ACC Basketball at an early crossroads

Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but the ACC doesn’t look so hot early on.

Following football’s cue, the ACC has flopped in just about every important game to start the season.

The league is 0-5 against ranked opponents, while also incurring losses to teams like Stetson, Kennesaw State and Yale.

Not quite what you’d expect from the supposed lifeblood of college basketball.

Larry Drew II is in danger of losing his starting job as point guard at UNC.

North Carolina, ranked eighth to start the season, is 2-2 after back-to-back losses against Minnesota and Vanderbilt. The Tar Heels have a serious lack of leadership, and Roy Williams is still trying to find a rotation in his lineup that works best.

Kendall Marshall is slowly gouging minutes from Larry Drew II at point guard, and rightfully so. Drew hasn’t improved since last season, when his lack of decision-making and quickness made him a square peg in a round hole.

Marshall isn’t much better on the quickness front, but he looks to advance the ball much quicker in transition than does Drew. Drew’s 3:2 assist-to-turnover ratio in 24 minutes per game is a red flag, compared to Marshall’s 4.5:1.8 ratio in 15 minutes per game.

While Marshall isn’t the ideal Carolina point guard (see: Raymond Felton and Ty Lawson), he’s proven already he’s a better option than Drew. Williams seems ready to go with Marshall from now on, realizing he’s the best option going forward.

As for leadership, there are really only two candidates. Tyler Zeller is the veteran presence on this team, and let’s face it, was an understudy to the best leader Carolina has maybe ever had in Tyler Hansbrough. Zeller has played too soft through four games, but for a guy who’s missed more than 30 games in two years with injuries, you can understand why.

He goes through spurts where he plays like a fire has been lit underneath him, and he just needs to let loose and do that at all times.

The other option is Harrison Barnes. He’s averaging 12.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. It’s easy to see he’s the most gifted player on the team, but some of those gifts are operating as flaws right now.

He easily has the best court vision on the team, and too often he will pass up a chance to make a play to score by finding a teammate who can’t finish it off.

He’s had an insurmountable amount of pressure put on him by the national media, and there’s no way he doesn’t feel it.

“One of my goals this season is to be on the postseason (All-America) list,” Barnes said, admitting that being named preseason All-America was a humbling honor.

Outside of Barnes, and only sometimes Zeller, there is nobody on the Heels’ squad that is a “go-to” guy. The Puerto Rico experience was invaluable for him, and the “adjustment period” that many have allowed him should be coming to a close.

It’s time for Barnes to step up and seize control of the games when the opportunity presents itself. He needs to play with a much more candid demeanor. His robotic persona and lack of killer instinct are the two biggest indicators of his youth.

He has said on numerous occasions that he’s not a leader on this team, deferring to Zeller and Drew out of respect for their accomplishments. Once he realizes that he must assume that role, his game could explode.

I believe he’s too worried about overshadowing his teammates on the court when he already does off of it. He just has to understand that he’s going to be the reason Carolina has whatever measure of success it does this season.

Virginia Tech was physically dominated in a road loss to third-ranked Kansas State

Virginia Tech was exposed on Tuesday at Kansas State in a 73-57 loss. The Hokies’ depleted frontcourt was dominated on the boards, being outrebounded 42-33.

Three players were in foul trouble, including key forwards Terrell Bell and Jeff Allen, which forced coach Seth Greenberg to use primarily zone and other junk defenses in the second half.

Until Cadarian Raines is healthy, Tech simply cannot afford foul trouble whatsoever. The starting five is going to log a lot of minutes this season, and they are going to fall apart in the second half of some important games because of it. The Wildcats outscored Tech 43-28 in the second half after leading by just one point at halftime.

The night before, Miami couldn’t get over the hump in Memphis against the 19^th-ranked Tigers. Memphis never led by more than nine, and it was a one-possession game the final three and a half minutes.

