ACC Stock Watch: Conference Play Week 1 Edition
Posted by Matt Auerbach on January 8th, 2016With the first full week of conference play now in the books, results have mostly held to form thus far (Virginia falling in Blacksburg notwithstanding). The presumptive favorites appear to be as good as advertised, and perhaps even a little better in some cases (see: Brice Johnson’s 39-point, 23-rebound exercise in absurdity in Tallahassee). In fact, Johnson doesn’t even make this week’s Stock Watch because that kind of performance can’t be defined by any sort of trajectory — it’s off the graph entirely.
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In just his second year, Williams has Hokies’ fans buzzing earlier than expected in Blacksburg. (Michael Shrayer/USA TODAY Sports)
Virginia Tech: Even after an 11-22 campaign a season ago, few seemed to doubt that Buzz Williams would eventually build Virginia Tech into a competitive ACC program. After an inauspicious start in this year’s non-conference season (nobody forgets that opening night loss to Alabama State), the Hokies probably shocked even themselves with their opening week of ACC play. An overtime win over struggling NC State is one thing, but following that up with a win over intrastate bully and two-time defending league champion Virginia is quite another. The victory put a halt to the Hokies’ seven-game losing streak to the Cavs and shows that Williams might actually be ahead of schedule in generating some excitement in Blacksburg. With his trademark passion and intensity, it is only a matter of time before Virginia Tech becomes a consistent winner.
Jordan Roper: The senior guard from Clemson proved there is more than one way to skin a cat in leading his team to a pair of impressive victories last week. On Saturday, Roper connected on a career-best seven three-pointers en route to a team-high 23 points, boosting the Tigers to a nine-point win over Florida State. His shots weren’t falling on Wednesday — Roper was unable to manage a single made field goal — but he set a career-high of 10 assists in an impressive overtime victory at Syracuse. Roper is averaging career-bests in points, rebounds and assists for the 2-1 Tigers, which next host Louisville in a game on Sunday where his steadiness will be critical.
Luke Kennard: The Duke freshman entered college basketball with a reputation as an elite marksman, and while he struggled early to adjust to the speed of the game, Kennard has suddenly rediscovered why he was such a highly-regarded recruit. While his shot from distance has remained inconsistent (only 29 percent shooting from three-point range), the Ohio native has shown a knack for scoring in a variety of ways. Adept at both finishing around the rim and getting to the free throw line, Kennard has averaged 17.0 points per game in the six contests since center Amile Jefferson was lost to a broken foot. He made 7-of-11 attempts in both of Duke’s wins this week, and even after the slow start, Kennard ranks a remarkable 31st in offensive rating nationally, a key contributor to the most efficient offense in America.
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Danny Manning and Wake Forest are trending the wrong way. (Getty)
Wake Forest: After a 9-3 non-conference season that was highlighted by wins over Indiana, UCLA and LSU, many hypothesized that the future is now for the youthful Demon Deacons. Their opening two league games were a difficult trip to Louisville and a home date with Duke, but the Deacs may have already showed that they are still a year away from returning to the ACC’s upper echelon. Wake Forest, seeking to make its first NCAA Tournament in six seasons, competed admirably in both games, but the talent and execution gap between them and their top-20 foes was apparent. The next three contests (vs. NC State; at Virginia Tech; vs. Syracuse) are all winnable, but patience should be exercised when evaluating Danny Manning’s growing team.
Mike Hopkins: To be fair, Hopkins had to deal with an unexpected change of plans when he stepped in for Jim Boeheim as the interim head coach at Syracuse a month earlier than anticipated. Still, though, the longtime assistant has to be disappointed with the results of his first extended stretch calling the shots. Losers of five of nine games, the Orange have undone many of the good vibes from their Battle 4 Atlantis title and are now in very real jeopardy of finding the wrong side of the bubble come March. Of course, Hopkins alone isn’t the problem. Syracuse can also blame its over-reliance on shooting the ball accurately from long-range, as the Orange have lacked any realistic interior attack. The team will surely draw a spark of excitement from the return of Boeheim against North Carolina on Saturday, but if it doesn’t shoot the ball significantly better and grab a defensive rebound or two (the Orange ranks 326th in the country on the defensive glass), it won’t matter whose voice it is berating the players in the middle of the huddle.
