July 23, 2012; Greensboro, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach David Cutcliffe talks to reporters during the ACC media day at the Grandover Resort in Greensboro NC. Mandatory Credit: Sam Sharpe-US PRESSWIRE

Heading into the final two weeks of the season, the Duke Blue Devils and Miami Hurricanes are both in control of their own destiny in the Coastal Division of the ACC. The Georgia Tech Yellowjackets are also very much alive in the race, but, unlike Duke and UM, they don’t control their destiny and will need help from Cutcliffe and his squad if they want to make it to the ACC Championship game.

Let’s take a quick look at what each team needs to do/happen in order to make it to the Championship:

MIAMI – 4-3 ACC, 5-5 Overall

What needs to happen: Defeat Duke.

Miami has the easiest and least complicated scenario of the three teams. Having only one ACC game left, all they need to do is defeat the Blue Devils to make it to the ACC Championship Game.

DUKE – 3-3 ACC, 6-4 Overall

What needs to happen: Defeat Georgia Tech. Defeat Miami.

Duke was breezing through ACC play until Clemson and Florida State got in the way. Now, they’re faced with a difficult one-game elimination playoff through the rest of their season. If they somehow win out over their next three games, they’ll land in a BCS game, if they lose once, they’re looking at a birth in the Music City Bowl, most likely. How exciting is this, though? A program that has been a complete laughingstock for the last few years finds themselves in a position to get to a BCS game? You have to love college football.

Georgia Tech – 4-3 ACC, 5-5 Overall

What needs to happen: Defeat Duke. Duke defeats Miami

Georgia Tech wraps up their ACC slate against Duke this weekend, but, if the Yellowjackets manage to pick up the victory, they’ll find the rest of their ACC hopes out of their hands, as they’ll need Duke to knock off Miami in order to pass the Hurricanes in the standings. This all goes back to 4th quarter meltdown that Georgia Tech suffered in a 42-36 overtime loss to Miami back in late September.

Duke vs. Georgia Tech this weekend in an elimination game. The playoffs start now. Who’s excited?

Give ‘em hell, Blue Devils.

PLAYER: Nick Foreman
POSITION: Shooting Guard
TEAM: Georgia Tech
YEAR: Senior
TAPE: 6-3, 208

2010-11 STATS: 0.4 PPG, 0.3 APG, 0.6 RPG (.250/.833/.250)

DEEP THOUGHTS:
Yep, we’re only four deep on our countdown and we already have our second Georgia Tech walk-on…that’s how depleted the Yellow Jackets’ roster is.

For most new coaches, it’s a struggle to convince committed recruits to stay on board. New coach Brian Gregory was actually successful when he convinced 4-star Julian Royal to remain committed to Tech. Unfortunately there was no point guard to convince, which means with Iman Shumpert off to the NBA, Mfon Udofia is the only scholarship point guard on the roster.

Assuming the Yellow Jackets continue to roll out a three-guard lineup in 2011-2012, Brandon Reed and Jason Morris as the only backup guards. The problem is, Reed is a shooting guard while Morris is more of a small forward, so neither is a great option to run the point in place of Udofia. This leaves a trio of walk-on players, including Foreman, Kyle Speller and McPherson Moore.

While I believe Kyle Speller is the best shooter of the bunch, Nick Foreman has two things going for him.

First, he’s a combo guard, meaning he can actually handle some point guard duty. Second, he’s a senior so you can probably trust him to limit the mistakes.

Overall, Foreman is not known as a shooter, but he’s a big, physical guy who can use his wide frame against quicker, more agile opponents. At the very least, if he can give Udofia 3-4 minutes rest per game, then Coach Gregory would be ecstatic.

TO SEE THE REST OF THE LIST (SO FAR), YOU ARE JUST ONE CLICK AWAY.

No 1. NORTH CAROLINA
The Tar Heels are not just the number one team in the ACC, they are the clear number one team in the land. They return everybody that matters, including potential All-American Harrison Barnes. You could argue that the Tar Heels have not only the best small forward (Barnes) in the conference, but also the top point guard (Marshall), best center (Zeller) and best power forward (Henson). While I wouldn’t label Strickland the top SG, he’s still pretty effective.