Even though the ‘Canes fell short, they looked like the second best team in the ACC on that night. They looked like they belonged to be on the floor in a tough road environment against a top-20 team. Durand Scott scored 20 points, while Reggie Johnson finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds.

On that night, Miami looked like the most balanced team in the league besides Duke.

Miami looked strong in a road loss to Memphis, but sleepwalked through a road loss to Rutgers.

However, a putrid effort from Scott and backcourt mate Malcolm Grant on Sunday led to a 61-45 loss at Rutgers. Scott and Grant scored a combined eight points and Miami shot 14-of-48 (29%) from the field.

It proved the ‘Canes aren’t that good…yet. Don’t expect a worse offensive showing from coach Frank Haith’s team again this season. They are going to be a tough out in league play.

Wake Forest is going to have a hard time winning 10 games this season. That’s right, 10. The Deacons lost by 21 to Virginia Commonwealth at home on Tuesday. Now, the Rams should be an NCAA Tournament team, but that’s no excuse for Wake to get whipped so badly at home.

Their two wins have come against Hampton by seven and Elon by 19. Non-conference games against Iowa, Xavier, Richmond and Gonzaga await. The Deacons will be lucky to be within 20 against those teams…by halftime.

Freshman point guard Tony Chennault is out for up to two months, leaving Jeff Bzdelik with no real other option at the position. The rest of the league should be able to look at Wake on their schedule and pencil it in as a W.

N.C. State was a man down this weekend at the Charleston Classic, and it caught up to them in the finals against Georgetown. Without its leader, Tracy Smith, State was borderline clueless on the offensive end when it had to score.

The Hoyas used a 15-0 run in the second half to help beat the ‘Pack 82-67. Coach Sidney Lowe used nine players, all of which played at least 16 minutes. He has decent depth, but like North Carolina with Drew, Lowe has point guard issues.

Javier Gonzalez played just 19 minutes on Sunday, and the Wolfpack had just eight assists as a team. He’s got to be average at worst for the ‘Pack to challenge at the top of the ACC, and right now he’s just not there. Once Smith returns, though, it will be a tremendous help to a very young squad.

For most of the league’s teams struggling early, it’s hardly time to panic. It’s a long season, and its up to their coaches to figure out how to fit the pieces together just right. But unless they start winning at least some prominent games, it will be up to Duke to uphold the league’s reputation by itself.

#12 Wake Forest – Offensive/Defensive Line Preview

Offensive Line – (returning starter in bold)

PROJECTED STARTERS:

LT- #69 Dennis Godfrey, Jr.

LG- #78 Joe Looney, Jr.

C- #72 Russell Nenon, Sr.

RG- #75 Michael Hoag, Jr.

RT- #62 Doug Weaver, Jr.

This is a unit full of upperclassmen, but with little experience. Looney has All-ACC potential at guard. He started three games as a freshman before becoming a full-time starter in 2009.

Despite the lack of game experience across the board, it helps to have a fifth-year senior whose entering his third year as the team’s starting center. Nenon is an intelligent figure in the middle of the line and is also very athletic for a center. He’s a very good pass blocker.

Godfrey has been all over the place during his three years at Wake. He was recruited as a tight end, but never saw time there, as he immediately was moved to defensive tackle. After a year on the defensive line, he moved to guard and is now being asked to protect new starting quarterback Skylar Jones’ blind side. He is the best athlete on the line, but is also very raw when it comes to footwork and sheer blocking.

On the right side, Hoag and Weaver are both stepping into the spotlight with little to no big-game experience.

This group needs to mesh quickly for Wake Forest to survive. Jones is already a tentative passer in the pocket who often times gets rid of the ball a little too quickly. If the line can’t give him enough time to make the proper progressions, the Demon Deacons will be hard-pressed to score much.

Defensive Line – (returning starter in bold)

DE- #55 Tristan Dorty, Jr.

DE- #97 Kyle Wilber, Jr.

DT- #93 Frank Souza, Fr.

