1) Duke, that talent will show itself, lack of a true PG is a limiting factor and right now they have some chemistry issues but K will get those straightened out and it will become a UNC vs duke for the regular season.
2) UNC, we seem to fade a little on our second trip thru the ACC slate and duke seems to get stronger at that same time.
3) Louisville, they just seem to over achieve, they lost to much to be really good but they did just beat Ky so you have to take note.
4) UVa, losing their big man was a huge blow but no matter what UVa comes to defend you and control tempo and they are really good at that. They also have some really good 3pt shooters and that keeps them in a close game.
5) FSU, I always over estimate them because they hit you with such length and while they play us and duke hard they seem to drop a lot of head scratcher games. Poor guard play but that height across that team, not just starters but multiple 7ft guys off that bench I think can be over powering, they have 1st place talent and last place coaching IMO, so 5th may be about right.
6) NC State, lot of youth but has some size and Dennis Smith is for real plus I am not totally sold the rest, maybe ND takes this spot.
7) ND, close between them and NC State
8& 9) Syracuse and Clemson, put them where ya want
Rest, really, who cares...
Very close to my thinking.
I'd move NC State ahead of FSU. This time I'm going to play FSU to disappoint. Which probably means this is the time they won't disappoint. I'm in "fool me three times, shame on me" mode with Hamilton's teams.
What I don't understand is how Hamilton can keep getting good talent. His teams often under-perform and they tend to play ugly, defense-oriented ball that doesn't showcase talent very well.
What's Hamilton's pitch? "Come play for me and I'll make sure you look bad to the scouts." How can that land good recruits?
Now that State has Rowan healthy and Yurtseven and Kapita on the roster, I expect them to start looking very good. But does Gott know what to do with them?
They have a 10-2 record and their losses aren't bad ones (Creighton and Illinois). But they have struggled against some mediocre teams. With a core of Smith, Dorin, Henderson and Abu, that shouldn't have happened. Rowan provides the depth they need at wing. Yurtseven and Kapita provide the depth they need up front. This really ought to turn into a very good team. But will they?
I'm surprised that Syracuse has so many losses already. I expect they'll shape up. They're 7-5 and that includes 2 losses that should never happen.
Syracuse has all the right ingredients and a solid coach. They should get better.
I feel like Notre Dame is really overachieving. But when I think about it, ever since they came to the ACC they seem to be overachieving. Maybe Brey is the mirror image of Hamilton. Whereas we should count on Hamilton to underachieve, maybe we should count on Brey to overachieve. They seem too short and too slow to be that good, yet they gave Villanova and Purdue tough games.
I notice that the polls have Va Tech in the "just missed" group and Pomeroy also rates them decent. I still don't think they have enough talent, but it will be a good test for Buzz.
Duke
UNC
Louisville
NC State
UVa
Syracuse
FSU
ND
Clemson
Miami
Va Tech
Wake
Ga Tech
BC