If you’re looking for any kind of weakness, maybe we could talk about frontcourt depth, but let’s be honest, incoming freshman James McAdoo will probably be better than Justin Knox. Anything short of a national championship will be a disappointment for this team.

No. 2 DUKE
The Blue Devils are stunningly deep next season, to the point where I have no idea how Coach K is going to handle it. Hell, their incoming freshman class (Cook, Rivers, Gbinije, Murphy and Marshall Plumlee) could all start and still finish second in the ACC. Assuming Austin Rivers is as good as advertised, then Duke is looking like a solid 2-seed (potential one) in the NCAA Tournament.

However, if they’re looking to remain the top dogs of the ACC over UNC, then the Plumlee brothers (I’m talking about Miles and Mason) need to step up their games. They are the keys to any late push into March.

No. 3 MIAMI
This is where things get hazy. The ACC is clearly North Carolina/Duke and then everyone else. The popular third pick will be the Seminoles, but I’m going to shake things up and put the Hurricanes up to three. I really think Jim Larranaga is going to improve this veteran team.

The fact is, I love their “Big Three” of Malcolm Grant, Durant Scott and big man Reggie Johnson. I’m especially excited to see Johnson in the middle. I think the 300-pound center will play like an All-ACC player next season.

No. 4 FLORIDA STATE
The Seminoles lost their two top players in Singleton and Kitchen. Don’t discount how important the pair were. In fact, I would argue Kitchen was the bigger loss, because he’s going to be the toughest to replace.

Ian Miller will take over the point guard role, even though his natural skill set is scoring. If he can run the offense and keep the turnovers to a minimum, then I’d probably stick them back up to the three spot in the ACC. I just suspect he’s going to be sizzle some days and fizzle others.

In the end though, Hamilton’s team has always been about the defense and that won’t change. Okaro White, Bernard James and Xavier Gibson will again make life difficult in the paint for just about everybody.

No. 5 CLEMSON
You have to hand it to Coach Brownell, he has a strategy…although I’m not sure what it is. With the addition of five new freshman (all should be coming off the bench in 2011-2012), the Tigers might have the most athletic team in the ACC. However, Clemson will probably be the worst shooting team in league as well.

Three things need to happen for Clemson to head back to the NCAA Tournament. First, Andre Young needs to stop jacking up threes and be a Kendal Marshall-type facilitator. Second, Devin Booker needs to become a finisher inside like his brother and third, Milton Jennings needs to show us why he was a McDonald’s All-American. (more…)

Since the end of the 2010-2011 season, Georgia Tech has fired Paul Hewitt after 11 seasons and replaced him with Brian Gregory. NC State finally had enough of Sidney Lowe (technically he resigned) and replaced him with Mark Gottfried. Then Frank Haith left Miami, so they brought in George Mason’s Jim Larranaga. Lastly, when Gary Williams suddenly retired, the Terrapins went and got Mark Turgeon from Texas A&M.

First, a couple things stick out to me about this coaching carousel that’s been spinning the past two years.

The ACC has gone from being one of the most diverse coaching fraternities to one of the least. Just two years ago, there were five African-American coaches. Now Leonard Hamilton is the only one left. I’m not pointing this out to make any kind of point I just found it interesting.

Maybe the ACC isn’t what it used to be. Over the last two years, two coaches have left ACC jobs to go coach at what I would consider less attractive jobs. This past off-season, Frank Haith left Miami to go coach Missouri. This wasn’t too shocking. Haith had to know the end was coming soon, so why not jump before you’re pushed out. However, I was surprised last year when Oliver Purnell left Clemson to go coach a Big East cupcake in Depaul. They haven’t been relevant since the Reagan years.

Without question, this league is Duke/North Carolina, then everyone else. I don’t want to offend my friends at Florida State (who am I kidding, I don’t have any friends who go to Florida State), but it is going to be a long time before someone other than Duke or North Carolina’s wins an ACC crown.

