Here we go with the top-5 teams for the coming ACC basketball seasons. I'm sure some will disagree - have at it. And, as always, at the completion of the ACC regular season, I'll do a look-back at how I did compared to the 4 major publications. Enjoy!
#5 Florida State: Expectations will be higher in Tallahassee this season as the Seminoles made a nice run in the NCAA tournament to the elite-8 and return the bulk of this team that seemed to gel late in the season. Four seniors lead this experienced group, led by forward Phil Cofer, who was granted an additional year of eligibility this summer by the NCAA. Terrance Mann, Chris Koumadje, and P.J. Savoy round out an experienced senior class, joined by 3 other players that have seen significant playing time: former McDonald’s AA M.J. Walker, Trent Forrest, and Mfiondu Kabengele. Adding further experienced depth to the roster is Albany transfer David Nichols, a guard who was a first-team America East selection in 2016-7 and was a double-figure scorer for the Great Danes.
The oft-maligned Leonard Hamilton, who has a reputation of doing less-with-more, finished 8th with this group last season. While he is only 2 seasons away from guiding his team to a tie for 2nd in the conference in 2016-7, he doesn’t have the star power on this team that he had on that one. But we can still expect the Seminoles to climb a few spots this year with all the experience returning.
Losses: Braian Angola-Rodas, G, 6’6”, 195 lbs., Brandon Allen, F, 6’6”, 209 lbs., transfers Ike Obiagu, C, 7’0” and C.J. Walker, G, 6’1”, 185 lbs.;
Additions: Devon Vassell, G, David Nichols (Albany transfer, G);
Returning: Phil Cofer, Sr. (extra year eligibility), F, 6’8” 218 lbs., 12.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg; Terrance Mann, Sr., G/F, 6’6”, 204 lbs., 12.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.6 apg; M. J. Walker, So., G, 7.0 ppg; Trent Forrest, Jr., G, 6’5”, 215 lbs., 7.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 4.1 apg, 1.6 spg; Christ Koumadje, Sr., C, 7’4”, 233 lbs., 6.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg; P.J. Savoy, Sr., G, 6’4”, 200 lbs., 6.6 ppg; Mfiondu Kabengele, So., F, 6’8”, 230 lbs., 7.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg; RaiQuan Gray, So., F, 6’8”, 250 lbs., ; Wyatt Wilkes, So., F, 6’8”, 210 lbs.; Anthony Polite, So., G, 6’6”, 210 lbs.
#4 Syracuse: Jim Boeheim must feel rejuvenated and excited to start the 2018-9 season as he has the prototypical Boeheim roster returning for the upcoming season from a team that made the Sweet-16 last year. The Orange are tall and long at every position and have 5 starters returning who are well-versed in Boeheim’s match-up zone defense. From PG to C, the starting five go 6’5”, 6’6”, 6’8”, 6’9”, and 7’2”. This is also a typical Syracuse team in that they aren’t very deep. Lack of depth, however, isn’t usually a huge concern for the Orange as the zone doesn’t wear down the defenders as much as other defenses. Like UVA, any discussion of Syracuse starts with their defense. This could be one of Boeheim’s best in some time.
The biggest question for Syracuse carries over from last season: who will put points on the board? The Orange struggled to score all season and must get improvement from their interior players on the offensive end to take some pressure off of their main 2 scoring options last season: guards Tyus Battle and Franklin Howard. Forward Oshae Brissett had a nice freshman season and, along with fellow sophomore Marek Dolezaj, looks to become a more serious option in the team’s offense. If the Orange score better and get good contributions from their bench, namely Bourama Sidibe, Howard Washington, East Carolina transfer Elijah Hughes, and incoming wing Jalen Carey, they could find their way back to the top-10 nationally. If they continue to struggle offensively, then this pick of 4th place may be a few places too high.
Losses: Matthew Moyer, F, 6’8”, 220 lbs., 3.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg; Taurean Thompson, 6’10”, F (early season transfer).
Additions: Jalen Carey, 6’4” SG #51, Robert Braswell, F, Buddy Boeheim, G, Elijah Hughes, G (transfer from East Carolina.)
