The ACC could easily be considered one of the best college basketball conferences in the nation. The Tar Heels are the easy favorite in the ACC. The Tar Heels have the nation's best player in Tyler Hansburough. The ACC is looking to continue its dominance in non conference play and it will aim towards yet another Big 10/ACC challenge win.
Projected Standings:
1. North Carolina
2. Wake Forest
3. Duke
4. Miami
5. Clemson
6. Boston College
7. Virginia Tech
8. Maryland
9. Georgia Tech
10. NC State
11. Florida State
12. Virginia
Pretty predictable, but take a look at Wake Forest moving up past Duke into that two spot. Boston College also takes a huge leap from last years disappointing season.
The Tar Heels are clearly the best team not only in the ACC, but the nation. The Heels return their six top players from a 36-3 season last year. Tyler Hansburough will lead the Tar Heel attack. The Heels have the complete package with power, speed, and raw talent.
Wake Forest could either be a great team or a team that underachieved. Wake returns all five starters from a team that finished seventh in the ACC last year. James Johnson will look to follow up on a great freshman season.
Duke will try to return to its dominate ways. The past couple of seasons have been disappointing for Duke. At Duke they expect championships and nothing less. Coach K returns four starters and their key sixth man Jon Scheyer. Look for Gerald Henderson to have a big year and step up as a major leader of this team.
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Miami is an up-and-coming program. They have showed signs of greatness. The Canes return four starters and seven of their top nine players from last year's 23-11 team. Senior guard Jack McClinton will lead the Miami attack. The pre-season all ACC guard averaged 17 points a game last season.
Clemson returns seven of its top 10 players from last season. Clemson reached the ACC title game last season for the first time since 1962. KC Rivers will lead the Tiger attack. He was selected to the all ACC second team.
Boston College returns three starters from last years 4-12 team. Last year was the first losing season for the Eagles since 2000. The Eagles have a future, with 52 percent of last year's starts were from freshman and sophomores. The Eagles will be led by senior guard Tyrese Rice, who dropped 46 on UNC last year. Keep a close eye on freshman Reggie Jackson and sophomore Rakim Sanders, who started every game last year as a freshman.
Virginia Tech returns nine of its first ten players from last years team that went 21-14. Head coach Seth Greenberg has been named ACC coach of the year two out of the last four years. The Hokies will be lead by AD Vassallo and Jeff Allen. Allen is the future of the program, looking to make a name for himself.
Maryland returns 10 of its top 12 players from a team that finished tied for fifth in the ACC last year. The Terps will look to reach post season play for the 16th straight season. The Terps will be led by junior guard Greivis Vasquez.
Georgia Tech returns three starters from last season's 15-17 team. The Jackets are road tested. They were 4-4 last year on the road and they were only one of four other teams to finish with a road record of .500 or better in the ACC. The Jackets attack will be led by Mo Miller, a sophomore guard.
NC State returns three starters from last season's 15-16 season. NC State showed flashes of greatness last year when they defeated Villanova and Davidson. Brandon Costner will hope to continue his dominance on the court and hope to bring a tournament bid back to Raleigh.
Florida State returns three starters from last year's sixth place ACC team. FSU is on the rise as a program. Last year they made their third straight postseason appearance for only the second time in school history. Senior guard Toney Douglas will lead the Seminole attack.
Virginia is returning three starters from last year's 17 win team. The Cavs will have trouble replacing second round NBA pick Sean Singletary. Senior guard Mamadi Diane will look to take Sean's role as team leader.
The ACC is easily one of the top conferences in the land. Any team could win on any given day. It is very similar to the SEC in football. Any team has a chance to spring an upset any day because of the talent level in the ACC.
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about 1 month ago
I like picking Wake over Duke, it adds some contraversy to your list. However I think Wake might drop a few games in the conference early due to their lack of experience.
from about 1 month ago
I agree...i was a little reluctant to put them there, but i figured id go balls out.
And Duke has underachieved when they recieve alot of hype and i have never been a big fan of Duke basketball...the only team that can have a down season and still get the most press coverage. Thanks for the comment!
about 1 month ago
As much as I generally don't like it, I think both Miami and Clemson will probably challenge Wake and Duke for the 2nd and 3rd spots ... I see the four of them as a virtual toss-up since I think Duke's a little overrated and Clemson / Miami's a little underrated (though actually Miami is ranked).
I'd have to agree with most of the list though I'd probably push Virginia Tech up a spot and Boston College down a bit ...
Good article!
from about 1 month ago
Yeah...i'm a firm believer of Duke being overrted. It will be interested to see how Wake, Clemson, and Miami do this year...it has been a while since any of them have expected big things to come. The reason for BC being so high is the experience all of the freshman got last year and I think it will show this year. Thanks for the comment!
about 1 month ago
Who is going to have a breakout statistical year? My predictions: Mo Miller, Mamadi Diane, Deon Thompson, Uche Echefu, Brandon Costner, and Jimmy Graham.
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