Georgia Tech lands All-ACC honors

The postseason destination for Georgia Tech remains in flux, but based on the Yellow Jackets’ representation in the All-ACC honors, people certainly have taken notice.

Georgia Tech, which opens the ACC Tournament on Tuesday as the No. 11 seed, came away with some major hardware from the conference Sunday.

Josh Pastner was named the ACC Coach of the Year. Junior center Ben Lammers was named the ACC Defensive Player of the Year and to the second-team All-ACC team. Guard Josh Okogie was named to the ACC’s All-Freshman team.

It is the first time since 2013 that Georgia Tech has had honorees in multiple categories. It is the first time since 2013 that more than one player has been honored.

Pastner, who took over when Brian Gregory was fired last spring, becomes the third Georgia Tech head coach to earn the honor. Bobby Cremins received it three times, and Paul Hewitt earned it once. Pastner received 24 of the 53 votes cast.

“This is a great honor, but it’s really a great honor for our program,” Pastner said. “It’s a direct reflection of the work done by our staff and student athletes. I’m the first to recognize that you’re only as good as your players and staff. I don’t take it for granted, especially in a league like the ACC. We’ve become a good team, and that’s a tribute to our staff and players. It’s a program award.”

Lammers is the fourth Georgia Tech center to earn All-ACC honors, joining John Salley, Alvin Jones and Daniel Miller. Lammers, who averages 14.6 points and 9.2 rebounds, had 13 double-doubles. He received 37 of 53 votes for the conference’s top defensive player.

“Ben has been our catalyst,” Pastner said. “We’ve piggy-backed onto him. Most of the times you piggy-back on guys offensively. We’ve piggy-backed on Ben both offensively and defensively. His improvement from last spring to now has been phenomenal. It’s a great honor for him to be recognized.”

Okogie is the program’s top-scoring freshman since Chris Bosh in 2002-03. Okogie averages a team-leading 15.5 points and was a four-time ACC Rookie of the Week.

“Josh has gotten better and better and better,” Pastner said. “For him to make the All-Freshman team in a league with so many good freshman, that’s a tremendous honor for him. And it’s also great that both players have a chance to be back and take the next step in their games for next season.”

Junior guard Tadric Jackson received four votes for the ACC’s Sixth Man Award, which went to Virginia Tech’s Seth Allen in a landslide.

Justin Jackson of North Carolina was named ACC Player of the Year. Other first-team choices were John Collins of Wake Forest, Luke Kennard of Duke, Bonzie Colson of Notre Dame and Donovan Mitchell of Louisville.

Joining Lammers on second team were Dwayne Bacon of Florida State, Dennis Smith Jr. of N.C. State, Joel Berry II of North Carolina and London Perrantes of Virginia.

Smith was named ACC Freshman of the Year. Collins was named Most Improved.

The team was chosen by a panel that included head coaches and three members of the media representing each program.

This story was originally published March 5, 2017 at 7:25 PM with the headline "Georgia Tech lands All-ACC honors."