Probably the best description of the ACC came on Twitter: The ACC is “Schrödinger’s League. The state of it is unknown, and by viewing it we change it.”
- Tomahawk Nation: Michael Rogner takes the Florida State message boards to task over Leonard Hamilton. He goes off. It’s an absolute evisceration. And I totally agree. Hamilton made Florida State relevant. Seriously, look at the Seminoles before he showed up. Eight straight seasons where they finished seventh or worse in a nine-team conference. Anyways, it’s worth a read (especially if you’re one of those people calling for Hamilton’s job).
- Morganton News-Herald: A small-town look at the beginnings of the ACC? Yes, please. This should be a pretty cool series over the next couple of weeks looking at the the rise of the ACC starting with the Big Four (North Carolina, Duke, Wake Forest and NC State). NC State legend Everett Case gets a good deal of credit for bringing both talented players and the Dixie Classic to the conference, but don’t overlook North Carolina’s Frank McGuire either.
- ESPN: At Wednesday night’s game, North Carolina took some time to honor announcing legend Woody Durham. The booth is now named for the play-by-play voice of the Tar Heels who covered the team for four decades. Robbi Pickeral sat down with the broadcasting legend. He still keeps an index card in his pocket even if it’s just for fun.
- Annapolis Capital: John McNamara pretty much nails Maryland‘s issue against NC State in one word: toughness. The Terrapins kept things interesting, but you never got the feeling they could turn the corner, as NC State just looked tougher, especially inside. The toughness is definitely compounded by a short bench, which forces the Maryland starters to play minutes even when they’re exhausted. Terrell Stoglin has it going on offense, but if this team can play tough for an entire game, it will be a very good in College Park. I’m not sure Maryland is ready to contend in ACC play, but it will definitely beat some teams who aren’t playing their best on certain nights.
- Raleigh News & Observer: Speaking of flaws and toughness, NC State showed some signs of regression in its 11-point loss to Georgia Tech at home Wednesday night. The Wolfpack cut the deficit to five before collectively imploding (bad defense, a couple of bad calls, some missed shots and a Gottfried technical in the span of a couple of minutes pushed the lead back to double digits). This wouldn’t be a terrible loss on the road, but at home? Way too many flashbacks to the last couple of disappointing seasons. Mark Gottfried needs to right the ship ASAP to get the Wolfpack back on track for a shot at the Big Dance.