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 Pretty soon we're going to be bringing Tallguy on fulltime (unpaid of course. Actually wait, he'll pay us) but for now you'll have to settle for reading little guest post intros before all of his posts. Take it away, tallguy.
Hey, it’s the resident Duke/ACC slurper, as SouvenirCity characterizes me as, here to wrap up what has been an up and down season for the ACC. First I’ll give a brief “State of the League” address, and then I will give a short summary of each team’s seasons and their prospects going forward. I’ll end with my personal (totally biased) ACC awards, including some non standard categories.
The ACC: Where mediocrity is rewarded. That pretty much sums up the ACC this year. Listen to any college basketball pundit, and you’ll hear “ACC” and “down” in some form. No question about it, the league is not up to its usual standards of excellence. On the other hand, the ACC is going to send at least 6 teams to the Dance this year, and is about 50% to get a 7th in. Pretty impressive for a down year, but that’s what happens when you have a bunch of mediocre teams beating up on each other. Oh, and no one could win on the road except Duke and Maryland. The true barometer for the league is this…right now, Duke is a 1-2 seed, Maryland (due to screwing up terribly in the OoC schedule) is a 4-5 seed, and every other ACC tournament seed will be 7th or lower unless an ACC tournament run is made.
Of course, it’s not all bad for the ACC this year. The conference does boast 6 teams with top 25 defenses in the kenpom rankings, including four in the top eleven. Even the conference’s terrible teams really weren’t that bad. UNC finished last in the conference in efficiency margin (EM), yet beat both Michigan State and Ohio State out of conference. Also, the league was extraordinarily competitive this year, with even the dregs of the conference scoring big victories at home against the upper tier teams. Finally…the Pac-10’s historic ineptitude helped deflect a lot of criticism.
Team Capsules (feel free to skip to your team of choice and ignore the rest) [ed. note: this is a print and poop (but very worthy of being all read) so keep that in mind before you dive in]
Boston College: Preseason media poll: 9th Actual finish: 8th (+1) EM: -.05 (8th)
BC is a boring program. They run an effective, but boring offense, they’re led by a boring coach (though definitely one of the better ACC coaches), and they play in front of an apathetic crowd. They were a tough out at home, almost upsetting Duke and whipping Virginia Tech, but they lacked their usual “unrecruited diamond in the rough” star that Skinner normally pulls out of his ass. I honestly don’t know what else to say. Umm…congrats for getting 8th place? Good luck in the NIT? Buy a working shot clock?
Clemson: Preseason: 3rd Actual finish: tied for 5th (-2) EM: +.03 (tied for 3rd)
Clemson is like that smart kid in your class that just can’t put it together. Everyone expects great things of him, but no one is surprised when they run into him 15 years later working at as a busboy and still living with his parents. Clemson was expected to be pretty good this year…but their season was defined early when they let a bubblicious Illinois team rally from 23 points down AT HOME. They stuttered through their ACC schedule, doing just enough to secure an NCAA bid, but they’re just not all there right now. I’d like to dump on Purnell…but really, Clemson was just snake bit this year. Plus, he’s the best coach Clemson’s ever had (says more about Clemson than Purnell).Projected between a 7 and 10 seed, they could throw a scare into a high seed, or fail to show up in the first round.
Duke: Preseason: tied for 1st Actual finish: tied for 1st (n/c) EM: +.18 (1st)
Due to allegations of bias, this will be short. Duke is good.
FSU: Preseason: tied for 7th Actual finish: tied for 3rd (+4) EM: +.03 (tied for 3rd)
I must admit, watching FSU play isn’t nearly as bad as their numbers would suggest. Offensively, they’re downright nasty IF they can actually get the ball up the court. That’s a huge if, considering that they have the worst turnover % in the conference (even worse than UNC…we’re talking 330th in the country). Alabi should get the ball in the post every…single…possession. I love Chris Singleton’s game, but come on, you have a 7’1” center that actually has some decent moves…and is shooting 80% from the stripe. Alabi should have a usage% of at least 30%. On defense, well…when you start 6’4”, 6’5”, 6’8”, 6’9” and 7’1”, and all are ridiculously good athletes, it’s no surprise that FSU has the best defense in the nation. Duke did beat them out by .01 in conference PPP, but that’s basically because Duke’s defense didn’t have to play Duke’s offense. Singleton coming from the weak side has to be the subject of quite a few ACC guards’ nightmares. FSU is currently an 8 seed…seems about right. I don’t expect them to make any real noise in the tournament, but next year, assuming Alabi comes back, could be a banner year for FSU.
