ACC Preview

I have decided to do some brief conference previews. Basically, I have my predicted order of finish for the teams in each conference and some comments to go with them.

1. UNC – The Tar Heels lost Brandan Wright and Reyshawn Terry, but they are still as talented, deep, and athletic as any team in the country. Tyler Hansbrough is a candidate for Player of the Year and the Tar Heels are the unanimous favorites to win the ACC. They also stand a good chance to make it to the Final Four, but they will have to do a better job of holding on to leads this year.

2. Duke – After UNC, nobody else in the ACC is all that great. Duke probably finishes in 2nd place by default. They lack a good frontcourt, so they will have to rely on a perimeter-oriented style of play, which is nothing new for Coach Krzyzewski’s teams. If they can make their 3-pointers they will have a good year. If anything else, they have eight former McDonald’s High School All-Americans on the roster which is more than any other team in the nation. That has to count for something.

3. Clemson – The Tigers got a big break when James Mays decided to return for his senior season after testing the NBA waters. Clemson returns their entire roster except point guard Vernon Hamilton. Head Coach Oliver Purnell feels confident in freshman Demontez Stitt to fill that void after he was named Mr. Basketball in North Carolina as a senior last year. The area that needs the most attention is free throw shooting. The Tigers shot 57.8 from the line last year, which definitely hurt them considering 8 of their 11 losses were by 5 points or less last season.

4. NC State – A lot of people around the country have high expectations for this Wolfpack team. They should exercise some caution, considering NC State lost 16 games last year and point guard Engin Atsur is now playing in Italy. The Wolfpack return their other four starters, but have no experienced players beyond that. Blue-chip freshman JJ Hickson will be called upon immediately in the frontcourt, and three other freshmen will be competing for the point guard spot.

5. Georgia Tech – The Yellow Jackets are probably the only team in the ACC as deep as North Carolina, even with Thaddeus Young and Javaris Crittenton now in the NBA. The only difference is they weren’t as successful as UNC last year, so they shouldn’t be this year either. The return of Lewis Clinch’s eligibility should also help them this year. He played the first half of the season last year and averaged 13.2 points per game. Georgia Tech could surprise some people, with a veteran team that will likely start four seniors.

6. Florida State – Without Al Thornton leading the way, most will not expect the Seminoles to bounce back this season. The Seminoles added some gifted freshmen to the frontcourt where they were overmatched last season. The strength of this team rests in the backcourt with Toney Douglas, Ralph Mims, Jason Rich, and Isaiah Swan all return. They probably would have made the tournament last year had they not lost 4 out of 5 games will Toney Douglas was out with a broken hand. This year they could get over the hump and make it to the tournament.

7. Virginia – Sean Singletary returns for the Cavaliers, but JR Reynolds is gone from the backcourt. That is a huge loss for Virginia because the rest of their roster does not have the experience of being counted on to carry the load. If nobody can step up, the Cavaliers could fall far, but they will probably be a decent team. I just don’t think they will be as good as some see them being.

8. Maryland – The Terrapins lost some big contributors in Ekene Ibekwe, Mike Jones, and DJ Strawberry. They still have a nice core of players with James Gist, Bambale Osby, Greivis Vasquez, and Eric Hayes all returning. There is not much left after that. The Terps will need some immediate production from the incoming freshmen and the sophomore Landon Milbourne.

9. Boston College – Outside of Tyrese Rice, not much is coming back for the Eagles. Jared Dudley and Sean Marshall were counted on quite a bit last year and now they are gone. Some players got some needed experience after Sean Williams was kicked off the team, but don’t expect them to replace the scoring that is gone. The Eagles will look a lot different this year, and might push for an NIT appearance.

10. Virginia Tech – Zabian Dowdell, Jamon Gordon, and Coleman Collins are all gone from a team that already lacked depth last year. Deron Washington and AD Vassallo are about all that is left. Talented freshmen Malcolm Delany and Dorenzo Hudson will be counted on immediately.

11. Miami – The Hurricanes went 4-12 last year in the ACC and are built with most of the same personnel except their 3rd and 4th leading scorers. Jack McClinton is a great player, but he does not have much help around him. The young Hurricane roster gained some valuable experience last year, but need to take it one step at a time.

12. Wake Forest – Head Coach Skip Prosser suffered a tragic death in the off-season, and leading scorer and rebounder Kyle Visser graduated. The cupboard is pretty bare for new head coach Dino Guadio, who will have to rebuild this program from the bottom up.