The ACC Tournament returns to Barclays Center in March, with the nation's No. 1 ranked team, Virginia, headed for Brooklyn as the No. 1 seed. Nets guard Joe Harris is a proud UVA grad, having won ACC Tournament MVP honors while leading the Cavaliers to the tournament title in 2014. His Brooklyn teammate Jahlil Okafor was named the conference's player of the year as a freshman in 2015, helping lead Duke to the national championship.
Harris and Okafor are just the latest products of college basketball's premier conference to suit up for the Nets. Let's take a look at the franchise's all-time team of ACC players:
GUARDKenny Anderson, Georgia TechThe Queens native out of Archbishop Molloy played two seasons at Georgia Tech, helping lead the Yellow Jackets to the Final Four as a freshman in 1989. Anderson was named to the All-ACC First Team two times, and was a consensus First Team All-American as a sophomore. He averaged 23.0 points, 7.0 assists, 5.6 rebounds and 2.6 steals over his two seasons. Selected second overall in the 1991 NBA Draft, Anderson played four-and-a-half seasons for the Nets, averaging 15.3 points and 7.8 assists per game. He was named to the 1994 NBA All-Star Game and is third in Nets history with 2,363 assists.
GUARDStephon Marbury, Georgia TechBrooklyn's Stephon Marbury had a legendary high school career at Coney Island's Lincoln HS, alma mater of current Net Isaiah Whitehead. In his single college season at Georgia Tech, Marbury was named to the All-ACC First Team and ACC Rookie of the Year after averaging 20.2 points and 4.8 assists per game and helping lead the Yellow Jackets to the regular season title. His 13-year NBA career included two-and-a-half seasons with the Nets, beginning with his acquisition in a blockbuster, three-team, 10-player trade in March 1999. Marbury averaged 23.0 points and 8.1 assists in 172 games for the Nets and made the 2001 All-Star Game before being traded to Phoenix in a deal for Jason Kidd in 2001.
FORWARDVince Carter, North CarolinaAt North Carolina, Vince Carter helped lead the Tar Heels to consecutive ACC Tournament titles and Final Four appearances as a sophomore and junior in 1997 and 1998, earning All-ACC First Team honors in 1998. He averaged 12.3 points over his three seasons, including 15.9 as a senior, when he shot 59 percent. Acquired from the Toronto Raptors in December 2004, Carter played for the Nets through the 2008-09 season, averaging 23.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. He represented the Nets in the 2005, 2006, and 2007 NBA All-Star Games. Carter is third in Nets history in points per game behind Rick Barry and Julius Erving, making him the franchise's all-time NBA scoring leader.
FORWARDBuck Williams, Maryland*The ACC's Rookie of the Year in 1979, Buck Williams led the conference in rebounding as a freshman and junior and earned All-ACC honors in 1980 and 1981. He helped lead the Terrapins to the ACC regular season championship in 1980 and to back-to-back ACC Tournament title games in 1980 and 1981. Drafted third overall by the Nets in 1981, Williams was named the NBA Rookie of the Year after averaging 15.5 points and 12.3 rebounds and making the first of three NBA All-Star Game appearances. Williams played eight seasons for the Nets, averaging 16.4 points and 11.9 rebounds. He left as the franchise's all-time leader with 10,440 points, and currently ranks No. 2 behind Brook Lopez. Williams remains the franchise leader in games (635), rebounds (7,576) and rebounds per game (11.9). He was named to the All-NBA Second Team in 1983 and the All-Defensive Second Team in 1989. His No. 52 has been retired by the Nets.
CENTERMike Gminski, DukeIn his four seasons at Duke, Mike Gminski was a three-time All-ACC First Team selection, the conference player of the year as a junior in 1979, a two-time consensus All-American (First Team 1979, Second Team 1980) and helped lead the Blue Devils to the Final Four and the national championship game in 1978. He averaged 19.0 points and 10.2 rebounds at Duke. Like Williams and Anderson, he was selected to the ACC's 50th Anniversary All-ACC Team. Selected seventh overall in 1980 - one spot after the Nets drafted another ACC player, UNC's Mike O'Koren - Gminski played seven-and-a-half seasons for the Nets, averaging 11.7 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. He is third in franchise history in games played (550), behind Buck Williams and Brook Lopez.
*Maryland was a member of the ACC from the league's inception in 1953 through 2014