A Look Around the ACC with the G-Man:

Here's the remainder of my look around the league:

Miami- This appears to be a year of transition in Coral Gables. This team lost 50% of its offense from last year with the departure of Guillermo Diaz and Robert Hite. They struggled early to find a new identity and had two troubling losses on the road to Buffalo and Cleveland St. They did, however, give a marvelous effort in their first ACC action as they defeated Georgia Tech after an emotional week for Coach Frank Haith.

If the ACC had an award for newcomer of the year, Jack McClinton would be an early front runner. He is leading the league in scoring and is a fiery competitor. Brian Asbury has also picked up his game. Before the Georgia Tech game he was on the floor two hours early getting up 250 jump shots. This effort has paid off as he is hitting 51% of his attempts.

The key to this team remains the production of Anthony Harris. He was spectacular against Tech and he looked like the player he was two years ago. He and Anthony King, who injured his wrist against Tech, will need to provide leadership for this very young but very athletic team.


North Carolina- This team is a juggernaut that will likely end up in Atlanta playing for a shot at the national championship. This is the deepest team the league has seen in many years and the Tar Heels could easily split this group in two and have two squads in the top twenty. Minutes do not seem to be an issue for this group as they are focused on winning and this depth has created an unbelievable competitive atmosphere in practice.

Tyler Hansbrough is still the anchor, averaging 19 points and 9 rebounds, but the scary thing for the league is the fact that he doesn't have to carry this team like he did last year. Early freshman of the year Brandon Wright has been sensational and may be better at the next level than Hansbrough. He is much more polished and skilled on the offensive end. I have also been very impressed with Wayne Ellington. He is a three dimensional player on offense as he can shoot the three, pull up in mid-range or take it to the rim.

If you want to nit pick about this squad, you might look to their defense that is giving up 74 points a game, but that is due in large part to the pace of game that they play. Roy Williams will always find ways to improve, but this group only has to fine tune the small dials on their road through the season.


N.C. State - The surprise of November has to be the play of North Carolina State. In something out of Hoosiers, Sidney Lowe is winning ball games with 6 players. One of the most impressive wins so far was the Pack's upset of Michigan in Raleigh in the ACC/Big 10 challenge. What made it more impressive is that State's point guard, Engin Atsur, went down with a hamstring injury early in that game.

With Atsur out, Gavin Grant has had to morph into Julius Hodge and run the ball club as a point forward. I like what I see out of Ben McCauley and Brandon Costner. They form a nice high-low combination with Costner's three point ability and McCauley's skill at putting the ball on the floor. Obviously, Atsur's health is a huge concern to an already thin core of players. They can't afford to have him out of the line up for an extended time.

Stamina is the big key for this group. The entire starting five is averaging over 30 minutes a game and, against West Virginia this week, four players played all forty minutes. This has to catch up with this group during league play. There are likely to be plenty of days off for this group as they grind through the year.

Virginia- The Cavs opened their new building in style with an impressive win versus #10 Arizona and have not looked back. Dave Leitao continues to put his stamp on this program and the Cavs have responded to his style. The only blemish so far is a loss at Purdue, a game that saw Virginia score a season low 59 points. That game aside, they are third in the ACC in scoring at 81 points a game and first in rebounding at 45 a night.

This high octane offense is once again being led by Sean Singletary. More than anyone, he has connected with Leitao and truly become a coach on the floor. His numbers are impressive, yet I love his toughness and his leadership. J.R. Reynolds has been steady, but a big boost has come from Mamadi Diane, who has stepped up as a third scoring option for the Cavs. Jason Cain and Adrian Joseph have helped solidify a thin front line.

Virginia did pick up a nice home opening ACC win against the Pack last weekend. Their schedule is light through the month of December but will stiffen in January. They will face a four game stretch that features Gonzaga and Stanford at home followed by road games against UNC and Boston College. This will be a good barometer to measure if this team is NCAA tournament ready.


Virginia Tech- After a tumultuous season last year, Seth Greenberg's group is struggling to get some traction. They have been very good at home, going 4-0, but have only won once on neutral courts. In fairness, those road games have been against teams that are picked at the top of their respective conferences. The other thing to note is that these three losses been by a combined 9 points.

The back court will be the strength of this team as Zabian Dowdell and Jamon Gordon play for their final season together. This duo combines for 27 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds and 5 steals a night and is as good as any backcourt in the league. A.D. Vassallo has stepped up to give the Hokies double figure scoring off the bench. Coleman Collins has gotten off to a slow start this year, averaging only 8 points and 4 rebounds a night. They need bigger numbers from him as the get into league play.

This team's M.O. over the years has been to be in the game at the end with a chance to win. The key for Tech is finding a way to finish games, especially away from home. Greenberg said early he would like to develop his bench and that seems to be a work in progress. Defense will always be a strong indicator with this group as their three losses were the three highest scoring games for their opponents this year.


Wake Forest- This group may wind up somewhere between the doom and gloom predicted by the media and the rosy optimism of their most ardent fans. A 5-0 start has been tempered somewhat by losses in their last two games yet there have been some positive signs for Skip Prosser so far.

Freshman point guard Ishmael Smith has provided the spark this team lacked last year. He is leading the league in assists at 7.9 per game and also doing a great job of taking care of the basketball. As a consequence, Wake is fourth in the league in scoring at 81 points a game. Individually, there is no greater surprise than Kyle Visser, who 2nd in the league in scoring and 3rd in rebounding. Combine that with a league leading 71% field goal percentage and he looks like an all league performer. Jamie Skeen has also impressed me with his versatility at the power forward position. This team features five double figure scorers, and the offense seems to have gotten back on track.

The key for Wake will be on the defensive end of the floor. Allowing for their pace of play, Wake still ranks last in the ACC in scoring defense at 78.6 points, last in field goal percentage defense at 48% and 11th in 3 point field goals at 39. Granted, UNC is right there with them in those categories, but Wake doesn't have the firepower of Carolina to win games despite their opponent's production. The Deacs must get stingier as they get into league play to get wins.