Returning: Tyus Battle, Jr., G, 6’6”, 205 lbs. 19.2 ppg, 2.1 apg, 1.5 spg; Oshae Brissett, So., F, 6’8”, 195 lbs., 14.9 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 1.2 spg; Frank Howard, Sr., G, 6’5”, 205 lbs., 14.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 4.7 apg, 1.8 spg; Paschal Chukwu, Sr., C, 7’2”, 226 lbs., 5.4 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.5 bpg; Marek Dolezaj, So., F, 6’9”, 200 lbs., 5.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg.; Bourama Sidibe C, Soph.,2.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg.; Howard Washington, G, Soph.
#3 Duke: Once again, the so-called “experts” will be picking Duke to win the ACC and, once again, the Pukies will not. This program is no longer built to win ACC regular season titles and they rarely win the ACC tournament title these days either. But that doesn’t stop these “experts” at being blinded by the future NBA-level talent that parades to Durham every year and, Duke certainly has enough talent that they could gel into a formidable force by NCAA tourney time. This season is no different from the past few as the Blue Devils lose their entire starting five and bring in 5 players that have enough stars to reconstruct the constellation Orion.
It’s tempting to pick coach Krzfggfxgfswgfzfgski’s team 6th again like I did last season when they appeared to have a team that was completely ill-suited for K’s over-playing, ball-denial defense. What I didn’t anticipate was a brilliant move by the hall-of-fame coach in taking a team full of big men and completely changing the defense to imitate his buddy Jimmy Boeheim’s match-up zone defense. Duke parlayed that change to a second-place ACC finish, 4 games behind UVA. However, with the new recruiting class, Coach K faces a similar problem to last year, namely, what to do with a team full of similar players, namely, 6’7” forwards? The match-up zone doesn’t work as well with players this size and, thus, K is probably going to have to once-again, teach his returning players and the newcomers a new defense. The ACC is just too difficult a conference to expect to win, no matter what the talent level, when you’re teaching everyone on the team to play new schemes on both sides of the court.
One of the things I’m most looking forward to in this upcoming ACC season is what schemes coach Kryzfdafsdfadfasdfski comes up with to maximize his talent. Will he go back to the pressure, ball denial D? What will the offense look like now that he doesn’t have the nearly unstoppable Marvin Bagley inside? Several of the newcomers appeared to be adept ball-handlers at the high school level and if top-prospect R. J. Barrett can play the 2 along side of Tre Jones in the backcourt, Duke could be scary good when hitting on all cylinders. One thing Duke does have returning this year is some experience in the frontcourt with oft-injured junior Marques Bolden and junior Javin DeLaurier bringing some good size along with their experience. If Duke goes to a more traditional lineup with either of those 2 in the middle, can coach K keep his bus load of 6’7” forwards happy with their playing time? The other big question mark is at the point. Tre Jones looks to be talented enough to step right into the starting PG spot as his brother did the last time Duke won a national championship. But who will spell Jones? Jordan Goldwire appears to be the only option at PG and if Jones is hurt for any length of time, the Blue Devils could be in trouble.
As always, Duke’s talent will be fun to watch. But this team is difficult to predict as to where they’ll finish in conference. I can see them finishing anywhere from 7th to 1st. I’ll settle for a compromise at 3rd.
Losses: Marvin Bagley, III, F, 6’11”, 220 lbs., 21.0 ppg, 11.1 rpg, 39.7% 3 pt. FG; Wendall Carter, Jr., F, 6’10”, 259 lbs., 13.5 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 2.1 bpg, 41.3% 3 pt.FG; Trevon Duval, G, 6’3”, 186 lbs., 10.3 ppg, 5.6 apg, 1.5 spg; Gary Trent, Jr., G, 6’6”, 209 lbs., 14.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 40.2 % 3 pt. FG; Grayson Trip Allen, G, 6’5”, 205 lbs., 15.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 4.6 apg, 1.7 spg.
Additions: Joey Baker, 6’7”, 200 lbs. SF, #46 (re-class from 2019); R.J. Barrett, 6’7”, 202 lbs. SF #1; Cameron Reddish, 6’7”, 218 lbs. SF #3; Zion Williamson, 6’7”, 285 lbs. SF #5; Tre Jones, 6’2”, 183 lbs. PG #12;
Returning: Marques Bolden, Jr., F/C, 6’11”, 250 lbs., 3.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg; Alex O’Connell, So., G, 6’6”, 183lbs., 3.3 ppg; Javin DeLaurier, Jr., F, 6’10”, 234 lbs., 3.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg; Antonio Vrankovic, Sr., 7’0”, 269 lbs. C; Jack White, Jr., 6’7”, 222, F; Jordan Goldwire, So., 6’2”, 181 lbs., G; Walk-on: Justin Robinson.
