The ACC did pretty well this past week as many teams added to their win column. It only make sense as yet again the conference ranks #1 in Conference RPI. Looks like the conference season will be one to remember. Speaking of which, Virginia traveled to Atlanta this past Sunday to take on Georgia Tech in the conference opener for both teams. In typical Sunday Night Hoops fashion this game had crazy ending and needed OT to determine a winner. Big time freshman guard/forward Sylven Landesberg put up 26 points, 6 boards, and 5 dimes to lead the Cavaliers to an 88-84 win, their sixth victory of the year. You can catch a bit of his performance here.
....while Sylven's performance was impressive, the real drama came in the last seconds of overtime as UVA senior guard Calvin Baker would hit a layup with 10 seconds left in Overtime to give the Cavaliers the lead for good.
While there was no shortage of drama in this game there was a ton of excitement in the other games played by ACC teams this week. Carolina, now 13-0, continued their dominance as they beat two talented teams, Rutgers and Nevada, by an average of 22 points. Again, if there is a college basketball team that can beat these guys I'd like to see them.
Speaking of talented teams, check out this dunk by Clemson's Trevor Booker against South Carolina on Tuesday (12/29).
....I think the dude in the South Carolina jersey should have gotten out of the way.
Next Up:
1/3
2pm - #22 Xavier (10-2) at Virginia (6-4, 1-0 Conference games)
3pm - Georgia Tech (8-4, 0-1) at Alabama (9-3) Espn Full Court, Espn360.com
4pm - North Carolina State (9-2, 0-0) at Florida (11-2) CBS
8pm - #6 Wake Forest (12-0, 0-0) at BYU (11-1)
1/4
5:30pm - Boston College (12-2, 0-0) at #1 North Carolina (13-0, 0-0) Sun. Night Hoops
7:45pm - Virginia Tech (9-4, 0-0) at #5 Duke (11-1, 0-0) Sun. Night Hoops
ACC Ballers Dunk of the Week....
Raymond Sykes of Clemson shows South Carolina that he plays on another level. This is one of those dunks where you see it and immediately feel bad for the guy being dunked....
Monday, December 29, 2008
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
ACC Ballers: ACC Season is Here!
The ACC basketball fans have spoken and have unanimously selected UNC as the favorite to win the ACC regular season crown. I really can't blame them as all signs point to the Tar Heels to being the last team standing in March. I also think they'd be able to compete with the Oklahoma City Thunder (worst major sports name ever?) of the NBA. We appreciate your input and look forward to hearing from you in our future polls.
After several long months of waiting and anticipating the ACC Season officially got underway down in Coral Gables on Sunday night as Clemson came into town to face Miami. The Canes' put up a good fight but in the end Clemson just had too much talent and depth for the home team. The difference in this 91-72 victory for Tigers was ball security as that fierce press that Purnell calls upon forced the Hurricanes into 22 turnovers. Tigers senior guard K.C. Rivers dropped in 28 while sophomore guard Terrance Oglesby added 17.
Best Game this Week (thus far):
#25 Marquette 68 - N.C. State 65 (box score)
Marquette senior guard Dominic James had 18 in the win. Wolfpack senior forward Brandon Costner had 24 points and 8 boards in the loss. I would describe the game in more detail but it might be better to just watch.
(last 6 minutes of a great game)
Next up:
12/27
Noon - Miami (7-3, 0-1) at St. Johns (9-2) ESPNU
2:00pm - Bryant University (1-9) at Maryland (8-2)
12/28
4:00pm - Western Kentucky (7-3) at Florida State (11-2)
5:30pm - Virginia (5-4) at Georgia Tech (7-3)
7:45pm - Rutgers (9-3) at UNC (11-0)
ACC Ballers Dunk of the Week....
Jeff Teague is at it again against Indiana. This was just tough.
After several long months of waiting and anticipating the ACC Season officially got underway down in Coral Gables on Sunday night as Clemson came into town to face Miami. The Canes' put up a good fight but in the end Clemson just had too much talent and depth for the home team. The difference in this 91-72 victory for Tigers was ball security as that fierce press that Purnell calls upon forced the Hurricanes into 22 turnovers. Tigers senior guard K.C. Rivers dropped in 28 while sophomore guard Terrance Oglesby added 17.
Best Game this Week (thus far):
#25 Marquette 68 - N.C. State 65 (box score)
Marquette senior guard Dominic James had 18 in the win. Wolfpack senior forward Brandon Costner had 24 points and 8 boards in the loss. I would describe the game in more detail but it might be better to just watch.
(last 6 minutes of a great game)
Next up:
12/27
Noon - Miami (7-3, 0-1) at St. Johns (9-2) ESPNU
2:00pm - Bryant University (1-9) at Maryland (8-2)
12/28
4:00pm - Western Kentucky (7-3) at Florida State (11-2)
5:30pm - Virginia (5-4) at Georgia Tech (7-3)
7:45pm - Rutgers (9-3) at UNC (11-0)
ACC Ballers Dunk of the Week....
Jeff Teague is at it again against Indiana. This was just tough.
Monday, December 15, 2008
ACC Ballers: On deck
Last week was pretty lame as ACC hoops is concerned but this week promises to be much better as exams are finally over and done with. There aren't many big time matchups this week but there is a biggie this coming Saturday as #7 Xavier goes up against #6 Duke in East Rutherford, NJ. Should be an interesting game as both teams have played well thus far. The Musketeers are coming off of a tough road win against in-state rival Cincinnati and are undefeated (9-0) at this point in the season. Before we go on I want to give major props to my boy Pooh Bear Mars for being ranked in Rivals top 250 high school football players for 2009. Pooh Bear has one of the top names in sports and apparently the game to match. Take a look.
POOH BEAR!!!!
....Moving on, we're going to take a look at some ACC ballers that have improved tremendously over the past year. Sometimes this increased productivity can be a result of more minutes or injury issues, but often times its just that these players have worked on their games in the summer. Time to give some props.
ACC Ballers: Most Improved Players
1) G Jeff Teague, sophomore, Wake Forest - Teague has put up monster numbers this year for Dino Gaudio's club and he looks as though he is coming into his own. He's a fantastic athletic with the quicks to stay with anyone and the leaping ability to challenge shots. Teague's statistical improvement can be attributed to his dedication in the off season and an injury to last year's starting point guard Ishmael Smith. He's upped his scoring average from 13.9 to 19.3 per game, his assist average from 2.5 - 4.6, and his steal average from 1.8 to 2.4. Jeff's big time. Judging by this..(although I think he was called for the charge here)
(This is the first reference to Arabian Goggles I've ever read)
2) PF Gani Lawal, sophomore, Georgia Tech - Gani, a former McDonalds All American has really gotten it done this year for Hewitt's squad. He's upped his scoring output by 11 points a night (18ppg in 08-09') and his rebounding production by 7 (10rbp in 08-09'). His signature game thus far came in a loss against Penn State as he went for 34 points and 10 boards. He is going to be dominant for Tech this year and might actually help them get back to the tournament this year.
(it's from his high school days in Georgia)
3) PF Deon Thompson, junior, North Carolina - Deon has been a man amongst boys from the beginning of the year. He really took advantage of Hansbrough's absence early on as he dominated the paint area for the Heels. The 6'8, 240lbs junior has had several monster games thus far including a 19 point (8-12 from the field) 13 rebound performance against Notre Dame in the Maui Invitational Final. Again, his numbers were pretty decent last year (8.4 points, 4 boards a game on a loaded squad) but nothing like the production he's delivering now Deon is putting up 15.7ppg and almost 7.9rpg this season.
4) PF Jeff Allen, sophomore, Virginia Tech - Jeff has been doing his thing down in Blacksburg this year to the tune of almost 15 points and 10 boards a game. He's pretty much the only inside threat Seth Greenberg and his staff have and at times he's all they need. In his last game, a home win against Longwood, Allen went for 19 and 21! That's right, 21 boards. The kid is a beast.
5) PF Alade Aminu, senior, Georgia Tech - Alade, the older brother of stud freshman Al-Farouq Aminu is a beast inside and finally coming into his own down in Atlanta. The 6'10 power forward has upped his scoring average from 6 to 13 while his rebounding numbers have jumped up 5 boards a game to 9.1. Much of this is attributed to the increased minutes Coach Hewitt has given him and apparently they are much deserved. Aminu has looked good in almost every contest this year and gave Vanderbilt 16 points, 11 boards, and 4 blocks a little over a week ago.
6) PF Mike Scott, sophomore, Virginia - Scott has doubled his scoring and rebounding averages to pull himself up to 10 points and 10 boards a game in the young season. He's a relentless rebounder and has tried to assert himself offensively when possible. Mike's progress is impressive considering the limited amount of high school basketball he played.
7) PF/C Ben McCauley, senior, NC State - McCauley, the 6'9 237 pounder from Pennsylvania is looking like an improved version of the player we saw in 2006-2007 where he averaged 14 points and 7 boards a game. Last season was tough on Ben, as it was on many a Wolfpack player due to their lack of a seasoned point guard. His scoring average dropped significantly and State had a tough time closing out games. This season seems like a return to the norm as Ben is putting up an impressive 15 points and 9 boards a game. He's always been very skilled and his ACC experience will help the Wolfpack tremendously as conference play comes around.
ACC Ballers Dunk of the Week
Gerald Henderson gettin' up on Southern Illinois.....
POOH BEAR!!!!
....Moving on, we're going to take a look at some ACC ballers that have improved tremendously over the past year. Sometimes this increased productivity can be a result of more minutes or injury issues, but often times its just that these players have worked on their games in the summer. Time to give some props.
ACC Ballers: Most Improved Players
1) G Jeff Teague, sophomore, Wake Forest - Teague has put up monster numbers this year for Dino Gaudio's club and he looks as though he is coming into his own. He's a fantastic athletic with the quicks to stay with anyone and the leaping ability to challenge shots. Teague's statistical improvement can be attributed to his dedication in the off season and an injury to last year's starting point guard Ishmael Smith. He's upped his scoring average from 13.9 to 19.3 per game, his assist average from 2.5 - 4.6, and his steal average from 1.8 to 2.4. Jeff's big time. Judging by this..(although I think he was called for the charge here)
(This is the first reference to Arabian Goggles I've ever read)
2) PF Gani Lawal, sophomore, Georgia Tech - Gani, a former McDonalds All American has really gotten it done this year for Hewitt's squad. He's upped his scoring output by 11 points a night (18ppg in 08-09') and his rebounding production by 7 (10rbp in 08-09'). His signature game thus far came in a loss against Penn State as he went for 34 points and 10 boards. He is going to be dominant for Tech this year and might actually help them get back to the tournament this year.
