Toyminator's 2002-2003 ACC Conference Preview

The ACC has been a dominant force in college basketball the past two seasons, with championships in both. Even better for the league, last season's champions weren't from the state of North Carolina. The emergence of Maryland gives the conference another elite program that should compete on a yearly basis, even though this year may be the exception! Despite that, the future looks bright for the ACC.

Unfortunately, this season may not look too rosy for the conference! To put it bluntly, the ACC got reamed by graduation, early entries and other defections. Every team in the league got hit and must rely on newcomers to fill vital roles. This means many more losses, few postseason bids, no title contenders and even fewer Top 25 teams. On the other hand, it should make for a competitive and exciting conference race! Duke may be the favorite, but with more freshman than upperclassmen, they don't have the title all locked up. Teams with veteran leadership, like Virginia, Georgia Tech and NC State could easily knock them out. Even Maryland & Wake Forest, despite the loss of most of their starting 5, could make a run if their newcomers are as good as advertised. That's really the story for this season in the ACC: the tremendous amount of talented newcomers that arrive on campus' across the conference! Whoever makes the biggest splash, may determine who captures the conference championship. It will be interesting, that's for sure!

ON THE RISE: Georgia Tech
Last season started out lousy for the Jackets, but they ended the season on a roll. That should accelerate this season with less competition and more experience. This season's super Sophs will welcome the arrival of a number of talented Freshmen, led by Chris Bosh, who may be the best big man in the league by season's end! Of course, this may be his only season in the ACC, but Coach Hewitt has continued the tradition of getting top recruits (ala Bobby Cremins) to Tech. Plus, he's a better coach too! This adds up to a bright future for GT!

IN DECLINE: Maryland
I know I just said this program is elite, so how can it be declining? Simple...they lost way too much talent to win the NCAA championship this season, let allow the conference title. That's declining to me! However, teams should take advantage of this now, because it will be short lived. Look for the Terps to be back near the top of the conference next season!

1. DUKE

Strengths: Potent offense. Solid backcourt that handles & distributes the ball well. Excellent 3-pt shooting team. Team quickness. Perimeter defense. Excellent coaching.
Weakness: Questionable frontcourt. Lost a lot of veteran talent, resulting in a plethora of inexperienced players to replace them.
Outlook: Duke is the Arizona of 2002...lost most of their stars to the NBA, brought in a talented freshman class, guided by an excellent coach. Thus, look for a similar result...a surprisingly tough team, that should win their conference, but lose in the Tournament. But look out in 2003!

2. VIRGINIA

Strengths: Big, strong forntcourt that can rebound & score. Good FT shooting team. Lots of depth, especially at PG & in the frontcourt.
Weakness: Poor ball handling & distribution. Poor 3-pt shooting team. Shaky defense at times. Need better team chemistry.
Outlook: The Cavs had a really disappointing season last year, but should be improved thanks to a number of quality newcomers, especially Todd Billet to a shaky backcourt. If they could get some consistent scoring on the wings, they could challenge Duke for the conference title.

3. GEORGIA TECH

Strengths: Solid team defense. Good rebounding team. Balanced offense. Good 3-pt shooting team.
Weakness: Poor ball handling & distribution. Very inexperienced. Thin bench.
Outlook: Coach Hewitt's team really came on at the end of last season. Look for them to build on that, even without Akins running the point. Obviously this may be a bit of a reach, but I feel the freshman are capable of having breakout seasons, especially Bosh! In a weak ACC, this team should make the Tournament this season.

4. NORTH CAROLINA STATE

Strengths: Solid team defense. Limit their turnovers. Excellent FT shooting team. Hodge's scoring ability.
Weakness: Poor rebounding team. Instability at PG. Limited outside scoring.
Outlook: Julius Hodge will move into the backcourt, where he should shine. The frontcourt should be solid, but without a real PG on the team, I don't see them improving much over last season. But they should still be Tourney bound!

5. MARYLAND

Strengths: Aggressive team defense. Solid, experienced backcourt. Ball handling & distribution. Good rebounding team.
Weakness: Little inside scoring. Inexperienced bench. Lost 4 talented starters.
Outlook: The Terps should continue to bask in last season's success, because they will fall some this season. Their backcourt is good enough to win plenty of games, but if they want a chance to repeat, their newcomers are going to have to be sensational.

6. WAKE FOREST

Strengths: Good shooting team, especially from the FT line. Limit their turnovers. Howard on the wing.
Weakness: Inexperienced frontcourt. Poor outside shooting team. Need to improve defensively.
Outlook: Like many in this league, the Deacons lost a lot of talent & experience. However, they also have plenty of talent coming in, so depending on how they play, they could move up. However, I'm thinking NIT might be where they end up this season.

7. NORTH CAROLINA

Strengths: Got rid of some deadwood, and brought in a lot talented freshman!
Weakness: Poor team defense. Little inside scoring or rebounding. Too many turnovers. Probably the least experienced Tar Heel team ever!
Outlook: It can't get any worse for UNC than last season! It was really ugly! Luckily, coach Doherty brought in a boatload of talent to get this ship going in the right direction again. An NIT bid would be a good start!

8. CLEMSON

Strengths: Big, deep frontcourt that rebounds very well. Balanced offense.
Weakness: Horrible FT & 3-pt shooting team. Poor ball handling & distribution. Weak team defense. Big hole at SF. Coaching?
Outlook: The Tigers have enough talent to stay out of the basement, but don't look for them to move up much!

9. FLORIDA STATE

Strengths: Decent frontcourt. Good rebounding team. Solid new coach.
Weakness: Weak team defense. Poor shooting team. Unknown backcourt, with little off the bench. Poor ball handling & distribution.
Outlook: Getting Leonard Hamilton to coach this team was a sweet move and will pay dividends in the long run, but this season might be a rough ride.

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Last updated on 10/3/02 by toyminator@prodigy.net