It’s January and a New Year so you know that means basketball season is about to take center stage . Contributing writer @HokieGuru is getting things started right with another of his now famous ACC roundtables. What better way to get ready for ACC conference play than to ask our fellow ACC fans their thoughts? So let’s get right to it!
Author: @HokieGuru
Happy New Year from all of us at AllSportsDiscussion! You can also find us on twitter at @TalkinACCSports
In Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) country, men’s basketball season is one of our favorite times of the year. Specifically, when the conference season opens. The men’s basketball conference season begins on Saturday and we’ve got you covered for a panel. Our panelists will be discussing five topics. First, our panelists will give you the predicted order of finish in the ACC. Second, they will predict the players that will obtain first-team all-ACC honors. Third, the panelists will provide their ACC defensive player of the year. Fourth, the panelists will give us their ACC player of the year. Fifth, they will give us the ACC coach of the year. And, sixth, our panel will give you their predictions on the number of NCAA bids for ACC teams. Let’s get this panel started!!! ACC hoops is here!!!
Tell us a little bit about yourselves.
@younglefhander Adam Brand, writer for TheVictoryFormation.com. Atlanta native, bleeds white and gold.
@DukeBlogMKline Writer/operator of dukesportsblog.com. Fan of all things Duke, including football, yes I said football.
@WillsWorldMN Will Ojanen, writer for scacchoops.com. Based in Eagan, Minnesota.
@Category6UM Writers/Operators of category6um.com. Based in Miami, Florida. Let’s go ‘Canes…
@KilroyFSU Attended Florida State for undergrad, though he transferred to the University of Akron as a sophomore before returning for law school. He currently works as an attorney in Tallahassee.
@ztevans Zach Evans is a lifelong UNC and ACC fan from Princeton, NC. He is also the Multimedia Editor of The Daily Tar Heel, which has very little to do with sports but is worth mentioning.
@MartinRickman Wilmington, NC native by way of Cleveland, OH. Owner/site manager of BloggerSoDear.com, SB Nation’s Wake Forest site.
@CUBOSCO James Bostic lifelong Tiger fan 2005 Clemson grad currently residing in VA.
Currently a grad student at Johns Hopkins, and writes a Clemson blog cutritiger.blogspot.com
@BCHysteria A.J Black. Boston College born and bred. Writer and editor over at a little blog called www.bcinterruption.com. Really doesn’t have much patience for Frank Spaziani.
@hokie8807 Proud Hokie alumnus, Blacksburg resident, and creator of InsideTheCassell.com. Fan of basketball, bourbon, and Philly cheesesteaks.
@NCStateFootball Tweeter of the twitter who tweets to his tweeps about State but no one listens.
@TerrapinNation self-proclaimed expert on Terps hoops. Creator of TerpsInsider.com.
What is the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Predicted Order of Finish?
@younglefhander 1. UNC 2. Duke 3. Virginia 4. FSU 5. Virginia Tech 6. Miami 7. NC State 8. Clemson 9. Maryland 10. Wake Forest 11. Georgia Tech 12. Boston College
@WillsWorldMN 1. UNC 2. Duke 3. Virginia 4. Florida State 5. Miami 6. NC State 7. Maryland 8. Virginia Tech 9. Wake Forest 10. Clemson 11. Georgia Tech 12. Boston College
@DukeBlogMKline 1. unc (as much as it pains me)2. Duke. 3-FSU 4.-Virginia 5- Virgnia Tech 6.-Miami 7. NC State 8.-Clemson 9.-Wake Forest 10.-Boston College, 11.-Maryland 12.-Georgia Tech
