Dino Gaudio and the Deacs have a lot to prove after the late collapse last season.
As football season reaches its last turn, the glorious ACC basketball season cometh. We can put away thoughts of horribly inconsistent football teams beating each other up and really making us look bad overall with an upcoming season that will have a bunch of horribly inconsistent teams that will beat each other up and possibly not even have a real National Championship contender(*gasp*). This will be an interesting year in the ACC as they all have the talent to make the NCAAs, but getting on a roll will be difficult for any ACC team this season. If you are not familiar with my style of countdown, I start in the middle and branch out so here’s how your ACC b-ball finishes 1-3 and 10-12 which ranges from the best of the best to going on the road to Valparaiso in March for an NIT game.
1) North Carolina
Potential: Elite 8
Actual: Sweet 16
Strengths: Post-play, size/strength, veteran leadership of Ginyard, Coach Williams.
Not-So Strengths: Inexperienced PG, perimeter shooting, lack of true center.
Make or Break Player: F Deon Thompson
Circle It: vs. Texas in Arlington on December 19. Get to see what these younger Heels can do in a neutral site game vs. a big time team.
Why They Could Be Lower: Youth and inexperience, but it sure as heck is not talent. The Heels have a starting five that even with inexperience can beat anybody in the ACC.
2) Clemson Tigers
Potential: Elite 8
Actual: Sweet 16
Strengths: Post-play, size/strength, depth, veteran leadership, ball-handling, Coach Purnell.
Not-So Strengths: Perimeter shooting, consistency.
Make or Break Player: SF David Potter
Circle It: at Duke on January 3 for each team’s ACC opener. This is a huge game for the Tigers as a win signals that they are in contention for the ACC.
Why They Could Be Higher: Don’t be fooled, losing Oglesby is not the end of the world to the Tigers. He was an on and off player and he was more off than on consistently(and this comes from a guy who loved watching him play). The Tigers have depth and quality depth at that—oh, and one of the ACC’s best returning players in Trevor Booker.
Why They Could Be Lower: The Tigers have a lot of young talent coming in that could produce—or could not. The perimeter shooting could sink the Tigers as the offense was centralized around Rivers/Oglesby last season.
3) Duke Blue Devils
Potential: Elite 8
Actual: Second Round
Strengths: Slightly more size, more depth, perimeter shooting, veteran leadership, Coach K.
Not-So Strengths: Ball-handling still a question, quality depth, no one who remembers when Duke used to dominate still on team.
Make or Break Player: F Kyle Singler
Circle It: vs. Clemson on January 3 for their ACC opener. This is a litmus test for Duke’s season. They were smacked around in Littlejohn last season.
Why They Could Be Higher: …if they can truly live up to the hype. The Blue Devils are constantly told how great they are, but what have they done lately? Singler has to step up in big games and Coach K needs to settle the point guard position.
Why They Could Be Lower: More duds come in the recruiting class for big men, Coach K unwilling to pull plug on struggling player early enough(aka the Paulus), or Singler really has no “true” position and isn’t the next Larry Bird.
Check out 4-6 here(Florida State, Boston College, and Maryland)
Check out 7-9 here(Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech, and Virginia)
10) Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Potential: Sweet 16
Actual: Bubble—leaning to NIT
Strengths: Senior guards, talented big man in Aminu, size like crazy.
Not-So-Strengths: Pulling it all together, losing top scorer in Teague, jury still out on Gaudio to me.
Make or Break Player: F Al-Farouq Aminu
Circle It: at Gonzaga on December 5. This is an early test of how good these Deacs really can be. Gaudio could get a signature win here.
Why They Could Be Higher: They have the talent—they have the size, but I want to see Gaudio coach them up throughout the season. They were great early in the season last year, but fizzled towards the end.
Why They Could Be Lower: Hard to see them much lower, but another team could jump up and play better.
11) North Carolina State Wolfpack
Potential: First Round
Actual: NIT
Strengths: Reportedly but cannot confirm: they have a PG, all of Lowe’s recruits in.
Not-So-Strengths: This is all Lowe’s squad for better or worse(I lean towards the latter), not much for size.
Make or Break Player: G Javier Gonzalez
Circle It: Virginia at home on January 9. First ACC home game, these teams that have struggled in the past need to get off on right foot.
Why They Could Be Higher: NC State has a lot of unknowns coming into this season, but hey, they could surprise us.
Why They Could Be Lower: Miami is better than them.
12) Miami Hurricanes
Potential: First Round
Actual: NIT/Other alternate postseason
Strengths: Look like same Miami team from last season but without their best player in McClinton…
Not-So-Strengths:…which isn’t good.
Make or Break Player: PG Malcolm Grant
Circle It: Wake Forest at home on January 9. Same theme with these lower tier teams, I like getting off on a good start to build momentum and here’s the Canes shot.
Why They Could Be Higher: The transfer at PG in Malcolm Grant becomes a prolific player in the ACC while Collins becomes a force down low.
Who’s too high/low? What am I nuts on? ACC basketball is fun to debate about because seemingly every squad/fanbase thinks they can take the ACC…
