Thoughts on ACC Next Year?

[gofurman]

Not chalking anything up on this year just my take on each team, would like everyone's thoughts:

(listed in order of this years finish)

UNC - can't know who is back but if everyone...scary.

Duke - could be better as everyone except DM returns. Uusally when one star leaves (think CWell) and everyone else is back the team improves

Clemson - decent and Purnell is good but probably a fall off to middle of pack as Mays and Hammonds are key

VTech - improved - everyone back except Washington. Many freshman this year esp at guard so I see them getting pretty good.

Maryland - worse? Gaurd play and wings should improve but loss of Gist and Osby inside which is everything inside.

Miami - Lose King inside. Collins? They might be better if Collins is still there as McClinton and Rios and all return.

GTech - Probably about the same. I think they lose three seniors (Causey, Clinch, ? help here)

Wake - moving up. Everyone returns and great class coming in.

FSU - moving down - all the gaurds graduate.

UVA - most return but who replaces Singletary. Not a good year.

BC - see UVA / Tyrese Rice..

NC State - if Hickson leaves, maybe a little better with improved gaurd play. Maybe middle of the pack.

[FerryFor50]

Not chalking anything up on this year just my take on each team, would like everyone's thoughts:

(listed in order of this years finish)

UNC - can't know who is back but if everyone...scary.

Duke - could be better as everyone except DM returns. Uusally when one star leaves (think CWell) and everyone else is back the team improves

Clemson - decent and Purnell is good but probably a fall off to middle of pack as Mays and Hammonds are key

VTech - improved - everyone back except Washington. Many freshman this year esp at guard so I see them getting pretty good.

Maryland - worse? Gaurd play and wings should improve but loss of Gist and Osby inside which is everything inside.

Miami - Lose King inside. Collins? They might be better if Collins is still there as McClinton and Rios and all return.

GTech - Probably about the same. I think they lose three seniors (Causey, Clinch, ? help here)

Wake - moving up. Everyone returns and great class coming in.

FSU - moving down - all the gaurds graduate.

UVA - most return but who replaces Singletary. Not a good year.

BC - see UVA / Tyrese Rice..

NC State - if Hickson leaves, maybe a little better with improved gaurd play. Maybe middle of the pack.

Real hard to say, especially since I haven't taken a look at the recruiting classes of teams other than NCSU, UNC and Duke.

[captmojo]

Biggest improvement should come from Wake Forest.

[roywhite]

Wake will have one of the best collections of young talent in the country, with size and speed. Teague and Johnson were outstanding in their game vs Duke and the incoming class is highly touted.

Wake still needs to demonstrate consistency to get to the Duke/UNC level, which is a function of experience and coaching. And PG Ish Smith needs to shoot FT's at better than a 40% clip.

Don't think I would trade any other group for Duke next year, though.

[The1Bluedevil]

GT will get Dickey back next year and should be improved. I think Virginia is the only team that won't be improved.

[Faison1]

If you look at the improvement from last year to this year for Duke, and hopefully apply the same type of growth to next year, I would say we are looking good.

Glimmers of hope in Lance and Zoubs add quite a bit.

Most importantly, though...what I've noticed in the last few games is a real fire in Singler...especially in some of his interactions with teammates. Has anyone else noticed this? Laettner might not have been fun to be around all the time, but he sure pushed his team to perfection. Could we be seeing the same type of dominating personality in Singler?

But back to the ACC, I agree that Wake should be improved, UNC could be really, really good, and State might challenge...GT might be OK. Other than that, maybe another down year.

[Olympic Fan]

Just a few clarifications:

-- Collins is only a sophomore at Miami. King and reserve Raymond Hicks are the only seniors -- they'll be better as long as McClinton returns.

-- Tyrese Rice is only a junior. But there is a chance he'll turn pro early. Without him -- and with Blair and Oates also gone, BC is a second-division team.

-- Georgia Tech loses Causy, Morrow and Jeremis Smith. Dickey returns after a year off. Clinch is only a junior. They add a prep A-A shooting guard in Ivan Shumpert. With Lawal, Peacock and Aminu, they have plenty of bigs. The key will be the development of PF Mo Miller, who was hurt early, but showed some flashes late. I think they could be better next year.

