The ACC’s Operation Basketball on Wednesday experienced the prevailing theme of putting last season in the rearview mirror and starting anew. This included the teams with successful campaigns just as much as those who had disappointing ones. It was clear after speaking with and listening to players and coaches that everyone is eager to make the 2014-15 ACC a more powerful entity than its predecessor of a year ago. Here are some takes on each team, in no particular order, gleaned from the Westin in Charlotte.
Duke: Much of the discussion centered on the Blue Devils’ newcomers, especially Jahlil Okafor and Tyus Jones. Both Quinn Cook and Amile Jefferson were quick to point out that no rotation is set and that there is a ton of competition and talent in practice. Cook said as much when asked about practice: ” Yeah, we don’t have a starting lineup yet. Different guys, we have like a white and blue team; different guys are put on the white team, different guys are put on the blue team. So we’ll know soon, but whatever coach wants us to do, I think everybody will buy in because he obviously knows what he’s doing. We all have to buy in and just put personal sacrifices aside.”
Wake Forest: Even when discussing their new coach, it was easy to tell that the Demon Deacons’ players still see him as a former National Player of the Year who enjoyed a long professional career. Manning, however, spoke mostly about his expectations for the team, which he put simply as “win every game.” The Demon Deacons, coming off the uninspiring Jeff Bzdelik era, better not spend their time in awe of their new coach, as they have a lot of ground to make up in order to compete in the ACC.
Miami: Transfers Sheldan McClellan and Angel Rodriguez representing the Hurricanes at this event was emblematic of a new Miami team that has put last year’s lackluster season behind it. Reverence for Jim Larranaga’s paternal style was obvious in listening to the two players discuss their coach. Larranaga immediately referenced them in his comments as well, showing that while the Hurricanes return some holdovers from last year, they will go as far as his two Big 12 transfers take them.
Virginia Tech: One thing the Hokies won’t lack this year is a personality on the sideline. Buzz Williams holding court was a thing to behold, whether it was realigning all the tape recorders so they were to his liking or critiquing the questions of one journalist (“That question is much better than your first one,” he informed the lucky scribe). The problem is that Williams had little of substance to speak to about personnel or expectations, preferring to focus on character and his players’ eagerness to compete. That’s not going to be enough to earn the Hokies many victories in Year One of the Williams Experience, but it made for good theater on Wednesday.
Pittsburgh: With the departures of Lamar Patterson and Talib Zanna, many figured Pitt would take a slight step back this year. But the prevailing theme from the Panthers’ brass is that now the program will be more team, a point driven home by Cameron Wright. Often Patterson and Zanna dominated the offensive touches for Pittsburgh, so it’s up in the air whether their departure has a positive impact on this year’s edition. Roles are still being developed, even with the season quickly approaching, but coach Jamie Dixon said he already sees a “fantastic passing team” with a “tremendous backcourt.”
North Carolina: This is the team everyone wanted to talk to and hear from, and much of what they got was the look of a worn-out program tired of dealing with yet another NCAA investigation. While the pieces on the floor look extremely promising for this upcoming season, you have to wonder how much the mental drain of a second consecutive offseason involving NCAA scrutiny will take on this team. Brice Johnson and coach Roy Williams both looked exhausted and frustrated with dealing with the same line of questioning day after day (more to come on this in a subsequent post soon). Marcus Paige was late to the event due to an exam, an irony not lost on anyone in attendance.
Roy Williams was deluged with questions regarding an ongoing NCAA investigation (credit: insidecarolina.com)
Louisville: If there was a team who exuded nonchalant confidence at this event, it was the Cardinals. Montrezl Harrell and Wayne Blackshear made it clear that they realize that the ACC is considered the preeminent basketball conference, but that they feel they belong right at the top from day one. This is not a team afraid of marquee competition, and they’re undaunted by the conference slate ahead. Pitino went the extra mile in lauding Harrell’s spurning of the NBA Draft to return to school, saying that “with this schedule, we might not win five games without Harrell.” That may be nothing more than hyperbole, but the Cardinals would have looked drastically different if their star big man had declared for the draft.
Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish lost some key contributors but regained the eligibility of Jerian Grant. Grant made it a point to emphasize that the team never lost touch with him during his year on academic suspension and welcomed him back as if nothing had changed. Coach Mike Brey emphasized what it means to have a player like Grant back on the roster: “He’s one of the better guards in the country, and we had a lot of close games last year. Grant was a close‑game closer for us throughout his career, and I sure hope we’re in those positions more with him this year.”
Boston College: For a team with such low expectations, the Eagles’ contingent certainly looked relaxed. Olivier Hanlan, whom coach Jim Christian said will be a primary ball-handler this season, sounded excited to erase last year’s debacle. Dennis Clifford was exuberant just to return to action after two injury-riddled seasons. And Christian himself cited his personal excitement for the upcoming year by pointing out what he’s been most pleased with so far: “The energy they bring every day and the attitude with which they show every day ‑‑ when you inherit a new program, that’s always a concern.” Christian also pointed out he hadn’t watched tape of last year’s team. That was undoubtedly for the best.
Florida State: After seeing Montay Brandon and Aaron Thomas wax poetic about their coach, it’s clear Leonard Hamilton is beloved by his players in Tallahassee. Hamilton again preached defense when he took the podium, but also said there has to be a counterbalance on the other end of the floor. He name-checked nearly every returning contributor on the team in saying they looked more polished offensively, especially the trio of seven-footers the team fields in the frontcourt. Of course, he showed his roots in closing: “we think that we’ll have enough offense, if we play good defense, to be successful.”
North Carolina State: The departure of NBA lottery pick T.J. Warren was a key talking point, and the main focus will be on balance to replace his production. Mark Gottfried spoke of every player raising his scoring incrementally to total the prodigious scoring of Warren, and Ralston Turner and Kyle Washington talked about the team becoming better in the passing department to have a more free-flowing offense. That would be helped by a more under-control Cat Barber at the point now that Tyler Lewis has transferred.
Virginia: It was interesting to hear Malcolm Brogdon echo coach Tony Bennett’s comments to the word about immediately burying last year’s successes and moving on to a new season. The Cavaliers will be elevating role players from their bench positions to the starting lineup to replace Joe Harris and Akil Mitchell, but the maturation of some of the younger contributors from a year ago does nothing but encourage the Cavaliers from thinking they can top last year’s magical run. Point man London Perrantes having not practiced due to a foot injury is something to keep an eye on, however.
Syracuse: The main topic of conversation when it came to the Orange was how much of an unknown the perennial contenders are this year. Can Kaleb Joseph adequately replace Tyler Ennis? When asked if Joseph had definitively been named the starter, Jim Boeheim quipped, “He’s our only point guard, so yeah he’s gonna start.” Joseph will need drastic improvements in the frontcourt if he is to acclimate quickly to a leadership role. It should also be noted that Boeheim refused to answer any questions regarding an ongoing NCAA investigation (very much in contrast to the defiant, verbose Roy Williams).
Clemson: Similar to NC State, the Tigers’ representatives (Rod Hall and Landry Nnoko) were largely grilled on how to replace do-everything forward K.J. McDaniels. And like NC State, balance and other players stepping up was the resounding theme. Coach Brad Brownell mentioned Nnoko and Jarron Blossomgame, among others, as players who need to make a big leap forward this year for the Tigers’ offense to be strong enough to support their superb defense. He also pointed out that the team badly needed to identify a three-point shooter, something the team glaringly lacked a year ago.
Georgia Tech: It was interesting to hear Brian Gregory and the Yellow Jackets’ Marcus Georges-Hunt and Corey Heyward continually stress the idea that they were tired of talking and eager to start play. Gregory is definitely on the hot seat in year four in Atlanta, and it didn’t seem like anyone wanted to talk about past failures but rather the year ahead. Gregory did say he was very pleased with the addition of Maryland transfer Charles Mitchell, and considered Georgia Tech to again be strong up front. They’ll need to make major strides this year if Gregory is to be answering questions as head coach of Georgia Tech come this time next year.