@Category6UM – 1. UNC, 2. Duke, 3. Miami, 4. Virginia, 5. FSU, 6. Virginia Tech, 7. NC State, 8. Clemson, 9. Maryland, 10. Geogia Tech, 11. Wake Forest, 12. Boston College
@KilroyFSU 1. North Carolina 2. Duke 3. Florida State 4. North Carolina State 5. Virginia 6. Virginia Tech 7. Miami 8. Maryland 9. Wake Forest 10. Clemson 11. Georgia Tech 12. Boston College
@ztevans 1. North Carolina 2. Duke 3. Virginia 4. NC State 5. Virginia Tech 6. Miami 7. Florida State 8. Maryland 9. Clemson 10. Georgia Tech 11, Boston College 12. Wake Forest
@MartinRickman 1. UNC 2. Duke 3. Virginia 4. Florida State 5. Virginia Tech 6. N.C. State 7. Miami 8. Maryland 9. Clemson 10. Wake Forest 11. Georgia Tech 12. BC
@CUBOSCO 1. UNC 2. UVA 3. Duke 4. NC State 5. FSU 6. VT 7. Miami 8. Maryland 9. Wake 10. Clemson 11. GT 12. BC
@BCHysteria 1. UNC 2. Duke 3. NC State 4. Maryland 5. UVA 6. FSU 7. VT 8. Miami 9. Wake Forest 10. Georgia Tech 11. Clemson 12. BC
@hokie8807 1. UNC 2. Duke 3. NC State 4. Miami 5. Virginia Tech 6. UVA 7. Florida State 8. Maryland 9. Wake Forest 10. Georgia Tech 11. Boston College 12. Clemson
@NCStateFootball 1. F’n Heels 2. Coach K and his little caoaching wannabes 3. Virginia 4. FSU 5. State 6. Miami 7. Virginia Tech 8. Maryland 9/10/11/12 Wake, GT, BC and Clemson in any order you want.
@TerrapinNation1. UNC 2. Duke 3. UVA 4. Maryland 5. NC State 6. Virginia Tech 7. FSU 8. Miami 9. Clemson 10. Georgia Tech 11. Wake 12. Boston College
Your ACC First Team Players?
@younglefhander Barnes, Henson, Zeller, Scott, Harris
@WillsWorldMN John Henson, Tyler Zeller, Mike Scott, Harrison Barnes, Malcolm Grant
@DukeBlogMKline Harrison Barnes, Mike Scott, Tyler Zeller, Mason Plumlee, Kendall Marshall
@Category6UM John Henson, Harrison Barnes, Kendall Marshall, Mike Scott, C.J Harris
Dark Horse: Reggie Johnson
@KilroyFSU Harrison Barnes, Tyler Zeller, John Henson, Malcolm Grant, Mike Scott
@ztevans Lorenzo Brown, Harrison Barnes, Mike Scott, John Henson, Tyler Zeller
@MartinRickman Henson, Zeller, Scott, Barnes, C.J. Harris
@CUBOSCO Harrison Barnes, Tyler Zeller, Mike Scott, John Henson, Austin Rivers
@BCHysteria Barnes, Henson, Tyler Zeller, Malcolm Grant, Mike Scott
@hokie8807 Barnes, Henson, Scott, Marshall, Grant
@NCStateFootball Lorenzo Brown, F’n Harrison Barnes, Mike Scott, F’n Zeller, Malcom Grant
@TerrapinNation Mike Scott, Terrell Stoglin, Harrison Barnes, John Henson, Tyler Zeller
Who is your ACC Defensive Player of the Year?
@younglefhander John Henson
@WillsWorldMN John Henson
@DukeBlogMKline John Henson
@Category6UM John Henson
@KilroyFSU John Henson
@ztevans John Henson
@MartinRickman HensonBot
@CUBOSCO John Henson
@BCHysteria Dennis Clifford….no in all seriousness Henson-saurus
@hokie8807 Henson
@NCStateFootball F’n John Henson
@TerrapinNation John Henson
Who is your ACC Player of the Year?
@younglefhander Harrison Barnes
@WillsWorldMN Harrison Barnes
@DukeBlogMKline Harrison Barnes
@Category6UM Harrison Barnes
@KilroyFSU Harrison Barnes
@ztevans Harrison Barnes
@MartinRickman Barnes. Wish he would try harder sometimes, but he’s the most completely player in the conference by a mile.
@CUBOSCO Harrison Barnes
@BCHysteria Harrison Barnes (will start ACC play by dropping 50 points on the Eagles and it will all be smooth sailing from there)
@hokie8807 Barnes
@NCStateFootball Mike Scott (mainly b/c I refuse to pick another F’n Tarhole)
@TerrapinNation Terrell Stoglin
Who is your ACC Coach of the Year?