(it's from his high school days in Georgia)
3) PF Deon Thompson, junior, North Carolina - Deon has been a man amongst boys from the beginning of the year. He really took advantage of Hansbrough's absence early on as he dominated the paint area for the Heels. The 6'8, 240lbs junior has had several monster games thus far including a 19 point (8-12 from the field) 13 rebound performance against Notre Dame in the Maui Invitational Final. Again, his numbers were pretty decent last year (8.4 points, 4 boards a game on a loaded squad) but nothing like the production he's delivering now Deon is putting up 15.7ppg and almost 7.9rpg this season.
4) PF Jeff Allen, sophomore, Virginia Tech - Jeff has been doing his thing down in Blacksburg this year to the tune of almost 15 points and 10 boards a game. He's pretty much the only inside threat Seth Greenberg and his staff have and at times he's all they need. In his last game, a home win against Longwood, Allen went for 19 and 21! That's right, 21 boards. The kid is a beast.
5) PF Alade Aminu, senior, Georgia Tech - Alade, the older brother of stud freshman Al-Farouq Aminu is a beast inside and finally coming into his own down in Atlanta. The 6'10 power forward has upped his scoring average from 6 to 13 while his rebounding numbers have jumped up 5 boards a game to 9.1. Much of this is attributed to the increased minutes Coach Hewitt has given him and apparently they are much deserved. Aminu has looked good in almost every contest this year and gave Vanderbilt 16 points, 11 boards, and 4 blocks a little over a week ago.
6) PF Mike Scott, sophomore, Virginia - Scott has doubled his scoring and rebounding averages to pull himself up to 10 points and 10 boards a game in the young season. He's a relentless rebounder and has tried to assert himself offensively when possible. Mike's progress is impressive considering the limited amount of high school basketball he played.
7) PF/C Ben McCauley, senior, NC State - McCauley, the 6'9 237 pounder from Pennsylvania is looking like an improved version of the player we saw in 2006-2007 where he averaged 14 points and 7 boards a game. Last season was tough on Ben, as it was on many a Wolfpack player due to their lack of a seasoned point guard. His scoring average dropped significantly and State had a tough time closing out games. This season seems like a return to the norm as Ben is putting up an impressive 15 points and 9 boards a game. He's always been very skilled and his ACC experience will help the Wolfpack tremendously as conference play comes around.
ACC Ballers Dunk of the Week
Gerald Henderson gettin' up on Southern Illinois.....
Monday, December 8, 2008
ACC Ballers: EXAM WEEK
Basically, exam week is synonymous with no games week. There isn't really much to look forward to in terms of great games to watch. But, since the players are spending a good bit of their time answering questions we at ACC Ballers will do the same.
ACC Ballers Predictions:
ACC Standings:
1st team All-ACC:
Tywon Lawson, junior, UNC (click)
Jack McClinton, senior, Miami (click)
Greivis Vasquez, junior, MD (click)
Tyler Hansbrough, senior, UNC (click)
Kyle Singler, sophomore, Duke (click)
2nd team All-ACC:
Tyrese Rice, senior, BC (click)
Wayne Ellington, junior, UNC (click)
Gerald Henderson, junior, Duke (click)
James Johnson, sophomore, Wake Forest (click)
Trevor Booker, junior, Clemson (click)
3rd team All-ACC:
Toney Douglas, senior, Florida State (click)
Jeff Teague, sophomore, Wake Forest (click)
A.D. Vassallo, senior, Virgina Tech (click)
Danny Green, senior, UNC (click)
Deon Thompson, junior, UNC (click)
Honorable Mention:
Jeff Allen, sophomore, Virginia Tech (click); Gani Lawal, sophomore, Georgia Tech (click); John Scheyer, junior, Duke (click); K.C. Rivers, senior, Clemson (click) ; Dwayne Collins, junior, Miami (click)
ACC Ballers Dunk of the Week:
Duke freshman Elliott Williams goes on spin cycle....
ACC Ballers Predictions:
ACC Standings:
- North Carolina
- Duke
- Wake Forest
- Miami
- Maryland
- Clemson
- Virginia Tech
- Florida State
- Georgia Tech
- North Carolina State
- Virginia
- Boston College
1st team All-ACC:
Tywon Lawson, junior, UNC (click)
Jack McClinton, senior, Miami (click)
Greivis Vasquez, junior, MD (click)
Tyler Hansbrough, senior, UNC (click)
Kyle Singler, sophomore, Duke (click)
2nd team All-ACC:
Tyrese Rice, senior, BC (click)
Wayne Ellington, junior, UNC (click)
Gerald Henderson, junior, Duke (click)
James Johnson, sophomore, Wake Forest (click)
Trevor Booker, junior, Clemson (click)
3rd team All-ACC:
Toney Douglas, senior, Florida State (click)
Jeff Teague, sophomore, Wake Forest (click)
A.D. Vassallo, senior, Virgina Tech (click)
Danny Green, senior, UNC (click)
Deon Thompson, junior, UNC (click)
Honorable Mention:
Jeff Allen, sophomore, Virginia Tech (click); Gani Lawal, sophomore, Georgia Tech (click); John Scheyer, junior, Duke (click); K.C. Rivers, senior, Clemson (click) ; Dwayne Collins, junior, Miami (click)
ACC Ballers Dunk of the Week:
Duke freshman Elliott Williams goes on spin cycle....
Monday, December 1, 2008
ACC Ballers's BIG TEN/ACC Challenge Preview
It's officially that time of year again, the BIG TEN/ACC Challenge is here. Or should we call this an event since the BIG TEN has never actually won (or really made it a 'challenge') since the event started in 1999. While this year should be no different the Big Ten might be able to compete a bit more this year due to the youth up and down the roster's of several ACC teams....By the way, I advise that any true college basketball fans watch as many UNC games as you can this year, you could be watching history. What I mean by that is that they might not lose a game all season long. They are one of the few college basketball teams that I've seen that combine top tier returning talent with top tier incoming freshmen. Honestly, how many college basketball programs can make the claim that they have more McDonald's high school all americans on their bench than in their starting lineup? I can't think of any. With that said. Here are the matchups:
BIG TEN/ACC CHALLENGE:
#22 Wisconsin 74 - Virginia Tech 72 (box score)
Preview:
The Badgers, led by guard Trevon Hughes (14 ppg) and forward Marcus Landry (12.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg), are 5-1 and typically play tremendous defense. Their one defeat came to the only legitimate team they have played thus far, UCONN, and that's not a bad loss at all. Virginia Tech comes into tonight's game with three players averaging over 10 points per game and a bit more
firepower than the Badgers. Lead by the trio of power forward Jeff Allen, shooting guard A.D. Vassallo, and point man Malcolm Delaney (each average 16 points per game) the Hokies have a talented squad that should more than be able to compete at home. Cassell Coliseum is a tough place to play (ask Duke) and the Badgers might have some issues with the atmosphere.
ACC Ballers pick: Virgina Tech.
Recap:
The number 22 ranked Badgers controlled this game until the last few minutes when Virginia Tech guards got hot. The Hokie backcourt of senior A.D. Vassallo and sophomore point guard Malcolm Delaney went off at the end of the game to bring Tech storming back into the game late. Vassallo's 3 with seven seconds tied the game at 72 and sent the Hokie crowd into a frenzy. Unfortunately for the Hokies the crowd was silenced shortly after as Badger guard Trevon Hughes dribbled the length of the court and hit a pull up jumper from about 10 feet to give his team the 74-72 lead with less than a second in the game. The footage probably does a better job of describing this than I can. See for yourself.
Iowa 55 - Boston College 57 (box score)
Preview:
Iowa is young and Boston College will have the top player in the game in 6'1 guard Tyrese Rice. Look for him to score early and often. While I don't think BC will win many this year they should win this one.
ACC Ballers pick: Boston College
Recap:
This game was very close and came down to a missed free throws by Iowa freshman Andrew Brommer with .4 seconds left. These free throws were awarded after a 'suspect' loose ball foul call on BC guard Corey Raji. BC senior point guard Tyrese Rice paced the Eagles with 15 points.
Ohio State 73 - #22 Miami 68 (same # of votes as Wisconsin) (box score)
Preview:
The number 22 ranked Canes' are flying high after a couple of blowout wins against San Diego and Stetson. To go along with Jack McClinton's 16 point average Miami junior forward Dwayne Collins is averaging a 13.6 and 10 boards a game. On the other hand, the 3-0 Buckeyes are very young as they rely on a handful of freshman and sophomore's to play the majority of the minutes. This is also their first true test as Ohio State has not played anyone of note to date. They also haven't played outside of the state of Ohio.
ACC Ballers pick: Miami
Recap:
After hitting 4 three point shots in the first 8 minutes of the game, the U's Jack McClinton got hit with an ejection after he retaliated to smack by Buckeye guard Anthony Crater with a smack of his own. The issue for McClinton was that Crater hit the floor, garnering the attention of the officials, who then looked at replays and determined that Jack had to exit state right. However unfair, this completely turned the game. Slowly but surely Ohio State climbed back into the game behind 20 points from sophomore two guard Jon Diebler.
Clemson 76 - Illinois 74 (box score)
Preview:
Illinois is off to a great start (6-0) and have four players averaging double figures led by sophomore power forward Mike Davis. The Illini have several young players that they ask to contribute but this talented group looks like they are coming together fine. Senior point guard Chester Frazier from Charm City (Baltimore), 'Murlin' is averaging 7 assists per game and should be able to control the tempo for Bruce Weber and the Illini.
ACC Ballers Pick: Illinois
Recap:
Sophomore forward Mike Davis (Alexandria, VA) poured in 28 points for the Illini but it was Clemson, powered by 4 starters reaching double digits in scoring, that carvered out the win. The game changed when Clemson decided to bring it on D. The Tigers' forced Illinois' into 17 turnovers in the second half to come back and take the lead in a game that they were trailing in at the half. Clemson would eventually catch a break at the end as Illinois guard Demetri McCamey failed to get a shot off as time expired.
#4 Duke 76 - #10 Purdue 60 (box score)
Preview:
Great great game here. Duke has 4 experienced players leading them in scoring and Coach K has considerably more talent on his bench this year than last year. The Boilermakers have a good bit of talent returning as well with guard E'twaun Moore and forward Robbie Hummel back in the fold. The Robbie Hummel vs. Kyle Singler matchup should be fun to watch as both have similar size (each around 6'9, 215lbs) and similar styles on the court. I think Duke has too much talent to lose to this team and will take care of Purdue at some point in the second half. If Purdue can keep the game close at the end they will have a shot but I still favor Duke in this one.
ACC Baller's Pick: Duke
Recap:
Coach K and the Blue Devils put Purdue in its place from the onset. Kyle Singler and John Scheyer each scored 20 in a rout of the Boilermakers on the road. The store of the game was the defensive pressure Duke put on the Boilermakers backcourt. Purdue was held to just 37% shooting from the field and start guard E'Twan Moore never really got into a rhythm. In typical Duke fashion they exposed the weaknesses of this young Purdue team in route to yet another W for the Dukies.