#2 North Carolina: If any team can unseat defending champion Virginia from their perch atop the ACC, this Carolina team may have the talent and depth to do so. Most of the teams in the conference are one or two injuries away from falling far in the standings, but this UNC team is clearly the deepest team in the conference and has plenty of talent to neutralize the injury bug.
In picking the top spots in the ACC and comparing UNC with UVA, both teams lost 2 key contributors: Berry and Pinson for UNC, Hall and Wilkins for UVA. On paper, UNC may have had the better recruiting class, especially with #2 rated Nassir Little joining the team. However, it can’t be overlooked that, even though UNC finished in a four-way tie for third in the conference last season, they finished a full 6 games behind UVA and lost to the Cavaliers twice. That won’t stop the usual North Carolina-centric ACC writers from picking both Duke and UNC over UVA in their preseason polls.
The biggest question looming for the coach Huckleberry Hound Dog’s Heels this year will be at the point. UNC has no proven commodity at PG and, even though incoming recruit Coby White is listed as a point guard, if you’ve ever watched him play, you’d know that he rarely passes up a shot opportunity and is not noted for sharing the ball. Junior Seventh Woods is the only true returning PG on the roster, but has played little and has yet to live up to his recruiting ranking. Cameron Johnson played PG for a bad Pittsburgh team and, if all else fails, Williams might be forced to have him do the same for the Heels. Maybe Kenny Smith’s son, K.J., will get a crack at following in his father’s footsteps.
All-ACC Luke Maye will lead a deep and talented front court and he’ll likely be joined by fellow seniors Kenny Williams and Cameron Johnson in the starting lineup. If Nassir Little is as good as advertised, the Heels could go big with Johnson and Williams in the backcourt, Little at the 3, and Maye and any one of the three trees of Manley, Brooks and Huffman in the middle. In any event, Williams has a lot of pieces to play with and, if any one of them proves to be adequate at the point, the Heels could find themselves back in the national championship game for the 3rd time in four seasons.
Losses: Joel Berry, G, 6’0”, 195 lbs., 17.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.2 spg; Theo Pinson, G/F, 6’6”, 220 lbs., 10.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 5.1 apg, 1.1 spg; Jalek Felton, G, 6’3”, 190 lbs. (dismissed from team.)
Additions: Nassir Little, 6’7”, 215 lbs. SF #2; Coby White, 6’3”, 165 lbs. PG/SG #24; Rechon Black, 6’6”, 180 lbs. SF #79; K.J. Smith, So., G, 6’2”, 180 lbs.(transfer from Pacific);
Returning: Cameron Johnson, Sr., G, 6’8”, 210 lbs., 12.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.3 apg; Kenny Williams, Sr., G, 6’4”, 185 lbs., 11.4 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.0 spg, 40.2% 3pt FG; Brandon Robinson, Jr., G, 6’5”, 175 lbs.; Seventh Woods, Jr., G, 6’1”, 185 lbs.; Luke Maye, Sr., F, 6’8” 240 lbs., 16.9 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.0 spg, 1.0 bpg, 43.1% 3 pt FG; Sterling Manley, So, F/C, 6’11”, 240 lbs., 5.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg; Garrison Brooks, So, F, 6’9”, 215 lbs., 4.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg; Andrew Platek, So., G, 6’3”, 195 lbs.; Brandon Huffman, So., C/F, 6’10”, 250 lbs.
# 1. Virginia: After a record-setting 20-1 record vs. ACC opponents last season, what do the Wahoos do for an encore? The Hoos return 5 key players from the defending ACC regular season and tournament champions and a coach who has proven to be one of the best in the country in maximizing his player’s production and abilities. No one came close to the Cavaliers in the conference standings as the Hoos finished unbeaten on the conference road and that lone loss was a 1-point, overtime affair. Can Virginia be expected to win the ACC by 4 games again this season? Can they win more than 30 games overall again and finish the unanimous #1 in the country in next season’s AP poll as they did in 2018?
Virginia does lose 2 key players whose true value cannot be measured in the statistical columns. They also lose their backup PG. It will be very difficult to replace the contributions of Isaiah Wilkins who was a terror inside, covering up teammates mistakes and harassing opponents into mistakes of their own. Second-round NBA draft choice Devon Hall was a complete player who contributed in every facet of the game and was extremely versatile in what he brought to the Hoos. Virginia won’t replace either of these players, but has talent that will bring other value to this team and likely keep the Wahoos on top of the conference once again under coach Tony Bennett.
