Each week during the ACC season, RTC will review the last seven days to discuss the teams, players and anything else trending across the league.
STOCK UP
Syracuse. Has Jim Boeheim righted the ship in upstate New York? After an incredibly disappointing 8-6 start to the season, the Orange notched consecutive easy wins over Miami and Pittsburgh at the Carrier Dome last week. In both victories, Boeheim used the same five players — John Gillon, Andrew White, Tyus Battle, Tyler Roberson and Tyler Lydon — for all but 17 minutes of game action, and White and Battle in particular played all 80 minutes. It appears that Boeheim’s shortened rotation has been effective, especially on the defensive end. In two losses to St. John’s and Boston College, the Orange allowed 93 and 96 points, respectively; last week they held Miami to 55 and a high-scoring Pittsburgh squad to just 66 points.
Has Jim Boeheim found the answer to what was ailing the Orange? (Nick Lisi/AP)
Joel Berry II, North Carolina. The North Carolina point guard was in our Stock Down section last week after he struggled in the Tar Heels’ surprising loss to Georgia Tech. He earned his way on to the Stock Up list this week after a tremendous performance in a win at Clemson. After shooting a miserable 3-of-13 in Atlanta, Berry responded with an impressive 12-of-19 performance at Clemson, including seven three-pointers and great leadership down the stretch. He followed that up with 19 points, five rebounds and five assists in Sunday’s blowout win over NC State. If North Carolina expects to get back to the National Championship game, it will need Berry to play like he did this week to get there.
Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish just continue to collect good wins, as they beat Louisville and Clemson in the past week. While Bonzie Colson has become the Mike Brey‘s go-to-guy, the most impressive thing about Notre Dame has been its depth. If you focus on stopping Colson — who logged a pair of double-doubles last week — senior wing VJ Beachem is capable of going off and nailing six threes like he did against Clemson. The Irish can also win on an off night for Beachem (two points) because fellow senior wing Steve Vasturia is capable of contributing 24 points like he did against Louisville. Meanwhile, point guard Matt Farrell has a steady hand and runs Brey’s offense with no fear. Through two weeks, Notre Dame looks like an ACC title contender.
STOCK DOWN
Donte Grantham, Clemson. Jaron Blossomgame is the star of the show at Clemson, but anyone who follows this team knows how important the junior power forward Grantham is to the Tigers’ success. In a pair of tight losses to North Carolina and Notre Dame last week, he was a non-factor in logging just 11 combined points and five rebounds. Despite those two losses, Clemson has designs on a return to the NCAA Tournament and needs Grantham — the Tigers’ fourth-leading scorer and third-leading rebounder — to become a key factor in big games.
Virginia Tech. Playing on the road is incredibly difficult in college basketball, especially in the ACC. It was therefore no surprise when the Hokies came away with losses at NC State and Florida State last week. However, to get completely embarrassed by allowing the Wolfpack to score 104 points followed by allowing 93 to the Seminoles in another non-competitive game mitigated some of the good feelings after the opening win against Duke. Buzz Williams’ team is assuredly improved this year, but the Hokies are going to need to win a few games on the road to get into the NCAA Tournament. Last week’s performances certainly don’t provide much reason for optimism.