1. ACC Sports Journal: Great article here from ACC historian Barry Jacobs on Dean Smith. I had no idea Smith was a math major. He will be receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom today, joining John Wooden and Pat Summitt as the only two college basketball coaches to receive the honor. It’s hard to overstate Smith’s influence on the ACC even today–and it’s impossible to overstate his importance at North Carolina. Jacobs does a great job synthesizing anecdotes to paint a picture of the man who now battles neurocognitive disease, a truly tragic fate for someone who was known for his quick mind. Roy Williams and Bill Gutheridge will join Smith’s family to receive the award on his behalf.
2. Winston-Salem Journal: Pretty cool article from longtime Wake Forest beat writer Dan Collins (who has covered the Demon Deacons for more than two decades) on the recent death of Wake Forest super fan Tup Strickland. Tup’s husband Hugh attended a totally ridiculous 339 straight Wake Forest games–home and away. The Stricklands weren’t alumni (though many of their children and grandchildren are), they just fell in love with the hometown school.
3. AP (via USA Today): Maryland‘s appeal to get the ACC lawsuit thrown out was struck down by a North Carolina judge yesterday. The ACC is suing Maryland for the $52 million exit fee (the ACC sued the Terrapins first, so the suit would be filed in a favorable court). The decision doesn’t mean Maryland will have to pony up just yet. It only means the Terrapins do not get the right to an appeal in a higher state court (though the court can grant that right). After this lawsuit we get to deal with Maryland’s countersuit. Bottom line: don’t expect to see a $52 million check coming out of College Park anytime soon.
4. Washington Post: Speaking of the Terrapins, Mark Turgeon is thinking of starting freshman Roddy Peters at point guard after a strong performance in their loss to Oregon State. The decision would relieve Dez Wells of primary ball-handling responsibilities, allowing him to play his natural position. But that means Turgeon has to bench someone. The obvious choice is the struggling Nick Faust, though that substitution hurts Maryland’s perimeter defense a lot. It’s also possible that the Terrapins play smaller with transfer Evan Smotrycz off the bench. Then again, depending on the opponent small-ball could be an option (essentially playing two under-sized stretch fours) because Shaquille Cleare hasn’t exactly been lighting up the scoreboard.
5. The Sporting News: I’m not sure whom Mike DeCourcy is writing this to. I’m also not sure why he’s talking about RPI at this point in the season. The ACC is the strongest basketball conference when you look at the programs at its top (especially when you think about adding Louisville). No one came into this year thinking it would be the strongest conference top to bottom right now. Even after Louisville comes, I’m not sure the top-heavy ACC is destined to be a RPI powerhouse unless rebuilding programs can continue gaining traction. Don’t get me wrong, the ACC has been mostly disappointing (even at the top), but the optimism from media day is still warranted.

mpatton (576 Posts)

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 20th, 2013 at 7:40 am by mpatton and is filed under acc, microsites, morning 5. Tagged: dean smith, mark turgeon, maryland, north carolina, roddy peters, wake forest. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.