Defending The ACC in Basketball
By Red Dog Sports
It is true that the ACC is down this year in basketball but the conference has won five of the last ten national championships. Here are some reasons the league is down.
The league lost 6-5 to the Big Ten back in December in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge but it came down to an overtime game where Purdue beat Virginia Tech. A Hokie win and the ACC would have won 6-5.
Duke won last year's title by defeating Butler back in April. This year's team was +150 to repeat back in November but Kyrie Irving was injured and may miss the whole year. His athleticism led to quick scores as he made some easy transition hoops and dished off to others like Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler. I don't expect Duke to win the title unless Irving comes back since the team is not real deep.
The UNC Tar Heels are 3-1 in the ACC but are not a good shooting team. UNC was hurt by the loss of Will Graves, as he was suspended due to not following team rules. Graves would have been a senior this year and scored 25 points vs. Dayton in his final game as a Tar Heel. He's 6'6" and could play inside or outside. His loss and lack of senior leadership has hurt since Justin Knox is the only senior seeing much action and he is a transfer from Alabama. It also hurt UNC's depth that the Wear twins transferred to UCLA. UNC should make the NCAA tournament and win a game or two. UNC could be very good next year if Henson, Zeller and Harrison Barnes return but the NBA will be waving money at all three.
Don't forget that UNC won the 2009 title in dominant fashion as they won all six games in the tournament by at least 10 points. UNC also lost Ed Davis to the NBA. He was injured much of last year and a reason UNC played in the NIT but would have been a junior this season.
As for Wake Forest, the Deacons changed coaches and are dwon this year with many bad losses. Wake lost Al-Fareeq Aminu from last year's team and he was the only ACC player to average 20 points and 10 rebounds last year. The team made the NCAA's and beat Texas in the first round.
Compare that with Northwestern of the Big Ten, as they have never gone to the Big Dance. They are a decent team this year but have mostly been a weak link in the Big Ten.
Don't forget the Depaul Blue Demons and their poor performance in the Big East. Their conference is tough but Depaul has been one of the worst basketball teams out there.
Clemson lost their coach (Oliver Pernell) to Depaul. Clemson's problem is that they are a football school and can never beat the North Carolina schools like Duke and UNC. Clemson just lost again at UNC and are now 0-55 in Chapel Hill.
FSU is a football school but did beat Duke at home in basketball. They had bad losses to Ohio State and Florida at home but this team could make the NCAA's like they did last year. Chris Singleton can score and play defense.
Maryland made the touney last year led by Grevious Vazquez but have average talent to go with Jordan Williams and could be an NIT team. They did tie Duke last year for the regular season title.
Virginia lost Sylvan Landesberg last year due to problems with the coaching staff. He was a 6'6" big guard who could dominate a game. This year's UVA team is young and not real good.
Miami is still a football school but has a decent team led by Durand Scott. They are an athletic bunch that could win any game but not consistent.
Boston College could go 9-7 and make the Big Dance. They have been in the NCAA tournament in recent years with Tyrese Rice and are a solid team.
NC State has plenty of talent with senior Tracy Smith and freshmen Harrow, Lorenzo Brown and CJ Leslie to go with Gonzalenz and Scott Wood. I believe they are hurt by Sidney Lowe and the team not meshing the new and old players. This team could surprise a few teams this year but have failed to do so. The Wolfpack has had some glory years in the past, winning the title back in 1974 (led by David Thompson) and in 1983 with Jim Valvano's squad.
Virginia Tech was ranked earlier in the year but injuries to Dorenzo Hudson and JT Thompson have hurt them. Malcolm Delaney will probably be All-ACC this year but Seth Greenberg's team has been diminished with injuries and health problems to Allan Chaney.
Georgia Tech lost Derrick Favors to the NBA but still has Iman Shumpert and Glen Rice, Jr. but Paul Hewitt's team is young and seems to lose a player early to the NBA every year.
Don't look for anyone other than Duke to win the NCAA title but the league is not as bad as everyone likes to say. Injuries and players leaving early hurt the college game but have led to the ACC being a little down in 2011.