ACC Scouting Report
Over-Under | Top 10 Players | Must-See Games
From News Services
Monday, Nov. 7, 2005; Page E10
2. Boston College: The Eagles are one of just seven schools with two Wooden Award candidates, Craig Smith and Jared Dudley. Coach Al Skinner's team will need to adjust quickly to new terrain, but it should not be a problem because BC had a 25-15 road record in the Big East since the start of the 2000-01 season.
3. Wake Forest: Coach Skip Prosser got a bonus when big man Eric Williams decided to return to school, giving the Demon Deacons a strong inside-outside combination. All-league performer Justin Gray moves to point guard, replacing NBA-bound Chris Paul. The true test will be whether Wake can stop anyone defensively.
4. North Carolina State: The loss of its true playmaker, Julius Hodge, hurts, and no returning player averaged more than 10 points last year. That's not a significant problem because the Wolfpack has five players who made more than 33 percent of their three-point shots last season, all of whom mesh in the intricate Princeton-like offense.
5. Maryland: The Terrapins should have better chemistry and leadership, as well as ample incentive to return to the NCAA tournament. Expect some interesting lineup configurations because Coach Gary Williams pledges to push the ball and press. Guards Chris McCray and D.J. Strawberry should excel defensively.
6. North Carolina: The leading returning scorer, David Noel, has scored in double figures just 12 times in his career. The returning point guard, Quentin Thomas, had more turnovers than assists last year. If Coach Roy Williams takes these youngsters to the NCAA tournament, he could get consideration for conference coach of the year.
7. Miami: The Hurricanes returned 86.5 percent of their scoring, which mostly comes from perimeter players, namely Guillermo Diaz, the conference's second-leading returning scorer. The conference's best three-guard lineup could propel the 'Canes into the NCAA tournament after fading down the stretch last season.
8. Virginia Tech: Early-season injuries could take their toll on the Hokies, but they have enough returning talent -- four starters back -- to return to the postseason for the second consecutive year. It remains to be seen if Tech can be as strong at home as it was last season in the ACC, when it won six of eight games.
9. Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets' players have started a combined three games, all belonging to Theodis Tarver, who made three starts in the 2003 NIT. The leading returning scorer, Anthony Morrow, averaged 5.7 points last year. It's time for a strong sophomore class to produce, but inexperience at point guard could be too much to overcome.
10. Clemson: Without talented big man Sharrod Ford, Clemson can't afford to be the ACC's worst free throw shooting team again. The good: Freshmen had a total of 68 starts last year, 31 more than any other ACC school, and the Tigers led the conference with nearly 10 steals per game.
11. Florida State: The Seminoles could challenge for the top half of the league after losing eight games by three or fewer points last season. They don't have a star because Von Wafer left for the NBA, but watch the development of Uche Echefu, one of the school's best-ever recruits, from Montrose Christian.
12. Virginia: The Cavaliers have what all programs crave: a solid point guard in Sean Singletary, who won ACC rookie of the week honors five times. Conference coaches don't expect Virginia to be down long given Coach Dave Leitao's track record for recruiting when he was an assistant at Connecticut.
Northern Exposure: For so long, the conference was thought by many to be controlled by the state of North Carolina. Most of ACC media members hail from the state, and most of the ACC tournaments have been played there. Things began to change last season when Virginia Tech and Miami arrived from the Big East, and the conference tournament was played at MCI Center. Now the conference has a team, and a legitimate contender, located in Boston, stretching the ACC vertically along the East Coast. "We're glad BC is taking over the northernmost outpost of the ACC, because we've always been that team," Maryland Coach Gary Williams said. "We're south now."
Senior Stars: Duke's J.J. Redick has called himself "grandpa," and for good reason. In an age in which everything in basketball is skewing younger, the ACC resembles an old-timer's league. Check out Boston College's Craig Smith, Duke's nucleus of four seniors, Maryland's four seniors, Wake Forest's Eric Williams and Justin Gray and N.C. State's Tony Bethel, all of whom seem to have been around the college ranks forever. The experience could result in better team play, in part because these guys are hungry. The only ACC players who have won a national title are the few who remain from North Carolina's run last year. When the aforementioned seniors were recruited, it was hard to imagine so many would remain in college this long.
Age-Limit Rewards: The NBA's new age minimum, forcing players to be 19 years old and a year out of high school before entering the NBA, could directly affect a conference such as the ACC, whose schools presumably will house top-tier players for a year before they turn pro. Gary Williams believes the rule could "save some kids" who may have otherwise made rash decisions to skip college. Others, however, believe the rule will open the door to fringe characters -- shoe company goons and agents -- to influence top players. Among the questions raised for coaches will be, "Do you go after someone who you know would have gone?" Mike Krzyzewski said. "Do you allow a kid to come in knowing he will only be there one year?"
