UNC’s Garrison Brooks Named ACC’s Most Improved Player; Cole Anthony 3rd Team All ACC

Per ACC release, North Carolina’s Garrison Brooks was selected as the ACC’s Most Improved Player. Averaging 16.4 points per game, the junior has more than doubled his scoring average from a season ago (7.9 ppg in 2018-19). Brooks also is averaging 8.8 rebounds per game, which is third in the ACC, and boasts a dozen double-doubles this season.

Brooks led the ACC in scoring in conference games at 18.8 points per game and was second in rebounding and field goal percentage. He is the fifth Tar Heel to lead the league in scoring in conference play since 1988 and the first to do so since Tyler Hansbrough in 2008 (Jamison in 1998, Joseph Forte in 2001, Rashad McCants in 2004, Hansbrough in 2008 and Brooks in 2020).

Brooks averaged 6.2 points and 4.5 rebounds in 73 games over his first two college seasons.

The All-ACC Second Team is comprised of Virginia’s Mamadi Diakite, Florida State’s Trent Forrest and Devin Vassell, North Carolina’s Garrison Brooks and NC State’s Markell Johnson. Third-Team All-ACC honors went to Virginia’s Kihei Clark, Georgia Tech’s Jose Alvarado, Clemson’s Aamir Simms, North Carolina’s Cole Anthony and Wake Forest’s Olivier Sarr.

Anthony is the 22nd Tar Heel to earn All-Freshman team honors since 1994 (the 13th to play for Roy Williams).

The New York native is the sixth point guard to play for Williams to earn All-Freshman team honors (Bobby Frasor 2006, Ty Lawson 2007, Kendall Marshall 2011, Marcus Paige 2013, Coby White 2019 and Anthony).

Anthony leads the Tar Heels in scoring at 19.6 points per game, best in the country among freshmen, and on pace to set the UNC single-season record for a freshman.

The 2019-20 All-ACC Team was determined by a 75-person selection panel consisting of the league’s 15 head coaches and 60 members of the media.

Click here to check out the ACC’s full list of award winners.