Anyhow, let’s break down these new coaches:

MARYLAND

The most shocking change had to be Maryland’s. I simply didn’t see Gary Williams retiring and I wasn’t the only one. He brought in a nice recruitment class the previous season and he had some more solid kids coming in next year. Yet, after 22 seasons, he decided to throw that sweaty suit into the wash one last time.

Maryland wasted no time finding their new man in Mark Turgeon. In fact, it took less than a week.

Now some are asking if Turgeon is a “below the radar” homerun? It’s fair question to ask. The man has had no problem winning up to this point.

Turgeon actually has a little ACC blood in him. He played for Larry Brown (who played at UNC) at Kansas. He became an assistant after graduating and remained one under Roy Williams (also from UNC). In fact, he was on the bench when Duke beat Kansas for the 1991 championship.

After bouncing around Oregon and the NBA for a bit, he got his first head coaching job at Jacksonville State, turning a 10^th place team into a third place team. He then moved back to the state of Kansas to coach Wichita state. In seven seasons, he produced three 20-win seasons, four post-season trips, including one trip to the NCAA tournament.

That year was 2006, when he took the Shockers to the Sweet 16, after beating 2-seed Tennessee in the second-round. They would end up losing to Jim Larranaga’s George Mason in the Sweet 16. Of course Larranga is now in Miami.

In 2007-2006, Turgeon the surgeon replaced Billy Gillspie at Texas A&M. In a tough Big 12, he produced some amazing numbers. He won at least 24 games in four seasons, yet the Aggies were never able to parlay that into tournament success. They never advanced beyond the second round.

I think in the end what shocks me about this hiring is not that they hired Mark Turgeon. He looks like he’s a solid coach. What surprised me is that after 22 seasons at Maryland, there was no heir apparent to Gary Williams. There was no assistant sitting next to him or former assistant ready to come back home again.

Some had mentioned Fran Dunphy, a former Williams’ assistant and current Temple head coach, but he wasn’t an assistant at Maryland. He was with Gary Williams at American.

I think in the end, Terrapins got a man they can be happy about. In fact, he has the potential to produce better results if given time. Of course that isn’t a guarantee with this fan base. Remember, this is a group that was ready to chase out Williams just a few years ago. (more…)

Heading into the season, the Big Ten actually had the clear edge heading (three teams ranked in the top-10) and so far, I haven’t seen anything that would change that perspective.  ACC teams have already dropped 21 games this season. Every team but Duke has lost already. In fact, seven ACC teams have already suffered two defeats.

The Big-Ten has also suffered some set backs, Michigan State dropped one in Maui and Purdue has some issues minus Robbie Hummel. Overall though, they’re already 2-0 against the ACC and four teams remain undefeated, including Ohio State, who looks like a real contender right now.

So let’s look ahead and see what we have to look forward to for Monday and Tuesday night (Wednesday’s match ups will come Tuesday).

Monday, November 29th

Virginia @ Minnesota
One team beat North Carolina and West Virginia, the other lost to Stanford by 21 and Washington by 43. Who you got in this one? Minnesota and Virginia have faced off twice before in this Challenge. Like this one, both were in Minneapolis and both were won by the Golden Gophers. This one should be no different.

The Cavaliers have been killed in the paint. Outside of Mike Scott’s 16.5 points and 9.3 rebounds per game, no other Cavalier big man has produced much of anything. Of the four other forwards/centers getting playing time, they have combined to score just over 11 points, grabbing nine rebounds per game.

Minnesota has three guys averaging nearly seven boards per game. Forward Trevor Mbakwe is Da Man inside. A year after popping a woman in the face twice (it never went to trial), Mbakwe finally got back on the court and is dominating. He’s averaged 13 per game, hitting 69-percent of his shots, grabbing nine rebounds per game.

WORTHLESS PREDICTION: MINNESOTA, 75-52

Tuesday, November 30th

North Carolina @ Illinois
These two teams have faced off three times in this tournament and the Fighting Illini have taken two of the three games. Both teams have faced off with a team from the opposing conference. North Carolina fell to Minnesota, while Illinois took down Maryland in Madison Square Gardens.

