UNC Basketball: Coach K believes Bacot is the ACC Player of the Year

In his postgame press conference, Coach Mike Krzyzewski said that he believes that Armando Bacot of the UNC basketball program should be this year’s ACC Player of the Year.

Wait… hold up… Mike Krzyzewski said what?!

After suffering a loss in his final home game as the Duke men’s basketball coach, Krzyzewski was asked about the performance of UNC basketball big man Armando Bacot. Coach K made a rather interesting, yet surprising statement regarding Bacot:

Krzyzewski went on to say that he believes that Bacot has been the Player of the Year in the ACC throughout the regular season, as he showcased it with another standout performance on Saturday night. Of course, we definitely agree with what Coach K had to say here (maybe he’s been reading our articles and social media feeds?!) but his comments are pretty shocking considering some of the circumstances.

For starters, Duke and North Carolina are bitter rivals. After the UNC basketball program upset Coach K’s Blue Devils in Durham, hearing the 75-year-old head coach make that statement was something that we didn’t quite see coming.

Additionally, his own player, Paolo Banchero, has been among the handful of players who are considered “frontrunners” for the award. Don’t you think that may ruffle a few feathers in the Duke locker room considering that their head coach isn’t actively supporting his own player?

Regardless, Armando Bacot is the ACC Player of the Year. He’s put together a tremendous season, and after his big performance in Durham, the junior big man should be the heavy favorite to bring home the award at the season’s end.

It’s bad enough that the Tar Heels handed Coach K a loss in his final home game. As he retires from coaching, let’s grant him this wish by naming Bacot the ACC Player of the Year. It’s only right!

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