1. ACC Sports Journal: Mike Lananna sat down with Wake Forest star Travis McKie to talk about the upcoming season. McKie is only a sophomore, but he’s already one of the veterans on the team because of the frequent and numerous departures out of Winston-Salem. Last year, the 6’7″ wing averaged 13 points and 7.7 rebounds a game as a freshman, but this year he hopes to move his game more to the perimeter. I don’t want to read too much into the interview, but McKie sounds very excited about playing for Wake Forest and understands that rebuilding takes time. Assuming the Demon Deacons get more solid recruiting classes, McKie could see the Big Dance by his senior year.
2. Sports Illustrated: I know they’ve already been linked everywhere, but Luke Winn’s Power Rankings are back! Winn’s in-depth, original analysis makes for a must-read article every week. This week three ACC teams make the cut: (1) North Carolina, (4) Duke and (20) Florida State. He looks at Kendall Marshall‘s “pass first” mentality, finding that Marshall was the only point guard from the Power Rankings to average more assists last season than field goal attempts. Duke’s analysis makes up for its lack of statistics with a great anecdote about Austin Rivers choosing his number (“0” was actually his fourth choice).
3. Slam Online: Is Harrison Barnes actually underrated? Slam‘s Matt Domino looks at Barnes’ transition from being overrated as a freshman to underrated as a sophomore. Domino also addresses the logical fallacy that “Barnes needs [Kendall] Marshall,” which makes him less valuable. I totally agree. Just because Barnes needs Marshall to run the point, doesn’t mean that North Carolina isn’t relying on Barnes to be its most productive offensive player in most games.
4. Gaston Gazette: Mike Krzyzewski doesn’t sound thrilled with his team’s performance against Bellarmine this week, as many players are still finding their new roles. The Blue Devils ended up winning the game against the D-II national champions by 25, but the game was much closer than expected. The tough love is already flowing liberally: “’I wanted to see if they could figure it out,’ [Coach K] said, ‘and they didn’t.'”
5. Cavalier Daily: Virginia’s student newspaper takes a look at the early season expectations for Tony Bennett‘s squad. I was shocked when the Cavaliers received votes in the Coaches’ Poll released last week. Bennett cited Mike Scott as a big part of improving Virginia’s woeful field goal percentage both by taking higher-accuracy looks and by forcing defenses to pay attention to the interior. He also said that this team is their best chance to make the NCAA Tournament since he arrived in Charlottesville in 2009.

On what would be the eve of the NBA season, the NBA lockout continues to benefit college basketball. The inimitable Sebastian Pruiti, founder of NBA Playbook, and contributor to Basketball Prospectus, The Basketball Jones Blog, and about a billion different NBA blogs and websites has taken his considerable talent for tactical breakdowns to the newly launched HoopSpeakU, which will presumably take after it’s well-written and insightful parent, HoopSpeak.

This is very good news.

Sebastian Pruiti Scouts Roy William's Offense And Thankfully Not His Dance Moves

While there are a few sites that do a good job of posting similar tactical breakdowns, such as The Mikan Drill (which we directed you to this morning), Pruiti is one of the absolute best at breaking down the details of play execution. His inaugural post on HoopSpeakU is a near-exhaustive breakdown of North Carolina’s offense. This is simply must-read stuff if you want to look under the hood at the engine that will be powering the Tar Heels’ half-court offense this season. If he can bring the quality analysis to the NCAA that he brings to the NBA on a regular basis, college fans (us) will be all the smarter for it.

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Assane Sene was the rock of last year’s Virginia team, a mostly undersized squad that often utilized a four guard line-up. While the Cavaliers ringed the arc, Sene was the man in the middle. The 7’0″ center served as a capable rebounder and shotblocker for a UVA team that struggled with front court depth after Mike Scott went down with an injury. Going into his senior year, Sene will join a now-healthy Scott and Sammy Zeglinski as the veteran leaders of a team that many expect to challenge for a spot in the upper tier of the Atlantic Coast Conference. That’s an exciting thing, and even more exciting when you find how far Assane has come to get to this point.

Assane Sene's Senegal-to-Connecticut Story Is One Of Four Stories In The New Documentary "Elevate."

