Thoughts from a Newark hotel room
Mar 28, 2011
The Final Four will go on next weekend in Houston. For only the 7th time in the last 31 years, there will not be an ACC team participating. As I sit here in my hotel room, soaking up my final hours in "beautiful" Newark, New Jersey, I find myself reflecting on the season that was in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Now, I share these reflections with you.
More of the same- The banner for the conference was once again carried by Duke and North Carolina. Both teams had exceptional seasons. Who had the better year? I'll leave that for the fans of each school to argue about through the off-season. What I do know is that both teams had terrific years, and a masterful job was done by both coaches. While neither UNC or Duke achieved their goal of making it to Houston, it should not diminish all that they accomplished this season. But, while Duke and UNC were both great...
It wasn't a 2-team league- The conference got 4 bids to the NCAA Tournament, and although none made it to the Final Four, the conference acquitted itself fairly well. Each team won at least one tournament game, and 3 of the 4 made it to the Sweet 16. By the way, that is one more that the mighty Big East got to that round. There's no question that the Big East was a better conference this year, strictly from a depth standpoint. But when comparing the top of the ACC to the top of the Big East, they stack up pretty well. We saw that when Florida State dominated Notre Dame in the 2nd round. Right now, the thing that separates the two conferences is the number of quality coaches, but...
The ACC is closing the coaching gap- We've already touched on what K and Roy did this year. They are the givens in the geometric proof that is ACC hoops. Meanwhile, Clemson and Boston College both upgraded on the bench with Brad Brownell and Steve Donahue, respectively. Brownell got the Tigers to the Big Dance for the fourth straight year, but this time, the Tigers actually won a game once they got there. That hasn't happened since Rick Barnes was on the Tiger sideline back in 1997. Donahue, meanwhile, won 21 games in his first season in Chestnut Hill, just missing an NCAA bid. Combine that with Tony Bennett, who in his 2nd season at Virginia managed to squeeze a winning record out of an injury-riddled roster, and the conference certainly has some bright young coaching stars. And...
There's more to come- Call it a hunch, but I'm pretty confident that both NC State and Georgia Tech will also be upgrading when they hire their new coaches. Sidney Lowe and Paul Hewitt are both first-class guys, but it was time for both of them to go. Now, two of the programs who have been stagnant over the last few years have an opportunity to improve their station in the conference. They are both excellent jobs, and depending upon which coaches take the jobs, both could be back in the NCAA Tournament sooner than you think. The conference needs Tech and State to get their programs back on track. Another thing the conference needs is to...
Retain it's young talent- I don't think that any conference has been hit as hard by early entries into the NBA Draft than the ACC. The conference is set to be hit by early entries again. If you take a look at the All-ACC teams this year, 9 of the 15 players selected were non-seniors, and that doesn't even include Duke's Kyrie Irving, who is a sure-fire top 5 pick. One possible saving grace for the ACC is the prospect of an NBA work stoppage, which might sway some of the young guys to stay in school for another year. Don't get me wrong, I'm one of the few people in this area that enjoys the NBA, but I grew up here in the heart of Tobacco Road. I want the ACC to reclaim it's spot atop the pecking order in college hoops. How great would it be to see Harrison Barnes continue to develop for another year? Or to get to see Kyrie Irving actually get to play for a full college season? Or to see CJ Leslie become that go-to player that Wolfpack fans expected him to be? I spent the entire fall hoping to avoid this word for the NFL, but when it comes to the NBA next season...let's hope for a lockout!
Now we get to go through the doldrums of the end of another basketball season. I always equate it to the day after New Year's, when you realize that the holidays are over and it's time to go back to work. But take heart, ACC hoop-heads.
Just 201days until the start of basketball practice.
Most Recent Comments
Posted Mar 31, 7:29 p.m.
Rank: Sports Legend Posts: 22521
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Location: Southern Pines, NC
RE: Thoughts from a Newark hotel room
I'll bet that Roy is in my County playing golf when the weather gets better. He not thinking about much except signing some top recruits. Sounds like he hit the mother-load again after this morning's paper.Posted Mar 31, 4:25 p.m.
Rank: Sports Legend Posts: 19456
Joined: Dec, 2006
Location: Raleigh, NC