Virginia 56 - Minnesota 66 (box score)
Preview:
Pretty decent matchup of programs that are both playing young players in hopes of success a year or two from now. Tubby Smith's Gophers have played well and have rode junior guard Lawrence Westbrook (14 ppg) to a 6-0 start. The rest of the team is still coming together and while they are at home, the Cavs have more talent and should pull this out. Big time freshman Sylven Landesberg leads Virginia in scoring (20ppg) and sophomore power forward Mike Scott puts in work on the glass (11 rpg). The difference in this game will be Virginia's overall talent and size down low.
ACC Baller's Pick: Virginia
Recap:
Tubby Smith's Gophers forced the Cavaliers into 18 turnovers and basically controlled the game from midway in the first half. The pressure applied by guard Al Nolen was too much for the young and inexperienced backcourt of Virginia. In a game that pitted freshman Center Ralph Sampson III against his dad's former team, Gophers simply hit shots when they needed to and allowed the Cavaliers to give them the game. Junior forward Jamil Tucker lead the Cavaliers in scoring with 12 points.
Indiana 58 - #17 Wake Forest 83
Preview:
This would be a great game if everybody and their mom didn't leave Bloomington in the tumultuous off season the Hoosiers had. Wake Forest has an advantage in almost every department (size, skill, athleticism) and shouldn't have a problem with this group of Hoosiers. Jeff Teague (21 ppg, 57% 3 point shoting) and James Johnson (15ppg, 9 rpb) should lead the way for Wake in this one. Coach Creen's Hoosiers should be better next year when his highly rated 2009 class steps on campus.
ACC Baller's Pick: Wake Forest
Recap:
This game wasn't really close as Wake Forest played with high level division one talent and Indiana have a few scholarship freshman and sophomores mixed in with a ton of walk-ons. This was evidenced here....
That was just 2 of James Johnson's 21 points. Super star freshman Al-Farouq Aminu dropped in 13 points and 9 boards in the rout.
Penn State 85 - Georgia Tech 83
Preview:
This game should be better than people think but Penn State will get dominated down low. Georgia Tech has way too much quality size for the Nittany Lions to contend with. On the perimeter Penn State should be fine as guards Talor Battle and Stanley Pringle average 19 and 15 points per game respectively. Down low is where they will run into issues as their best post player, 6-5 power forward Jamelle Cornley, might have trouble with Tech's mammoth front line of Alade Aminu, Gani Lawal, and Zach Peacock who are averaging a combined 46 points and 23 rebounds per game.
ACC Baller's Pick: Georgia Tech
Recap:
Penn State is much improved this year and it showed by the performance of the backcourt alone. Battle and Pringle went for 40 points and 10 assists in a hard fought and well played game in Atlanta. As predicted, Gani Lawal went to work and poured in 34 points and 1o boards but Penn State was able to squeak this one out. A last second runner from the three point line by stud freshman Iman Shumpert (14 points, 12 assists) hit high off the rim and out.
Michigan 70 - Maryland 75
Preview:
While this is a home game for the Terps it's a tough matchup for them as well. Coach Williams' young team will have it's hands full with Michigan's 1-3-1 zone defense. They key in this game is how well the young Terrapin big men will be able to defend the paint. Michigan has a beast down low in DeShawn Sims who randomly comes off the bench (the reason given is that Beilein wanted to have some scoring punch in the second unit. Don't make sense to me) but puts up huge numbers and was instrumental in the Wolverine's victory over previously #4 UCLA at MSG earlier this year. Unless Greivis Vasquez and the rest of the Terps play like they did in the Michigan State game I don't see them beating Michigan.
ACC Baller's Pick: Michigan
Recap:
Michigan's 1-3-1 zone did not slow Maryland down as much as I antipated it would. The Terrapin guards showed great poise and even more importantly, so did big forward Dino Gregory. Dino put up 6 ponts, 7 boards, and a block in about 26 minutes. Doesn't seem like gaudy numbers but he was a force in the paint for the Terps and a positive sign for the rest of their season. Greivis Vasquez went to work again as he put up 23 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists.
#1 North Carolina 98 - #12 Michigan State 63
Preview:
North Carolina will win, because nobody can beat them....I shouldn't say anything more because this is basically the truth. Michigan State has no shot at winning this game, esp. if Goran Sutton is out. Regardless, Sutton hasn't practiced in weeks and he won't be much of a factor I can imagine. It's hard to imagine UNC's Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, Tyler Hansbrough, Ed Davis, Danny Green, and Deon Thompson will choose the same night to have a bad game. North Carolina is better at every position on the court in almost every way you can be better that someone else at basketball. This is as elementary as I can put it.
ACC Baller's Pick: North Carolina
Recap:
This was a blowout from the opening tip. The Spartans, who haven't been playing particularly well, got ran out of Ford Field. The confusing part of the game was that the Spartans tried to play at Carolina's speed. That's not a formula for success against the Heels. Tyler Hansbrough went for 25 and 11 while Ty Lawson 17 points, 8 assists, and a ridiculous 7 steals. Carolina won this game by 35 points without playing any starter more than 28 minutes. Carolina's walk-ons got considerable time in this game. This is 9th man William Graves catching an oop from Lawson.
Florida State 59 - Northwestern 73
Preview:
Florida State is too athletic for this Wildcats team and that should be evident from the jump ball. The only factor that NU has in their favor is the home court. I suspect the crowd will help them out early but the Seminoles have too much firepower for this team. As long as senior guard Toney Douglas (19 points, 2.3 assists per game) is effective and can stay out of foul trouble, the Seminoles should win easy. Look for freshman phenom Chris Singleton to have a monster day on the boards.
ACC Baller's Pick: Florida State
Recap:
This was a truly bad performance by Leonard Hamilton's Seminoles as they got beat by 14 points to a not so great Wildcat team. Florida State's youth showed up in this game as Northwestern forced them into 21 turnovers, 7 of those by their best player Toney Douglas. NU guard Craig Moore played all 40 minutes and scored 20 points in the process. This was a huge win for their program and a telling loss for the Noles.
ACC Ballers Dunk of the Week:
Wake Forest's sophomore guard Jeff Teague gettin' up on Cal State Fullerton at the 76 Classic in Anaheim, California.....
BIG TEN/ACC CHALLENGE:
#22 Wisconsin 74 - Virginia Tech 72 (box score)
Preview:
The Badgers, led by guard Trevon Hughes (14 ppg) and forward Marcus Landry (12.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg), are 5-1 and typically play tremendous defense. Their one defeat came to the only legitimate team they have played thus far, UCONN, and that's not a bad loss at all. Virginia Tech comes into tonight's game with three players averaging over 10 points per game and a bit more
firepower than the Badgers. Lead by the trio of power forward Jeff Allen, shooting guard A.D. Vassallo, and point man Malcolm Delaney (each average 16 points per game) the Hokies have a talented squad that should more than be able to compete at home. Cassell Coliseum is a tough place to play (ask Duke) and the Badgers might have some issues with the atmosphere.
ACC Ballers pick: Virgina Tech.
Recap:
The number 22 ranked Badgers controlled this game until the last few minutes when Virginia Tech guards got hot. The Hokie backcourt of senior A.D. Vassallo and sophomore point guard Malcolm Delaney went off at the end of the game to bring Tech storming back into the game late. Vassallo's 3 with seven seconds tied the game at 72 and sent the Hokie crowd into a frenzy. Unfortunately for the Hokies the crowd was silenced shortly after as Badger guard Trevon Hughes dribbled the length of the court and hit a pull up jumper from about 10 feet to give his team the 74-72 lead with less than a second in the game. The footage probably does a better job of describing this than I can. See for yourself.
Iowa 55 - Boston College 57 (box score)
Preview:
Iowa is young and Boston College will have the top player in the game in 6'1 guard Tyrese Rice. Look for him to score early and often. While I don't think BC will win many this year they should win this one.
ACC Ballers pick: Boston College
Recap:
This game was very close and came down to a missed free throws by Iowa freshman Andrew Brommer with .4 seconds left. These free throws were awarded after a 'suspect' loose ball foul call on BC guard Corey Raji. BC senior point guard Tyrese Rice paced the Eagles with 15 points.
Ohio State 73 - #22 Miami 68 (same # of votes as Wisconsin) (box score)
Preview:
The number 22 ranked Canes' are flying high after a couple of blowout wins against San Diego and Stetson. To go along with Jack McClinton's 16 point average Miami junior forward Dwayne Collins is averaging a 13.6 and 10 boards a game. On the other hand, the 3-0 Buckeyes are very young as they rely on a handful of freshman and sophomore's to play the majority of the minutes. This is also their first true test as Ohio State has not played anyone of note to date. They also haven't played outside of the state of Ohio.
ACC Ballers pick: Miami
Recap:
After hitting 4 three point shots in the first 8 minutes of the game, the U's Jack McClinton got hit with an ejection after he retaliated to smack by Buckeye guard Anthony Crater with a smack of his own. The issue for McClinton was that Crater hit the floor, garnering the attention of the officials, who then looked at replays and determined that Jack had to exit state right. However unfair, this completely turned the game. Slowly but surely Ohio State climbed back into the game behind 20 points from sophomore two guard Jon Diebler.
Clemson 76 - Illinois 74 (box score)
Preview:
Illinois is off to a great start (6-0) and have four players averaging double figures led by sophomore power forward Mike Davis. The Illini have several young players that they ask to contribute but this talented group looks like they are coming together fine. Senior point guard Chester Frazier from Charm City (Baltimore), 'Murlin' is averaging 7 assists per game and should be able to control the tempo for Bruce Weber and the Illini.
ACC Ballers Pick: Illinois
Recap:
Sophomore forward Mike Davis (Alexandria, VA) poured in 28 points for the Illini but it was Clemson, powered by 4 starters reaching double digits in scoring, that carvered out the win. The game changed when Clemson decided to bring it on D. The Tigers' forced Illinois' into 17 turnovers in the second half to come back and take the lead in a game that they were trailing in at the half. Clemson would eventually catch a break at the end as Illinois guard Demetri McCamey failed to get a shot off as time expired.
#4 Duke 76 - #10 Purdue 60 (box score)
Preview:
Great great game here. Duke has 4 experienced players leading them in scoring and Coach K has considerably more talent on his bench this year than last year. The Boilermakers have a good bit of talent returning as well with guard E'twaun Moore and forward Robbie Hummel back in the fold. The Robbie Hummel vs. Kyle Singler matchup should be fun to watch as both have similar size (each around 6'9, 215lbs) and similar styles on the court. I think Duke has too much talent to lose to this team and will take care of Purdue at some point in the second half. If Purdue can keep the game close at the end they will have a shot but I still favor Duke in this one.
ACC Baller's Pick: Duke
Recap:
Coach K and the Blue Devils put Purdue in its place from the onset. Kyle Singler and John Scheyer each scored 20 in a rout of the Boilermakers on the road. The store of the game was the defensive pressure Duke put on the Boilermakers backcourt. Purdue was held to just 37% shooting from the field and start guard E'Twan Moore never really got into a rhythm. In typical Duke fashion they exposed the weaknesses of this young Purdue team in route to yet another W for the Dukies.
