ACC Basketball Preseason Rankings

[Xknight52]

Elliot Williams is a kid I see doing big things. He was the best player coming out of Tennessee and one of the top players in the country at the G spot

[1530]

i don't really know a whole lot about any of the freshman jsut from what i heard on the ACC Preview on ESPNU but from what i do know is that mile plumlee is suppose to be a pretty good shooter and a decent low guy but like i said i don't know a whole lot that's just what i got out of the ACC Preview

[imported_MOX]

God this is exactly why I DESPISE the Pukies. I wouldn't piss on not a one of them if they were on fire....

[gcdevil22]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Xknight52</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I think Smith will be better then Nelson!

Here is Dukes starting five in my opinion

Kyle Singler
Gerald Henderson
Jon Scheyer
Greg Paulus
Nolan Smith

And here are a few we'll see in the game a lot...

Brian Zoubek
Lance Thomas
Elliot Williams
</div></div>

with that starting 5, how will Duke defend bigger teams when you've got:

UNC - Tyler Hansbrough, Tyler Zeller, Ed Davis, Deon Thompson
Wake - Ty Walker, Chas McFarland, James Johnson, Tony Woods
NC State - Brandon Costner, Ben McCauley
VT - Jeff Allen, Lewis Witcher, Cheick Diakite
GT - Gani Lawal, Zack Peacock
FSU - Xavier Gibson, Chris Singletary, Uche Echefu, Solomon Alabi

lots of very good post players in the conference, and Duke is playing an undersized 4 (Thomas) and Zoubek's awful butt...guys like Elliot Williams, Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler will carry the team due to the lack of athleticism across the board

[burton2019]

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. -- North Carolina offered the first glimpse of the talent and experience that has made it seemingly everyone's preseason pick for No. 1.

Tyler Hansbrough, the reigning national player of the year, and Danny Green turned in big scoring efforts in the Tar Heels' intrasquad scrimmage Friday night, part of the annual "Late Night with Roy" show that serves as the ceremonial kickoff to the season.

But North Carolina also got a strong performance from lanky 7-foot freshman Tyler Zeller, who paired with Hansbrough up front and seemed to find himself around the ball just about all night.

Zeller unofficially finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds in the scrimmage, showing a good shooting touch from about 15 feet while pulling down five defensive boards in the first 3½ minutes.

"Tyler really runs the floor well," senior guard Bobby Frasor said of Zeller. "In practice, he just gets out and he can beat some of the guards down the floor, and that's an amazing quality for a 7-footer to have."

This was one of the last pressure-free moments for a team widely picked to win the national championship. The 20-minute public scrimmage followed a 40-minute show complete with jokes, dancing and skits by the players, and pyrotechnics -- all while Hall of Fame coach Roy Williams and his assistants watched and laughed from the bench.

The show included the team's five seniors -- wearing Carolina blue graduation caps and gowns -- sitting at midcourt and reminiscing about their playing careers while showing video clips of highlights and bloopers. The entire team donned blue suits and danced to Sammy Davis Jr.'s "Hello Detroit," site of this season's Final Four.

The highlight: Frasor's taped spoof of Williams continually falling on NCAA logos in the driveway of his home, at the Smith Center and on the golf course -- a reference to Williams' irritation with the midcourt logos that he said were dangerously slick during last season's tournament.

That's not to say it was all fun and games once the ball was tipped. Frasor ended up with a bloody nose when he took a flailing elbow from Hansbrough, his roommate.

Hansbrough played with his typical determined style, finishing with 22 of the Blue team's 48 points. On the White team, Green finished with 23 points, including three 3-pointers from behind the longer-range arc.

The Tar Heels return the top six scorers from a team that won a school-record 36 games and reached the Final Four, with Green, Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington deciding to withdraw from the NBA draft after declaring as underclassmen during the offseason. They are joined by one of the nation's top recruiting classes in Zeller, 6-10 forward Ed Davis, point guard Larry Drew II and guard Justin Watts.

Davis finished with six points and found himself bodying up to Hansbrough several times.

The Tar Heels' experience "helps [the freshmen] come along a lot faster and learn little tricks of the game," said Green, a senior. "When we came in, we were just thrown into the fire and had to be welcomed by playing in games. But for a lot of those younger guys, it helps them a lot for when they get in the games. We have some of the best guys in the country on our team. They won't face guys much better than they face every day in practice."

[Chubzfan]

Im heading down to Durham next Wednesday to watch the Devils play an exhibition game, nothing like Cameron Indoor.

[ChrisSabo]

Plumlee looked the best of the 3 Duke Freshman in the blue white game. I was impressed watching him play. Scheyer was actually the leading scorer in the two halves they played. If Scheyer is the leading scorer, then I don't think Duke will go far. Henderson and Singler need to be the scorers. Paulus looked terrible in the Blue White game. OF course he got frustrated in the first of two halves. He was on the worst of the two teams and got beat by nearly 20.

You could tell Williams and Czyz were freshman by their tentiveness in the game.

[ChrisSabo]

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Chubzfan</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Im heading down to Durham next Wednesday to watch the Devils play an exhibition game, nothing like Cameron Indoor. </div></div>

I watched the Blue/White game. My first "game" there. I have been to two coaching clinics. My goal is to watch an ACC game there soon.

[burton2019]

Eventual champion Kansas knocked off North Carolina in the semifinals of last year's NCAA tournament. But the Tar Heels are a much bigger favorite heading into this season.



North Carolina is ranked No. 1 in the preseason ESPN/USA Today coaches' poll which was released on Thursday. After losing a big chunk of its roster, Kansas debuts at No. 23.


The other two Final Four teams from a year ago earned solid rankings -- UCLA coming in at No. 4 and second-place finisher Memphis landing at No. 12.


Connecticut and Louisville are No. 2 and No. 3, respectively. The top 10 is rounded out with Duke at No. 5, Pittsburgh No. 6, Michigan St. No. 7, Texas No. 8, Notre Dame No. 9 and Purdue No. 10.

UNC's hopes skyrocketed when player of the year Tyler Hansbrough decided to return for his senior season. He'll get help from guard Ty Lawson and shooter Wayne Ellington.

The Jayhawks saw three players leave early for the NBA draft. Darrell Arthur and Brandon Rush went in the first round, while Mario Chalmers was selected in the second round. Memphis' hopes of returning to the title game were hurt when Derrick Rose declared for the draft and went No. 1 to the Chicago Bulls.