ACC Midseason Thoughts

[jimmyshivers]

sitting around the office today and I have no games to cap for tonight, so I thought I would take a step back and take a look at where the conference is at right now and where it is heading the rest of the way. First lets rate the teams

Tier 1: National Championship contender

1. UNC: Heels beginning to click at this point and are playing their best ball since december. As its been said when this team is on they are probably the best team in the country. Lack of a defensive leader really hurts this team but they will be laying points in every game the rest of the season.

Tier 2: Capable of a deep tourney run:

2. Wake Forest: Wake does alot of things well, but they are going to have a hard time if they run into an experienced physical team who is able to control the temp against them. Best case for this team is probably Final Four while worst case is a 2nd round washout.

3. Duke: Devils have alot of flaws (consistent shooting and size come to mind) but this is still a 30 win team that will be in every game they are in just off of defensive energy and coaching. I see this team capable of an elite 8 run but their streaky shooting and lack of post presence probably limits them to a 2nd round/sweet 16 exit.

4. Clemson: I think this is Purnells best basketball team at clemson and they should be a nasty matchup for someone on selection sunday. This team needs to find a way to keep up their intensity on both ends of the court, as they tend to turn the ball over too much and they allow too high of a shooting percentage to go too far. I think this is a sweet 16 team but if the matchups fall perfectly they could get to the 8.

Tier 3: One weekend and done

5. Florida State: Very nice win @ littlejohn for FSU, but I am convinced that this team won't survive the opening weekend for the lone reason that they don't score enough. Douglas is all the have on offense and there are too many good teams that will be able to frustrate him and stop the noles. I like the defense from this team but they just arent deep enough to see the 2nd weekend.

6. Virginia Tech: Hokies are a tough physical team who do a great job of staying in games and controlling tempo. Team is missing a few pieces but I reallly like what Greenberg is doing in Blacksburg.

7. Miami: Really like the McClinton-Collins combo and the way that this team can light it up but they are way too soft defensively. Feel like they probably go out in the first round

Tier 4: The Bubble bursts:

8. Boston College: Decent record for BC including a nice win over UNC but the schedule has been baby soft. Now it gets tougher and I think they will have a hard time getting wins. Not enough balance on this team..

Tier 5: Wait till next year

9. NC State: Team will look good for stretches then they just completely lose their focus for at least 5 minutes each game. Have blown 2 big leads in the past 2 weeks. Desperately needs a pg.

10. Maryland: Lack of recruiting by Williams is finally catching up to the Terps. Team has no inside game and aside from Vasquez they struggle to put forth any kind of consistency.

11. Georgia Tech: Jackets are playing better as of late but they always find a way to lose the winnable games. Not a very well coached team but Hewitt finds a way to recruit well enough to keep his job every year, then under performs with the talent he brings in

12. Virginia: This team is a joke and needs to fire their coach. No real discipline on this team and they fall out of games way too easily..

Player of the Year: Jeff Teague, Wake Forest

Coach of the Year: Dino Gaudio, Wake Forest

Rookie of the Year: Slyvian Landesberg, Virginia


2nd Half sleeper: Virginia Tech

2nd Half bust: Boston College

All-ACC Team

Jeff Teague, G Wake Forest
Jack McClinton, G Miami
Tyler Hansborough, C UNC
Trevor Booker, F Clemson
Gerald Henderson, F Duke

2nd Team

Wayne Ellington, G UNC
Tyrese Rice, G BC
Tony Douglas, G FSU
Kyle Singler, F Duke
Gani Lawal, F Georgia Tech

 

[Bobbflo]

ahh the pause that refreshes! thanks for the recap and your thoughts...your insights on acc play is much appreciated bobbflo

 

[Dr.T]

Nice job.....looks pretty accurate to me. Lawal could sneak into the 2nd team as could Lawson, Danny Green or Costner (still a disappointment with his talent).

I think UNC is the only team that could win it all (as you say).

 

[SundayTiger]

Good read.

 

[jimmyshivers]

thanks guys, Really l like Danny Green, but to me its hard to find a good place for him. I think he might be UNC's most important player, but its hard to put a value on what he does.

Costner is a joke, the team needs to be a leader but he just doesnt have the grapes. I think lack of leadership is probably NCS's biggest on court issue..

 

[olenubbs]

Any chance of Toney Douglas making first team?? He's actually leading the entire ACC in total points scored, 3rd in ppg, and 2nd in steals. I know the ACC has great guards, but I think Douglas may be having an all-around better year than someone like McClinton. What do you think?

 

[mightyminnow]

nice work Shivers. btw, what do you think about FSU first half tomm. should be 6, I think they're gonna come out blazin against the lowly cavs.

 

[jimmyshivers]

yeah there is a real chance this was just my evaluation at this point. I think FSU has a better team than Miami and if they go on a run in the 2nd half then he could definately make it. A player that carries a tournament team like douglas does certainly deserves consideration. Just wanted to have 1 pg on the first team and to me that is Teague. I think the ACC just goes with the top 5 vote getters so he certainly could make it..

 

[jimmyshivers]

nice work Shivers. btw, what do you think about FSU first half tomm. should be 6, I think they're gonna come out blazin against the lowly cavs.

I've been pretty shitty on first halves this year but at the moment I'm looking pretty hard @ UVA here. Bad spot for the noles in this game and they struggle to cover these kind of lines in conference. Very little faith in the cavs but the FSU offense is so anemic that asking them to cover 10 is a tall order. Under looks like a good play to me..

 

[olenubbs]

Either way, you do a great job on one of the hardest conferences to predict IMO, and your opinion is greatly valued. I'll actually be at the FSU game tomorrow night (I'm a student here) so hopefully Douglas continues his tear. Watch out for our freshman too, Soloman Alabi has really been stepping it up lately and he could be someone to watch for down the stretch.

 

[Gooch]

Jimmy,
Are you with me on UNC tomorrow? I think it'll be up and down for both teams for awhile and UNC rolls in the end.

Gooch

 

[jimmyshivers]

honestly gooch I havent even capped that one yet. Both teams should be able to exploit each other offensively so the over will be a good bet if its less than 170. Lean to UNC but still have alot to look at before making it a play..