Virginia 56 - Minnesota 66 (box score)
Preview:
Pretty decent matchup of programs that are both playing young players in hopes of success a year or two from now. Tubby Smith's Gophers have played well and have rode junior guard Lawrence Westbrook (14 ppg) to a 6-0 start. The rest of the team is still coming together and while they are at home, the Cavs have more talent and should pull this out. Big time freshman Sylven Landesberg leads Virginia in scoring (20ppg) and sophomore power forward Mike Scott puts in work on the glass (11 rpg). The difference in this game will be Virginia's overall talent and size down low.
ACC Baller's Pick: Virginia
Recap:
Tubby Smith's Gophers forced the Cavaliers into 18 turnovers and basically controlled the game from midway in the first half. The pressure applied by guard Al Nolen was too much for the young and inexperienced backcourt of Virginia. In a game that pitted freshman Center Ralph Sampson III against his dad's former team, Gophers simply hit shots when they needed to and allowed the Cavaliers to give them the game. Junior forward Jamil Tucker lead the Cavaliers in scoring with 12 points.
Indiana 58 - #17 Wake Forest 83
Preview:
This would be a great game if everybody and their mom didn't leave Bloomington in the tumultuous off season the Hoosiers had. Wake Forest has an advantage in almost every department (size, skill, athleticism) and shouldn't have a problem with this group of Hoosiers. Jeff Teague (21 ppg, 57% 3 point shoting) and James Johnson (15ppg, 9 rpb) should lead the way for Wake in this one. Coach Creen's Hoosiers should be better next year when his highly rated 2009 class steps on campus.
ACC Baller's Pick: Wake Forest
Recap:
This game wasn't really close as Wake Forest played with high level division one talent and Indiana have a few scholarship freshman and sophomores mixed in with a ton of walk-ons. This was evidenced here....
That was just 2 of James Johnson's 21 points. Super star freshman Al-Farouq Aminu dropped in 13 points and 9 boards in the rout.
Penn State 85 - Georgia Tech 83
Preview:
This game should be better than people think but Penn State will get dominated down low. Georgia Tech has way too much quality size for the Nittany Lions to contend with. On the perimeter Penn State should be fine as guards Talor Battle and Stanley Pringle average 19 and 15 points per game respectively. Down low is where they will run into issues as their best post player, 6-5 power forward Jamelle Cornley, might have trouble with Tech's mammoth front line of Alade Aminu, Gani Lawal, and Zach Peacock who are averaging a combined 46 points and 23 rebounds per game.
ACC Baller's Pick: Georgia Tech
Recap:
Penn State is much improved this year and it showed by the performance of the backcourt alone. Battle and Pringle went for 40 points and 10 assists in a hard fought and well played game in Atlanta. As predicted, Gani Lawal went to work and poured in 34 points and 1o boards but Penn State was able to squeak this one out. A last second runner from the three point line by stud freshman Iman Shumpert (14 points, 12 assists) hit high off the rim and out.
Michigan 70 - Maryland 75
Preview:
While this is a home game for the Terps it's a tough matchup for them as well. Coach Williams' young team will have it's hands full with Michigan's 1-3-1 zone defense. They key in this game is how well the young Terrapin big men will be able to defend the paint. Michigan has a beast down low in DeShawn Sims who randomly comes off the bench (the reason given is that Beilein wanted to have some scoring punch in the second unit. Don't make sense to me) but puts up huge numbers and was instrumental in the Wolverine's victory over previously #4 UCLA at MSG earlier this year. Unless Greivis Vasquez and the rest of the Terps play like they did in the Michigan State game I don't see them beating Michigan.
ACC Baller's Pick: Michigan
Recap:
Michigan's 1-3-1 zone did not slow Maryland down as much as I antipated it would. The Terrapin guards showed great poise and even more importantly, so did big forward Dino Gregory. Dino put up 6 ponts, 7 boards, and a block in about 26 minutes. Doesn't seem like gaudy numbers but he was a force in the paint for the Terps and a positive sign for the rest of their season. Greivis Vasquez went to work again as he put up 23 points, 12 rebounds, and 6 assists.
#1 North Carolina 98 - #12 Michigan State 63
Preview:
North Carolina will win, because nobody can beat them....I shouldn't say anything more because this is basically the truth. Michigan State has no shot at winning this game, esp. if Goran Sutton is out. Regardless, Sutton hasn't practiced in weeks and he won't be much of a factor I can imagine. It's hard to imagine UNC's Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, Tyler Hansbrough, Ed Davis, Danny Green, and Deon Thompson will choose the same night to have a bad game. North Carolina is better at every position on the court in almost every way you can be better that someone else at basketball. This is as elementary as I can put it.
ACC Baller's Pick: North Carolina
Recap:
This was a blowout from the opening tip. The Spartans, who haven't been playing particularly well, got ran out of Ford Field. The confusing part of the game was that the Spartans tried to play at Carolina's speed. That's not a formula for success against the Heels. Tyler Hansbrough went for 25 and 11 while Ty Lawson 17 points, 8 assists, and a ridiculous 7 steals. Carolina won this game by 35 points without playing any starter more than 28 minutes. Carolina's walk-ons got considerable time in this game. This is 9th man William Graves catching an oop from Lawson.
Florida State 59 - Northwestern 73
Preview:
Florida State is too athletic for this Wildcats team and that should be evident from the jump ball. The only factor that NU has in their favor is the home court. I suspect the crowd will help them out early but the Seminoles have too much firepower for this team. As long as senior guard Toney Douglas (19 points, 2.3 assists per game) is effective and can stay out of foul trouble, the Seminoles should win easy. Look for freshman phenom Chris Singleton to have a monster day on the boards.
ACC Baller's Pick: Florida State
Recap:
This was a truly bad performance by Leonard Hamilton's Seminoles as they got beat by 14 points to a not so great Wildcat team. Florida State's youth showed up in this game as Northwestern forced them into 21 turnovers, 7 of those by their best player Toney Douglas. NU guard Craig Moore played all 40 minutes and scored 20 points in the process. This was a huge win for their program and a telling loss for the Noles.
ACC Ballers Dunk of the Week:
Wake Forest's sophomore guard Jeff Teague gettin' up on Cal State Fullerton at the 76 Classic in Anaheim, California.....
Monday, November 24, 2008
ACC Ballers Week 2 update - #5 Duke off to a fast start, #1 UNC heads to Maui.
This week was not as good for the conference as last, as three teams have lost a combined 4 games. But, overall the conference is 35-4 over the first two weeks of the season, which ain't bad at all. #5 Duke (6-0) ran through the Coaches vs. Cancer classic this past week capped off by a resounding 71-56 win over Michigan in the championship game. Tournament MVP Kyle Singler scored 15 points in the win. Maryland guard Greivis Vasquez was named ACC Player of the Week after averaging 27 points, 8.5 boards, 4.5 assists, and 3 steals in two wins over Youngstown State and Vermont. Virgina guard/forward Sylven Landesberg averaged 21.5 points and 4 boards in two wins over South Florida and Radford on his way to being named ACC Rookie of the Week for the second consecutive week. This week we'll be tracking top ranked Carolina's run through the Maui tournament. Everyone expects to see the Heels in the championship game and their journey starts tonight against the host, Chaminade, at 9:30 on ESPNU.
#1 UNC 115 - Chaminade 70
Nothing out of the ordinary here. If you like a lot of uncontested breakaway dunks, this was the game for you. Wayne Ellington had a few fast break dunks that made you get out of your seat but the dunk of the night definitely belonged to William Graves. This was just monstrous. See for yourself....
North Carolina dominated from the opening tip and never really looked back. Ty Lawson got hot from deep early on in the game (3-4 from three point land) and it seemed as though the Heels were on a perpetual fast break for 40 minutes. Junior small forward Danny Green was the game's high scorer with 26 as the Heels cruised at the Lahaina Civic Center in Maui, HI.
#1 UNC 98 - Oregon 69 (click to see highlights)
In typical UNC fashion the Heels got out of the gate running and never looked back. 6'6 Senior guard Danny Green scored 21 on 8 of 12 shooting. This season Green has emerged as Carolina's most versatile player as he effectively scores both inside and out (5-8 from three). Along with Green, everyone else on Carolina seemed to play well as coach Williams' team had 10 players score. One interesting aspect of the game was that Tyler Hansbrough started for Carolina for the first time all season. He seemed to get frustrated early against the very physical Oregon super freshman Michael Dunnigan, who seemed ready for the challenge. Unfortunately for coach Ernie Kent and the Ducks, Dunnigan was the only player that seemed capable of competing against this talented squad. Junior power forward Deon Thompson of Carolina went for 11 points and 6 boards while frosh point guard Larry Drew Jr. had a really nice game with 3 points and 5 dimes. Drew Jr. had a couple of flashy assists that made you think 'if this is Carolina's backup, they might not lose a game all year.' The more I watch this team the more I think it's built for a tournament run in March.
Next Up....
MAUI INVITATIONAL FINAL
#1 UNC - #8 Notre Dame (click to see highlights)
While Carolina has dismantled everyone they've played this season this game might be a true testament to how good they really are. Notre Dame is a top 10 team with a handful of players that have played at a high level for years. Junior power forward Luke Harangody was an All-Big East performer last year and was considering a jump to the NBA after average 20 points and 10 boards as a sophomore. Fighting Irish senior guard Kyle McAlarney is one of the best shooters in the country and looks primed for another very good year. Apparently you can throw all of this out when playing the Tar Heels. They ran through this team like they were a JV squad. McAlarney went off for 39 on 10 of 18 shooting from 3 and his team still got beat. If any top 10 teams gets 39 from one of their best players it's almost a lock that their team wins. The usual suspects came to play for Carolina as Tyler Hansbrough (68% from the field) looked like the Pyscho-T of old pouring in 34 points and tournament MVP Ty Lawson finished the game with 22 points and 11 assists. Junior forward Deon Thompson finished up with 19 points and 13 boards. Apparently Hansbrough is only playing at "about 75%" according to Roy Williams. The Heels are also missing last year's starting small forward Marcus Ginyard. I am scared to think how good this team will be in January. Look out ACC. Here is a little footage of the game....
ACC Ballers Dunk of the Week....
Nolan Smith gets extra big on Southern Illinois.
#1 UNC 115 - Chaminade 70
Nothing out of the ordinary here. If you like a lot of uncontested breakaway dunks, this was the game for you. Wayne Ellington had a few fast break dunks that made you get out of your seat but the dunk of the night definitely belonged to William Graves. This was just monstrous. See for yourself....
North Carolina dominated from the opening tip and never really looked back. Ty Lawson got hot from deep early on in the game (3-4 from three point land) and it seemed as though the Heels were on a perpetual fast break for 40 minutes. Junior small forward Danny Green was the game's high scorer with 26 as the Heels cruised at the Lahaina Civic Center in Maui, HI.