Three of the top 4 scorers return this season: Ty Jerome, Kyle Guy, and DeAndre Hunter. Thanks to Bennett’s proclivity to use the redshirt, this is a very experienced team with starting center, Jack Salt, returning for his 5th season in the program, likely starter Mamadi Diakite returning for his 4th season in the program, and Guy, Hunter, Jerome, and the ever-growing 7’1” Jay Huff for their third years.
Virginia’s starters can play with any team in the country this season. One looming question is depth: who will step up and help the Cavaliers off the bench? Virginia does have 3 returnees who are somewhat untested and there is no proven backup at point for Ty Jerome. Diminutive, incoming-freshman Kehei Clark will likely be pressed into service early to spell Jerome at the point, although 6’4” sophomore Marco Anthony played PG in high school and was used by Bennett as a PG in mop-up duty last season. Bennett likely will keep 10 guys active and redshirt one of the incoming freshmen. The most likely redshirt candidate is Argentine seven-footer Francisco Caffaro, not because he is the least ready, but because UVA is deepest at his position. It will be very interesting to see how ready Australian Cody Stattmann is for American college ball because he brings tremendous shooting ability to the Cavs. Barring a very late graduate transfer addition to the program, or the unexpected eligibility of Alabama transfer Braxton Key, or any other surprise addition, Stattman will probably not redshirt, given the depth situation the Cavaliers face in the backcourt this upcoming season. Another intriguing player that Hoos fans look forward to seeing is 6’7” jumping-jack, redshirt freshman, Frankie Badocchi, nicknamed “The Human Pogo Stick”. Badocchi’s high school coach spoke highly of his understanding of the game and good instincts. Coming off of summer knee surgery last season, I witnessed Badocchi skying in the layup lines with his elbow above rim level. The Hoos can use that kind of athleticism in their frontcourt.
Cav fans always fret when valuable players graduate, but Tony Bennett’s history of developing players brings comfort that the next man up will step up and provide valuable contributions to keep this team at the top. As Mark Whicker of the Orange County Register in California wrote: “Virginia is not a one-and-done pit stop to the NBA. The Cavaliers play intricate defense, move the ball around and they usually don’t produce the Play of the Day. You’ll find them on clinic videos instead.” This type of team play has been a rarity in college basketball the past decade and is why a team like Virginia dominated the county’s best conference last season. It’ll be another fun ride for Hoo fans this season, who hope for good team health and a better post season.
Losses: Devon Hall, G, 6’5”, 211 lbs., 11.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.1 apg, 43.2% 3pt FG; Isaiah Wilkins, 6’7”, F, 227 lbs., 6.0 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.2 spg, 1.4 bpg; Nigel Johnson, G, 6’1”, 182 lbs., 4.9 ppg, 1.6 apg;
Additions: Braxton Key, transfer, Alabama, 6’8”, 225 lbs. (must sit out a year), Francisco Caffaro, 7’0”, 233 lbs. center from Argentina; Kihei Clark, PG, 5’9”, 155 lbs. from Taft HS, California; Cody Stattman, 6’7”, 178 lbs., G/F, from Australia.
Returning: Marco Anthony, So., G, 6’4”, 228 lbs.; Francesco Badocchi, redshirt Fr., F, 6’7”, 185 lbs.; Mamadi Diakite, redshirt Jr., F, 6’9”, 228 lbs., 5.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg; Kyle Guy, Jr., G, 6’2”, 175 lbs., 14.1 ppg, 1.5 apg, 1.0 spg, 39.2% 3pt FG; Jay Huff, redshirt So., F/C, 7’1”, 230 lbs.; De’Andre Hunter, redshirt So., G/F, 6’7”, 222 lbs., 9.2 ppg, 3.5 apg, 38.2% 3pt FG; Ty Jerome, Jr., G, 6’5”, 200 lbs. 10.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.9 apg, 37.9% 3pt. FG; Jack Salt, redshirt Sr., C, 6’10”, 250 lbs., 3.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg; Walk-ons: Jayden Nixon, 6’3”, 185 lbs.; Austin Katstra, 6’6”, 214 lbs.