This afternoon, TrueHoop‘s Henry Abbott posted a review of the new documentary, “Elevate.” The documentary is about four Senegalese students, including Sene, from the SEEDS Academy in Dakar. The Academy is a place where promising West African basketball players train in basketball and academics with the goal of getting accepted into one of the elite high school or prep basketball programs in the United States, and from there, earn a scholarship to play college basketball. The film follows Sene as he makes the journey from Africa to South Kent School in Connecticut. It’s not an easy journey, and once he gets there, the challenges of navigating a totally foreign world as a somewhat shy, seven-foot tall teenager is perhaps even more daunting.  It seems to be a worthwhile documentary and a powerful reminder of how hard these players have worked for their shot at the big time.

A couple of clips are available on the film’s web site, but I am particularly enamored of this segment showing Sene arriving in the United States for the first time.

ELEVATE Assane Arrives in the US from ELEVATE on Vimeo.

The film is getting a limited initial release, but it seems likely the glowing reviews will earn it a wider distribution deal. I certainly hope it does.

Florida State had a great season last year. The Seminoles dominated opponents defensively and made do on the other end of the floor. Six players were listed 6’7” and up, and the entire roster showcased a wealth of lateral quickness that made them the most effective defensive team in the country. That shouldn’t change this year. The offense, not the other end, will once again define the ceiling for Leonard Hamilton’s squad.

Chris Singleton is Gone, But the Seminoles Will Still Dominate Defensively

Looking back to last year a Sweet Sixteen season ended with a bitter aftertaste. It wasn’t when they lost; it was the way they lost. If you don’t remember, Florida State took on Shaka Smart’s Cinderella from VCU. After Jamie Skeen put the Rams up four with three minutes to go, Florida State locked down on defense. Unfortunately, even after holding VCU scoreless in the final three minutes, it didn’t help with the hideous offensive sets for the Seminoles. They went 1-5 from the field during that stretch (plus a missed free throw), and the hideous final possession, where Derwin Kitchen put up an off-balance three that the whole country knew would send the game to overtime, was indicative of just how poorly the team executes in the half court.

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1. Yahoo (Contributors): The biggest news out of the largest sports website in the world is that ESPN college sports star writer Pat Forde just joined the ranks at Yahoo (as of midnight), but this article on the average attendance of conferences caught my eye. Somewhat surprisingly the ACC ranks an abysmal fifth with just over 10,000 fans per game, only ahead of the Pac-12 (which should really be ashamed for being behind the Mountain West). It definitely hurts that Duke is limited by the intimate atmosphere of Cameron Indoor Stadium and that the conference is experiencing a relative slump. The full list is pretty interesting too. Apparently all of D-I was seen live by 27,626,125 people last season.
2. ESPN – North Carolina: We mentioned ESPN’s new North Carolina Basketball blog, authored by Robbi Pickeral, yesterday. Probably the most interesting content she wrote in the first day were her five anticipatory thoughts on the Tar Heels for this year. The North Carolina game at Kentucky tops the list, as it should. But a couple of her choices are more suspect. Namely, “Will Harrison Barnes score 40 (again)?” and “Freshman impact.” Really, I could care less whether Barnes scores 40; I’m far more interested to see if he manages to build on his stellar end to last season. And freshmen could be interesting, but certainly not in my top five considerations about this Tar Heel team; how about a look at John Henson‘s offensive growth instead?
3. Atlanta Journal-Constitution – College Recruiting: “Could Duke make an all-out effort to recruit a Georgia basketball star and not succeed?” The question references the talented power forward Tony Parker, a player whom Mike Krzyzewski has doggedly pursued throughout the recruiting season. Parker fits the recent Coach K big man mold perfectly, sizing up well with former Blue Devil interior stars Elton Brand, Carlos Boozer and Shelden Williams. With Miles Plumlee graduating and Mason Plumlee likely moving onto greener pastures, Duke could really use Parker.
4. The Mikan Drill: The trio of Harrison Barnes, John Henson and Kendall Marshall are stealing most of the limelight in excitement for North Carolina’s top-ranked team heading into the season. Somewhat lost in the shuffle is the man who kept that team alive during its growing pains early last season, Tyler Zeller. This is a good look at Zeller’s strengths (passing and running the floor) and weaknesses (defensive rebounding). My only addition to each category would be his beautiful baby-hook shot and unfortunate tendency toward injuries.
5. Mercury News: Interested in a summary of conference realignment to date? Dave Skretta takes a look at the winners and losers. Conference realignment has been a mess, especially in this age of Twitter bringing news faster than final decisions can be reached (or, for the more cynical, worse sources). This is a good recap of what has actually happened, though I disagree that the Big Ten and Pac-12 were really losers in conference realignment. Both chose to stay put with incredibly lucrative media contracts, instead of taking back-up plans that might actually serve to lower their revenue cuts.