#1 UNC 98 - Oregon 69 (click to see highlights)
In typical UNC fashion the Heels got out of the gate running and never looked back. 6'6 Senior guard Danny Green scored 21 on 8 of 12 shooting. This season Green has emerged as Carolina's most versatile player as he effectively scores both inside and out (5-8 from three). Along with Green, everyone else on Carolina seemed to play well as coach Williams' team had 10 players score. One interesting aspect of the game was that Tyler Hansbrough started for Carolina for the first time all season. He seemed to get frustrated early against the very physical Oregon super freshman Michael Dunnigan, who seemed ready for the challenge. Unfortunately for coach Ernie Kent and the Ducks, Dunnigan was the only player that seemed capable of competing against this talented squad. Junior power forward Deon Thompson of Carolina went for 11 points and 6 boards while frosh point guard Larry Drew Jr. had a really nice game with 3 points and 5 dimes. Drew Jr. had a couple of flashy assists that made you think 'if this is Carolina's backup, they might not lose a game all year.' The more I watch this team the more I think it's built for a tournament run in March.
Next Up....
MAUI INVITATIONAL FINAL
#1 UNC - #8 Notre Dame (click to see highlights)
While Carolina has dismantled everyone they've played this season this game might be a true testament to how good they really are. Notre Dame is a top 10 team with a handful of players that have played at a high level for years. Junior power forward Luke Harangody was an All-Big East performer last year and was considering a jump to the NBA after average 20 points and 10 boards as a sophomore. Fighting Irish senior guard Kyle McAlarney is one of the best shooters in the country and looks primed for another very good year. Apparently you can throw all of this out when playing the Tar Heels. They ran through this team like they were a JV squad. McAlarney went off for 39 on 10 of 18 shooting from 3 and his team still got beat. If any top 10 teams gets 39 from one of their best players it's almost a lock that their team wins. The usual suspects came to play for Carolina as Tyler Hansbrough (68% from the field) looked like the Pyscho-T of old pouring in 34 points and tournament MVP Ty Lawson finished the game with 22 points and 11 assists. Junior forward Deon Thompson finished up with 19 points and 13 boards. Apparently Hansbrough is only playing at "about 75%" according to Roy Williams. The Heels are also missing last year's starting small forward Marcus Ginyard. I am scared to think how good this team will be in January. Look out ACC. Here is a little footage of the game....
ACC Ballers Dunk of the Week....
Nolan Smith gets extra big on Southern Illinois.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
ACC doing well after week 1.....
At this point each team has played at least one game and so far all is well. The ACC is a combined 16-0 as each team won its first game. While every team in the league is 1-0 on the young season Duke and Clemson are already 3-0. A big reason for the success of these two teams are Duke forward Kyle Singler and Clemson forward Trevor Booker, who were named Co-ACC players of the Week. Singler averaged 19 and 7 in wins over Presbyterian, Georgia Southern, and Rhode Island (11/16). Booker, who earned MVP honors at the Charleston Classic, put in averaged 13 points, 13 boards, and a ridiculous 3 blocks per game in a 3 game stretch (Hofstra, TCU, and Temple). On a side note, Virginia's freshman guard Sylven Landesberg put up 28 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists in a win over VMI yesterday on his way to being named ACC Rookie of the Week.
Good ACC games on deck:
Tuesday 11/18/08
Kentucky at #1 UNC, 9pm, ESPN
Wednesday 11/19/08
South Florida at Virginia, 7pm
Thursday 11/20/08
Southern Illinois at #10 Duke, 7pm, ESPN2
Saturday 11/22/08
Clemson at Charlotte, 7pm
Good ACC games on deck:
Tuesday 11/18/08
Kentucky at #1 UNC, 9pm, ESPN
Wednesday 11/19/08
South Florida at Virginia, 7pm
Thursday 11/20/08
Southern Illinois at #10 Duke, 7pm, ESPN2
Saturday 11/22/08
Clemson at Charlotte, 7pm
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
ACC BALLERS 08-09 Pre-Season Rankings
It's been a long time coming but ACC Ballers is back and ready for the 2008-2009 season. While the new season is still a few days away I think it's a good time to do a lil' prognosticating. To start off, I'm going to predict that Maryland's 6-9 freshman forward Jin Soo Kim will be a fan favorite from the moment he steps on the floor in College Park. The versatile Korean import has the ability to shoot ball from the outside, something that Maryland could use a little more of.
He's number 5.
Team Predictions
1. North Carolina
Carolina comes into the season ranked #1 in any poll you can find, and the voting wasn't really close. They bring everyone back except Alex Stephenson, who's off to USC to be closer to family. Roy Williams really lucked out when he received the news that Psycho-T, Ty Lawson, Danny Green, and Wayne Ellington all decided to forgo the NBA draft to return to Chapel Hill. Point blank, they shouldn't lose a game this year even without Hansbrough for the first 2 weeks of the season. Pre-season first team All-ACC point guard Ty Lawson and big time shooting guard Wayne Ellington are going to have their way with some of the youth in many ACC backcourts. If this wasn't enough, they add a heralded freshman class headlined by Mickey D's All Americans Tyler Zeller and Ed Davis. These two post players should just add more depth to an already crowded bench. The third McDonald AA of the class, point guard Larry Drew Jr. (son of the former NBA player Larry Drew), should be able to improve the backcourt. Too add, former McDonalds All-American point guard Bobby Frasor returns from injury. Basically everybody on this team is either really good or great. Heres a video, and then we're moving on.
(again, it's the Ty Lawson clip because it still has the best song of any basketball video on youtube. period)
2. Duke
They're going to be a lot better this year, and they weren't bad last year (26-4, 13-3). They have added a ton of front court depth and have finally decided to bring Paulus off the bench. No offense to Paulus (because he is a very productive ACC player) but he lacks the lateral quickness to stay with elite point guards and make plays for your teammates. The other reason that Coach K moved to Paulus to the bench was the emergence of Nolan Smith, the highly touted guard from Maryland who apparently was the best player on campus this summer. Throw in pre season All ACC first team F Gerald Henderson, big time shooter John Scheyer, and highly skilled freshman PF Miles Plumlee and the Blue Devils look as though they're ready to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament this year. I guess that's why they're ranked #5 in the espn/usatoday preseason top 25 poll. While I have Carolina winning the regular season title I think Duke will get the automatic bid if Smith is as good as advertised. Here is video of this year's version of their annual Blue/White game (the song in this video is horrible but it's pretty good footage).
The starting lineup of Smith, Scheyer, Henderson, Kyle Singler, and Mason Plumlee should be enough to put away most teams they face retalitvely early in agmes. Singler is a stud 6'8 sophomore who should blow up this season. Look for him to improve upon his 13 points and 6 boards a game this season. The addition of ultra athletic and highly coveted 6'4 two guard Elliot Williams (espn.com's #18 ranked player nationally) from Memphis should add even more depth to the guard position
3. Wake Forest
Youth and Talent would be the best two words to describe this year's version of the Deacs'. They've got plenty of returning talent in dynamic backcourt Junior Ishamel Smith and Sophomore Jeff Teague (13.9 ppg, 40% from three point range) to go along with much improved 7 foot junior center Chas McFarland (8.4 ppg last season as a sophomore) and James Johnson (3rd team All-ACC last season as a freshman). Heres a bit of what James Johnson can do.
To go along with this, Wake Forest has brought in a top 3 class according to rivals.com. The headliner is Georgia native Al-Farouq Aminu (espn.com's #17 ranked player nationally). Aminu is a highly skilled 6'8 SF with exceptional ball handling skills for someone that size. He's also a beast inside because he started his HS career as more of a post player. The descendant of African Kings has a brother, Alade, that gets good run for Georgia Tech. As if this weren't enough, the late Skip Prosser brought in talent inside prospects in hometown boy Ty Walker (rival.com's #2 ranked Center) and Tony Woods (rivals.com's #3 ranked Center) of Georgia. There is no reason for this team to not finish near the top of this conference this season and I expect the Deacs' to advance deep into the ACC tourney. Not many teams in the country will be able to match the speed in the backcourt that the Coach Gaudio can and maybe only a handful of teams can match the depth in the frontcourt. Should be an exciting season in Winston-Salem.
4. Clemson
This team lost a lot of its swagger with the losses of seniors James Mays and Cliff Hammonds. Luckily for Couch Purnell outstanding 2 guard K.C. Rivers brings his 14 points and 6 boards a game back for one more season. Rivers, along with clutch shooter Terrence Oglesby and shot blocker Trevor Booker (1.9 bpg) should be the glue of this talented team. One player whose numbers and time should improve this year is 6'6 junior guard/foward David Potter. Potter is a great athlete who has a nice feel for the game and good touch. His minutes went up 5 in his sophomore season and I expect them to go up even more. Clemson needs another shooter and he seems to fit the bill. Moving on, Jerai Grant, nephew of former NBA player and Clemson All-American Horace Grant, is a year older and should provide some depth inside. While Demontez Stitt played very well as a freshman point guard in the toughest league in the land, last year's Tigers needed another guard who could bring the ball up court against heavy pressure. Purnell took care of this issue by bringing in dynamic 5-9 point guard Andre Young, espn.com's 28th ranked point guard. He also added Caitlin Bacui, a 7 footer who will add size inside. Overall Clemson should make the NCAA tournament again and they might have added enough pieces to advance a few rounds.
5. Maryland
This team has a lot of potential, which is why the Terps are at the five spot. This could end up being too high if their inexperience inside becomes a problem but their backcourt is really good. Last season Second Team All-ACC guard Greivis Vasquez (17 points, 5.7 boards and 6.3 assists per game) returns along with fellow junior guard Eric Hayes. Hayes quietly averaged about 10 points and a shade under 5 assists per game. Adding to the backcourt depth is incoming freshman 6-5 freshman two guard Sean Mosely out of Charm City. Mosely, espn.com's 9th ranked shooting guard in the country, can really score the ball and is a beast on defense. Just the type of guy that plays early and often for Gary. While the backcourt is straight the front court leaves a lot to be desired. Williams will have to rely on sophomore wing Cliff Tucker and junior forward Landon Milbourne to help out inside a bit. Milbourne, a lefty who can do this
improved tremendously as a sophomore and one has to think he'll continue to improve this year. 6'9 four man 3rd year sophomore Jerome Burney should man the post area along with 6'8 wide body sophomore Braxton Dupree. These two will have to adjust quickly as they'll be asked to do much more this year with the losses of James Gist and Bambale Osby. One player who should help is the aforementioned Jin Soo Kim. He'll give Gary a shooter who can help force teams out of zones.
6. Miami
The Hurricanes bring back a talented team with 6'1 senior guard Jack McClinton and his 17.7 points a night average (a ridiculous 42.7% beyond the arc). Take a look at what he did in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season.