#5 Florida State: Expectations will be higher in Tallahassee this season as the Seminoles made a nice run in the NCAA tournament to the elite-8 and return the bulk of this team that seemed to gel late in the season. Four seniors lead this experienced group, led by forward Phil Cofer, who was granted an additional year of eligibility this summer by the NCAA. Terrance Mann, Chris Koumadje, and P.J. Savoy round out an experienced senior class, joined by 3 other players that have seen significant playing time: former McDonald’s AA M.J. Walker, Trent Forrest, and Mfiondu Kabengele. Adding further experienced depth to the roster is Albany transfer David Nichols, a guard who was a first-team America East selection in 2016-7 and was a double-figure scorer for the Great Danes.
The oft-maligned Leonard Hamilton, who has a reputation of doing less-with-more, finished 8th with this group last season. While he is only 2 seasons away from guiding his team to a tie for 2nd in the conference in 2016-7, he doesn’t have the star power on this team that he had on that one. But we can still expect the Seminoles to climb a few spots this year with all the experience returning.
Losses: Braian Angola-Rodas, G, 6’6”, 195 lbs., Brandon Allen, F, 6’6”, 209 lbs., transfers Ike Obiagu, C, 7’0” and C.J. Walker, G, 6’1”, 185 lbs.;
Additions: Devon Vassell, G, David Nichols (Albany transfer, G);
Returning: Phil Cofer, Sr. (extra year eligibility), F, 6’8” 218 lbs., 12.8 ppg, 5.1 rpg; Terrance Mann, Sr., G/F, 6’6”, 204 lbs., 12.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 2.6 apg; M. J. Walker, So., G, 7.0 ppg; Trent Forrest, Jr., G, 6’5”, 215 lbs., 7.9 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 4.1 apg, 1.6 spg; Christ Koumadje, Sr., C, 7’4”, 233 lbs., 6.5 ppg, 4.1 rpg; P.J. Savoy, Sr., G, 6’4”, 200 lbs., 6.6 ppg; Mfiondu Kabengele, So., F, 6’8”, 230 lbs., 7.2 ppg, 4.6 rpg; RaiQuan Gray, So., F, 6’8”, 250 lbs., ; Wyatt Wilkes, So., F, 6’8”, 210 lbs.; Anthony Polite, So., G, 6’6”, 210 lbs.
#4 Syracuse: Jim Boeheim must feel rejuvenated and excited to start the 2018-9 season as he has the prototypical Boeheim roster returning for the upcoming season from a team that made the Sweet-16 last year. The Orange are tall and long at every position and have 5 starters returning who are well-versed in Boeheim’s match-up zone defense. From PG to C, the starting five go 6’5”, 6’6”, 6’8”, 6’9”, and 7’2”. This is also a typical Syracuse team in that they aren’t very deep. Lack of depth, however, isn’t usually a huge concern for the Orange as the zone doesn’t wear down the defenders as much as other defenses. Like UVA, any discussion of Syracuse starts with their defense. This could be one of Boeheim’s best in some time.
The biggest question for Syracuse carries over from last season: who will put points on the board? The Orange struggled to score all season and must get improvement from their interior players on the offensive end to take some pressure off of their main 2 scoring options last season: guards Tyus Battle and Franklin Howard. Forward Oshae Brissett had a nice freshman season and, along with fellow sophomore Marek Dolezaj, looks to become a more serious option in the team’s offense. If the Orange score better and get good contributions from their bench, namely Bourama Sidibe, Howard Washington, East Carolina transfer Elijah Hughes, and incoming wing Jalen Carey, they could find their way back to the top-10 nationally. If they continue to struggle offensively, then this pick of 4th place may be a few places too high.
Losses: Matthew Moyer, F, 6’8”, 220 lbs., 3.3 ppg, 3.4 rpg; Taurean Thompson, 6’10”, F (early season transfer).
Additions: Jalen Carey, 6’4” SG #51, Robert Braswell, F, Buddy Boeheim, G, Elijah Hughes, G (transfer from East Carolina.)
Returning: Tyus Battle, Jr., G, 6’6”, 205 lbs. 19.2 ppg, 2.1 apg, 1.5 spg; Oshae Brissett, So., F, 6’8”, 195 lbs., 14.9 ppg, 8.8 rpg, 1.2 spg; Frank Howard, Sr., G, 6’5”, 205 lbs., 14.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 4.7 apg, 1.8 spg; Paschal Chukwu, Sr., C, 7’2”, 226 lbs., 5.4 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.5 bpg; Marek Dolezaj, So., F, 6’9”, 200 lbs., 5.8 ppg, 4.8 rpg.; Bourama Sidibe C, Soph.,2.7 ppg, 3.2 rpg.; Howard Washington, G, Soph.