Georgia Tech: Preseason: 4th Actual finish: 7th (-3) EM: -.01 (7th)
Paul Hewitt…not that good of a coach. Despite having the best freshman (Derrick Favors and it should be unanimous) and one of the best post players (Gani Lawal), Georgia Tech struggled in ACC play. That they’re still considered safely in the tournament is more a testament to how bad the bubble teams are this year than how GT actually performed on the court. Basically, it’s the same story as most of the other teams in the ACC- no offensive continuity from game to game. Most of that is on Paul Hewitt for not getting an assistant coach that can actually design and teach an effective college basketball offense. Unlike FSU, GT couldn’t afford to turn the ball over at a 22% clip because their defense wasn’t nearly as good. Right now, GT is projected as a 10th seed…so I would suggest that they beat a downtrodden UNC team playing out the string on Thursday to make sure they’re not bumped from the field. Regardless, even though the talent is there, I don’t think GT makes any noise in the NCAAs.
Maryland: Preseason: 5th Actual finish: tied for 1st (+4) EM: +.10 (2nd)
Greivis Vasquez blah blah Gary Williams blah blah…whatever. Again, due to personal bias, I will keep it short. Maryland is the hottest team in the ACC right now. They’re the ACC’s best hope for a 2nd Sweet 16 team. Vasquez still hasn’t conquered his rosacea. Fin.
Miami: Preseason: 10th Actual finish: DFL (-2) EM: -.08 (tied for DFL)
A rebuilding year for the Hurricanes produced the expected results. No one thought this team was going to be good, even after going undefeated out of conference. That tends to happen when you play the 2nd easiest OoC schedule in the ACC. In conference, they beat Wake, GT, and VT at home and gave Duke a good game. Moral victories and all that…the best result of the year was Frank Haith giving his freshmen a lot of run. Durrand Scott could be a stud next year if he learns the value of shot selection in the off season. Other than that, not much else to say other than Haith takes the coveted crown of “worst coach in the ACC at drawing up plays coming out of a time out.” Long title, I know…but damn, he makes Hewitt look like the second coming of Bob Knight when it come to inbounds plays.
North Carolina: Preseason: tied for 1st Actual finish: tied for 9th (-8) EM: -.08 (tied for DFL)
What can be said about UNC’s season that hasn’t already been said about Chernobyl? Or if you’re Roy Williams, Haiti. Personal bias prevents me from pointing out how bad a coaching job ol’ Roy has done this year. Ethics prevent me from pointing to the 7 McDonalds All Americans at the roster. I can’t refute the spurious argument about how young UNC is by pointing out they started 2 seniors and a junior the entire year. I can’t refer to ’07 Duke (a team that lost just as much and was even younger) that got to the NCAA tournament as proof that Roy sucks at coaching (and at life). I can’t tell you about how even though UNC turned the ball over at a 21% clip, Roy refused to slow the game down for his new starting point guard. All I can do is point out non biased facts: 5-11 in the ACC, DFL in EM, and on the bubble for the NIT. Oh, and they suffered a lot of injuries. Blame it on the shoes.
NC State: Preseason: DFL Actual Finish: tied for 9th (+3) EM: -.07 (tied for 9th)
I actually liked watching NC State play this year. People always throw out “chemistry issues” whenever a team isn’t playing well (see UNC this year), and normally I don’t buy it. However, NC State did legitimately have chemistry issues the past couple of years (a John Terry situation occurred), and this year’s team actually played hard for Lowe. I, and every MSM columnist in the nation made fun of State parting ways with Herb Sendek, but Lowe’s going to have a good team next year with Ryan Harrow coming in (ACC’s got a bunch of top flight PGs coming in next year…should be exciting). What I’m trying to get across is that NC State showed a lot of fight this year, and that along with a great recruiting class gives their fanbase some hope going into next year. Make some noise in the ACC tournament and the NIT/CBI, and NC State would be my darkhorse pick in the ACC next year. Seriously…that’s how good Harrow is…he’s almost as good as Kyrie Irving.
Virginia: Preseason: 11th Actual Finish: tied for 9th (+2) EM: -.07 (tied for 9th)
UVA put their fans through the ringer this year. First, they performed to expectations and stunk up the joint in the non conference portion of the season. THEN, taking advantage of a backloaded schedule, UVA put together a string of conference wins and briefly took over the top spot. Giddy fans were thinking NCAAs…and then the hammer dropped. Nine straight losses ended any talk of the NCAAs, and probably a tenth loss upcoming in the ACC opening round due to their only thread, Sylven Landesberg getting suspended. I personally don’t understand why UVA fans are so down right now. The team wasn’t expected to be good this year, what with a brand new coach whose coaching style is not suited at all with the players he had on hand. In my opinion, this was a good season…it looks like UVA has a good coach, and he’s bringing in talent. If Landesberg stays, UVA should be in contention for a NCAA berth next year. So chin up, and go win the CBI.
