Syracuse Basketball: Andrew White III Named To All-ACC Third Team

Andrew White didn’t just have the biggest scoring night in Carrier Dome history for the Syracuse basketball team. He also got some hardware from the ACC.

The Syracuse basketball squad wrapped up its 2016-17 regular season with a home thumping of Georgia Tech on Saturday afternoon to (hopefully) improve its chances of earning a NCAA Tournament invite.

Graduate transfer Andrew White III capped off an impressive year by notching a career-high 40 points, including 8-of-9 from downtown, as the Orange (18-13, 10-8 in conference play) crushed the Yellow Jackets (17-14, 8-10) by a count of 90-61.

Now, as SU prepares for the ACC Tournament in Brooklyn this week, White has picked up some hardware.

The Atlantic Coast Conference announced on Sunday that White has made the All-ACC third team.

More from Inside the Loud House

Sophomore Tyler Lydon, who journalists voted to the preseason All-ACC second squad, received honorable-mention accolades.

This is a tremendous achievement for White, who left Nebraska for Central New York, and extremely well-deserving. He has proven Syracuse’s most reliable scorer throughout the 2016-17 stanza, leading the Orange with 17.9 points per game, which slots him eighth in the ultra-competitive Atlantic Coast Conference, according to the ACC’s official Web site.

What’s more, in conference contests only, he is second in the league, at just over 20 points a game, per the ACC.

Just a few weeks ago, White produced seven affairs in a row where he reached at least 20 points. Although known primarily as a spot-up shooter, I think that White has expanded his offensive game by driving to the hole a bit more. He’s also improved his defense within the 2-3 zone.

"To date, he is connecting on 43 percent from the field, says ESPN.com. And according to the ACC, here are several other statistics to keep in mind: White checks in at eighth in the Atlantic Coast Conference in terms of free-throw shooting, at roughly 82 percent. He is fourth in steals, at 1.6 per contest, ninth from 3-point land, at just under 40 percent, first in 3-pointers made each game, at 3.3, and also first in minutes played, at 37."

What else can you say?

As head coach Jim Boeheim has quipped, White and fellow grad transfer John Gillon have proven undeniably instrumental to this group’s success. Without them, I highly doubt that the ‘Cuse would even have an opportunity at the NIT, let alone the Big Dance.

Honestly, a legitimate argument could get made that White should have gotten included on the All-ACC first or second teams. He’s that good. But, in fairness, the guys ahead of him on the first and second squads are premier talents, many of whom have starred on outfits that placed higher in the league standings.

North Carolina’s Justin Jackson is the Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year. Besides him, others on the first team are Duke’s Luke Kennard, Wake Forest’s John Collins, Notre Dame’s Bonzie Colson and Louisville’s Donovan Mitchell.

While the second squad is comprised of Florida State’s Dwayne Bacon, N.C. State’s Dennis Smith Jr., Georgia Tech’s Ben Lammers, North Carolina’s Joel Berry II and Virginia’s London Perrantes.

Joining White on the third team are Pittsburgh’s Michael Young, Clemson’s Jaron Blossomgame, Miami’s Davon Reed and Duke’s Jayson Tatum.

N.C. State’s Smith is also the ACC Freshman of the Year, while Georgia Tech’s Josh Pastner is the Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year.

Additionally, Smith headlines the All-ACC freshman squad, along with Florida State’s Jonathan Isaac, Duke’s Tatum, Georgia Tech’s Josh Okogie and Boston College’s Ky Bowman. These five rookies are studs, but where’s the love for Syracuse freshman Tyus Battle?

Next: Syracuse Basketball: Tyus is Ready to Battle in Brooklyn

Still, Battle, Lydon and White last week did receive inclusion on the ACC’s All-Academic team. And, in my opinion, that’s equally as important. All information provided by the official ACC press release that you can find in full here.