Frank Heath's team also returns 6'3 junior James Dews, who averaged over 10 a night last season as a sophomore. While this team is ranked is ranked 16th by the espn/usatoday poll, I have a feeling that they will miss 6'9 big man Anthony King more than most think. He was their leading rebounder and gave them 24 big minutes a night last season. While Dwayne Collins is a promising young post player the Canes just don't have enough big guys down low with to make up for their lack of a true point guard. Nobody on the team averaged even 3 assists per game. In college basketball, if you have holes inside and noone to make plays for other people you'll have a hard time making much noise. This team is still talented though and should be even better with the arrival of 6'6 Five Star (scout.com) small forward DeQuan Jones. Jones can absolutely fly and should help Miami on the boards.
7. North Carolina State
The year's Wolfpack should look a lot more like the 2006-2007 season than the 2007-2008 team. Gone are stud freshman J.J. Hickson and big game senior wing Gavin Grant but Coach Lowe's team has a lot of talent returning. More importantly, the Wolfpack will have their point guard Farnold Degand back from injury. Of all the things that went wrong for N.C. State this was the biggest blow due to lack of depth at the position. Although they had enough talent to keep up with the rest of the ACC the Pack just couldn't protect the ball at the end of games. Aside from protecting the ball, I believe the return of Degand will probably lead to improved numbers by former Mickey D's All American Brandon Costner, whose production dipped to 8.5 point per game as a junior after averaging 16.8 as a sophomore. Every thing I have heard leads me to believe that Hickson's touches really limited Costner's ability to score. With J.J. now a first round pick playing for the Cleveland Lebron's Costner should have much more room to operate down low and the perimeter. I also like 6'9 senior Center Ben McCauley's high basketball IQ and ability to score down low. 6'6 Senior guard Courtney Fells is an ACCBallers favorite and should provide quality outside shooting and monster dunks for the Wolfpack as well. This team will be in the thick of it for an NCAA at large bid by season's end.
8. Virginia Tech
This year's Hokies squad will miss a lot of what Deron Washington brought to the table. The announcer's reaction says it all.
He brought a type of athleticism that most teams in the country couldn't account for. A 6'7 guy should not be able to do what he did in the air. For that reason alone Tech will have issues winning some of the close games they won last season. Enough of what they don't have. This team is actually pretty talented. They return 3 of their top 4 scorers including leading scorer A.D. Vassallo. A.D. proved he can shoot it by averaging about 17 a night on a shade under 40% shooting from three. A.D., along with talented rising sophomores Malcolm Delaney and Jeff Allen should be enough to compete at home and on the road this year. If highly regarded 6'9 Center Victor Davilla can give them quality production as a freshman, this team might finish higher than this in the league and challenge for a tournament big. I just don't see it right away though.
9. Georgia Tech
The Ramblin' Wreck should be much improved from last season, and could possibly finish higher than this if senior Lewis Clinch can return to his sophomore form when he averaged 13 a night. He would have averaged more by years end in my opinion but his season was cut short due to an academic issue, looks like things might not have changed though. He's already been ruled academically ineligible for at least the first seven games of the season. When he gets back, Clinch should have a bit more help this season though as incoming McDonalds All American combo guard Iman Shumpert sets to make his Yellow Jacket debut. Coach Hewitt saw his team give up several leads last season due to shaky backcourt play. He needs the 6-4 Shumpert to help Clinch and point guard Mo Miller with handling the ball on the perimeter and chances are he will. He's got a pretty mature game for a 18 year old freshman two guard. See for yourself.....
Aside from Shumpert, the Jackets have a number of talented players on the roster who should help out this year. One of these being 6'8 former high school All American Gani Lawal. Lawal is a beast down low and should significantly improve upon his 7 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Another player who should really come out this season is junior Zach Peacock. He averaged just about 10 a night last season in just 20 minutes a night. He's a skilled post player and should really be able to exploit many of the young ACC post players this season. The experience Georgia Tech has down low should help them compete for a higher finish but scoring might still be an issue for this team. They have the potential to be on the bubble for the big dance but chances are they'll be NIT'ing it in March.
10. Florida State
The Seminoles are very young but should at the very least be fun to watch. The Seminoles like to run and luckily for them they return one of the ACC's leader in steals last season in senior guard Tony Douglas. Douglas was also the the leading scorer for this team at 15.4 a night and will probably need to do even more to keep this team competitive. Of the 12 scholarship players on the roster only have 4 are upperclassmen. This would normally be a recipe for disaster if their freshman class (ranked 9th in the nation by rivals.com) wasn't so good. Hamilton has somehow managed to bring in top 25 versatile 6'8 forward Chris Singleton, to go along with skilled center Xavier Gibson (#56 overall by rivals.com), guard Deividas Dulkys (#69 overall by rivals.com), juco All American pick up Derwin Kitchen. This class is loaded and should help the 4 returning starters win some games that the Seminoles might not have one in the past. Singleton's ability to rebound and get out and run should be a matchup problem for almost every team on the Coach Hamilton's schedule.
11. Virginia
This year, my beloved Cavaliers will have an uphill battle on their hands almost each time out. Coach Leitao loses the heart and soul of the team for the past 2 years, all everything guard Sean Singletary and his almost 20 points and 7 dimes a game. This year, the Cavs will rely heavily on incoming McDonald's All American Sylven Landesberg, a 6'6 combo guard with ability to shoot the ball and slash to the basket. Sylven, espn.com's 19th ranked senior in the class of 2008, will have to come in with the ability to take care over games for the Wahoos to finish higher than this. This is a bit of what he can do (number 15).
Along with Landesberg, Virginia will need help from off and on senior forward Mamadi Diane. Mo, the second leading scorer for the Cavs last season at 11.8 a night, needs to improve upon his average and score consistently for this team. Starting power forward Mike Scott should improve upon his decent numbers (5.7ppg, 5.3rpg) as a sophomore and should be aided by the return of senior center Tunji Soroye. Last season Coach Leitao's team had an issue with depth inside but that should not be a problem this year. Along with the addition of Landesberg, he added highly rated 6'11 center John Brandenburg (#77 overall by espn.com) and 7'0 late bloomer Assane Sene from Senegal. Both of these post players are extremely athletic and will shore up the Cavs interior defense immediately. The commitments of Sylven, JB, and Sene gave UVA honorable mention status on espn.com's 2008 team recruiting rankings. If not this year, this class should be key to the Cavs future success.
12. Boston College
This season will be pretty tough for the Coach Skinner and the BC Eagles. While they return super guard Tyrese Rice and his 21 points and 5 dimes a game the Eagles don't return much else. Sophomore Rakim Sanders should continue to improve on his outstanding freshman numbers (about 12 points and 5 boards a night) from the guard position. Of the 12 scholarship players on the roster, Coach Skinner returns one senior (Rice), and only one junior (6'7 forward Tyler Roche). Everyone else is either a freshman or a sophomore. For a team that was 4-12 in conference last season, relying on so many young players is a recipe for disaster in the ACC. Hopefully talented sophomore center Josh Southern will continue to get better and provide the Eagles with an inside presense at some point this season.
He's number 5.
Team Predictions
1. North Carolina
Carolina comes into the season ranked #1 in any poll you can find, and the voting wasn't really close. They bring everyone back except Alex Stephenson, who's off to USC to be closer to family. Roy Williams really lucked out when he received the news that Psycho-T, Ty Lawson, Danny Green, and Wayne Ellington all decided to forgo the NBA draft to return to Chapel Hill. Point blank, they shouldn't lose a game this year even without Hansbrough for the first 2 weeks of the season. Pre-season first team All-ACC point guard Ty Lawson and big time shooting guard Wayne Ellington are going to have their way with some of the youth in many ACC backcourts. If this wasn't enough, they add a heralded freshman class headlined by Mickey D's All Americans Tyler Zeller and Ed Davis. These two post players should just add more depth to an already crowded bench. The third McDonald AA of the class, point guard Larry Drew Jr. (son of the former NBA player Larry Drew), should be able to improve the backcourt. Too add, former McDonalds All-American point guard Bobby Frasor returns from injury. Basically everybody on this team is either really good or great. Heres a video, and then we're moving on.
(again, it's the Ty Lawson clip because it still has the best song of any basketball video on youtube. period)
2. Duke
They're going to be a lot better this year, and they weren't bad last year (26-4, 13-3). They have added a ton of front court depth and have finally decided to bring Paulus off the bench. No offense to Paulus (because he is a very productive ACC player) but he lacks the lateral quickness to stay with elite point guards and make plays for your teammates. The other reason that Coach K moved to Paulus to the bench was the emergence of Nolan Smith, the highly touted guard from Maryland who apparently was the best player on campus this summer. Throw in pre season All ACC first team F Gerald Henderson, big time shooter John Scheyer, and highly skilled freshman PF Miles Plumlee and the Blue Devils look as though they're ready to make a deep run in the NCAA tournament this year. I guess that's why they're ranked #5 in the espn/usatoday preseason top 25 poll. While I have Carolina winning the regular season title I think Duke will get the automatic bid if Smith is as good as advertised. Here is video of this year's version of their annual Blue/White game (the song in this video is horrible but it's pretty good footage).
The starting lineup of Smith, Scheyer, Henderson, Kyle Singler, and Mason Plumlee should be enough to put away most teams they face retalitvely early in agmes. Singler is a stud 6'8 sophomore who should blow up this season. Look for him to improve upon his 13 points and 6 boards a game this season. The addition of ultra athletic and highly coveted 6'4 two guard Elliot Williams (espn.com's #18 ranked player nationally) from Memphis should add even more depth to the guard position
3. Wake Forest
Youth and Talent would be the best two words to describe this year's version of the Deacs'. They've got plenty of returning talent in dynamic backcourt Junior Ishamel Smith and Sophomore Jeff Teague (13.9 ppg, 40% from three point range) to go along with much improved 7 foot junior center Chas McFarland (8.4 ppg last season as a sophomore) and James Johnson (3rd team All-ACC last season as a freshman). Heres a bit of what James Johnson can do.
To go along with this, Wake Forest has brought in a top 3 class according to rivals.com. The headliner is Georgia native Al-Farouq Aminu (espn.com's #17 ranked player nationally). Aminu is a highly skilled 6'8 SF with exceptional ball handling skills for someone that size. He's also a beast inside because he started his HS career as more of a post player. The descendant of African Kings has a brother, Alade, that gets good run for Georgia Tech. As if this weren't enough, the late Skip Prosser brought in talent inside prospects in hometown boy Ty Walker (rival.com's #2 ranked Center) and Tony Woods (rivals.com's #3 ranked Center) of Georgia. There is no reason for this team to not finish near the top of this conference this season and I expect the Deacs' to advance deep into the ACC tourney. Not many teams in the country will be able to match the speed in the backcourt that the Coach Gaudio can and maybe only a handful of teams can match the depth in the frontcourt. Should be an exciting season in Winston-Salem.