The Worldwide Leader unveiled its first team-specific college basketball blog (Notre Dame and Stanford both have team-centric football blogs) this morning with the North Carolina Basketball Blog. The woman behind the pages is former Charlotte Observer and Raleigh News & Observer reporter Robbi Pickeral (if you want to follow her on Twitter @bylinerp).

This comes as a bit of a surprise, as ESPN’s college basketball blog “network” doesn’t even currently include conference-specific blogs, although some of the conference football bloggers do spend some time covering basketball. I wouldn’t be surprised to see ESPN unveil a couple more team blogs if this one is successful. Duke and Kentucky would certainly be the leaders in the clubhouse, but there are plenty of other deserving teams around the country.

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For what it’s worth, I think Virginia Tech should have made the NCAA Tournament last season. I have a hard time believing that this team was worse than Villanova, Marquette, or Missouri, to name a few of the other power conference teams that got the bubble nod while Virginia Tech was overlooked once again. I understand the case for those teams, but believe me when I say that last year’s Hokies were a tough, resilient team stocked with great players. Malcolm Delaney was a great basketball talent and his fellow seniors, Jeff Allen and Terrell Bell were all excellent starters for Seth Greenberg.  Despite all the injuries that this team suffered, his core held strong and led Virginia Tech to repeatedly strong conference showings. These guys are now gone and a new era of basketball in Blacksburg begins.

Seth Greenberg Will Have To Rebuild The Hokies Now That The Malcolm Delaney and Jeff Allen Era Has Ended

A few holdovers remain, though, and that continuity will be important for what promises to be a relatively inexperienced team. Starters Erick Green, along with seniors Dorenzo Hudson and Victor Davila will have to be strong leaders on a team that is in transition. Despite the graduation of the legendary senior class, the transfer of the surprising Hokies’ leader in offensive efficiency, Manny Atkins, and the loss of Alan Chaney because of concerns about the promising big man’s heart condition, there is a real case to be made that Virginia Tech is gaining more than it’s losing. With contributors like Hudson and J. T. Thompson returning from injury, VT is regaining a guy who averaged 15.2 points per game and once scored 41 against a hapless Seton Hall team as their sixth man. As big as that will be for the Hokies in 2011-12, the real story for this team is its freshman class.

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1. Miami Herald: In our ironic post of the day a Miami Herald op-ed contributor took the NCAA to task for its recent proposal to grant an optional extra $2,000 for cost of attendance. Best quote: “Why should the University of Miami not have the power to provide whatever amount of money required to get a commitment from that player?” Well, Miami did (allegedly) provide money, parties and just about everything else for its recruits (and student-athletes) thanks to former booster Nevin Shapiro. Even as I jest though, Darren Heitner’s opinion is an important one. He’s a lawyer and professor at Indiana University. This article is far from the only one of its kind. The cost of attendance scholarships are only a drop in the bucket.
2. ACC Sports Journal: Dan Wiederer presents his recap of North Carolina‘s turnaround in the middle of last season starting right after the Tar Heels were blown out by Georgia Tech. It’s easy to forget how much last year’s team struggled to start the season. Even after the Georgia Tech debacle, UNC looked like it was going to be blown out by Miami before a steady run brought them close enough for Harrison Barnes to knock down the first of his clutch shots for the win. Wiederer presents the story chronologically, looking at game performances and giving some additional insight into the sudden departure of Larry Drew II. Both parts are a must-read.
3. Raleigh News & Observer: Bad news for NC State. Wolfpack guard and only returning senior CJ Williams is out indefinitely with a hairline fracture in his left thumb. Mark Gottfried projected Williams as a starter and a double-figure scorer for NC State this season. Williams is lucky, though, in that the injury is to his off-hand, which should allow him to return sooner than if it was on his strong hand.
4. Baltimore Sun: Maryland has an army of five walk-ons this season thanks to a depleted roster. That doesn’t even count John Auslander, who walked on last season but received a scholarship from Mark Turgeon this year. The story also profiles walk-ons Spencer Barks and Jonathon Thomas. Right now it sounds like the non-scholarship players are mainly for bodies in practice in the like, but Turgeon isn’t opposed to playing some of them a few minutes if needed.
5. Charlotte Observer: Duke and North Carolina got their exhibition games going over the weekend with the Tar Heels taking care of UNC Pembroke, 102-58, and the Blue Devils pulling away from a pesky Bellarmine team, 87-62. UNC Pembroke stuck with the top-ranked squad from Chapel Hill until the end of the first half before giving up a 14-0 run, and North Carolina never looked back. Duke had a little more trouble with D-II National Champion Bellarmine, and the youth of the team showed in its turnovers. Duke committed 20 turnovers on the evening and didn’t open up a sizable lead until the second half. I’ll say it now: this team is very inexperienced.

