Rob's Picks:
1. Duke 12-4
2. North Carolina 11-5
3. Wake Forest 10-6
4. North Carolina State 9-7
5. Maryland 9-7
6. Florida State 8-8
7. Virginia 6-10
8. Georgia Tech 5-11
9. Clemson 2-14
Comments:
Every team from 1 to 7 could finish in a
different order, though I expect the top three teams in my rotation will be very good
unless injuries strike. Any of teams 4-6
could easily sneak into the top three of the league, and even Virginia could be very good
if they get some breaks. Duke's scoring
power among its top six players and overall balance may give them a slight edge. UNC has the most potent four players in the
league, which on some nights will enable them to beat anyone in the country and on other
nights be a problem if someone has an off-game. All
Wake needs is a proven wing scorer to challenge for first place and national prominence. Losing Josh Powell pushed State out of that top
rank of the conference's hierarchy, but returning a healthy Ilian Evtimov could push them
back, especially with the best all-around player in the conference in Julius Hodge. Maryland has almost no proven players on their
roster, but they do have a very proven coach in Gary Williams, and he knows how to mold
talent. If he comes up with the right answers
this season, the Terps could finish much higher. Leonard
Hamilton has a deep and talented team that needs to learn how to win, but they could also
crack the upper division. Virginia will
sorely miss Travis Watson, but improved team athleticism could vault them into the
postseason. Georgia Tech will have no inside
game at all, but playing small ball with their solid scoring lineup could produce some
upsets. Clemson will struggle against all of
the talent in the league, but better days are ahead with Oliver Purnell.
Rob's ACC Teams & Awards:
1st Team:
Raymond Felton, UNC
Rashad
McCants, UNC
Julius Hodge,
NC State
Elton Brown,
Virginia
Eric Williams,
Wake Forest
2nd Team:
Tim Pickett, FSU
JJ Redick,
Duke
Jawad
Williams, UNC
Vytas
Danelius, Wake Forest
Shelden
Williams, Duke
3rd Team:
Chris Duhon, Duke
BJ Elder,
Georgia Tech
Anthony
Richardson, FSU
Ilian Evtimov,
NC State
Sean May, UNC
Others Considered:
Luol Deng, Dan Ewing & Shavlik Randolph, Duke; Justin Gray & Chris Paul, Wake
Forest; Diego Romero & Von Wafer, FSU; Scooter Sherrill, NC State; Jarrett Jack &
Marvin Lewis, Georgia Tech; Chey Christie, Clemson; John Gilchrist & Jamar Smith,
Maryland; Todd Billett, Virginia
All-Rookie:
Chris Paul, Wake
Forest
Mike Jones,
Maryland
Luol Deng,
Duke
Diego Romero,
FSU
Alexander
Johnson, FSU
Others Considered:
Von Wafer, FSU; Engin Atsur, NC State; Ekene Ibekwe, Maryland; Gary Forbes, Virginia;
Reyshawn Terry, UNC
POY:
Julius Hodge, NC State
ROY:
Luol Deng, Duke
COY:
Leonard Hamilton,
FSU
All-ACC Defensive
Team:
Tim Pickett, FSU
Julius Hodge,
NC State
Chris Duhon,
Duke
Raymond
Felton, UNC
Jamaal Levy,
Wake Forest
ACC DPOY:
Tim Pickett, FSU
Strength of
Schedule: This is determined by
ranking each out of conference opponent in one of four tiers: Marquee Matchup (RPI top
40), High-Major (RPI 41-100), Mid-Major (100-200) and Tune-Up (over 200). Marquee Matchups
are awarded three points apiece, High-Majors 1 point, Mid-Majors 0 points and Tune-Ups
-0.5 points. A bonus of +0.5 is awarded for
every true road game (tournaments don't count unless a team is playing the home team on
their own court). These numbers are totalled
and then divided by the number of games played to balance things out across all teams. This system favors teams willing to play the best
in the country, favors teams willing to go on the road, and punishes those who schedule
lightweight teams. It is possible to get a
good score by loading up on High-Major and Low-Major squads with few, if any, Marquee
Matchups, but this usually corresponds to a lack of Tune-Ups on the schedule anyway.
1. Wake Forest (1.23)
2. Duke (1.04)
3. UNC (.95)
4. Clemson (.9)
5. NC State (.77)
6. Georgia Tech (.72)
7. Maryland (.68)
8. Florida State (.43)
9. Virginia (.04)
Rob Clough's ACC Previews:
#1 - Duke
#2 - North Carolina
#3 - Wake Forest
#4 - NC State
#5 - Maryland
#6 - Florida State
#7 - Virginia
#8 - Georgia Tech
#9 - Clemson
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