It’s early, but the Tar Heels are about as sharp as Aaron Ralston’s right arm. They’ve already dropped two games and they barely beat the College of Charleston. Pre-season All-American (and second coming of Christ), Harrison Barnes has struggled in the early going. He is second in scoring on the team, but he’s hit just 38-percent of his shots, struggling to finish plays up close and personal with the basket. Thank god for that business degree he plans on getting at UNC.

The Fighting Illini have been one of the most balanced teams in the nation. Nine guys see solid minutes on the floor and five different players average double-digit in points. The Tar Heels clearly have more future pros on their roster, but until they start playing like a team, they’ll continue to lose as a team.

WORTHLESS PREDICTION: ILLINOIS, 87-84

Ohio State @ Florida State
The Buckeyes have faced the Seminoles once before in the tournament back in 2009. The game was played in Columbus and was won by Ohio State, 77-64.

Florida State has typically been known for their defense, but so far this year, they’ve turned into Scott Baio at a “Charles in Charge” Reunion (i.e., they’re scoring a lot). Florida State is averaging 83.6 ppg, second in the ACC behind Duke. Chris Singleton has done about everything short of strangling a charging bear with his bare hands. He’s averaging a double-double (17/10), producing three blocks and three steals just for fun.

Buckeyes’ big man Jared Sullinger may be hogging all the national headlines (and he certainly deserves it), but let’s not forget about senior David Lightly. While Sullinger dominates the inside, Lightly has been unstoppable on the outside. He actually leads the team in scoring (15.6 per game), hitting 51-percent of his shots.

While I can get bogged down in the players and numbers of these two teams, here is the simple math that even a Florida State graduate could understand…Florida State lost to Florida by five in Gainesville. Ohio State beat the same Florida team in Gainesville by 18. Those kind of numbers don’t lie.

(more…)

(3) KANSAS STATE OVER VIRGINIA TECH, 73-57
After being ripped for a cupcake schedule last season, Virginia Tech went out of their way to put some meat on their schedule this season. Against Kansas State, the Hokies had a chance to prove something. Saying they came up short might be an understatement.

The Kansas State Wildcats were without power forward Curtis Kelly and preseason all-american, Jacob Pullen missed most of the first half in foul trouble. Everything was coming up Hokie. Yet with a two-point lead with 14 to play, Virginia Tech collapsed. Kansas State went on a 28-9 run and the game was over.

So what went wrong?

The Hokies struggled with K-State’s pressure defense and their length. Malcolm Delaney actually had a double-double, but not the kind you like. He scored 22 (leading all scorers), but he turned it over 10 times. The reality is, if Delaney wants to play at the next level, the 6’3 guard will have to play the point, but in college, he’s most dangerous as the two guard.

In the end, Virginia Tech fans had to be disappointed in the scoring total (57) and the margin of defeat (16), but there is no real shame in losing on the road to the No. 3 team in the land. Their next true test will come in two weeks when Purdue comes to town. If they lose that one, then we have some issues in need of discussion.

(19) MEMPHIS OVER MIAMI, 72-68
Like Virginia Tech, the Miami Hurricanes have put together a more challenging schedule for themselves. While Memphis is no Kansas State, they are ranked (#19) and the game was at midnight. While Miami failed to walk away with a win, there were plenty of positives for this young Canes team.

They played great defense, holding Memphis to only 19 made baskets (including 4-22 from three). Miami also owned the boards, out-rebounding the Tigers 51-31. Miami’s two guards and stars, Durand Scott and Malcolm Scott, did score 38 points, although they needed 27 shots to get it. Too many.

In the end, the game was a tough, physical game. The two teams combined to take an incredible 75 free throw attempts. The Hurricanes actually led by four with just under four to play, but when Memphis took the lead back, they held it for good by hitting six of their last eight free throws.

(more…)

GEORGIA TECH 2010-2011 SCHEDULE

I’ll hand it to Paul Hewitt this time. I can always appreciate it when one of the big boys is willing to travel to a small school’s gym.

