Too early to hit the hardwood? Perhaps, but with football season off to an underwhelming start, there’s no harm in taking a look at the ACC’s real bread and butter a month or so in advance. As the best basketball conference in the country, the ACC’s top teams are guaranteed to be among the favorites to march through March Madness next spring. Here’s an early look at which schools that may be
- Duke The crown is there’s until they are dethroned. The defending National Champs lost a lot over the summer, most notably Jon Scheyer and Brian Zoubek, but as usual the incoming class looks to be among the best in the nation. Newcomers Kyrie Irving, Seth Curry (Liberty University Transfer and brother of Golden State’s Steph Curry) and Josh Hairston should make immediate contributions and help savvy upperclassmen leaders Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith make another deep run in the tournament. Apparently the coaches agree, as not only is Duke the top-billed team in the ACC, but the 1 ranked squad in the nation according to the preseason Coaches Poll.
- Virginia Tech In an era of one-and-done’s in college basketball, the Hokies are rare in that they return practically every key component from a 25 win team a season ago. Though Malcolm Delaney considered bolting for the NBA Draft, he senior guard decided to return to school to chase a championship one more year. Entering the year at 23 in the Coaches Poll, VA Tech is already on the mind of pollsters, far more love they’ve gotten than in seasons past, even if technically the games haven’t started yet.
- UNC The Tar Heels may be down coming off a 5-11 year in conference play, but they are far from out of the ACC picture, as evidenced by their 9 preseason rank. Forgive us if the optimism here is slightly tempered by comparison. Of course, Carolina brings in a typically strong recruiting class, highlighted by Harrison Barnes, considered by most analysts to be the top player in his class, along with fellow freshmen Reggie Bullock and Kendall Marshall. The newbies will join from last year’s unit Tyler Zeller, Larry Drew II, John Henson and Will Graves among other returning contributors, forming a relatively young team with high upside potential.
Also-Mentions: Don’t write off NC State or Maryland just yet. NC State landed their biggest two recruits in recent memory (C.J. Leslie & Ryan Harrow) and Maryland, despite losing Greives Vasquez and Eric Hayes, brings back a lot of experience from team that made an impressive 13-3 run in conference play.