Picture of the Day: In honor of Halloween, here’s a Duke jack o’ lantern (h/t @DarrenRovell)

Happy Halloween!

The first AP poll repeats the refrain of the offseason: North Carolina is the best team in the country. Amassing 62 out 65 first-place votes, the Tar Heels ran away from the rest of the field. This is no surprise and pretty much matches what the coaches thought last week. Like in the ESPN/USA Today coaches poll, Kentucky came in second with Ohio State and Connecticut not far behind. One first place vote went to the Buckeyes and two more to the Huskies, with the Wildcats getting no votes at the top spot. While that’s a slight difference from the coaches poll where Kentucky got the only non-UNC vote, it pretty much lines up with the conventional wisdom: Going into the season, there are four clear top tier teams, with the debate being over who goes in slots two through four. While guessing which writers submitted the minority reports favoring Connecticut and Ohio State is an entertaining game, the AP is happy to spoil that fun by posting the voters and their ballots online.

As for the rest of the ACC, Duke comes in at sixth, the same as in the coaches poll. Contributing to this mounting sense of déjà vu, Florida State once again finishes just outside the top twenty-five at the the twenty-sixth spot. Virginia, despite receiving a vote or two in the coaches poll, doesn’t get any love from the AP’s panel. Interestingly enough, the only other team to receive votes outside of last year’s top three finishers is Miami, a team that is returning a lot of highly skilled players and deserves a little more love than it’s been getting. In any case, the preseason is winding down and this poll will soon be forgotten as actual basketball games take the place of educated guesswork. I don’t know if that’s any consolation to an overlooked team like UVA, but it’s something.

Brad Brownell had by far the most success of any of the new ACC coaches last season. He certainly landed in a nice place, with two very talented senior leaders in Demontez Stitt and Jerai Grant. But in case you couldn’t tell, the man can flat out coach. After losing first round pick Trevor Booker, Brownell led the Tigers to their first NCAA Tournament win since Rick Barnes last did so back in 1997. This year he has a lot less to work with, but don’t think the Tigers won’t be fighting for an NCAA Tournament bid.

The first key for Clemson will be Andre Young. Young did a very good job last year sharing the backcourt responsibilities with Stitt. This year he needs to transition from off-the-ball sharpshooter who also spends time running the offense to floor general and, in announcer-speak, the straw that stirs the drink. Just behind Stitt in assists rate and offensive rating, it’s possible to argue he was the second most important player on the floor last season. Although it’s important to keep in mind that Young’s primary jobs were to allow Stitt to play off the ball some and keep opponents’ perimeter defenses honest, this year he’s going to need to really step into a bigger role, and it’s tough to tell how ready he’ll be.

Clemson's Andre Young Needs to Step Up This Season

After Young the Tigers desperately need a second option to step up. Milton Jennings, Tanner Smith and Devin Booker all have the talent and experience. The problem is none of them have lived up to their potential yet. Based on Smith’s play during the conference season last year (where he shot 39% from downtown), I’m inclined to choose him as the best second option but I think Smith thrives more as a rock-solid role player. You can count on him to efficiently put up ten or 12 points a game, but I’m not convinced he’ll exceed that with regularity. Booker showed flashes last year too, but mainly against less talented teams. It’s high time Clemson fans stopped comparing him to his older brother: even during his sophomore season, Trevor Booker was a much more efficient scorer. He didn’t settle for jumpers and shot well over fifty percent from inside the arc all four years. Unless Devin has put on some pounds and grit this summer, he won’t become a second or third option on offense.

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