4. Clemson
This team lost a lot of its swagger with the losses of seniors James Mays and Cliff Hammonds. Luckily for Couch Purnell outstanding 2 guard K.C. Rivers brings his 14 points and 6 boards a game back for one more season. Rivers, along with clutch shooter Terrence Oglesby and shot blocker Trevor Booker (1.9 bpg) should be the glue of this talented team. One player whose numbers and time should improve this year is 6'6 junior guard/foward David Potter. Potter is a great athlete who has a nice feel for the game and good touch. His minutes went up 5 in his sophomore season and I expect them to go up even more. Clemson needs another shooter and he seems to fit the bill. Moving on, Jerai Grant, nephew of former NBA player and Clemson All-American Horace Grant, is a year older and should provide some depth inside. While Demontez Stitt played very well as a freshman point guard in the toughest league in the land, last year's Tigers needed another guard who could bring the ball up court against heavy pressure. Purnell took care of this issue by bringing in dynamic 5-9 point guard Andre Young, espn.com's 28th ranked point guard. He also added Caitlin Bacui, a 7 footer who will add size inside. Overall Clemson should make the NCAA tournament again and they might have added enough pieces to advance a few rounds.
5. Maryland
This team has a lot of potential, which is why the Terps are at the five spot. This could end up being too high if their inexperience inside becomes a problem but their backcourt is really good. Last season Second Team All-ACC guard Greivis Vasquez (17 points, 5.7 boards and 6.3 assists per game) returns along with fellow junior guard Eric Hayes. Hayes quietly averaged about 10 points and a shade under 5 assists per game. Adding to the backcourt depth is incoming freshman 6-5 freshman two guard Sean Mosely out of Charm City. Mosely, espn.com's 9th ranked shooting guard in the country, can really score the ball and is a beast on defense. Just the type of guy that plays early and often for Gary. While the backcourt is straight the front court leaves a lot to be desired. Williams will have to rely on sophomore wing Cliff Tucker and junior forward Landon Milbourne to help out inside a bit. Milbourne, a lefty who can do this
improved tremendously as a sophomore and one has to think he'll continue to improve this year. 6'9 four man 3rd year sophomore Jerome Burney should man the post area along with 6'8 wide body sophomore Braxton Dupree. These two will have to adjust quickly as they'll be asked to do much more this year with the losses of James Gist and Bambale Osby. One player who should help is the aforementioned Jin Soo Kim. He'll give Gary a shooter who can help force teams out of zones.
6. Miami
The Hurricanes bring back a talented team with 6'1 senior guard Jack McClinton and his 17.7 points a night average (a ridiculous 42.7% beyond the arc). Take a look at what he did in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season.
Frank Heath's team also returns 6'3 junior James Dews, who averaged over 10 a night last season as a sophomore. While this team is ranked is ranked 16th by the espn/usatoday poll, I have a feeling that they will miss 6'9 big man Anthony King more than most think. He was their leading rebounder and gave them 24 big minutes a night last season. While Dwayne Collins is a promising young post player the Canes just don't have enough big guys down low with to make up for their lack of a true point guard. Nobody on the team averaged even 3 assists per game. In college basketball, if you have holes inside and noone to make plays for other people you'll have a hard time making much noise. This team is still talented though and should be even better with the arrival of 6'6 Five Star (scout.com) small forward DeQuan Jones. Jones can absolutely fly and should help Miami on the boards.
7. North Carolina State
The year's Wolfpack should look a lot more like the 2006-2007 season than the 2007-2008 team. Gone are stud freshman J.J. Hickson and big game senior wing Gavin Grant but Coach Lowe's team has a lot of talent returning. More importantly, the Wolfpack will have their point guard Farnold Degand back from injury. Of all the things that went wrong for N.C. State this was the biggest blow due to lack of depth at the position. Although they had enough talent to keep up with the rest of the ACC the Pack just couldn't protect the ball at the end of games. Aside from protecting the ball, I believe the return of Degand will probably lead to improved numbers by former Mickey D's All American Brandon Costner, whose production dipped to 8.5 point per game as a junior after averaging 16.8 as a sophomore. Every thing I have heard leads me to believe that Hickson's touches really limited Costner's ability to score. With J.J. now a first round pick playing for the Cleveland Lebron's Costner should have much more room to operate down low and the perimeter. I also like 6'9 senior Center Ben McCauley's high basketball IQ and ability to score down low. 6'6 Senior guard Courtney Fells is an ACCBallers favorite and should provide quality outside shooting and monster dunks for the Wolfpack as well. This team will be in the thick of it for an NCAA at large bid by season's end.
8. Virginia Tech
This year's Hokies squad will miss a lot of what Deron Washington brought to the table. The announcer's reaction says it all.
He brought a type of athleticism that most teams in the country couldn't account for. A 6'7 guy should not be able to do what he did in the air. For that reason alone Tech will have issues winning some of the close games they won last season. Enough of what they don't have. This team is actually pretty talented. They return 3 of their top 4 scorers including leading scorer A.D. Vassallo. A.D. proved he can shoot it by averaging about 17 a night on a shade under 40% shooting from three. A.D., along with talented rising sophomores Malcolm Delaney and Jeff Allen should be enough to compete at home and on the road this year. If highly regarded 6'9 Center Victor Davilla can give them quality production as a freshman, this team might finish higher than this in the league and challenge for a tournament big. I just don't see it right away though.
9. Georgia Tech
The Ramblin' Wreck should be much improved from last season, and could possibly finish higher than this if senior Lewis Clinch can return to his sophomore form when he averaged 13 a night. He would have averaged more by years end in my opinion but his season was cut short due to an academic issue, looks like things might not have changed though. He's already been ruled academically ineligible for at least the first seven games of the season. When he gets back, Clinch should have a bit more help this season though as incoming McDonalds All American combo guard Iman Shumpert sets to make his Yellow Jacket debut. Coach Hewitt saw his team give up several leads last season due to shaky backcourt play. He needs the 6-4 Shumpert to help Clinch and point guard Mo Miller with handling the ball on the perimeter and chances are he will. He's got a pretty mature game for a 18 year old freshman two guard. See for yourself.....
Aside from Shumpert, the Jackets have a number of talented players on the roster who should help out this year. One of these being 6'8 former high school All American Gani Lawal. Lawal is a beast down low and should significantly improve upon his 7 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Another player who should really come out this season is junior Zach Peacock. He averaged just about 10 a night last season in just 20 minutes a night. He's a skilled post player and should really be able to exploit many of the young ACC post players this season. The experience Georgia Tech has down low should help them compete for a higher finish but scoring might still be an issue for this team. They have the potential to be on the bubble for the big dance but chances are they'll be NIT'ing it in March.
10. Florida State
The Seminoles are very young but should at the very least be fun to watch. The Seminoles like to run and luckily for them they return one of the ACC's leader in steals last season in senior guard Tony Douglas. Douglas was also the the leading scorer for this team at 15.4 a night and will probably need to do even more to keep this team competitive. Of the 12 scholarship players on the roster only have 4 are upperclassmen. This would normally be a recipe for disaster if their freshman class (ranked 9th in the nation by rivals.com) wasn't so good. Hamilton has somehow managed to bring in top 25 versatile 6'8 forward Chris Singleton, to go along with skilled center Xavier Gibson (#56 overall by rivals.com), guard Deividas Dulkys (#69 overall by rivals.com), juco All American pick up Derwin Kitchen. This class is loaded and should help the 4 returning starters win some games that the Seminoles might not have one in the past. Singleton's ability to rebound and get out and run should be a matchup problem for almost every team on the Coach Hamilton's schedule.
11. Virginia
This year, my beloved Cavaliers will have an uphill battle on their hands almost each time out. Coach Leitao loses the heart and soul of the team for the past 2 years, all everything guard Sean Singletary and his almost 20 points and 7 dimes a game. This year, the Cavs will rely heavily on incoming McDonald's All American Sylven Landesberg, a 6'6 combo guard with ability to shoot the ball and slash to the basket. Sylven, espn.com's 19th ranked senior in the class of 2008, will have to come in with the ability to take care over games for the Wahoos to finish higher than this. This is a bit of what he can do (number 15).
Along with Landesberg, Virginia will need help from off and on senior forward Mamadi Diane. Mo, the second leading scorer for the Cavs last season at 11.8 a night, needs to improve upon his average and score consistently for this team. Starting power forward Mike Scott should improve upon his decent numbers (5.7ppg, 5.3rpg) as a sophomore and should be aided by the return of senior center Tunji Soroye. Last season Coach Leitao's team had an issue with depth inside but that should not be a problem this year. Along with the addition of Landesberg, he added highly rated 6'11 center John Brandenburg (#77 overall by espn.com) and 7'0 late bloomer Assane Sene from Senegal. Both of these post players are extremely athletic and will shore up the Cavs interior defense immediately. The commitments of Sylven, JB, and Sene gave UVA honorable mention status on espn.com's 2008 team recruiting rankings. If not this year, this class should be key to the Cavs future success.
12. Boston College
This season will be pretty tough for the Coach Skinner and the BC Eagles. While they return super guard Tyrese Rice and his 21 points and 5 dimes a game the Eagles don't return much else. Sophomore Rakim Sanders should continue to improve on his outstanding freshman numbers (about 12 points and 5 boards a night) from the guard position. Of the 12 scholarship players on the roster, Coach Skinner returns one senior (Rice), and only one junior (6'7 forward Tyler Roche). Everyone else is either a freshman or a sophomore. For a team that was 4-12 in conference last season, relying on so many young players is a recipe for disaster in the ACC. Hopefully talented sophomore center Josh Southern will continue to get better and provide the Eagles with an inside presense at some point this season.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Fall Update
I know it's early but there has been a decent bit of ACC basketball news that I thought I'd pass along. For starters, the ACC has done a great job of getting of recruiting for the class of 2009. The conference claims three teams in ESPN.com's 2009 top 10 team recruiting rankings. UNC holds down the number one spot with 5 commitments (each of which are ranked top 100 players by ESPN as well. Georgia Tech comes in at number six spot while Georgia Tech is not far behind at 9. You can find the breakdown of these classes here.
In other ACC news, the Virginia Cavaliers Men's Basketball team finished up Labor Day weekend in Canada with a 2-1 record. Big time Freshman SG/SF Sylven Landesberg scored 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in his first time suiting up for the Cavaliers. He would go on to average 17 points and 11.5 rebounds in his first two games before spraining his ankle early in the third. Junior guard Calvin Baker played very well and was the team's leading scorer with a 16ppg average. Seven foot freshman Assane Sene was not able to join the team on the trip due to the uncertainty of his eligibility status. Apparently this is not a big concern as Virginia Head Coach Dave Leitao expects him to be eligible for the start of the Cavaliers 2008-2009 season.
In other ACC news, the Virginia Cavaliers Men's Basketball team finished up Labor Day weekend in Canada with a 2-1 record. Big time Freshman SG/SF Sylven Landesberg scored 18 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in his first time suiting up for the Cavaliers. He would go on to average 17 points and 11.5 rebounds in his first two games before spraining his ankle early in the third. Junior guard Calvin Baker played very well and was the team's leading scorer with a 16ppg average. Seven foot freshman Assane Sene was not able to join the team on the trip due to the uncertainty of his eligibility status. Apparently this is not a big concern as Virginia Head Coach Dave Leitao expects him to be eligible for the start of the Cavaliers 2008-2009 season.