@younglefhander Tony Bennett
@WillsWorldMN Tony Bennett
@DukeBlogMKline Tony Bennett
@Category6UM Jim Larranaga
@KilroyFSU Tony Bennett
@ztevans I reckon Tony Bennett. See my Coach of the Year thoughts on the football panels.
@MartinRickman Tony Bennett. What he has done in such a short time is simply remarkable.
@BCHysteria Mark Turgeon
@hokie8807 Mark Gottfried
@NCStateFootball Bennett but wouldn’t be surprised if GottFather won it.
@TerrapinNation Tony Bennett is probably the most deserving, however Mark Turgeon is a really close second
How Many NCAA Bids for the ACC?
@younglefhander This is a 4 bid league most likely. UNC and Duke are locks, and Virginia should get in. FSU will make a compelling case, and Virginia Tech’s schedule could hurt them again come selection time, should they continue to be Virginia Tech in conference play. I don’t really see anybody else with a legitimate shot.
@WillsWorldMNI think UNC, Duke, and Virginia are pretty much locks. After that, who knows? I could see 1-2 of Florida State, Miami, and NC State making it.
@DukeBlogMKline Duke and unc are automatics. I think Virginia gets in and like @WillsWorldMN it could be a few more or no one. NC State has an outside shot but they have to make some noise in conference as they lost all of their big time non-conference games. Same really goes for Virginia Tech. Florida State should get in but the way they are losing to the Ivy League they might be on the outside looking in. Miami will depend on if they can knock a few top tier teams off in conference play. Don’t think anyone else from conference makes it.
@Category6UM 5 – Agree that Duke and UNC are automatics. Throw Miami, Virginia, and FSU on top of the regulars. No love for the ‘Canes? Finally we have size to contend with the bigger ACC teams like FSU. Best Miami team in many years.
@KilroyFSU Five or six. Only because the Pac 10 is so awful that the committee will have to be looking for teams to include. UNC, Duke, FSU, NCState, and Virginia in. If there’s a sixth, Virginia Tech gets in too.
@ztevans UNC and Duke are shoo-ins, Virginia should have no problem getting in also. After that, it’s in the air, but I’m going (probably optimistically) with five. I think Virginia Tech gets over the hump and makes it into the dance, and I like NC State to win some games they won’t be expected to win, maybe even one that will end in a concussion or other head trauma for me, thus earning a bid.
@MartinRickman I think the ACC gets five — UNC, Duke and Virginia are in now, then it’s a toss-up between Florida State, N.C. State, Virginia Tech and Miami for whomever steals the rest. All comes down to conference play at this point. But all seven of those teams are in the top 70 in KenPom right now, so they realistically have a shot.
@CUBOSCO the ACC will get 4 teams UNC, Duke, UVA and NC State. The conference is too top heavy. Too many teams are in transition and that will hurt the league come selection Sunday with the Jekyll and Hyde performances we will see throughout conference play.
@BCHysteria ACC will get four. UNC, Dook, NC State and Maryland.
@hokie8807 5 bids: UNC, Duke, NC State, Miami, Virginia Tech
@NCStateFootball I think 5 at most just because we are the ACC. Duke and UNC unless my dreams come true and the Dean Dome implodes into a blackhole on Feb 8th. Then UVA and FSU and the last spot will be up between State and Miami. Let’s be real. Virginia Tech will get hosed and Seth Greenberg will finally go postal on the selection committee. We all know its been a long time coming! Wake, Clemson, GaTech, Maryland & BC have no F’n shot outside of a minor miracle in the tourney.
@TerrapinNation ACC is a 4 bid league at a minimum. Duke and UNC are mortal locks and unless UVA implodes in-conference they are about as close to a lock as you can be. After that I think NC State and Virginia Tech have the best resumes to-date. Maryland is finally back at full strength with a marquee OOC matchup with Temple on the horizon. When it’s all said and done I think those 6 teams get in. Injuries and bad OOC losses are going to haunt FSU and Miami come March.
[@HokieGuru editor’s note: Virginia will be a much improved team this year, which should help several teams when they play the Hoos – their RPI should rise throughout the year – they should be in the tournament – and I think that Tony Bennett is making a case for national coach of the year votes. We know that North Carolina has significant talent. Looking forward to a great conference season.]
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