After hosting Charleston Southern in their opener, the Jackets will head to Kennesaw, Georgia to take on Kennesaw State. The KSU Convocation Center holds less than 5,000 fans.

Next up, Georgia Tech will join 15 other teams for the Legends Classic. They’ll have a pair in Atlanta, facing Albany NY and Niagara. Once in Atlantic City though, the competition gets tougher. The jackets first face an always-tough UTEP squad. If they win, they’ll take on the winner of the Michigan/Syracuse contest on November 27.

Georgia Tech’s next eight will remain all non-conference match ups. Five of the eight should be easy win (Northwestern in the ACC/Big-10 Challenge, as well as home games against Savannah State, Fordham, Mercer and Charlotte).

Sandwich in-between these contests, the Yellow Jackets could have some battles, first at home against in-state rival Georgia. They then head to the Bahamas to take on Richmond, before again heading on the road to face a small school. This time it’s a trip to Loudonville, N.Y. to face Siena.

Once in ACC play, they’ll receive no love early. While their first two opponents (Boston College, Clemson) aren’t expected to finish in the top three of the conference, they’re both experienced teams and they’ll both be road games. They’ll follow up those two with a home date against an improved Tar Heels team.

On the bright side, Georgia Tech will only have to take on North Carolina and Duke once each this year. They also avoid traveling to Maryland, which is always nice for any team in the ACC.

• (SF-19) Jason Morris (6’4. 190) ☆☆☆☆
• (C-NR) Nate Hicks (6’10, 205) ☆☆☆

There is no doubt Coach Paul Hewitt can recruit. Since 2002 (he’s been the head coach since 2000), Hewitt has brought in stars like Jarrett Jack, Chris Bosh, Lewis Clinch, Thaddeus Young, Gani Lawal, Iman Shumpert and of course Derrick Favors. All these guys were 4-star or above basketball players. Yet, outside their 2004 Final Four run, that talent hasn’t translated into consistent winning.

This year that recruiting ability needed to find another gear, thanks to the departure of the Yellow Jackets entire front court (Derrick Favors, Gani Lawal and Zach Peacock). Yet, all Hewitt was able to land were two players, only one of which is a big man and neither should have much impact in 2010-2011.

Small forward Jason Morris is the most talented of the two 2010 freshman. The 6’5 forward is ranked 19th at SF, but is known more for his athletic ability than his actual basketball IQ. He can take it to the rim, but has a habit of getting stuck in traffic. He can shoot the three, but tends to take them even when he has a hand in his face.

He’s a four-year player, who will get time to grow. Not only does Georgia Tech already have a young small forward in sophomore Brian Oliver, but they are also stacked at guard (Mfon Udofia, Iman Shumpert, Maurice Miller, D’Andre Bell and Glen Rice Jr.), so clearly Tech will a lot of three-guard looks.

The one big man Coach Hewitt delivered is Nate Hicks. A 6’10 center, who originally committed to Tulane, Hicks is a traditional back-to-the-basket player. He’s shown the ability to score down low, rebound and block shots at the high school level.

Still, Hicks is only a three-star recruit and is the 84th best center according to ESPN. Like Morris above, Hicks could use some time to grow, yet the front court cupboard is nearly empty in Atlanta right now.

Currently the Yellow Jackets have senior seven-footer Brad Sheehan. He’s scored a total of 97 points in three years. After him, they’re looking at redshirt freshman Daniel Miller, who sat out his freshman year. He actually has the most potential and will probably steal the starting spot from Sheehan.

No matter what though, if Hewitt can’t bring Hicks off the bench to spell Miller and Sheehan, then Georgia Tech will be rolling with a super-small lineup this year.

In fact, I have to ask now…does anyone really envision Paul Hewitt being the head coach of this team when these two freshman end their careers in Atlanta?

OTHER TEAM RANKINGS:

No. 11 – Clemson

No. 12 – Boston College

It’s going to be all about the young, talented guards. I’m taking about Iman Shumpart (who I already have on this list), Mfon Udofia, Maurice Miller (who is a senior) and Glen Rice Jr.

