The CORRECT Preseason All-ACC Teams with Predictions

by John Vittas

Never have I been so upset with such a meaningless distinction as I was when the 2013-2014 Preseason All-ACC Team was announced.

Four of the five players had never even played a minute in the ACC, and only two of the players deserved this distinction in my opinion.

The Actual Team: CJ Fair, Rodney Hood, Joe Harris, Jerian Grant, Jabari Parker

To me, no freshman deserves to be in this group, even the highly-touted Jabari Parker. It's too good of a league with plenty of players who have already proven themselves as elite.

Therefore, instead of trying to project the freshman, I would simply announce an exclusive Preseason "All-Freshman" team:

G Anthony Barber (NC State)
G Tyler Ennis (Syracuse)
G Demetrius Jackson (Notre Dame)
F Jabari Parker (Duke)
F Isaiah Hicks (UNC)

Honorable Mention: G Roddy Peters (MD), G Matt Jones (DUKE), G Xavier Rathan-Mayes (FSU), F Beejay Anya (Syracuse)

16 of the top 100 freshman according to ESPN will be debuting in the ACC this season, making the list above a competitive one.
Barber will be one of just three ACC-caliber players on the Wolfpack roster, so it's fair to say he will be putting up numbers. The other four are supreme talents that would be stars on any team. Ennis will run the point for a top-10 Syracuse team, and Jackson will do the same for No. 21 Notre Dame.

Photo: usatodayhss.com

Parker is the No. 2 rated player of his class and the projected No. 2 overall pick in the upcoming NBA draft.

Hicks was the last one to make the list, only because he has a lot of competition for playing time. He should be able to play along side James Michael McAdoo, but he'll have to beat out Joel James, Brice Johnson and fellow freshman Kennedy Meeks in order to start. I say he does.


On to the upper classmen:

First Team All-ACC
G Joe Harris (Virginia)
G Dez Wells (Maryland)
F CJ Fair (Syracuse)
F James McAdoo (UNC)
F Akil Mitchell (Virginia)

I'm sure Akil Mitchell is the name that jumps off the page. You might not even know who he is. But he averaged 13 and 9 a year ago, registering 13 double-doubles. He begins the season as the conference's top returning rebounder, and has the second highest field goal percentage of all returners (TJ Warren is first). Mitchell shot it at 55% last year, and will be anchoring the middle on an improved UVA team.

Photo: strikingthelaw.com

Speaking of Virginia, Joe Harris is the general of the squad and also deserves to be on this list. At 16.3 PPG, you might be surprised to discover that the sharp-shooter is the ACC's top returning scorer.

CJ Fair is a no-brainer. Having scored 15 a game last year, he'll step in to be "the man" with Michael Carter-Williams, Brandon Triche and James Southerland all departing.
McAdoo put up 14 and 7 in 2012-2013 and is surprisingly still in Chapel Hill. It's about time he reaches his No. 6 overall Class of 2011 status, right?
Last but not least, the selection of Dez Wells might raise some eyebrows as well. But the former Xavier transfer will be the go-to guy for Maryland after the departure of Alex Len. Wells outscored Len last year and averaged 22 PPG in the ACC tournament, including a 30-point performance in a win over Duke. He can score in a variety of ways and will fill the stat sheet all season long.


Second Team:
G Rasheed Sulaimon (Duke)
G PJ Hairston (UNC)
F TJ Warren (NC ST)
F Okaro White (FSU)
F Travis McKie (WAKE)

Photo: insider.espn.go.com

White might be the only questionable selection here, but the Clearwater native is a superior athlete who shot 51% a year ago. He scored 12 a game while only taking 8.9 shots per contest. That shot total could double without Michael Snaer around.

McKie might be the most accomplished player in the conference, having collected over 1300 points and 600 rebounds in three seasons. But, he plays for Wake Forest and will be triple-teamed all season without CJ Harris around.
Warren is the league's top returning shooter (62%), and is the only key contributor to return to Raleigh.
Hairston and Sulaimon have cases to be on the First Team, but both will be sharing shots on talented rosters. You can make the argument that Sulaimon is a one-dimensional player, with scoring being his prime talent. Hairston has a host of help, and will begin the season sitting out with compliance issues.

Third Team:
G Jerian Grant (Notre Dame)
G Olivier Hanlan (Boston College)
F Jarell Eddie (Virginia Tech)
F Rodney Hood (Duke)
F Ryan Anderson (Boston College)

Grant has averaged 13 a game over his first two seasons, but his presence on the First Team is a joke. He's never shot above 41% in either of his two seasons. He may not even be the best guard on his own team, with Eric Atkins, Pat Connaughton and Demetrius Jackson providing the competition.

