PITTSBURGH – Senior guard Ishmael Leggett was named Preseason Second Team All-ACC, and the Panthers were picked seventh overall in the Preseason Poll, as announced by on the ACC Network Tuesday evening.
Leggett, the reigning ACC Sixth Man of the Year, closed the 2023-24 season averaging 12.3 points, an ACC-guard leading 5.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. He led the Panthers in rebounding and steals (41), while making 35 three-pointers and shooting 85.9 percent from the free-throw line. Leggett scored in double figures 23 times and collected five or more rebounds in 20 games during his first season in Oakland.
The Panthers return four of its top six scorers from last season with the backcourt of Leggett and Jaland Lowe (12.0 ppg., 3.2 rpg., and 3.8 apg. in ACC play) leading the way.
Pitt also returns a core of Zack Austin (6.5 ppg., 4.2 rpg., 44 blocks), Guillermo Diaz Graham (6.7 ppg., 3.9 rpg.), and Jorge Diaz Graham (3.5 ppg., 2.5 rpg.) that helped lead the Panthers to their second consecutive season with 20+ wins overall and 10+ wins in ACC play.
The incoming class of Panthers is well balanced with productive veterans Damian Dunn and Cameron Corhen complimented by a trio of high-ceiling freshman – Brandin Cummings, Amsal Delalić, and Amdy Ndiaye. Dunn, a two-time All-AAC selection, has totaled 1,288 points in 109 career games, while Corhen is a two-year starter at Florida State who averaged 9.4 points and 3.9 rebounds in just 21.5 minutes per game last season with the Seminoles.
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Preseason ACC Poll
School, Points
1. Duke (42), 956
2. North Carolina (11), 924
3. Wake Forest (1), 800
4. Clemson, 765
5. Virginia, 743
6. Miami, 659
7. Pitt, 636
8. NC State, 550
9. Louisville, 518
10. Notre Dame, 462
11. Syracuse, 454
12. Georgia Tech, 433
13. SMU, 344
14. Virginia Tech, 252
15. Florida State, 251
16. California, 206
17. Stanford, 165
18. Boston College, 116
First-place votes in parentheses; 54 total voters
Preseason ACC Player of the Year
RJ Davis, North Carolina, 40 votes
Cooper Flagg, Duke, 10
Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest, 3
Maxime Raynaud, Stanford, 1
Preseason ACC Rookie of the Year
Cooper Flagg, Duke, 53 votes
Jeremiah Wilkinson, California, 1
Preseason All-ACC Team
First Team
RJ Davis*, North Carolina, 54
Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest, 52
Cooper Flagg, Duke, 52
Markus Burton, Notre Dame, 41
Nijel Pack, Miami, 37
Second Team
Ian Schieffelin, Clemson, 36
Chase Hunter, Clemson, 31
Jamir Watkins, Florida State, 26
Baye Ndongo, Georgia Tech, 21
Ishmael Leggett, Pitt, 20
*denotes unanimous selection
