ACC Review

Boston College: As usual, Al Skinner will maximize his team's talents. Unfortunately, there's not much talent on the roster beyond Tyrese Rice and Rakim Sanders. Unless Sanders realizes more of his potential on the offensive end, a trip to the NIT is likely in store for the Eagles.

Clemson: Oliver Purnell can flat-out coach. His teams are greater than the sum of their parts, and selfless play is their defining characteristic. When (and if) the talent catches up to the coaching, the Tigers could be really scary. I'm expecting around a 5 or 6 seed for a Clemson team that's going to pick up a few more losses in a deep ACC. Still, look for the hard-nosed Tigers to make some noise in March.

Duke: Same story as last year for the Blue Devils. Excellent perimeter defenders. Patient offensively and even more dangerous with Nolan Smith speeding up the pace in place of put out to pasture Greg Paulus. As usual, though, Duke has absolutely no post presence, and that does not bode well for Duke's prospects come March.

Florida State: As I stated in a previous post Florida State is my sleeper team. I don't necessarily think the Seminoles are going to make a deep tourney run, but I do think they're going to continue to rack up wins in a tough ACC.

Georgia Tech: This program has become something of a joke. The Yellowjackets have finished with a losing record in two of the past three years, and it looks like it will be three of four after this campaign. Outside of Tech's surprising run to the National Championship game in 2004, there hasn't been much to be excited about during Paul Hewitt's tenure. Then again, Tech has become a popular stop for one-and-done superstars. Chris Bosh, Thaddeus Young, and Javaris Crittenton all spent two semesters at One-and-Done U. With the signing of high school star Derrick Favors, Yellowjackets fans can take solace in a trip to the NIT next March.

Maryland: The Terrapins will not be relevant on the national stage until they replace Gary Williams. They simply lack the talent possessed by their ACC foes, and I can't blame any high school athlete for not wanting to play for Williams. While the game may not have passed him by, the culture of today's athlete has. There won't be any dancing for the Terps in March.

Miami: The media probably liked Miami a little too much given the Canes' preseason ranking, but this is a tourney team. Miami's losses against Connecticut, Ohio State, Clemson, and North Carolina are nothing to be ashamed of. The only thing missing from Miami's resume is a marquee win, though the Kentucky win is looking more and more impressive. Things are looking up for the Frank Haith-piloted Hurricanes program.

North Carolina: The two surprising losses may be a blessing in disguise going forward. I think they're still the team to beat.

North Carolina State: Brandon Costner, Ben McCauley, and Courtney Fells are solid players, though I was wrong to think this would be the talented Fells' breakout season. In short, Sidney Lowe's squad has too much talent to be a non-factor in the ACC. Yet, that is exactly where we find the Wolf Pack.

Virgina: Freshman Sylven Landesburg has been a bright spot, but this is the least talented team in the ACC.

Virginia Tech: Another year and another scrappy Hokies squad. Seth Greenberg is one of the country's most underrated coaches. His teams can beat anybody on any given night, and that's becoming something of a constant in Blacksburg. With the exception of a trouncing at the hands of the Blue Devils and a 1-point loss at lowly Georgia, the Hokies' other losses have been respectable, despite the fact they occurred on their home court (1-point OT loss to Xavier, 4-point loss to a decent Seton Hall club, 2-point loss to Wisconsin). Since the Duke debacle, however, Virginia Tech has reeled off 4 wins, including a 7-point win at Wake Forest. Expect the Hokies to slip into the tournament.

Wake Forest: The young Demon Deacons have outplayed anyone's reasonable expectations. In fact, rather than hitting the proverbial wall, I predict Wake finishes the season solidly, does no worse than a 3 seed, and is a team no one wants to play heading into the tourney.

Player of the Year: Jeff Teague, Wake Forest
Runner-up: Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina
Hard not to pick the reigning National Player of the Year here, but Teague is more valuable to his team (and his play has been off the charts). The fiery Teague has gone from a relatively unknown talent to looking like the second coming of Gilbert Arenas.

Coach of the Year: Dino Guadio, Wake Forest
Runner-up: Oliver Purnell, Clemson
Everyone knew Wake had talent, but no one thought they'd be this good so soon. Guadio has done an extremely good job managing a diverse assortment of talent, and the Demon Deacons execute in the half-court. Despite the Tigers last two losses, I can't say enough about Purnell's job over the last few season's for formerly moribund Clemson.

Freshman of the Year: Al-Farouq Aminu, Wake Forest
Runner-up: Sylven Landesburg, Virginia
Landesburg puts up splashier numbers on a weak Cavaliers squad, but Aminu has been an integral part of Wake's resurgence. Plus, the versatile frosh is putting up some pretty good numbers in his own right (12.6 points and 8.6 boards per contest). Florida State's Chris Singleton also deserves a shout out for his play and incredible potential. Sadly, Leonard Hamilton's "coaching" ensures that Singleton will only experience marginal improvement during his stay in Tallahassee.

Defensive Player of the Year: Gerald Henderson, Duke
Runner-up: Trevor Booker, Clemson
I really toyed with the idea of giving this one to Booker. He's the steadier defender of the two. The Clemson junior plays great position defense, hits the boards, and averages an impressive 2.7 blocks and 1.4 steals per game. Henderson has more lapses on the defensive end. However, he's a lockdown defender and has a penchant for making the game-changing play.

1st Team All-ACC
Tywon Lawson, North Carolina
Tyrese Rice, Boston College
Jeff Teague, Wake Forest
Trevor Booker, Clemson
Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina
Teague and Hansbrough are getting the majority of the headlines, but Lawson has been masterful. His assist-to-turnover ratio in the Tar Heels' high octane secondary break offense is an impressive 3.7-to-1. He's also displayed an outside shooting touch that he did not possess earlier in his career.

2nd Team All-ACC
Jack McClinton, Miami
Toney Douglas, Florida State
Gerald Henderson, Duke
A.D. Vassallo, Virginia Tech
Kyle Singler, Duke
The most glaring omissions from the list are Gani Lawal, Greivis Vasquez, and Danny Green. Lawal is averaging a double-double on yet another disappointing Paul Hewitt-coached Yellowjackets team. Vasquez, Maryland's mercurial point guard, is putting up impressive numbers across the board, but he's too inconsistent as a floor general to merit a spot on the second team. Green's had a fine year thus far. He plays excellent defense and has moved ahead of Wayne Ellington to become UNC's third most indispensable player. But I guess that's the problem -- how does any team's third most important player make all-conference in a league with as much individual talent as the ACC?

All-ACC Defensive Team
Gerald Henderson, Duke
Danny Green, North Carolina
Jeff Allen, Virginia Tech
Trevor Booker, Clemson
Tyler Hansbrough, North Carolina
UNC's weakness is its defense, but Tar Heels occupy two spots on the all-conference defensive team. Tar Heel Tywon Lawson and Dukies Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith narrowly miss the cut. Lawson averages 2.4 steals per game, but he was utterly dominated by Jeff Teague. I imagine scouts were cringing at Lawson's inability to handle an athlete with Teague's length. As for Singler, he plays solid defense, but I'm not sure he likes to bang in the post. Sophomore Smith does a great job of pressuring the ball but needs to work on his upper body strength.