Time for Conference Play -- Finally!

Well, I don’t know about you, but I am certainly glad that conference action is about to begin for real in the ACC. It seems like the nonconference mismatches have been going on forever. Some of those games have been so boring and predictable that I hate to admit that I opted for a Lifetime movie -- and not even my wife watches those.

I really don’t know how good the ACC will be as a league. I really don’t. I do think after North Carolina, it will be very competitive. It could be a solid league, but then again, there could be more major crying about only four to five teams getting into the tournament. It won’t be the best league in the country.

No question, Carolina stands taller than the rest in size, talent and depth -- maybe too much depth. They could field two teams, and both might finish in the top three. A lot of players are playing a lot of minutes for UNC. When you’re blowing out Penn and Rutgers and High Point and UNC-Asheville and Florida Atlantic, you bet many will play many minutes.

What will happen when the Heels get into some close games? Who will sit and who won’t be happy about it? Actually, those aren’t bad problems to have. Roy Williams has a full cupboard and can play it anyway he wants; and say what you want, ol' Roy can coach. It will be fun and interesting to see what will happen with Carolina when they go to somebody else’s home court. I think they’ll be fine. Too much talent not to be.

N.C. State’s overtime squeaker over UNC-Greensboro can’t be a good an omen can it? I’ve been really impressed with Ben McCauley. Why didn’t Herb Sendek play him last season? He’s good, and he plays hard. State has some scorers, but they couldn’t guard me. They don’t defend worth a hoot, and they have no depth. They do really need Engin Atsur back. His return from hamstring and Achilles problems will help stabilize this team. He’s no Oscar Robertson, and for that matter he’s no Sidney Lowe or Monte Towe, but he’s experienced and steady, and the Pack desperately needs that, but how healthy will he be? If you’ve pulled or torn a hamstring you know what I’m talking about. I think State will be in a lot of close games and have trouble winning most of them. The Pack will be a worn out team come March. However, I don’t think they’ll finish last, and Sidney Lowe won’t let them quit.

I also think there’s no way that Duke is the fifth-ranked team in the country. They’re ranked that high because of the D-U-K-E on the jersey. This young team will get after you on defense, and the offense may be getting better but this Duke team won’t scare you, and I think most conference teams think they can play with them. Even in Cameron. Can Josh McRoberts carry Duke against good conference teams? Can he be the man? He shows flashes but not the consistency. Not yet anyway. And how about this: Duke won’t play on an opposing team’s home court until they go to Georgia Tech on the 10th. Duke can schedule like that, but was it a good thing? Greg Paulus will fight you but quick guards will give him fits.

A fun story so far is Clemson. They’re 15-0, and they just won at Florida State to open their conference season. Are the Tigers like the desert mirage? Past history says yes, but Oliver Purnell’s a good coach, and maybe this season will be different. But still, this is Clemson, a school that has never won an ACC tournament and has only been to the conference championship game once. Never has been a lot of positives with Tiger basketball

Anyway, just a few thoughts. Oh, if Wake Forest was bad last season with Eric Williams and Justin Gray, what will that current 8-5 mark turn into come March? Oh yeah, I forgot, Wake Forest is a football school.