Could Erick Green Be Snubbed From 1st Team All-ACC Honors?
By Ty Hodges
Simply put, yes. There’s a possibility that he could be snubbed from 1st team All-ACC honors.
I know this seems crazy (and trust me, it is to me too), but the resurgence of the Miami Hurricanes could lead to Erick Green being bumped out of the 1st team honors spot. To whom, you might ask?
Shane Larkin, point guard, University of Miami.
How is this possible? If you compare numbers, it should be no contest who gets the 1st team slot.
Erick Green: 25.5 PPG, 4.2 APG, 4.4 RPG, 1.4 STLPG
Shane Larkin: 12.9 PPG, 4.0 APG, 4.3 RPG, 2.2 STLPG
However, after Miami’s road win against the Hokies, Fran Fraschilla of ESPN not only said on-air that Larkin was the best point guard in the ACC, but also ranked Larkin two spots ahead of Green in his top-25 players in the nation column.
Now this is just one man’s opinion on the subject, and these statements could end up being meaningless in the scope of the voting. However, because the media votes on the All-ACC ballots you have to wonder if this thought process might spread from ESPN on down to other outlets and voters.
Moreover, if the Miami Hurricanes keep playing the way they are at this moment in time they will likely be front runners for the ACC Championship. As in most instances, players on a program that is succeeding will likely overshadow players on a team that is faltering like Virginia Tech is. Erick Green leading the nation in scoring might potentially be overshadowed by the success of the Hurricanes.
Another problem for Green is simply space – is there enough room for two point guards on the 1st team All-ACC roster? Here are my personal choices at this time for the 1st team All-ACC roster at the shooting guard, small forward, power forward, and center positions:
SG – Joe Harris, UVa
SF-Reggie Bullock, UNC
PF-C.J. Leslie, NC State
C- Mason Plumlee, Duke
If need be you could also slide Erick Green into the shooting guard spot since he’s more deserving of the 1st team All-ACC spot than Joe Harris. And keep in mind that, admittedly, my rankings probably aren’t even close to what the official team roster will look like. Plus there’s a lot of season left to play.
However, the fact that Green could have to be slid into the shooting guard spot just to make the team does speak volumes. And as everybody knows, the ACC media runs through North Carolina. Expect the North Carolina teams to get the first dibs at spots, even if they don’t deserve them.
Combine all of these factors together and you see the potential for Erick Green to be the odd man out on the 1st team All-ACC roster.
All this being said, I personally believe that Erick Green not only deserves the spot, but that he will get it as well. Moving up to the All-American class is where things get even more tricky for the lights-out guard. Regardless of whether or not Green gets these accolades or not, he is putting together a historic season for Virginia Tech. A snub for an award will never take that away from this young man.