After taking a shot at three different eras, it's time to move onto 1987-1995. This stretch should just be referred to as the Rise of K, and I'm not talking about Tommy Lee Jones' character from "Men In Black."

It was surprising looking back just how good Kenny Anderson and Chris Corchiani were at point guard, especially in comparison to Bobby Hurley. Anderson was clearly asked to do more than those two guys were, and he certainly did. He was a consensus All-American as a sophomore, and for his all-around game, he was the best point guard of the era in the conference.

I imagine if Corchiani and Hurley flipped schools, Corchiani would be more revered, mitigating any talk about what a "winner" Hurley was. So I'll take the overlooked Wolfpack star and his eye-popping 2.6 assist-to-turnover ratio for my second team.

Corchiani's running mate, Rodney Monroe, is in the first team backcourt. State hasn't seen a guard as good as either of them in the last 15 years, though Julius Hodge (arguably a forward) was above average and Anthony Grundy was superlative for about six weeks as a senior.

It's an all-Duke frontcourt on the first team. There are no arguments for the accomplishments of Grant Hill, Danny Ferry and Christian Laettner.

I am a firm believer that for three days, Randolph Childress was a deity among men in 1995. His ACC tournament performance that year (outings of 40, 30 and 37 points), coupled with two strong seasons to end his career, lands him on the second team with do-it-all swingman Bryant Stith from Virginia.

The frontcourt on the second team includes Wake Forest's Rodney Rogers, another one of those forgotten stars, and Maryland center Joe Smith. Yes, Smith really was that good a college player. He might be the fourth best center in ACC history; unfortunately, two of the other guys were either a contemporary (Tim Duncan) or a near-contemporary (Laettner).

The third team features Hurley, Lethal Weapon 3's Dennis Scott from Georgia Tech and North Carolina's Kenny Smith in the backcourt. I'll snag Maryland's Walt Williams and Clemson's Horace Grant as my forwards.

The coach is obviously Mike Krzyzewski. A couple national titles will do that for you.

1st team

G Kenny Anderson, Georgia Tech: 23.0 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 7.0 apg, 1.8 a/to, 47.3 FG%, 78.7 FT%
G Rodney Monroe, N.C. State: 20.6 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 2.4 apg, 45.7 FG%, 83.6 FT%
F Grant Hill, Duke: 14.9 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.45 a/to, 53.2 FG%, 71.6 FT%
F Danny Ferry, Duke: 15.1 ppg, 7.0 rpg, 3.5 apg, 48.4 FG%, 78.5 FT%
F/C Christian Laettner, Duke: 16.6 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.8 apg, 57.4 FG%, 80.6 FT%

2nd team

G Chris Corchiani, N.C. State: 11.5 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 8.4 apg, 2.6 a/to, 46.3 FG%, 82.2 FT%
G Randolph Childress, Wake Forest: 18.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 3.9 apg, 44.6 FG%, 80.4 FT%
G Bryant Stith, Virginia: 19.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.6 apg, 48.3 FG%, 78.9 FT%
F Rodney Rogers, Wake Forest: 19.3 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 2.2 apg, 57.9 FG%, 69.4 FT%
C Joe Smith, Maryland: 20.2 ppg, 10.7 rpg, 1.0 apg, 3.0 bpg, 55.1 FG%, 73.8 FT%

Coach: Mike Krzyzewski (6 Final Fours, 2 ACC titles, 2 national titles)

Here's Kevin Brewer's team:

First team

PG Bobby Hurley, Duke: 12.4 points, 7.7 assists, 40.5 3-point shooting
SG Rodney Monroe, N.C. State: 20.6 points, 43.6 3-point shooting, 83.6 free throw shooting
F Grant Hill, Duke: 14.9 points, 6.0 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 54.6 2-point shooting
F Danny Ferry, Duke: 15.1 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists
C Christian Laettner, Duke: 16.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 58.6 2-point shooting, 80.6 FT shooting

Second team

PG Chris Corchiani, N.C. State: 11.5 points, 8.4 assists, 82.1 FT shooting
SG Bryant Stith, Virginia: 19.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 51.1 2-point shooting
F Rodney Rogers, Wake Forest: 19.3 points, 7.9 rebounds, 61.3 2-point shooting
F Horace Grant, Clemson: 13.9 points, 8.0 rebounds, 59.8 FG shooting
C Joe Smith, Maryland: 20.2 points, 10.7 rebounds, 3.09 blocks

Coach: Mike Krzyzewski, Duke: two ACC titles, six Final Fours, two national titles

And Kevin's argument for his team:

From 1987 to 1995, Duke went to six Final Fours, became the first team to win consecutive national titles since 1973 and produced four players on the era's first team.

Christian Laettner is on the short list of best players in ACC history. The big shots, the stomp to the chest of Aminu Timberlake, love him or hate him, Laettner was a star.

The versatile forwards are Danny Ferry and Grant Hill. As a sophomore, Hill played five games at point guard for the injured Bobby Hurley and averaged 16.4 points and 5.6 assists. The next season, he was the nation's defensive player of the year.

Point guard was the toughest call on the board. Hurley gets the edge over Chris Corchiani, Kenny Smith, Kenny Anderson and Randolph Childress because of his team's success.

Corchiani takes the spot on the second team, even though he was never first team all-conference, a fact more revealing of the voters than his play.

But consider Corchiani’s career line: 11.5 points, 8.4 assists, 3.2 turnovers, 2.1 rebounds, 2.65 steals, 48.9 2-point shooting, 40.8 3-point shooting, 82.2 free throw shooting.

Hurley: 12.4 points, 7.7 assists, 3.8 turnovers, 2.2 rebounds, 1.46 steals, 41.5 2-point shooting, 40.5 3-point shooting, 77.6 free throw shooting.

Hurley holds a clear advantage in one category: teammates.

Shooting guard Rodney Monroe is the only non-Duke player on the first team. Bryant Stith is the shooter on the second team, edging out Dennis Scott.

Joe Smith is the only two-year player on the team, edging out Elden Campbell and Dale Davis of Clemson at center. Instead, forward Horace Grant is the Tigers' representative.

I watched Rodney Rogers consummate two breakaway reverse dunks against N.C. State in Reynolds Coliseum.

Mike Krzyzewski is the coach, the best coach since John Wooden.

--- Patrick Stevens