2003 Top 50 List: Harpring Yes; Stith No
Dan Collins List: Yes
Bryant Stith and Matt Harpring are very, very similar.
- Both were outstanding as freshmen
- Both made first-team All-ACC three times (only 25 players have done that)
- Neither was ACC Player of the Year or came close
- Neither did well in All-America voting (Harpring was 3rd team AP All-America in 1998, that’s it)
- Both piled up a ton of career stats – 2000+ points, 800+ rebounds
- Neither ever played on a really good team
- Both reached one ACC Tournament final and lost
These were players who flew under the radar screen nationally. They never had a lot of hype. They did better among ACC voters than national voters. Just consistent excellence for four years. Stith, in fact, is perhaps the most consistent player in ACC history. Look at the stats for his last three seasons:
| Season | School | Conf | G | FG% | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
| 1989-90 | Virginia | ACC | 32 | 0.481 | 0.777 | 6.9 | 1.7 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 1.9 | 2 | 20.8 |
| 1990-91 | Virginia | ACC | 33 | 0.471 | 0.791 | 6.2 | 1.2 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 19.8 |
| 1991-92 | Virginia | ACC | 33 | 0.452 | 0.815 | 6.6 | 2.2 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 2 | 2.4 | 20.7 |
Stith is fifth on the all-time ACC scoring list behind Tyler Hansbrough, JJ Redick, Johnny Dawkins, and Rodney Monroe. Harpring fell three rebounds short of 1,000, just missing joining Tim Duncan, Ralph Sampson, Mike Gminski, Tyler Hansbrough, Len Chappell, Sam Perkins, Christian Laettner, Kyle Singler, and Danny Ferry in the 2,000 points/1,000 rebounds club.
Stith ended his career as a champion – of the NIT. The 1992 Cavaliers won five straight games to win it. Stith was named MVP. Only four other ACC teams have won the NIT championship: UNC in 1971; Maryland in 1972; Virginia in 1980; and Wake Forest in 2000.