#3 Duke: Once again, the so-called “experts” will be picking Duke to win the ACC and, once again, the Pukies will not. This program is no longer built to win ACC regular season titles and they rarely win the ACC tournament title these days either. But that doesn’t stop these “experts” at being blinded by the future NBA-level talent that parades to Durham every year and, Duke certainly has enough talent that they could gel into a formidable force by NCAA tourney time. This season is no different from the past few as the Blue Devils lose their entire starting five and bring in 5 players that have enough stars to reconstruct the constellation Orion.
It’s tempting to pick coach Krzfggfxgfswgfzfgski’s team 6th again like I did last season when they appeared to have a team that was completely ill-suited for K’s over-playing, ball-denial defense. What I didn’t anticipate was a brilliant move by the hall-of-fame coach in taking a team full of big men and completely changing the defense to imitate his buddy Jimmy Boeheim’s match-up zone defense. Duke parlayed that change to a second-place ACC finish, 4 games behind UVA. However, with the new recruiting class, Coach K faces a similar problem to last year, namely, what to do with a team full of similar players, namely, 6’7” forwards? The match-up zone doesn’t work as well with players this size and, thus, K is probably going to have to once-again, teach his returning players and the newcomers a new defense. The ACC is just too difficult a conference to expect to win, no matter what the talent level, when you’re teaching everyone on the team to play new schemes on both sides of the court.
One of the things I’m most looking forward to in this upcoming ACC season is what schemes coach Kryzfdafsdfadfasdfski comes up with to maximize his talent. Will he go back to the pressure, ball denial D? What will the offense look like now that he doesn’t have the nearly unstoppable Marvin Bagley inside? Several of the newcomers appeared to be adept ball-handlers at the high school level and if top-prospect R. J. Barrett can play the 2 along side of Tre Jones in the backcourt, Duke could be scary good when hitting on all cylinders. One thing Duke does have returning this year is some experience in the frontcourt with oft-injured junior Marques Bolden and junior Javin DeLaurier bringing some good size along with their experience. If Duke goes to a more traditional lineup with either of those 2 in the middle, can coach K keep his bus load of 6’7” forwards happy with their playing time? The other big question mark is at the point. Tre Jones looks to be talented enough to step right into the starting PG spot as his brother did the last time Duke won a national championship. But who will spell Jones? Jordan Goldwire appears to be the only option at PG and if Jones is hurt for any length of time, the Blue Devils could be in trouble.
As always, Duke’s talent will be fun to watch. But this team is difficult to predict as to where they’ll finish in conference. I can see them finishing anywhere from 7th to 1st. I’ll settle for a compromise at 3rd.
Losses: Marvin Bagley, III, F, 6’11”, 220 lbs., 21.0 ppg, 11.1 rpg, 39.7% 3 pt. FG; Wendall Carter, Jr., F, 6’10”, 259 lbs., 13.5 ppg, 9.1 rpg, 2.1 bpg, 41.3% 3 pt.FG; Trevon Duval, G, 6’3”, 186 lbs., 10.3 ppg, 5.6 apg, 1.5 spg; Gary Trent, Jr., G, 6’6”, 209 lbs., 14.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 40.2 % 3 pt. FG; Grayson Trip Allen, G, 6’5”, 205 lbs., 15.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 4.6 apg, 1.7 spg.
Additions: Joey Baker, 6’7”, 200 lbs. SF, #46 (re-class from 2019); R.J. Barrett, 6’7”, 202 lbs. SF #1; Cameron Reddish, 6’7”, 218 lbs. SF #3; Zion Williamson, 6’7”, 285 lbs. SF #5; Tre Jones, 6’2”, 183 lbs. PG #12;
Returning: Marques Bolden, Jr., F/C, 6’11”, 250 lbs., 3.9 ppg, 3.6 rpg; Alex O’Connell, So., G, 6’6”, 183lbs., 3.3 ppg; Javin DeLaurier, Jr., F, 6’10”, 234 lbs., 3.4 ppg, 4.0 rpg; Antonio Vrankovic, Sr., 7’0”, 269 lbs. C; Jack White, Jr., 6’7”, 222, F; Jordan Goldwire, So., 6’2”, 181 lbs., G; Walk-on: Justin Robinson.
