NC State men's basketball picked fourth in ACC, with Darrion Williams preseason POY

NC State senior power forward Darrion Williams was one of the big prizes on the transfer portal market after leaving Texas Tech and pulling his name out of the NBA Draft.

The 6-foot-4 1/2, 236-pounder was named the preseason ACC of the Year and the Wolfpack are pegged to finish fourth in the league under first-year coach Will Wade.

Williams was one of 10 players selected first-team All-Big 12 last year, after averaging 15.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. He shot 43.9 percent from the field and 34.0 percent from three-point range.

Williams edged Duke freshman power forward Cameron Boozer for player of the year honors, and both were first-team all-league, with Boozer the leading vote-getter for all-freshman team honors. Boozer was ranked No. 4 in the country in the class of 2026 by On3.com.

Notre Dame junior point guard Markus Burton, Louisville freshman point guard Mikel Brown and Louisville senior shooting guard Ryan Conwell rounded out the first team. Conwell previously played at South Florida, Indiana State and Xavier.

Williams started his college career at Nevada in 2022-23, where he averaged 7.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game. He transferred to Texas Tech and was a break out player for the Red Raiders. He shot an impressive 45.8 percent on three-pointers (44 of 96), and averaged 11.4 points and 7.5 rebounds a contest. His sophomore season came to an end when NC State knocked out Texas Tech in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament.

Williams helped power Texas Tech to the Elite Eight last March, falling 84-79 to eventual national champion Florida. Williams averaged 21.0 points and 7.3 rebounds per game during his four-game tournament run.

Duke edged Louisville for top preseason team, with the Blue Devils receiving 34 votes and Louisville earning 15 votes. Duke was slotted No. 6 in the country by The Associated Press preseason top 25, with Louisville at No. 11 and North Carolina at No. 25. NC State was No. 26 with 101 votes.

Preseason All-ACC Team (First-place votes – 49 voters)

First team
Cameron Boozer, Duke, 46
Darrion Williams, NC State, 45
Markus Burton, Notre Dame, 46
Mikel Brown Jr., Louisville, 36
Ryan Conwell, Louisville, 36
•••
Second team
Boopie Miller, SMU, 27
J.J. Starling, Syracuse, 27
Isaiah Evans, Duke, 24
Baye Ndongo, Georgia Tech, 24
Caleb Wilson, North Carolina, 24

ACC Preseason Player of the Year

Darrion Williams, NC State, 23 votes
Cameron Boozer, Duke, 19
J.J. Starling, Syracuse, 2
Markus Burton, Notre Dame, 2
Donald Hand Jr., Boston College, 1
Baye Ndongo, Georgia Tech, 1
Caleb Wilson, North Carolina, 1

Preseason All-Freshman Team

Cameron Boozer, Duke, 43 votes
Mikel Brown Jr., Louisville, 3
Caleb Wilson, North Carolina, 2
Neoklis Avdalas, Virginia Tech, 1

Predicted Order of Finish (First-place votes)

1. Duke (34), 866
2. Louisville (15), 842
3. North Carolina, 741
4. NC State, 710
5. Virginia, 623
6. SMU, 616
7. Clemson, 510
8. Miami, 500
9. Syracuse, 489
10. Notre Dame, 477
11. Wake Forest, 412
12. Virginia Tech, 355
13. Georgia Tech, 315
14. Pitt, 301
15. Florida State, 221
16. California, 156
17. Stanford, 138
18. Boston College, 107