACC standings and enters the ACC Tournament as the No. 3 seed. The Hurricanes went 9-0 in home conference games and were 5-2 against fellow ranked teams. Miami is currently ranked seventh nationally and has been ranked among the nation’s top 15 for a school-record 12 weeks this season (through Monday morning).

McClellan finished the regular season as the second-most efficient offensive player in the ACC and the 20th-most efficient offensive player in NCAA, according to KenPom.com. The Houston native posted the best shooting percentage among guards in the ACC (49.5%). He posted double-digit points in all ACC games and Miami was 5-0 when McClellan scored 20+ points in ACC outings. In ACC games, he was fourth in turnover rate (9.6), sixth in free throw percentage (83.5), ninth in points per game (15.8), ninth in true shooting percentage (60.7) and 17th in 2-point field goal percentage (54.6). He currently has 1863 career points, with 1020 at Miami and 843 at Texas.

ACC opponents score 16.0 ppg less when Miami’s 7-footer, Jekiri, is on the court (per 40 minutes). He is seventh in the ACC in defensive rebound percent and 11th in offensive rebound percent. The native of Port Harcourt, Nigeria, currently is the winningest player in Miami history with 93 victories. In NCAA rankings, he is 42nd in rebounds per game, 44th in total rebounds and 45th in defensive rebounds. He is eighth in the ACC in rebounding, seventh in defensive and eighth in offensive boards. This season, Jekiri averaged 9.6 points and 8.4 rebounds per game against ranked teams, and he posted 15 10-rebound games this season, with 40 in his career. On ACC career charts, he is fourth in rebounds and seventh in blocked shots among current players.

Third-seeded Miami opens play at the ACC Tournament on Thursday, March 10 at 9 p.m.in the quarterfinal round against No. 6 Virginia Tech, No. 11 Florida State or No. 14 Boston College.

2016 ACC Basketball Post-Season Honors (Coaches)

All-Atlantic Coast Conference
(5 points for first team vote, 3 points for second team, 1 point for third team)

First Team
Brice Johnson, Sr., North Carolina *75
Malcolm Brogdon, Sr., Virginia *75
Grayson Allen, So., Duke 69
Jaron Blossomgame, Jr., Clemson 65
Cat Barber, Jr., NC State 60

Second Team
Demetrius Jackson, Jr., Notre Dame 45
Sheldon McClellan, Sr., Miami 44
Brandon Ingram, Fr., Duke 41
Michael Gbinije, Sr., Syracuse 36
Marcus Georges-Hunt, Sr., Georgia Tech 32

Third Team
Damion Lee, Sr., Louisville 30
Anthony Gill, Sr., Virginia 21
Michael Young, Jr., Pittsburgh 15
Zach Auguste, Sr., Notre Dame 9
Tonye Jekiri, Sr., Miami 9

Honorable Mention:
Malik Beasley, Florida State; Zach LeDay, Jr., Virginia Tech; Chinanu Onuaku, So., Louisville; London Perrantes, Jr., Virginia; Devin Thomas, Sr., Wake Forest.

All-ACC Freshman Team
Brandon Ingram, Duke 15
Malik Beasley, Florida State 15
Dwayne Bacon, Florida State 14
Malachi Richardson, Syracuse 14
Bryant Crawford, Wake Forest 8

All-ACC Defensive Team
Malcolm Brogdon, Sr., Virginia 15
Tonye Jekiri, Sr., Miami 12
Michael Gbinije, Sr., Syracuse 8
Landry Nnoko, Sr., Clemson 8
Chinanu Onuaku, So., Louisville 6
Brice Johnson, Sr., North Carolina 6

ACC Player of the Year
Malcolm Brogdon, Sr., Virginia

ACC Freshman of the Year
Brandon Ingram, Duke

ACC Coach of the Year
Jim Larrañaga, Miami

ACC Defensive Player of the Year
Malcolm Brogdon, Sr., Virginia

ACC Most Improved Co-Players of the Year
Jaron Blossomgame, Jr., Clemson
Grayson Allen, So., Duke

Sixth Man of the Year
Isaiah Hicks, Jr., North Carolina

* Unanimous selection