#2 North Carolina: If any team can unseat defending champion Virginia from their perch atop the ACC, this Carolina team may have the talent and depth to do so. Most of the teams in the conference are one or two injuries away from falling far in the standings, but this UNC team is clearly the deepest team in the conference and has plenty of talent to neutralize the injury bug.
In picking the top spots in the ACC and comparing UNC with UVA, both teams lost 2 key contributors: Berry and Pinson for UNC, Hall and Wilkins for UVA. On paper, UNC may have had the better recruiting class, especially with #2 rated Nassir Little joining the team. However, it can’t be overlooked that, even though UNC finished in a four-way tie for third in the conference last season, they finished a full 6 games behind UVA and lost to the Cavaliers twice. That won’t stop the usual North Carolina-centric ACC writers from picking both Duke and UNC over UVA in their preseason polls.
The biggest question looming for the coach Huckleberry Hound Dog’s Heels this year will be at the point. UNC has no proven commodity at PG and, even though incoming recruit Coby White is listed as a point guard, if you’ve ever watched him play, you’d know that he rarely passes up a shot opportunity and is not noted for sharing the ball. Junior Seventh Woods is the only true returning PG on the roster, but has played little and has yet to live up to his recruiting ranking. Cameron Johnson played PG for a bad Pittsburgh team and, if all else fails, Williams might be forced to have him do the same for the Heels. Maybe Kenny Smith’s son, K.J., will get a crack at following in his father’s footsteps.
All-ACC Luke Maye will lead a deep and talented front court and he’ll likely be joined by fellow seniors Kenny Williams and Cameron Johnson in the starting lineup. If Nassir Little is as good as advertised, the Heels could go big with Johnson and Williams in the backcourt, Little at the 3, and Maye and any one of the three trees of Manley, Brooks and Huffman in the middle. In any event, Williams has a lot of pieces to play with and, if any one of them proves to be adequate at the point, the Heels could find themselves back in the national championship game for the 3rd time in four seasons.
Losses: Joel Berry, G, 6’0”, 195 lbs., 17.1 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 3.2 apg, 1.2 spg; Theo Pinson, G/F, 6’6”, 220 lbs., 10.3 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 5.1 apg, 1.1 spg; Jalek Felton, G, 6’3”, 190 lbs. (dismissed from team.)
Additions: Nassir Little, 6’7”, 215 lbs. SF #2; Coby White, 6’3”, 165 lbs. PG/SG #24; Rechon Black, 6’6”, 180 lbs. SF #79; K.J. Smith, So., G, 6’2”, 180 lbs.(transfer from Pacific);
Returning: Cameron Johnson, Sr., G, 6’8”, 210 lbs., 12.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.3 apg; Kenny Williams, Sr., G, 6’4”, 185 lbs., 11.4 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.0 spg, 40.2% 3pt FG; Brandon Robinson, Jr., G, 6’5”, 175 lbs.; Seventh Woods, Jr., G, 6’1”, 185 lbs.; Luke Maye, Sr., F, 6’8” 240 lbs., 16.9 ppg, 10.1 rpg, 2.4 apg, 1.0 spg, 1.0 bpg, 43.1% 3 pt FG; Sterling Manley, So, F/C, 6’11”, 240 lbs., 5.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg; Garrison Brooks, So, F, 6’9”, 215 lbs., 4.5 ppg, 3.5 rpg; Andrew Platek, So., G, 6’3”, 195 lbs.; Brandon Huffman, So., C/F, 6’10”, 250 lbs.
# 1. Virginia: After a record-setting 20-1 record vs. ACC opponents last season, what do the Wahoos do for an encore? The Hoos return 5 key players from the defending ACC regular season and tournament champions and a coach who has proven to be one of the best in the country in maximizing his player’s production and abilities. No one came close to the Cavaliers in the conference standings as the Hoos finished unbeaten on the conference road and that lone loss was a 1-point, overtime affair. Can Virginia be expected to win the ACC by 4 games again this season? Can they win more than 30 games overall again and finish the unanimous #1 in the country in next season’s AP poll as they did in 2018?
Virginia does lose 2 key players whose true value cannot be measured in the statistical columns. They also lose their backup PG. It will be very difficult to replace the contributions of Isaiah Wilkins who was a terror inside, covering up teammates mistakes and harassing opponents into mistakes of their own. Second-round NBA draft choice Devon Hall was a complete player who contributed in every facet of the game and was extremely versatile in what he brought to the Hoos. Virginia won’t replace either of these players, but has talent that will bring other value to this team and likely keep the Wahoos on top of the conference once again under coach Tony Bennett.
