Keve Aluma Earns Preseason All-ACC Honors as Virginia Tech is Picked 5th By Media

The Preseason ACC Media poll and All-ACC teams have been revealed with Virginia Tech receiving lots of respect with Keve Aluma receiving the most.

Keve Aluma was named to the Preseason All-ACC First Team while the Hokies were picked fifth in the ACC with 5 media members picking the Hokies to win the conference. Aluma also finished second in the Preseason ACC Player of the Year behind Duke's highly-hyped freshman Paolo Banchero.

Aluma receiving these high honors shouldn't come as a surprise after Aluma broke out in a big way this past season averaging 15.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists, and 1.3 blocks in 30.6 minutes per game while shooting 49% from the field including 35.1% from three-point range. As we all know, Aluma's emergence as a star proved crucial in helping the Hokies reach their fourth-straight contested NCAA Tournament (not counting the cancelled 2020 NCAA Tournament) while earning All-ACC Second Team honors.

Aluma is also a big reason why the Hokies were picked fifth in the conference with 5 media members picking the Hokies to win the ACC. There's no doubt that Mike Young is a big reason for that as he has done a tremendous job over his first two years finding, developing, and maximizing his talent pulling off multiple wins over top 10 opponents along the way.

Tech may not have Tyrece Radford returning but the Hokies have a strong team with Aluma leading the way along with Nahiem Alleyne who may be poised for a breakout after shining in the NCAA Tournament against Florida. Hunter Cattoor and Justyn Mutts both should be improved in 2021 while the addition of Storm Murphy gives the Hokies an offensive threat at point guard plus David N'Guessan and Darius Maddox seem ready to take the next steps in their second seasons in Blacksburg.

All of this comes after the Hokies just missed out on the Preseason AP Top 25 coming in tied for 30th with Oklahoma State. Four ACC teams (Duke, UNC, Florida State, Virginia) and three non-conference opponents (Memphis, Maryland, St. Bonaventure) did make the initial top 25 giving Tech plenty of opportunities to prove that they should be ranked ASAP.