-- Wake loses no seniors and adds three quality big men -- one of them, Aminu (the younger brother of Ga Tech's so-so big man) is a stud. However, I've heard rumblings that Johnson may jump early -- that would hurt. I think he's the second-best rookie in the league. If there are no defections, Wake is vying with Virginia Tech for third in the preseason standings.

-- Clemson will have to undergo a makeover. Hammonds, Mays and Sam Perry will be gone, but Booker and Rivers are studs and Stitt and Oglesby will be better as sophs. We'll need to see how much they get from Grant and Sykes next year in Mays' spot. Middle of the pack.

-- Maryland is as unpredictable as they were all year. Gist and Osby will be hard to replace, but Vasquez and Hayes provide a solid backcourt. We'll just have to see how Gary rebuilds the post (Gilchrist, who reneged on his VPI commitment, will be a key, along with redshirt Shane Walker) and how much this year's on-again, off-again young guys (Bowie, Tucker, Dupree) mature. Start with them middle of the pack and you won't be too wrong.

-- FSU loses Rich, Swann and Mims, but their best guard, Toney Douglas, has another year. They should get all the injured big men that they were counting on this year back, plus they add a prep A-A in Singleton. They'll be just where they've been for the last few years -- on the NIT side of the bubble.

-- I have a funny feeling about NC State. I think if they lose either Hickson or Costner in the off-season, that will solve their chemistry problem up front. And with a year under his belt, Gonzales ought to be better at the point. They add a nice-looking combo guard from Indiana (Mays) and get Degand back. I'm not saying they challenge for the title, but they could move up to the middle of the pack.

-- UNC and Duke will again be the preseason heavy-weights, depending on who leaves early. If Duke can get by with replacing Nelson with Elliot Williams (plus adding Czyz), I'd be pretty confident as I expect Singler and Smith to step up even more as sophs and for Zoubek and Thomas to be better and better. Still, if all the Tar Heels come back (Quentin Thomas is the only senior), they'll be preseason No. 1. Nobody can tell who jumps and who stays, but I have some UNC friends who believe Lawson goes and Hansbrough stays ... with a slight chance Ellington goes. A lot of that depends on how far they go this year. Still, they're adding three McDonald's A-A, plus they get Bobby Fraser back ... they'll be top 5 nationally as long as Hansbrough returns ... but so will Duke, barring any unforeseen defections.

[SeattleIrish]

It seems that "everyone" on the IC board is saying Lawson is gone, including some who claim to be in-the-know. Unfortunately, I don't see any likelihood of Hansbrough leaving, as his stock will be the same after his senior year, and he'll break all sorts of ACC records next year.

The only bright spot there will be UNC being pretty suspect at the point if Lawson is gone; no telling how Bobby Frasor reacts coming back from that bad injury...pg should be a weak spot next year.

As for us, I think the biggest improvement might just come from Henderson. I think he'll be asked to play even more minutes and I think we'll see ACC first-team play from him. Some might argue this, but I also think Zoubek will show some great improvement, as his improvement from last year to this has been dramatic - lets just hope for an injury-free off-season!

s.i.

[heyman25]

We also get Pocius back. I personally like Marty. Some may complain about his defense,but he drives to the basket are very aggressive and in control.

[weezie]

A few more lbs on Singler will look great!

[RelativeWays]

I think Hendo takes D'Marcs spot, Nolan has shown flashes of offensive potency and should really shine next year, Williams will take his current spot. Singler, Paulus and Scheyer all improve. Our big question marks are:

Taylor King: If he can learn some discipline, he can be a great weapon off the bench. Has a lot of work to do.

Brian Zoubek: I think Zoubs has really improved since he's come back from his ankle injury. If he can stay healthy and learn to be more assertive, I think he could average 8-10 pts a game for us next year, plus improving his rebounding.

Lance Thomas: I think Lance has regressed this year. He needs to bulk up a little, and like Zoubek, needs to be more assertive. I really think Lance has talent, but hasn't figured out how to play consistently yet.

Olek Czyz: I know he's tall, but supposedly, he's more of a finesse type player. He could compliment Singler very well if he can score consistently.

X Factors: I think Marty and Dave can contribute to next years team, Dave with his defensive, and Marty with his offense. Marty really looked more confident with the ball this year before the injury. It will be nice to see how he recovers. Did he get a medical redshirt?