Three of the top 4 scorers return this season: Ty Jerome, Kyle Guy, and DeAndre Hunter. Thanks to Bennett’s proclivity to use the redshirt, this is a very experienced team with starting center, Jack Salt, returning for his 5th season in the program, likely starter Mamadi Diakite returning for his 4th season in the program, and Guy, Hunter, Jerome, and the ever-growing 7’1” Jay Huff for their third years.
Virginia’s starters can play with any team in the country this season. One looming question is depth: who will step up and help the Cavaliers off the bench? Virginia does have 3 returnees who are somewhat untested and there is no proven backup at point for Ty Jerome. Diminutive, incoming-freshman Kehei Clark will likely be pressed into service early to spell Jerome at the point, although 6’4” sophomore Marco Anthony played PG in high school and was used by Bennett as a PG in mop-up duty last season. Bennett likely will keep 10 guys active and redshirt one of the incoming freshmen. The most likely redshirt candidate is Argentine seven-footer Francisco Caffaro, not because he is the least ready, but because UVA is deepest at his position. It will be very interesting to see how ready Australian Cody Stattmann is for American college ball because he brings tremendous shooting ability to the Cavs. Barring a very late graduate transfer addition to the program, or the unexpected eligibility of Alabama transfer Braxton Key, or any other surprise addition, Stattman will probably not redshirt, given the depth situation the Cavaliers face in the backcourt this upcoming season. Another intriguing player that Hoos fans look forward to seeing is 6’7” jumping-jack, redshirt freshman, Frankie Badocchi, nicknamed “The Human Pogo Stick”. Badocchi’s high school coach spoke highly of his understanding of the game and good instincts. Coming off of summer knee surgery last season, I witnessed Badocchi skying in the layup lines with his elbow above rim level. The Hoos can use that kind of athleticism in their frontcourt.
Cav fans always fret when valuable players graduate, but Tony Bennett’s history of developing players brings comfort that the next man up will step up and provide valuable contributions to keep this team at the top. As Mark Whicker of the Orange County Register in California wrote: “Virginia is not a one-and-done pit stop to the NBA. The Cavaliers play intricate defense, move the ball around and they usually don’t produce the Play of the Day. You’ll find them on clinic videos instead.” This type of team play has been a rarity in college basketball the past decade and is why a team like Virginia dominated the county’s best conference last season. It’ll be another fun ride for Hoo fans this season, who hope for good team health and a better post season.
Losses: Devon Hall, G, 6’5”, 211 lbs., 11.7 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 3.1 apg, 43.2% 3pt FG; Isaiah Wilkins, 6’7”, F, 227 lbs., 6.0 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 1.2 spg, 1.4 bpg; Nigel Johnson, G, 6’1”, 182 lbs., 4.9 ppg, 1.6 apg;
Additions: Braxton Key, transfer, Alabama, 6’8”, 225 lbs. (must sit out a year), Francisco Caffaro, 7’0”, 233 lbs. center from Argentina; Kihei Clark, PG, 5’9”, 155 lbs. from Taft HS, California; Cody Stattman, 6’7”, 178 lbs., G/F, from Australia.
Returning: Marco Anthony, So., G, 6’4”, 228 lbs.; Francesco Badocchi, redshirt Fr., F, 6’7”, 185 lbs.; Mamadi Diakite, redshirt Jr., F, 6’9”, 228 lbs., 5.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg; Kyle Guy, Jr., G, 6’2”, 175 lbs., 14.1 ppg, 1.5 apg, 1.0 spg, 39.2% 3pt FG; Jay Huff, redshirt So., F/C, 7’1”, 230 lbs.; De’Andre Hunter, redshirt So., G/F, 6’7”, 222 lbs., 9.2 ppg, 3.5 apg, 38.2% 3pt FG; Ty Jerome, Jr., G, 6’5”, 200 lbs. 10.6 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.9 apg, 37.9% 3pt. FG; Jack Salt, redshirt Sr., C, 6’10”, 250 lbs., 3.4 ppg, 4.1 rpg; Walk-ons: Jayden Nixon, 6’3”, 185 lbs.; Austin Katstra, 6’6”, 214 lbs.
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