Virginia Tech: Preseason: tied for 7th Actual: tied for 3rd EM: +.02 (5th)
Virginia Tech is my least favorite team of this year’s ACC. I say this without malice, because it’s not based on their play, or their actions. I say it because they’re a bunch of f***ing pussies. A non conference schedule ranked 344 out of 347 Division 1 teams was made knowing full well that VT had an easy ACC slate this year (only team they played twice predicted to be in the top half of the ACC was UNC). I honestly get so mad seeing that schedule, I want to punch babies. It’s not right…it’d be one thing if VT was some dangerous mid-major that no one wants to play, but this is an ACC team that should have no trouble getting a couple of decent non conference games. I would love it if VT were to miss the Dance, but the win at GT (their best win to date) pretty much sealed the deal assuming bid stealing is kept to a minimum. Oh yeah, analysis…Malcolm Delaney is good, Jeff Allen is the premier headcase in the ACC, and Seth Greenberg is bald. Lunardi has them as an 11th seed, could be a chic upset pick over a mid major 6th seed if they get a favorable draw, but I don’t see them in the 2nd weekend.
Wake Forest: Preseason: 6th Actual finish: tied for 5th EM: 0.0 (6th)
Wake has had a successful season, considering the person coaching them. Decent talent, headlined by Al-Farouq Aminu, but the team doesn’t play up to their talent levels. Part of that can be attributed to Ish Smith, a shoot first point guard that can’t shoot. Smith is the fastest pg in the ACC with the ball in his hand, and he’s good at handing out assists…but he shoots entirely too much considering who he’s playing with. Aminu was a beast for Wake Forest for most of the season, then inexplicably started playing like the monsters from Space Jam stole his “skillz,” coinciding with some horrendous losses (UNC at home…ugh). Wake did salvage the 5th seed in the ACC tournament by winning at home against Clemson to close out the season, but I just don’t see a deep run in either tournament for them. Lunardi has them at a 9 seed, which would be awesome if they were in Kentucky’s bracket for reasons to be revealed soon.
ACC Awards
Player of the Year: Vasquez (MD)…no arguments from me.
Coach of the Year: Leonard Hamilton (FSU). I know this flies in the face of prevailing thought, but I think Hamilton did just as good a job as Gary did this year, and he did it without an established all ACC player. Gary didn’t lose much from last year’s squad and was expected to make the tournament…Hamilton lost the heart and soul of last year’s team (Toney Douglas) and wasn’t expected to make the tournament.
All ACC 1st team
Vasquez, Jon Scheyer (Duke), Delaney (VT), Kyle Singler (Duke), Trevor Booker (Clemson)- Aminu gets dinged for his late season dive, pushing Singler up to 1st team. Aminu, Nolan Smith, Alabi, Singleton and Landesberg would be my 2nd team.
Most Hated Player: Chas McFarland (Wake) - you thought I was going to say Vasquez, didn’t you? McFarland is the dirtiest player in the ACC…any time there’s an incident, he’s in the middle of it. There’s a reason why everyone in the ACC wants Kentucky to meet Wake in the 2nd round…Cousins would be ejected in the first 10 minutes.
Worst Coach: The most competitive category of them all…Paul Hewitt made a strong case by coaching a talent laden team to a 7-9 ACC records. Purnell gets mentioned primarily for the debacle against Illinois, and Dino Gaudio managed to stay out of his talent’s way just enough to save him from this award. But in the end, the winner was head and shoulders ahead of his nearest competitor. Roy Williams, congratulations on winning 5 ACC games with 7 burger boys. .7 ACC wins/McDonald All-American has to be a record of ineptitude.
ACC tournament predictions
Thursday: BC over UVA, Wake over Miami, GT over UNC, Clemson over NC State
Friday: Duke over BC, Wake over VT, GT over Maryland, FSU over Clemson
Saturday: Duke over Wake, FSU over GT
Sunday: Duke over FSU.
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Tomas Verde 
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Who is the first?
And NC State still has an athletic program? Who knew? I thought after the most overrated quarterback in the history of football played there and Jimmy V died that they ceased to exist.