Boston College Men's Basketball Guard Wins ACC Most Improved Player Award

The sophomore adds to his collegiate accolades.

Feb 8, 2025; Syracuse, New York, USA; Boston College Eagles guard Donald Hand Jr. (13) takes a jump shot as Syracuse Orange forward Petar Majstorovic (6) defends in the first half at the JMA Wireless Dome. Mandatory Credit: Mark Konezny-Imagn Images | Mark Konezny-Imagn Images

Boston College men’s basketball guard Donald Hand Jr., has won the ACC Most Improved Player Award. 

The sophomore earned the honor for his performance in the Eagles’ 2024-25 campaign. This past season, Hand Jr., averaged 33.2 minutes, 15.7 points, and 6.1 rebounds per game as well as boasted 39 assists, 20 steals, and six blocks. He recorded a career-high 31 points in February against Florida State.

He led the team in points, minutes, and rebounds. He also had the 11th-most total points in the ACC (488) and the 14th-highest points average. 

The Virginia Beach, Va., native is the second Eagle to win the award. He joins Boston College alumnus Quinten Post, who won the award for the 2022-23 season. Hand Jr., secured 25 votes for the prestigious award, narrowly ahead of Stanford guard Jaylen Blakes, who earned 22. 

Hand Jr., was also named to the All-ACC Honorable Mention Team with 29 points. 

Hand Jr., was not the only player from Boston College to get a vote for an award this season. Eagles big man Chad Venning received a pair of votes for the Defensive Player of the Year award. 

Duke forward/guard Cooper Flagg led the annual awards as he captured both Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year. Louisville guard Chucky Hepburn was named ACC Defensive Player of the Year while Cal guard Jeremiah Wilkinson received Sixth Man of the Year. 

Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey won Coach of the Year. He led the Cardinals to a 25-6 overall record, a 18-2 mark in ACC play, and earned a 2-seed in the ACC Tournament which is set to start this week. 

Below is the full list of winners as well as the All-ACC teams from the conference.

2024-25 ACC AWARDS

Player of the Year– Cooper Flagg, Fr., G/F, Duke
Defensive Player of the Year – Chucky Hepburn, Sr., G, Louisville
Rookie of the Year– Cooper Flagg, G/F, Duke
Most Improved Player– Donald Hand Jr., So., Boston College
Sixth Man of the Year– Jeremiah Wilkinson, Fr., G, California
Coach of the Year– Pat Kelsey, Louisville

2024-25 ALL-ACC TEAM

(Name, School, Points)

FIRST TEAM
Cooper Flagg, Duke, 400
Maxime Raynaud, Stanford, 392
Chucky Hepburn, Louisville, 364
Chase Hunter, Clemson, 328
Hunter Sallis, Wake Forest, 257

SECOND TEAM
RJ Davis, North Carolina, 241
Markus Burton, Notre Dame, 238
Ian Schieffelin, Clemson, 225
Kon Knueppel, Duke, 208
Jamir Watkins, Florida State, 150

THIRD TEAM
Terrence Edwards Jr., Louisville, 125
Tyrese Proctor, Duke, 72
Baye Ndongo, Georgia Tech, 72
Boopie Miller, SMU, 71
Jaland Lowe, Pitt, 62

HONORABLE MENTION
Matthew Cleveland, Miami, 49
Andrej Stojakovic, California, 48
Naithan George, Georgia Tech, 40
Isaac McKneely, Virginia, 38
J.J. Starling, Syracuse, 32
Donald Hand Jr., Boston College, 29
Cameron Hildreth, Wake Forest, 26
Khaman Maluach, Duke, 23
Viktor Lakhin, Clemson, 20
Eddie Lampkin, Syracuse, 19

Player of the Year
Cooper Flagg, Duke, 76 votes
Maxime Raynaud, Stanford, 4
Chucky Hepburn, Louisville, 1

Defensive Player of the Year
Chucky Hepburn, Louisville, 32 votes
Cooper Flagg, Duke, 26
Jaeden Zackery, Clemson, 8
Zack Austin, Pitt, 4
Maliq Brown, Duke, 3
Chad Venning, Boston College, 2
Khaman Maluach, Duke, 2
Sion James, Duke, 1
Mady Sissoko, California, 1
Tae Davis, Notre Dame 1
Cameron Hildreth, Wake Forest 1

Rookie of the Year
Cooper Flagg, Duke, 79 votes
Jeremiah Wilkinson, California, 2

Sixth Man Of the Year
Jeremiah Wilkinson, California, 22 votes
Duncan Powell, Georgia Tech, 15
Ian Jackson, North Carolina, 13
Maliq Brown, Duke, 11
Kario Oquendo, SMU, 11
Isaiah Evans, Duke, 9

Most Improved Player
Donald Hand Jr., Boston College, 25 votes
Jaylen Blakes, Stanford, 22
Tae Davis, Notre Dame, 8
Naithan George, Georgia Tech, 7
Jaland Lowe, Pitt, 7
Andrej Stojakovic, California, 4
Andrew Rohde, Virginia, 4
B.J. Edwards, SMU, 2
Eddie Lampkin, Syracuse, 1
Tyrese Proctor, Duke, 1

Coach of the Year
Pat Kelsey, Louisville, 47 votes
Jon Scheyer, Duke, 25
Brad Brownell, Clemson, 8
Kyle Smith, Stanford, 1

All-Defensive Team
Chucky Hepburn, Louisville, 70 votes
Cooper Flagg, Duke, 57
Jaeden Zackery, Clemson, 55
B.J. Edwards, SMU, 34
Sion James, Duke, 28
Zack Austin, Pitt, 28

All-Rookie Team
Cooper Flagg, Duke, 80 votes
Kon Knueppel, Duke, 79
Ian Jackson, North Carolina, 65
Jeremiah Wilkinson, California, 59
Khaman Maluach, Duke, 47