While Iman Shumpart and Mfon Udofia are both point guards, look for Coach Hewitt to insert Rice into the starting lineup at shooting guard and tell him to launch it at will.

The fact is, Glen Rice Jr. is a smart basketball player who knows how to pick his spots on the court. In 18 minutes last year, he scored 5.4 ppg, shooting 43% from the floor and an impressive 47% from three. Of course, we shouldn’t be surprised that the son of NBA and Michigan star Glen Rice, Sr. has basketball IQ.

Last year, he twice shot 6-6 from the floor and he was a solid 4-5 against Duke. He’s also pretty solid banging on the boards, which will be key for Tech this year. He twice grabbed eight boards in games last season.

Heading into 2010, coach Paul Hewitt will be re-installing the motion offense. No player should benefit more than Glen Rice Jr. While he’s not a fantastic athlete, he won’t need to be. The motion offense will get Georgia Tech’s big men floating around, setting screens for Rice. If he gets the open looks, he should have little problems knocking ‘em down.

#18 – REGGIE BULLOCK, GUARD – NORTH CAROLINA

#19 – MASON PLUMLEE, FORWARD – DUKE

#20 – C.J. HARRIS, GUARD – WAKE FOREST

#21 – SETH CURRY, GUARD – DUKE

#22 – SEAN MOSLEY, GUARD – MARYLAND

#23 – JOE TRAPANI, FORWARD – BOSTON COLLEGE

#24 – MIKE SCOTT, FORWARD – VIRGINIA

#25 - IMAN SHUMPERT, GUARD – GEORGIA TECH

Today we’ll start with #25 and each day (excluding weekends), I’ll give you one player until we get to #1. Enjoy.

No. 25 – IMAN SHUMPERT, GUARD – GEORGIA TECH

In 2010-2011, Georgia Tech will be all about the guards, thanks to the graduation of Peacock and the early departure of Favors and Lawal. Fact is, the Yellow Jackets will probably be starting three sophomores and a freshman to go along with (Junior) Shumpert next year. Things could get ugly down in Atlanta.

Of course, it will help that Shumpert will probably be the most experienced “junior” in the conference next year. He’s been starting since he stepped on campus, logging just over 30 minutes per game for his career. That’s a lot of playing time.

The reality is, at 6’4, he’s not really a true point guard and it shows at times. He’s had a tendency to just dribble around like a lost puppie, going long stretches without getting the ball inside to Tech’s best players. Having said that, with Glen Rice Jr at the two-guard spot, Shumpert will remain at the point.

So far, he’s developed a solid reputation as a stud lock-down defender (already 17^th all-time in steals at Georgia Tech). He’s often asked to guard the opponent’s best guard/forward. He shut down Oklahoma State’s James Anderson last year in the first round of the NCAA tournament, holding one of the nation’s most dynamic scorers to three baskets on 12 attempts.

The question is, can he be a shooter?

He better be. Fact is, with so much of Tech’s talent headed to the NBA, Paul Hewitt will need more than just a defender from his most experienced player and point guard. Shumpert, who took about nine shots per game last year, will need to do his best Big Ben in a bathroom impression (too soon?) and get aggressive on the offensive end. At times last year, he never looked at the basket, getting shutout against Wake Forest and at home against the Tar Heels. Yet he put up 17 at Maryland, 24 against Boston College and of course in Chapel Hill, he lit up the Tar Heels with a career high 30, on 10-17 shooting (7-9) from three. Simply point, he can put up points when he actually tries to score.

Now in my eyes, there is nothing more fun to watch than a college player’s sophomore-to-junior jump. It’s typically when you start to see things click. While I expect bad things from the Georgia Tech team (zero front court will do that), look for Shumpert to become Tech’s best player, again, as long as he and the rim get close and personal.

If he can get his shooting percentage over 40% (something he has yet to do in his career), he could average about 15ppg next year as Tech’s leading scorer. The key will be the mid-range game. Iman’s not the fastest guard in the league, but he’s strong and can get into the lane. If he can discover a 15-18 foot shot, he’ll be tough to stop.