- Fought and Won One: Pack Pride writer Austin Johnson took the time to compare all ACC teams to TV shows, doubling his post as an ACC Power Rankings. If you bumped Virginia and (gasp) Boston College up a couple of notches, Miami up one, and dropped North Carolina, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest I would be right there with him on the rankings. The best comparison is for Georgia Tech with Parenthood:
Quietly putting together some really good performances but no one is really watching. Also, I don’t watch Parenthood, I just know its by the same guy who did Friday Night Lights and its apparently been very good this season if you like crying. Hopefully there’s not as much crying on GT’s team.
He hits the nail on the head with the Yellow Jackets as a potential sleeper team in the conference. Not a great team by any means, but definitely one that should surprise a few people.
- Hampton Roads Daily Press: Virginia Tech coach James Johnson got a rude introduction to ACC play Saturday. Part of the Hokies’ issue is with depth. After Seth Greenberg’s late dismissal, Virginia Tech’s recruiting class started to fall apart, leaving the Hokies short on scholarship players. Thanks to injuries two walk-ons–Christian Beyer and Will Johnston–have seen a big uptick in minutes. The two are playing big minutes for Johnson’s undermanned squad, but a feel-good story doesn’t always have good consequences. The Hokies’ depth will be one of their biggest issues all season.
- Raleigh News & Observer: NC State gutted out a win at Boston College Saturday. The Eagles were in it until the very end. Joe Giglio came away with three thoughts: an ugly win is still a win; props to Steve Donahue; and ACC officiating can be incredibly irritating. I agree with all three. I thought the game said much more about the Eagles than it did the Wolfpack (though it certainly brought to mind flashbacks to Sidney Lowe’s teams at least in terms of intensity). Donahue has done a very strong coaching job. He is still filling his roster with ACC-caliber players, but the team is much better than last season.
- Baltimore Sun: It’s hard to remember because of his struggles to start the season, but Jake Layman was Mark Turgeon’s second best recruit coming into this year. Layman’s issues on and off the court overshadowed his potential (though not his hair). Against Virginia Tech Layman finally found his groove, putting up 18 points in the first half alone. “It’s ACC time, and we all stepped up,” Layman said after the game. You don’t want to read too much into a home blowout over a mediocre Virginia Tech team, but if it lights a fire under Layman things look very good for Mark Turgeon going forward.
- Charlotte Observer: Like most expected Wake Forest took a beating on Saturday at Duke. Jeff Bzdelik is still trying to diagnose the symptoms as growing pains, but the “Buzz Out” t-shirts growing in popularity amongst Demon Deacon fans make it clear the fans see a different issue. Bzdelik’s problem is the growth hasn’t come to fruition. First it was this incoming class, which to be fair could still turn things around with time to mature. Now it is Shelton Mitchell (a top-50 2014 recruit). Bzdelik needs to show improvement now not later or Ron Wellman may join the movement.