NG- #95 Ramon Booi, So.

Just like the offense, the defensive line needs to grow up quickly in 2010. Dorty is the lone player with starting experience. He finished 2009 with five sacks. Wilber played in only five games last season, while Booi had just seven tackles a year ago.

There are several other players competing for the starting spots on the line, and the competition is very open heading into August. Coach Jim Grobe is just looking for playmakers on a defense that severely lacks them as a whole.

Tackles Kris Redding and John Gallagher are two freshmen that could make an impact whether they start or not. Both are undersized for tackles, but they’ll fit right in on a very small unit.

Wake will have a very hard time stopping the run with such a small front four. That’s not a good sign when there are plenty of top-shelf running backs in the ACC.

Around the Diamond: Friday May 14

Baseball

Virginia Tech 11, Duke 3

Justin Wright lasted seven and two-thirds innings as the Hokies (35-15, 15-10) cruised past Duke (28-23, 7-18). Wright did not allow a run until Jake Lemmerman launched a three-run home run in the eight inning to draw the Blue Devils within 4 runs.

Tech responded with four runs of its own in the bottom half of the inning, and Ben Rowen registered the final four outs to end the game.

Four Hokies batted in two runs apiece, including Sean Ryan, who went 3-4 including a double.

North Carolina State 5, Florida State 2

The Wolfpack (32-18, 12-13), who nearly swept Georgia Tech two weeks ago, continued their strong play with a win against the Seminoles Friday night in Tallahassee.

NC State was ahead 3-2 before Andrew Ciencen hit a two-run shot in the sixth inning to provide the winning margin.

The win draws the ‘Pack within a game of third place in the Atlantic Division, while Florida State (37-13, 16-9) continues its string of disappointing performances.

Wake Forest 9, Clemson 5

In what was easily the most surprising result of the day, Wake Forest (14-35, 5-20) beat up Clemson (32-18, 14-11) at home.

Tiger pitcher Casey Harman allowed six runs in just three and one-third innings to earn the loss.

Wake Forest scored eight runs in the fourth inning and one in the fifth. Mac Williamson led the Deacons’ charge with four RBI. Both of his hits cleared the fence for home runs.

Georgia Tech 14, Miami 3

Miami suffered its worst defeat of the season at the hands of the Yellow Jackets, thanks to a dominant performance throughout by the Georgia Tech offense.

Tech scored four runs in the second inning, five in the third, and two in the fourth and fifth inning each to destroy Miami (36-12, 18-7), who entered the day tied for first place in the Coastal Division.

Jay Dantzler had three RBI out of the eighth spot in the batting order for Georgia Tech, a testament to how strong the Jackets’ line-up is from top to bottom.

A win like this could definitely put some of the swagger back in the Georgia Tech (40-9, 18-7) dugout that it has been missing for a month or so now. If the Yellow Jackets get hot, the rest of the conference is in trouble.

North Carolina @ Virginia was postponed and will be played tomorrow at 1 p.m.

Post-spring football wrap-up disguised as power rankings

1. Virginia Tech

The Hokies’ biggest issue coming out of spring is an injury-plagued offensive line. Two projected starters missed a majority of the spring with injury, and several others missed practices.

With an offense loaded with experience and talent at the skill positions, all Tech needs is an adequate offensive line and it should score points in bunches.

Most of the starting positions on a revamped defense have been solidified, with a few lingering question marks at free safety and defensive end. It was a productive spring for a defense replacing seven starters.

2.Miami

Quarterback Jacory Harris sat out spring practice while recovering from a thumb injury, which hurts Miami because of the lackluster fashion in which he finished last season. He will be completely healthy by the fall, but he could have used three weeks of practice to work out the kinks from the end of 2009.

The offensive line struggled in the first couple scrimmages before having its strongest performance of the spring in the spring game. Much of the talk surround the Hurricanes is their speed on the outside. Some people say this is the fastest Miami team in nearly a decade.

