Notre Dame Fighting Irish - Official Athletics Website

Burton a Preseason First Team All-ACC Selection

Year two loading for the reigning ACC Rookie of the Year

CHARLOTTE – The 2024-25 men’s basketball season is right around the corner and that means preseason accolades. On Tuesday evening, the ACC office announced its Preseason Teams and Poll, and there was no doubt that the reigning ACC Rookie of the Year would make the list. 

With that said, Notre Dame guard Markus Burton was named a Preseason First Team All-ACC selection. Burton’s 17.5 ppg is the third highest returning scoring average in the ACC behind North Carolina’s RJ Davis (21.2) and Wake Forest’s Hunter Sallis (18.0 ppg).

This comes off the heels of becoming the program’s third-ever Rookie of the Year winner for the 2023-24 season (first Rookie winner in the ACC). He was a Third Team All-ACC honoree last year as well.   

As a rookie, Burton took the ACC by storm and put his name on a lot of people’s radars. In ACC play only, Burton ranked sixth in points, first in steals (2.2) and third in assists (4.8). 

The Mishawaka native totaled 577 points on the year which set the Notre Dame freshman scoring record. He dished out 95 assists in ACC play, which ranked as the fourth most by an Irish player. Furthermore, he recorded 63 steals, which tied ND great Jerian Grant for third-most in a single season.

Burton has been a gym rat all summer and once again has something to prove in year two. In three games in Spain, Burton totaled 58 points, 12 assists, 11 steals and 17 rebounds, helping the Irish go 3-0 on the trip.  

Burton will return to Purcell Pavilion with his Irish teammates for the season opener against Stonehill on Nov. 6. Before then, Notre Dame will travel to Fort Wayne for a charity exhibition on Oct. 30. 

Lastly, the full ACC Preseason Poll and Player Awards can be found below. Both were voted upon a media contingent from all 18 universities. 

Preseason ACC Poll

School, Points

  1. Duke (42), 956
  2. North Carolina (11), 924
  3. Wake Forest (1), 800
  4. Clemson, 765
  5. Virginia, 743
  6. Miami, 659
  7. Pitt, 636
  8. NC State, 550
  9. Louisville, 518
  10. Notre Dame, 462
  11. Syracuse, 454
  12. Georgia Tech, 433
  13. SMU, 344
  14. Virginia Tech, 252
  15. Florida State, 251
  16. California, 206
  17. Stanford, 165
  18. Boston College, 116

First-place votes in parentheses; 54 total voters 

Preseason ACC Player of the Year

RJ Davis, North Carolina, 40 votes

Cooper Flagg, Duke, 10

Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest, 3

Maxime Raynaud, Stanford, 1

 

Preseason ACC Rookie of the Year

Cooper Flagg, Duke, 53 votes

Jeremiah Wilkinson, California, 1

 

Preseason All-ACC Team

First Team

RJ Davis*, North Carolina, 54

Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest, 52

Cooper Flagg, Duke, 52

Markus Burton, Notre Dame, 41

Nijel Pack, Miami, 37

 

Second Team

Ian Schieffelin, Clemson, 36

Chase Hunter, Clemson, 31

Jamir Watkins, Florida State, 26

Baye Ndongo, Georgia Tech, 21

Ishmael Leggett, Pitt, 20

 

*denotes unanimous selection

– ND –