Started a very busy week on Tuesday night up in Durham and watched the Blue Devils unleash a very impressive long range barage against The Beach of Long Beach St. Duke connected on 15-26 threes and admitted they missed a few more that were open looks. Duke has four players in their rotation- Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler, Nolan Smith and Andre Dawkins - that can shoot 40% or higher from beyond the arc. That puts huge pressure on opponent's defenses and gives their bigs plenty of room to operate inside. Brian Zoubek had one of his better games as a Blue Devil with 10 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks off the bench. He looks ready to contribute when ACC play starts.With a stingy defense, Duke is playing the best basketball of anyone in the conference at this point. I can't wait to call the Duke/Clemson game at Cameron on Sunday. New Year's eve will find me in Greensboro for the UNC-G/ NC St. game. The Coliseum was my 2nd favorite venue to play in during my college days. I look forward to reliving some of those memories. It is the 50th anniversary of the Coliseum this year and the first that UNC-G will play it's home games there.The Spartans will play against 6 ACC teams in their non-conference schedule. ( It is just a rumor that they will be given an invitation to the ACC tournament in March!) Ben Stywall is their best player and he is coming off a double/double performance against Wake. State rebounded from a heartbreaking loss at Arizona to beat Winthrop this week and are looking to keep some momentum going into a tough home game against the Florida Gators on Sunday. The weekend starts for me in Halton Arena here in Charlotte when Georgia Tech visits the 49ers. I'm looking forward to watching Derrick Favors and Mfon Udofia, two of the most impressive rookies in the ACC, play for the first time.Tech comes in at 10-2 but have already stumbled in the ACC at home against Florida St. Bobby Lutz has his team playing at a high level with good health being a major factor. Shamari Spears has been terrific after sitting out a transfer year from BC, but he will face a physical frontline from Tech. A big key for the 49ers will be shooting a high percentage from 3! Then I finish with Clemson coming to Cameron. You know the Tigers will press for 40 minutes. This may be Oliver Purnell's most athletic team and best defensive squad, but they will be hard pressed to match Duke's prowess from the 3 point line. It should be a great game. Last random thought- Here are some EARLY player of the year candidates to watch as ACC play begins- Jon Scheyer of Duke, Malcolm Delaney from Virginia Tech, Al- Farouq Aminu from Wake, Greivis Vasquez from Maryland, Gani Lawal from G. Tech and Tracy Smith from State. Let's see how they do once conference play starts! Here's to a safe and healthy New Year to everyone out there and PLEASE be careful on New Year's Eve!!