Yep, I'm a little behind as usual but here are a few things to start getting me caught up. Firstly here is a continuation of my NCAA look at Conferences.
ACC Still Gold Standard of NCAA Hoops
Entering the 2009-2010 NCAA season, the ACC once again hosts the defending national champions, the North Carolina Tarheels. While the Heels lost a lot of talent from last years squad, the cupboards are not bare by any means. Don’t be surprised by a return to the Final Four by the Roy Williams coached outfit. Duke returns a solid nucleus and should also contend. Clemson, Maryland and WakeForest will be dangerous both in and out of conference play as will Georgia Tech and FloridaState.
Here is a rundown of the teams:
First we go to Chapel Hill for a look at the North Carolina Tarheelswho are looking to defend their NCAA crown. Returning forward Ed Davis is seen as a lock for the NBA Lottery once he decides to leave or graduate from UNC. This season he looks to become more aggressive in the Tarheel attack along with continued hard work on the glass. Marcus Ginyard returns for his senior season after being declared a medical redshirt last season. He will provide leadership and toughness for this bunch of young players with the support of Deon Thompson. The team also hopes for continued improvement from center Ty Zeller.
The team got off to a three win start where they were hardly troubled before heading to New York for the Semi Finals of the Coaches versus Cancer Classic where they survived a close one 77-73 over Ohio State before being overwhelmed by a stifling Syracuse zone defense in an 88-71 loss. The Orangemen used a 22-1 start to the second half to turn the game around against the young squad. Overall look for the Heels to be near the Final Four again this year. They will be tested in the first week of December with games against MichiganState and Kentucky.
Down the road in Durham, the Duke Blue Devilsare looking to go farther into the post season and improve on last seasons 30-7 record. After the early departure of Gerald Henderson to the NBA and surprising transfer of Elliot Williams left the Blue Devils thin in the back court but all everything forward Kyle Singler returns for his junior season raring to go.
Duke is hungry to return to the upper echelon of the NCAA and tired of hearing it from Tarheel fans as UNC has won two titles since Duke’s last visit to the Final Four in 2004. The team has been rarely troubled in winning its first four games of the season with Nolan Smith, Singler and Miles Plumlee leading the way. Additional help has come from shooting guard Jon Sheyer and improving freshman Andre Dawkins. On the horizon for the Blue Devils is ArizonaState in the semi finals of the NIT Tip-Off tourney with a matchup against either UConn or LSU after that. From there the team will travel to Madison to face always tough Wisconsin in the Big 10 – ACC Challenge.
This team has most of the pieces in place to go far into the post season but will need to get solid play at the point guard spot as the season progresses.
Now, we will stay in the Carolina’s but venture to South Carolina for a look at the Clemson Tigerswho are coming off of a 23-9 season but hungry after a bitter first round NCAA loss to Michigan. The Tigers will look to further their school record streak of three straight twenty win seasons and set a new school record for consecutive NCAA trips at four. The team returns workhorse forward Trevor Booker and add highly touted freshman Milton Jennings to the mix.
Thus far, the Tigers are off to a roaring start with easy wins in their first four outings. The team heads to California for the 76 Classic this week with a first round meeting with Texas A&M followed by a matchup with either Long Beach St. or West Virginia. After the trip, Clemson returns home to face Illinois and state rival South Carolina in the first week of December.
You can safely expect another twenty win year from Clemson and the complimentary NCAA bid where the team hopes to advance through the first round at the least.
Going back into North Carolina, we head to Winston-Salem where WakeForestis also looking for redemption for last seasons early exit from the NCAA tourney at the hands of ClevelandState. The Deacs were 24-7 for the season last year and briefly held the top spot in the national rankings. The team lost two Top 20 NBA picks from last years roster but the cupboards are far from bare as forward Al-Farouq Aminu returns along with incoming freshman Ari Stewart who has been compared favorably to former Deac Josh Howard.
Currently the Deacs sit at 3-0 for the season after easy wins. On the horizon looms a tough Purdue team along with a visit to Gonzaga. At the end of December is a test against a tricky Richmond team before starting the New Year with a game against the always rugged Xavier-Ohio team.
The Deacons will have their moments of inexperience but come March, they should be dancing.
I was recently asked who I thought was the best basketball player to ever play in the ACC? Note this is to be for their collegiate career, not accomplishments afterwards. First and foremost, I say that you can't go past one David Thompson from NC State. For a 6'4" Small forward/Shooting guard, he garnered unprecedented attention from other teams. None other than Michael Jordan was in awe of his unreal leaping ability. The lob pass was brought into vogue by the Monte Towe (a 5'4" point guard) to David Thompson connection. The Thompson led State teams also eventually brought an end to the awesome UCLA dynasty which at the time was lead by one Bill Walton.
Note: there will be more to come on this subject, just getting the opening comments out there for a start.
Further from yesterday, Wikipedia goes on to say that the lob pass was "invented" by Thompson/Towe, amazing. Thompson had a 48 inch vertical leap that put his game constantly above the rim.
The rivalry between NC State and UCLA during the 1973-1974 seasons is legendary but even more memorable is the in conference rivalry between State and Maryland. The 1974 ACC Championship game, a 103-100 overtime victory by NC State over the Terps is considered by some one of the greatest ever collegiate games. State went on to finish that season with a perfect record on the way to an NCAA title.
The gentleman who posed this query of the best ACC player ever has put forward Art Heyman from Duke (1960-1963), as the best ACC player ever, sorry bud you have to put aside the local hero worship and look to the facts. Among the learned, Michael Jordan, Ralph Sampson, Tim Duncan, Christian Laettner, and Len Bias along with Thompson are truly the greatest to pass through the ACC when considering just their college careers. Often at his camps, Jordan points to Thompson as the player he watched and admired most when he was growing up.
Thompson's Accomplishments:
Collegiate
Three-year letter winner (1973–1975)
The Sporting News national Player of the Year (1975)
North Carolina State retired his jersey number 44 (1975)
Led North Carolina State to the 1974 NCAA championship (30-1 record), 76-64 over Marquette University
In national semi-final win over UCLA, scored 28 points
In championship game, scored 21 points against Marquette
Most Valuable Player (MVP), NCAA Tournament (1974)
Led Wolfpack to a 79-7 record during his final three season (freshmen were ineligible then) including 57-1 during his sophomore and junior seasons (27-0, 30-1), the best in ACC history. His senior year record was 22-6.
Scored 2,309 points (26.8 ppg) in 86 varsity games; including highs of 57 points as a senior, 41 as a junior and 40 as a sophomore
Averaged 35.6 ppg, including a 54-point high on the North Carolina State freshman team