Miami fans might worry about their team’s defense after the final score of the spring games was 58-53. That’s a bunch of points for a shortened game. However, most people around the program aren’t putting much stock into that number, and the defense should be one of the best in the conference.

3. Georgia Tech

I refuse to put Georgia Tech any lower than this; no matter how much NFL talent it lost. Paul Johnson proved the past few years that his teams can beat anyone.

Roddy Jones and Anthony Allen will be a force in the backfield despite the loss of Jonathan Dwyer.

Josh Nesbitt will be back for his third year in Johnson’s offense, which just means he will operate it even better than before. There’s much to learn about this offense that there is always room for improvement, and having a third-year starting quarterback running the show will make Tech very tough.

4. North Carolina

The story of the spring in Chapel Hill was the uncertainty at quarterback. Incumbent starter T.J. Yates has seemingly regressed since a promising freshman season, and this might be the year he loses his job.

Bryn Renner made a favorable impression on both the coaching staff and the fan base with an exceptional spring. Renner was the talk of the spring game, completing 15 of 21 passes with a touchdown and two interceptions. His mobility inside and outside of the pocket is a huge advantage over Yates.

If the Tar Heels can settle on one quarterback – preferably the right one – and solidify the running game, the defense will win them most of their games.

The UNC defense is loaded with first-round NFL talent. No less than five players are expected to go very, very early in next year’s draft. It’s hard to imagine any team running the football with any semblance of success. The UNC-Virginia Tech game will be quite the clash.

5. Florida State

The biggest concern in Tallahassee is rebuilding a defense that ranked among the worst in the country in 2009. Mark Stoops has been brought in to fix that, and it sounds like the group made decent strides this spring.

The best news for the Seminoles is Christian Ponder looks great after suffering a season-ending shoulder injury last year. He entered spring practice facing questions about his job security, with E.J. Manuel performing well in replacement duty in 2009. It sounds like Ponder put those questions to rest and the ‘Noles expect a huge year from the senior field general.

There is a lot of unproven talent around Ponder. Two receivers had a big impact in the spring game, Rodney Smith and Bert Reed. Both had long receptions and seem ready to break out as playmakers this fall.

The uncertainty around Ponder and the work needed on defense makes me uncomfortable rating the ‘Noles any higher than this. Although if you notice, the four teams ahead of them are all from the other division. A weak Atlantic Division this year will definitely aid the Seminoles.

6. Clemson

The will-he-or-won’t-he play college football question surround quarterback Kyle Parker intensified this spring, as Parker is in the midst of a spectacular baseball season. Coach Dabo Swinney made it clear he believes Parker’s best opportunity to make millions is in the NFL, but MLB scouts surely think otherwise.

Parker completed 7-of-15 passes for 79 yards in the spring game.

It’s no secret why Swinney has been so public about his optimistic future for Parker. Parker’s backup, Tajh Boyd, disappointed most of the spring, and finished the spring game 8-of-25 passing for 132 yards.

The defense is solid, especially up front with DaQuan Bowers, who might be the best defensive end in the country in the Mario Williams mold. The secondary also had a good spring (of course that might be overstated thanks to the lack of good quarterback play), but Clemson simply has more questions than answers at this point, none more pivotal than the pending decision by Parker.

7. Boston College

Mark Herzlich’s return to the field overshadowed a spring session that was very focused on developing a lackluster offense. Last year’s starting quarterback David Shinskie entered under extreme pressure to keep his job. He battled sophomore Michael Marscovetra and freshman Chase Rettig to retain the starting spot, and by all accounts it sounds like he did just that.

Marscovetra put up more impressive numbers (13-16, 156 yards, TD) than Shinskie (6-12, 50 yards) in the spring game, but the coaching staff insists that Shinskie has a firm grip on his job right now.

The Eagles also have no running back behind starter Montel Harris that they have any confidence in. this is a problem, because the diminutive Harris will never be a 25 carry per-game guy.