Monday, May 12, 2008
ACC Ballers' ACC recruiting rankings 2008 (updated 7/1/08)
There are several talented freshmen getting ready to step foot on an ACC campus for the first time this summer. While in the past much of the talent seems to congregate on Tobacco Road this year the other ACC schools have struck gold.
1. Wake Forest (signed 3)
This class is loaded. They added a McDonald's All-American in Espn.com's #1 ranked Small Forward Al-Farouq Aminu. He should immediately contribute on the glass and add much needed size and skill to the small forward position. Here's a peak at the 6'8 Small Forward's athleticism:
Before his unfortunate passing Skip Prosser was also able to add two of the top 10 centers in the class of 2008 in Tony Woods (Rome, GA) and in-state product Ty Walker (Wilmington, NC). This is a huge addition to a front line that has already started to come on. Woods, a Jordan Classic Game participant this year is a big time athlete who should come in and immediately help down low.
2. North Carolina (4)
While there doesn't seem to be that spectacular player in this class it's still a pretty very good haul fort he Tar Heels. They were able to bring in Espn.com's #1 ranked Power Forward Tyler Zeller. The 6'11 Zeller is tremendously skilled and can run. He also has a big brother at Notre Dame so I expect he'll be more prepared for his first season than most freshman. Along with Zeller comes the #2 ranked power forward in the country in Richmond, Virginia's Ed Davis. Ed is the son of former NBA player Terry Davis. While somewhat undersized at 6'8 Davis has a number of great post moves that will help his adjustment from high school basketball. Lastly they picked up a highly regarded point guard in Larry Drew Jr. Drew is somewhat undersized but very skilled and can really pass the ball. Like Davis, his dad played in the NBA for a number of years. The last Tar Heel recruit to sign was 6'4 shooting Justin Watts from North Carolina. I don't have much information on him as he just recently signed.
3. Florida State (6)
This is a very important class for Florida State's coach Leonard Hamilton. The program needed an infusion of talent (esp. after the loss of frosh PF Julian Vaughan) after last year's disappointing season. Luckily for Seminoles coach he has some really good players that should contribute sooner rather than later. The headliner of the class is do it all SF Chris Singleton. The 6'8 210 pound power forward was a McDonald's All American who can run and get up to block shots. His skill set definitely plays into the up tempo style Hamilton's teams like to play. Here is a bit of what I'm talking about:
To go along with Chris, Hamilton signed 6'10 Center Xavier Gibson from Alabama. He is highly regarded and should be able to offset the loss of Vaughan. Another member of this class that I expect will help immediately is in-state point guard Luck Loucks. At 6'4 Luke is a big pass first point guard that will help him see over the defense. This could really be an advantage for the Seminoles because he's known to be a great passer. The last 3 players in this class are Espn.com's 44th ranked point guard Pierre Jordan, SG Deividas Dulkys from Nevads, and big Juco point guard Derwin Kitchen.
4. Duke (3)
Initially this new class of Blue Devils were not discussed as much because Coach K had only 2 commitments, the headliner being smooth 6-4 two guard Elliott Williams from Memphis, Tennessee. "E-mail" as he's known is a great ball handler, decent shooter, and a big time athlete. He can really get up and throw it down. Have a look for yourself.
While Williams was a huge get Coach K desperately needed big men in this class. Duke definitely suffered from having little to know height on it's roster and a coaching change at Stanford, coupled with a 2009 commitment, helped them land an Espn.com's top 100 player in 6'11 Power Forward Miles Plumlee (Arden, NC). The story here is that Miles had signed with Stanford in the early signing period and was set to play for Trent Johnson out West. In late February Miles' little brother (not in stature) Mason committed to Coach K for the 2009-2010 season. A month or so after the college basketball season had ended Johnson left Stanford for LSU and Mason was granted a release from his scholarship. Needing more help than Olek Czyz, the other PF Duke picked up in this class, Coach K swept in and garnered a commitment from Miles as well. This is a huge get for the Devils as Miles is a skilled 6'11 player that can get up and down the court and has a high basketball IQ.
5. Virginia (3)
This class is headed by Sylven Landesberg, a 6'6 McDonald's All-American two guard from Flushing, NY. A huge get for Coach Dave Leitao and his staff as Espn.com's 18th ranked player should be able to come in and score right away. Sylven put up big numbers in high school including a 44 point performance this past season against Helen Cox (La.) high school featuring the 6'10 Georgetown recruit Greg Monroe (espn.com #12 ranked player). He can score in a variety of ways in that he can shoot the 3, drive to the basket, and hit the pull up jumper. Look for yourself:
Coach Leitao also felt the need to add size in this class and landed two Espn top 150 Center prospects. The first of which was St. Louis, Missouri's John Brandenburg. Brandenburg (#12 ranked Center) has lots of potential and is a good passer. The second of which is the athletic 7'0 220lbs. Assane Sene (#17 ranked Center) from South Kent School in Connecticut by way of Senegal. Sene has only played one season of basketball in the US but everyone has taken notice of the potential. He went from being virtually unknown less than a year ago to being a highly recruited prospect as Uconn and Syracuse were in the mix.
6. Miami (2)
While Heath brings in a small class for 2008 it is not short on talent. The player everyone is raving about is 6'6 5 star SF DeQuan Jones from Wheeler, GA. DeQuan is a super athlete that can throw down with the best of them. A Scout.com evaluation says Dequan has a "body built to fly." I've personally never seen anyone fly but you're left to assume that Mr. Jones can get up with the best of em'.
Take a look for yourself:
and again:
1. Wake Forest (signed 3)
This class is loaded. They added a McDonald's All-American in Espn.com's #1 ranked Small Forward Al-Farouq Aminu. He should immediately contribute on the glass and add much needed size and skill to the small forward position. Here's a peak at the 6'8 Small Forward's athleticism:
Before his unfortunate passing Skip Prosser was also able to add two of the top 10 centers in the class of 2008 in Tony Woods (Rome, GA) and in-state product Ty Walker (Wilmington, NC). This is a huge addition to a front line that has already started to come on. Woods, a Jordan Classic Game participant this year is a big time athlete who should come in and immediately help down low.
2. North Carolina (4)
While there doesn't seem to be that spectacular player in this class it's still a pretty very good haul fort he Tar Heels. They were able to bring in Espn.com's #1 ranked Power Forward Tyler Zeller. The 6'11 Zeller is tremendously skilled and can run. He also has a big brother at Notre Dame so I expect he'll be more prepared for his first season than most freshman. Along with Zeller comes the #2 ranked power forward in the country in Richmond, Virginia's Ed Davis. Ed is the son of former NBA player Terry Davis. While somewhat undersized at 6'8 Davis has a number of great post moves that will help his adjustment from high school basketball. Lastly they picked up a highly regarded point guard in Larry Drew Jr. Drew is somewhat undersized but very skilled and can really pass the ball. Like Davis, his dad played in the NBA for a number of years. The last Tar Heel recruit to sign was 6'4 shooting Justin Watts from North Carolina. I don't have much information on him as he just recently signed.
3. Florida State (6)
This is a very important class for Florida State's coach Leonard Hamilton. The program needed an infusion of talent (esp. after the loss of frosh PF Julian Vaughan) after last year's disappointing season. Luckily for Seminoles coach he has some really good players that should contribute sooner rather than later. The headliner of the class is do it all SF Chris Singleton. The 6'8 210 pound power forward was a McDonald's All American who can run and get up to block shots. His skill set definitely plays into the up tempo style Hamilton's teams like to play. Here is a bit of what I'm talking about:
To go along with Chris, Hamilton signed 6'10 Center Xavier Gibson from Alabama. He is highly regarded and should be able to offset the loss of Vaughan. Another member of this class that I expect will help immediately is in-state point guard Luck Loucks. At 6'4 Luke is a big pass first point guard that will help him see over the defense. This could really be an advantage for the Seminoles because he's known to be a great passer. The last 3 players in this class are Espn.com's 44th ranked point guard Pierre Jordan, SG Deividas Dulkys from Nevads, and big Juco point guard Derwin Kitchen.
4. Duke (3)
Initially this new class of Blue Devils were not discussed as much because Coach K had only 2 commitments, the headliner being smooth 6-4 two guard Elliott Williams from Memphis, Tennessee. "E-mail" as he's known is a great ball handler, decent shooter, and a big time athlete. He can really get up and throw it down. Have a look for yourself.
While Williams was a huge get Coach K desperately needed big men in this class. Duke definitely suffered from having little to know height on it's roster and a coaching change at Stanford, coupled with a 2009 commitment, helped them land an Espn.com's top 100 player in 6'11 Power Forward Miles Plumlee (Arden, NC). The story here is that Miles had signed with Stanford in the early signing period and was set to play for Trent Johnson out West. In late February Miles' little brother (not in stature) Mason committed to Coach K for the 2009-2010 season. A month or so after the college basketball season had ended Johnson left Stanford for LSU and Mason was granted a release from his scholarship. Needing more help than Olek Czyz, the other PF Duke picked up in this class, Coach K swept in and garnered a commitment from Miles as well. This is a huge get for the Devils as Miles is a skilled 6'11 player that can get up and down the court and has a high basketball IQ.
5. Virginia (3)
This class is headed by Sylven Landesberg, a 6'6 McDonald's All-American two guard from Flushing, NY. A huge get for Coach Dave Leitao and his staff as Espn.com's 18th ranked player should be able to come in and score right away. Sylven put up big numbers in high school including a 44 point performance this past season against Helen Cox (La.) high school featuring the 6'10 Georgetown recruit Greg Monroe (espn.com #12 ranked player). He can score in a variety of ways in that he can shoot the 3, drive to the basket, and hit the pull up jumper. Look for yourself:
Coach Leitao also felt the need to add size in this class and landed two Espn top 150 Center prospects. The first of which was St. Louis, Missouri's John Brandenburg. Brandenburg (#12 ranked Center) has lots of potential and is a good passer. The second of which is the athletic 7'0 220lbs. Assane Sene (#17 ranked Center) from South Kent School in Connecticut by way of Senegal. Sene has only played one season of basketball in the US but everyone has taken notice of the potential. He went from being virtually unknown less than a year ago to being a highly recruited prospect as Uconn and Syracuse were in the mix.
6. Miami (2)
While Heath brings in a small class for 2008 it is not short on talent. The player everyone is raving about is 6'6 5 star SF DeQuan Jones from Wheeler, GA. DeQuan is a super athlete that can throw down with the best of them. A Scout.com evaluation says Dequan has a "body built to fly." I've personally never seen anyone fly but you're left to assume that Mr. Jones can get up with the best of em'.
Take a look for yourself:
and again:
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