Point Guards: If you wanted to watch a top point guard/playmaker last year, the ACC was the league to see. Four ACC playmakers were drafted in the first round of the NBA draft: Wake Forest's Chris Paul (fourth), North Carolina's Raymond Felton (fifth), N.C. State's Julius Hodge (20th) and Georgia Tech's Jarrett Jack (22nd). That doesn't even include Duke's Daniel Ewing, taken in the second round, and Maryland's John Gilchrist, who went undrafted. They are all gone, leaving the ACC with a batch of young point guards and players who have been converted from shooting guard, such as Wake Forest's Justin Gray.
Palming Crackdown: Palming will be one of the points of emphasis this season for new supervisor of officials John Clougherty. The ACC, as well as the entire NCAA, wants to crack down on the street ball technique of dribbling. Some coaches don't feel palming is that big of a problem, but Maryland's Gary Williams is not one of them. He believes the ball has deeper seams now compared to decades ago, which has made it easier for players to gain an advantage carrying the ball. "If you're a good player, you're unstoppable" by palming, Williams said. "It has to be enforced. . . . You couldn't palm when I played. We went by the rules when I played."
A Tar Heel Repeat: Here is one not-so-bold prediction for the year: North Carolina will not win back-to-back national titles. What is not so clear is whether the Tar Heels will be the first defending champion since Kansas in 1989 to miss the NCAA tournament entirely. An informal poll of ACC media members revealed a split down the middle on this issue -- it'll be close. North Carolina had four players selected among the top 14 picks in the NBA draft, lost its top seven scorers and returned only 9.1 percent of its scoring. The season won't lack intrigue because Coach Roy Williams wants to run even more than last season.
Underrated
Schedule Advantages: When you talk to ACC coaches about the elimination of the conference's traditional double round robin schedule, they either don't want to talk about it or express outright opposition to this byproduct of expansion. Last year was the first season of unbalanced schedules, and all things weren't exactly equal. For instance, the top two teams, North Carolina and Wake Forest, played each other only once, in Winston-Salem, N.C. Consequently, there was talk in the final week of the season that perhaps three ACC schools could earn No. 1 seeds in the NCAA tournament. And this season, the top two teams, Duke and Boston College, play each other only once, in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Overrated
Demise of the League: Don't believe the hype, or lack thereof. Sure, the ACC lost all those underclassmen to the NBA last season, including one player (UNC's Marvin Williams) who did not even start for his team, but the top two teams still feature four players as good as anyone in the country: Duke's Redick and Williams, Boston College's Craig Smith and Jared Dudley. The much-touted freshmen at Duke and North Carolina will impress and -- who knows? -- might even stick around for a few years. The expanded Big East will get all the headlines this season and could conceivably receive double the amount of NCAA tournament bids: eight to four. But there is a better than decent chance that the national champion will emerge from the ACC for the second consecutive season.
(Regardless of position or class)
1. Shelden Williams, Duke
2. J.J. Redick, Duke
3. Guillermo Diaz, Miami
4. Craig Smith, Boston College
5. Eric Williams, Wake Forest
6. Jared Dudley, Boston College
7. Justin Gray, Wake Forest
8. Chris McCray, Maryland
9. Josh McRoberts, Duke
10. Robert Hite, Georgetown
Best Freshman
Josh McRoberts, Duke: He would have been a first-round NBA pick straight out of high school. Redick called McRoberts a "freak of nature," a dunkaholic who can slam the ball from anywhere inside the free throw line. Expect North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough, an exceptional prospect in his own right, to have the gaudy statistics as a freshman in large part because the Tar Heels are so depleted this year. But McRoberts could be the freshman NBA scouts drool over, even as he is overshadowed by all-American teammates Redick and Williams. If McRoberts has interest in leaving school after this season, he likely will have a long audition for NBA folks, as the Blue Devils are expected to play on the season's final weekend.
Nov. 21: Maryland vs. Gonzaga in Maui Invitational
Nov. 29: Illinois at North Carolina
Dec. 5: Maryland vs. George Washington at MCI Center
Dec. 6: Boston College vs. Michigan State in New York
Dec. 10: Duke vs. Texas in New Jersey
Dec. 11: Boston College at Maryland
Jan. 28: Arizona at North Carolina
Feb. 1: Duke at Boston College
Feb. 7: Duke at North Carolina
Feb. 11: Duke at Maryland
Feb. 14: Maryland at Clemson