Photo: bcinterruption.com

Hanlan was the ACC Rookie of the Year and can absolutely stroke it.

Anderson has been the leader of BC for two years now, and should become a thousand-point scorer before ACC play.
Hood's appearance on the First Team is also unwarranted, with only one so-so season in the SEC to his record. If you want to talk transfers, Maryland's Evan Smotrycz shot it at 48% for a Sweet 16 team in Michigan, so why isn't he here? The only reason I put Hood this high is because Duke has nowhere else to go down low.

Fourth Team
G Quinn Cook (Duke)
G Eric Atkins (Notre Dame)
G Lamar Patterson (Pitt)
F Rakeem Christmas (Syracuse)
C Daniel Miller (Georgia Tech)

Miller is really the only true center in the ACC, having blocked better than two shots per game last year. He will be a big presence in the middle, looking to better his 51% field goal percentage from last year.
Patterson is the top returner for Pitt, and Atkins will join Jerian Grant as the senior leaders on a ranked Irish team.
Quinn Cook is an accomplished ACC point guard and Rakeem Christmas is poised to have a big year as an athletic big man.

Photo: blog.syracuse.com

Honorable Mention: Justin Anderson (UVA), Robert Carter Jr. (GT), Pat Connaughton (ND), Andre Dawkins (DUKE), Nick Faust (MD), Jake Layman (MD), KJ McDaniels (Clemson), Marcus Paige (UNC), Evan Smotrycz (MD)


For the record, here are my predicted conference standings:

1. Duke (15-3) - #1 seed in the NCAA tournament 
2. Virginia (13-5) - #4 seed
     Syracuse (13-5) - #4 seed
4. North Carolina (12-6) - #6 seed
5. Maryland (11-7) - #8 seed
    Notre Dame (11-7) - #9 seed
7. Florida State (9-9) - #12 seed
8. Boston College (8-10) - NIT
    NC State (8-10) - NIT
10. Pittsburgh (7-11) - NIT
    Georgia Tech (7-11) - CBI
12. Clemson (5-13)
    Virginia Tech (5-13)
14. Miami (4-14)
15. Wake Forest (3-15)

Coach Turgeon Talks 2013-2014 at Booster Breakfast

by John Vittas

Mark Turgeon spoke candidly about the upcoming season at the Coaches vs. Cancer benefit breakfast Tuesday, which was attended by about 50 of the team's top boosters.

Turgeon was in good spirits, telling stories of on-campus parking mishaps, personal experiences with boosters, and even his GPA at Kansas.

He went on to talk about what he expects from each of his players, and began with the man he'll lean on most.

"Dez Wells has really grown up and has matured quicker than anyone else I've ever been around," Turgeon said. "And he's been through a lot."

With reports indicating that Wells will take over for an injured Seth Allen at point guard, it's obvious that Turgeon has developed immense trust in Wells.

Turgeon's comments at the breakfast came just hours before Allen broke his foot in practice Tuesday afternoon.

"Seth Allen has really improved defensively and now he even passes the ball every now and then," he joked. Fans won't get a chance to see that until January.

Allen broke his foot in practice Tuesday

"Nick's got to be our best perimeter defender. In a scrimmage against a very good Big East team, he held their best scorer to 1-for-7 shooting."

The team played Villanova in a closed scrimmage, so it can be infered that Faust had Ryan Arcidiacono's number. Arcidiacono hit 71 three-pointers last season, averaging 12 points-per-game.

"Chuck [Mitchell] and Shaq [Cleare] have improved their bodies a lot and Jake Layman has turned it around in the classroom. He's become a better student with the new haircut."

Layman is now sporting a traditional look and has left the freshman flow behind.

Turgeon talked glowingly about 6-9 freshman Damonte Dodd, "He's really coming fast. I'm not sure he knows what he's doing yet, but he plays fast and really runs the floor. And he's not a pre-Madonna like you see so often."

Turgeon also mentioned that Michigan transfer Evan Smotrycz will play a big role on the 2013-2014 Maryland team, as he figures to crack the starting lineup, especially after the Allen injury.

The Maryland coach went on to mention some higher profile names that won't be suiting up in red, black and gold this winter.


"I'm trying to get Obama up here for the Oregon State game," he said. Michelle Obama's brother, Craig Robinson is the head coach for Beavers, which is why many believed the game was scheduled in College Park, just miles away from the D.C.

Turgeon went on to reminisce about a recent conversation he had with Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski. Turgeon said Krzyzewski takes pride in being the most hated man on Maryland's campus.

Duke and Maryland will have one last conference showdown in Durham on February 15.

The Terps open their season on Friday, November 8 against No. 19 Connecticut at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.