The ACC is regarded as the deepest and best men's basketball league in the country. Its coaching cradle is considered the crème de la crème of the sport, it annually puts more players into the NBA Draft than any other conference (and shows no signs of slowing down) and it's had five teams make the Final Four in the past five seasons, which is the best in college hoops.

But there is one thing evading the ACC that I find surprising: a No. 1 rating. That is, No. 1 conference rating, per KenPom. The league hasn't finished atop the sport per that metric since 2006-07. In fact, on average over the previous 12 seasons, the ACC has rated as the third-best league. The reason being volume more than anything else, of course. When you have 15 teams as opposed to 10 or 12, you're going to have a few schools dragging you down.

But I think this is the year that changes. While the top of the conference isn't as l-o-a-d-e-d as it's been heading into any given season over the previous half-decade, it's looking to me like the bottom half of the league will be more well-rounded and thus should boost the ACC overall. For the first time since 2009-10, I expect every team save one to finish in the top 100 at KenPom.

Let's take the tour and lead with the headliners.

Louisville's Jordan Nwora is the CBS Sports ACC Preseason Player of the Year. USATSI

Preseason Player of Year: Jordan Nwora, Louisville



Here's the irony: For as good as I expect the ACC to be this season, it's been a long time since its best player in the preseason was this much of a toss-up. Jordan Nwora's a 6-foot-7 wing and was one of the best talents to bypass the NBA Draft and return to school. He averaged 17.0 points, 7.6 rebounds and 1.3 assists and had a solid 53.3 effective field-goal percentage last season. He'll lead the way for a Louisville team that's going to be intriguing to watch, given the expectations on the group. For us, Nwora beat out UNC freshman Cole Anthony and Duke sophomore Tre Jones. In order to win player of the year at the end of the season, he'll need to improve upon his averages and efficiency from a season ago. We think he'll do that.

Preseason Coach of the Year: Chris Mack, Louisville

Louisville's Chris Mack is only in Year No. 2 with U of L. He's handled the transition quite well. Given the tumult surrounding the program when he took the job and the TBD status of NCAA sanctions still expected to come (how severe is truly anyone's guess; Louisville has the most fascinating situation of any school connected to the FBI probe), I can't commend Mack and his staff enough for how they've found footing and thrived. We expect Louisville to battle Duke for the top spot in the ACC, and given all that this program and these players have played through, their coach gets the preseason nod. Mack should hit 250 career wins this season, and if Louisville makes the NCAAs as expected, it will mark 10 times in 11 seasons he's reached the Big Dance.

Preseason Freshman of the Year: Cole Anthony, UNC

It's been a long time -- almost a decade, dating back to Harrison Barnes -- since North Carolina had the projected best freshman in the ACC. Anthony could be a dynamo. He's strong, quick, ball-dominant and takes crap from no one. A scoring point guard with a deep bag of tools, Anthony has a chance to be the Trae Young of 2019-20. UNC lost a lost of production from last season's No. 1-seeded team that was upset in the Sweet 16 by Auburn. And now, after seeing what Coby White did, get ready for all that flash and volume to go up a notch. Anthony not only has the keys, he will own the car that is UNC's offense. Projection: 24.7 ppg, 7.4 apg, 5.2 rpg.

ACC predicted order of finish

ACC expert picks