The offensive line returns four starters, including Anthony Castonzo, who many people believe is the best left tackle in America.

The defense will be stout as always, despite losing several key starters. Word around Chesnut Hill is virtually 100 percent focused on the offense.

8. NC State

Just like Clemson, the Wolfpack have a huge concern surrounding their star quarterback and the baseball diamond. Russell Wilson is in the midst of a solid baseball season, but coach Tom O’Bren has insisted Wilson will return to the football field this fall. Wilson did not practice at all with the football team in the spring.

Backup quarterback and once highly touted recruit Mike Glennon had a very good spring, however. In the spring game, he completed 21 of 38 passes for 423 yards with three touchdowns and only one interception.

Before Wilson’s emergence two years ago, Glennon was supposed to be to Tom O’Brien what Philip Rivers was to Chuck Amato. Instead, Glennon is still on the bench, but with a performance like this spring’s, O’Brien might not beg Wilson to return to the team a la Dabo Swinney.

Redshirt freshman running back Travis Leggett looked very good this spring. He finished with 129 yards and 21 carries in the spring game.

Middle linebacker Nate Irving returned from a devastating car accident this spring and seems good to go for next year.

Less than half of the team’s scholarship players participated in the spring game, however, which means they are behind the pack (no pun intended…ok pun intended) in terms of grooming their young talent.

9. Maryland

The offensive line will be the strength of a unit that has very little else to boast offensively. Jamarr Robinson is as fleet-footed as they come at the quarterback position, and he’s going to have to accumulate much of the yards himself in 2010.

D.J. Adams might have taken a lead in the race for starting running back, but none of the kids at that position are very dangerous.

Defensive coordinator Don Brown said the Terps ran mostly basic schemes this spring, and with a young defense that is still trying to learn second-year coach Brown’s system, it might take a while for it to get up to speed.

10. Duke

The Blue Devils left a winter early spring practice still in search of answers at quarterback. Sean Schroeder sucked struggled in the spring game, completing only 4 of 20 passes for 23 yards. Brandon Connette was a little better; completing 8 of 19 passes for 67 yards and carrying the ball 13 times for 91 yards.

The loss of Thaddeus Lewis hurts big time, and even with coach David Cutcliffe’s prowess at developing quarterbacks, this year will be a step back for a steadily improving program.

11. Wake Forest

Skylar Jones looks like he will replace Demon Deacons’ legend Riley Skinner at quarterback. Besides Jones, there was little else to talk about from spring practice out of Winston-Salem. This will be a serious rebuilding year for coach Jim Grobe.

12. Virginia

It’s hard to figure out where to begin about how awful the Cavaliers’ spring game was. Marc Verica completed less than half of his passes, and lost all accuracy inside the red zone. He was probably outplayed by both backups, Michael Strauss and Ross Metheny. The running backs popped a run or two of more than ten yards, but there is hardly any firepower on offense.

New coach Mike London and his offensive staff have changed the scheme from last year’s spread under Gregg Brandon, but Verica simply never looked comfortable.

The defense doesn’t look very impressive either, outside of Ras-I Dowling, who may be the nation’s best cornerback. The front seven is undersized but doesn’t’ blow anyone away with its speed either. London should be able to get the defense to play over its head this year, however.

Virginia will have a very hard time scoring points, and the defense isn’t good enough to keep them in a lot of low-scoring affairs.

Mike London has the program on the right track, but he’s going to start at rock bottom.

What is Wake Forest thinking?

Jeff Bzdelik has not officially accepted the Wake Forest job as of Monday evening

As I prepared to write a column about Wake Forest’s recent hire of Jeff Bzdelik as its new men’s head basketball coach, I googled (Wake Athletic Director) “Ron Wellman.”

The third link down was a headline “Ron Wellman Named Athletic Director of the Year.”