[SMO]

I see the state of North Carolina as the central point of power in the conference next year. WF will be very good, I think NC State will have improved play at the point and be very good, and Duke & UNC will be awesome. Outside the state of NC, I think Miami will be a good team then there will be everyone else. VaTech might also be good but who knows. They didn't beat anyone good this year but they didn't have too many bad losses either.

[RelativeWays]

Isn't UNC bringing in two more big guys next year? If Tyler doens't leave they could be a nightmare. If I were Alex Stepheson, I'd consider a transfer, especially since he's improved his play this year.

Wake could be scary next year. Who are they losing...Harvey Hale?

[SMO]

Isn't UNC bringing in two more big guys next year? If Tyler doens't leave they could be a nightmare. If I were Alex Stepheson, I'd consider a transfer, especially since he's improved his play this year.

Wake could be scary next year. Who are they losing...Harvey Hale?

I think UNC is bringing in at least two bigs next year and another 2 (twins) the year after. It's going to be insane. They have a couple guards too but I see them being very front-court loaded which will make them strong in certain areas, but I see the team dynamics going problematic.

[RepoMan]

Unfortunately, I don't see any likelihood of Hansbrough leaving, as his stock will be the same after his senior year, and he'll break all sorts of ACC records next year.

What were the odds of Shav going pro early? You just never know.

[yancem]

It seems that "everyone" on the IC board is saying Lawson is gone, including some who claim to be in-the-know. Unfortunately, I don't see any likelihood of Hansbrough leaving, as his stock will be the same after his senior year, and he'll break all sorts of ACC records next year.

s.i.

I wonder if Lawson's injuries are a double edged sword. On the one hand, he missed several games and even having now returned might not have the same impact as he would have had which might negatively impact his draft position. On the other hand though, he may be apprehensive about staying for fear that he gets injured again next year. I think that Ellington is not ready for the nba but wouldn't be too surprised if he thinks he is. As for Hansolo, the only way he declares is if both Lawson and Ellington go and UNC wins the NC. Even then, I don't know if I would bank on it.

Isn't UNC bringing in two more big guys next year? If Tyler doens't leave they could be a nightmare. If I were Alex Stepheson, I'd consider a transfer, especially since he's improved his play this year.

They are bringing in 2 more bigs next year (and 3 the year after that). The thing is that only 2 of the 5 bigs will likely play at one time and if Lawson and Ellington leave, the back court will be significantly less talented and less experienced. Someone has to get the bigs the ball. UNC's outlook next year is pretty clouded; they could be completely dominate (if everyone returns) or could be somewhat mediocre (if several defections).

[sagegrouse]

Isn't this a topic for May? Because:

a. This season isn't over yet

b. We don't know who is leaving early

c. We don't know who is transferring

Greetings from the Rockies

sagegrouse

[robobevan]

I disagree with RelativeWays about Lance Thomas. I think he has shown as much improvement as anybody on the team this year and has been a very valuable and important contributer. He is much more under control on defense. Last year he would just throw his stomach and hips out at the offensive player and be called for the immediate foul. This year he plays much better position defense and has learned how to draw charges. He is also coming down with much stronger rebounds. On offense he again is much more under control. He obviously has great quickness, but his moves are less frenetic this year. He also understands his role on the offense this year- setting the picks up top and getting a few layups and put backs. I really believe his improvement is one of the key reasons for our success this year. I hope he can show that same improvement over this off season. It will go a long way toward filling that need for big men that many on the board feel.

[ClosetHurleyFan]

Agree with you....lawson really is the key to how dominate Carolina is next year. Although one more variable for you. Although not as athletic as Lawson, I think Bobby Frasor could do a great job running a veteran team and the point guard coming in Larry Drew, while not nearly as dynamic as Lawson is supposed to be a very smart, cerebral ball player. If he is something like a young Derrick Phelps, which he has been compared to, then the drop off might not be so bad.

[Matches]

I think the ACC as a whole will be stronger in '09. VaTech and Wake are clearly on the rise - both will be very good in '09. Duke and UNC will of course still be there. GT and NCSU both have potential as well - I agree that some of State's chemistry issues will be solved when Hickson inevitably departs, plus they get their PG back. I also expect BC's young players to improve, and I don't think they'll sit in the basement for long.

UVa is in trouble, and FSU has some real issues, but outside of those two teams, anyone in the league could challenge for an NCAA spot in '09.