It has been a pretty normal opening week of ACC basketball. Even though we saw the upset of Florida State to the hands of Pittsburgh, both teams have leveled themselves out to even that. Florida State had a huge win over 9th ranked Florida and, well, Pittsburgh lost to Nicholls. However, the true players that will be leading the conference have shown themselves, so now we are going to look at some of them.
Cole Anthony, UNC
It is safe to say that Cole Anthony has submitted himself into the ACC conference with power. Ever since his switch to UNC from Virginia Tech, it has started to look like the right move. At this point, Cole Anthony is averaging 27.0 points per game, with 10.5 rebounds per game to match it. This guy is literally averaging a double-double. Now, granted it is only two games into the season for him, this is still very impressive. Make sure to closely follow Cole Anthony and the Tarheels this season as they look to be up to something.
Jordan Nwora, Louisville
Not only is Louisville looking very solid altogether, but their star leader in Jordan Nwora is too. Nwora was with the team last year when things weren’t doing as great as they are now. However, many of the fans and coaching staff believed that Nwora would develop into the leader he is showing to be now and would change that. It turns out that those who believed in him have been right so far. Nwora is averaging 21.7 points a game for the Cardinals and is shooting at 54.8% from the floor. If Nwora keeps this up, he may be in the running for a high lottery pick.
Landers Nolley, Virginia Tech
Whether it was the bombardment of the Clemson Men’s Basketball Twitter after their close loss to the Hokies or the on-court performances Nolley is putting on, he’s making a splash. Landers Nolley was a highly touted high school prospect, who sat at 67th nationally. Nolley has been running the small forward spot for the Hokies, who are now sitting at 3-0 thus far. In those three games, Nolley has been averaging 21.3 points in scoring a game and shooting at 48.9% from the floor. The only remaining question left for Nolley and the Hokies is: Can Nolley keep this up?
James Banks III, Georgia Tech
Absolute monster in the paint. That is what you can describe Banks as in terms of his playing style. Banks is averaging a stat line of 15.5 points per game, 10.0 rebounds per game, and 5.0 blocks per game. It is clear to see that Banks has been terrorizing the opposing teams when he sits on the defensive side. Georgia Tech has seemingly gotten themselves to 2-0 on the season and will face in-state rival, Georgia, next week. I think we are all excited to see how Banks turns out over the course of the season.
Cover Image Credits: https://keepingitheel.com/2019/11/11/unc-basketball-cole-anthony-sweeps-weekly-acc-honors/