The story referred to an award Street & Smith’s magazine honored Wellman with in 2008.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

According to sources, Jeff Bzdelik has met or is meeting with Wellman and Wake Forest brass today. Earlier reports said he had been hired, which Bzdelik denied  Sunday.

If this move does come through, and this is the direction Wellman wants to take the Wake program, I’m concerned for his mental health.

For those who don’t know the situation, Wellman fired coach Dino Gaudio, who struggled in the postseason in only three seasons with the Deacons, but was bringing in top-flight talent to the program.

Sure, the March struggles are damming, but let’s be honest, when Skip Prosser passed away in 2007, the Deacons were very young and in a bit of a rebuilding stage.

That rebuilding process could have imploded with Prosser’s death, and the fact that Gaudio managed to keep the program afloat was remarkable.

Was he Dean Smith? No, he wasn’t even Dave Odom.

But if Wellman’s idea of a new direction for the program is hiring a coach who has two winning seasons on his resume in college basketball, I don’t think he’s really upgrading.

It’s no secret Bzdelik is more of an “NBA guy” when it comes to where he’d most like to coach. Last season, he reportedly nearly left Colorado to take an assistant coaching job with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The fact that he would even consider such a move doesn’t exactly say he’d be in it for the long haul at Wake.

It makes me wonder whether Wellman was taking a big gamble that he could get Butler coach Brad Stevens, who interviewed once for the job before signing a long-term extension to stay at Butler.

Even still, Wake Forest is an above-average ACC program. There’s no way Bzdelik should even be option B.

Wellman and Bzdelik are buddies, though, and have a long history together.

Sounds like a little game of playing favorites to me.

Just a note to Wake fans: if you complained about Gaudio, at least he had a vested interest in the program. Bzdelik doesn’t have the feel of a coach who’d be committed to winning championships at Wake.

These questionable administrative decisions should do nothing but put a small grin on the faces of everyone else in the ACC.

Wake Forest hires new basketball coach

Colorado men’s basketball coach Jeff Bzdelik has agreed to become the next coach at Wake Forest, according to several sources.

Bzdelik is a longtime friend of Wake Athletic Director Ron Wellman.

The Buffaloes’ coach is expected to call a team meeting this afternoon to confirm the move.

More on this later, but this is an interesting hire by Wake. Bzdelik does have NBA experience and was slowly rebuilding the Colorado program, but there really isn’t much evidence that he can have any more success than Dino Gaudio had before he was fired.

Dino Gaudio fired at Wake Forest

Dino Gaudio was fired at Wake Forest after three season's as the head basketball coach.

Wake Forest has fired head men’s basketball coach Dino Gaudio after three seasons.

Gaudio was 61-31 with the Deacons.

A longtime protege of the late Skip Prosser, Gaudio succeeded Prosser after he passed away in summer of 2007.

Wake Forest was ranked no. 1 in the country at one point in the 2008-09 season, before floundering down the stretch and losing to Cleveland State in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Deacons also started this season strong before another slow finish led to another early NCAA exit to Kentucky in the second round.

Wake Forest is the third ACC team to change coaches this off-season. Boston College fired Al Skinner a week and a half ago, and hired Cornell’s Steve Donahue Tuesday. Clemson lost its coach, Oliver Purnell, to the DePaul head coaching job Monday night.

Gaudio was 1-5 in postseason games, which ultimately spelled his doom.

He seemed to be a good recruiter. He brough in Al-Farouq Aminu, who was one of the nation’s best freshmen in 2010. ESPN rated the Deacon’s current recruiting class as the sixth best in the country.

Some coaches who may be on Wake’s wish list could be Butler’s Brad Stevens (my bet is he either stays at Butler or takes a huge payday at Oregon), Ryan Odom (Virginia Tech assistant, son of former Wake coaching legend Dave), or Mike Rice (Robert Morris head coach – you saw what they almost did to Villanova last month).

More on the coaching search as it unfolds.

One thing is clear though – Wake Forest administration wants more than just NCAA Tournament bids.