Fansided

College Basketball: ACC Seeks to Live Up to the Hype

By Mike Ferguson

Mar 5, 2014; Winston-Salem, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski reacts to a call during the first half against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 5, 2014; Winston-Salem, NC, USA; Duke Blue Devils head coach Mike Krzyzewski reacts to a call during the first half against the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Can the ACC live up to the hype for the 2014-15 college basketball season?

College hoops has returned and an early look at the Associated Press’ top 25 suggests that this could be a big year in basketball’s most storied conference as the ACC boasts four of the top nine teams. The addition of Louisville is expected to boost the conference’s already tall stature, but whether or not the ACC can live up to the hype remains to be seen.

Over the past two seasons, the conference has been able to take four of the more storied programs from the old Big East while losing only Maryland. In its first season with Syracuse, Pittsburgh and Notre Dame however, the conference was not nearly as good as advertised.

After winning its first 25 games and ascending to #1 in the country, Syracuse dropped six of its final nine games and was ousted in its first ever ACC Tournament game and by Dayton in the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. Pittsburgh went just 8-8 over its final 16 games last season after an 18-2 start, also falling in the round of 32 while Notre Dame finished just 15-17 overall.

In the NCAA Tournament last season, only one team from the ACC managed to survive the first weekend and that was regular season and conference tournament champion, Virginia, who was defeated by Michigan State in the Sweet 16. The 2014 NCAA Tournament marked the first time since 2006 that an ACC team failed to make it as far as a regional final.

The ACC team most recently removed from a national championship was not an ACC team at the time as Louisville and head coach Rick Pitino took down Michigan two years ago in New Orleans. Prior to coming to Louisville in 2001, Pitino was coaching in the NBA with the Boston Celtics. In 1996, Pitino coached Louisville’s arch-rival, Kentucky, to its first national championship in 18 years.

Mar 28, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Louisville Cardinals head coach Rick Pitino reacts in the first half in the semifinals of the midwest regional of the 2014 NCAA Mens Basketball Championship tournament against the Kentucky Wildcats at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 28, 2014; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Louisville Cardinals head coach Rick Pitino reacts in the first half in the semifinals of the midwest regional of the 2014 NCAA Mens Basketball Championship tournament against the Kentucky Wildcats at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /

The newest face in the ACC, Pitino joins three other coaching legends in the 15-team conference. Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, North Carolina’s Roy Williams and Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim have combined for seven national championships and 22 Final Four appearances.

Success in the ACC in recent years has not been limited to the traditional powers however. The last three conference tournament champions of the ACC have been Virginia, Miami and Florida State. Prior to 2012, either Duke or North Carolina had combined to win 14 of the previous 15 ACC championships.

Though Krzyzewski, Williams, Boeheim and Pitino are all among the best ever to roam the sidelines, the coaching prowess in the ACC doesn’t stop there.

Virginia head coach Tony Bennett’s methodical style has the Cavaliers looking to defend their conference crown with expectations in Charlottesville as high as they’ve been since the days of Ralph Sampson. Prior to coming to Virginia, Bennett, the ACC’s youngest coach, made Washington State a respected power in what was then the PAC-10.

Jim Larranaga, Miami’s head coach, boasts a 68-36 record in his fourth season with the Hurricanes. Larranaga presided over one of the more improbable runs in 2006 as he led George Mason to the Final Four with NCAA Tournament wins over North Carolina, Michigan State and Connecticut. The Patriots would fall to eventual national champion Florida.

Though it hardly can be considered revenge, Miami picked up an early season resume’ booster with a win over the Gators in Gainesville earlier this week.

Pittsburgh’s Jamie Dixon, Notre Dame’s Mike Brey and N.C. State’s Mark Gottfried all have distinguished coaching resume’s themselves while over the last six years, only Duke and North Carolina have won more ACC games than Leonard Hamilton and Florida State.

As distinguished as the roster of coaches is in the ACC, it will ultimately be the players that decide the fate of the conference’s respected schools.

Duke has reloaded after losing Jabari Parker, the second overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft. Freshmen Tyus Jones, Justice Winslow and most notably, Kahlil Okafor, are big time talents, but Krzyzewski’s teams have always been propelled by veteran leadership and the Blue Devils have plenty of that with guards Quinn Cook and Rasheed Sulaimon.

North Carolina Tar Heels guard Marcus Paige (5) with the ball as Pittsburgh Panthers forward Derrick Randall (11) defends in the second half. The panthers defeated the Tar Heels 80-75 in the quarterfinals of the ACC college basketball tournament at Greensboro Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports
North Carolina Tar Heels guard Marcus Paige (5) with the ball as Pittsburgh Panthers forward Derrick Randall (11) defends in the second half. The panthers defeated the Tar Heels 80-75 in the quarterfinals of the ACC college basketball tournament at Greensboro Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports /

Eight miles down the road, North Carolina is being fueled by the inside presences of Kennedy Meeks and Brice Johnson. As the season continues, the Tar Heels will likely rely more heavily upon guard Marcus Paige, the leading returning scorer for UNC.

At Louisville, junior Montrezl Harrell is powering the Cardinals early on. Harrell, who has played in the shadow of stars like Russ Smith, Gorgui Dieng and Peyton Siva among others is shaping up to be a player of the year candidate.

At Virginia, the Cavaliers will continue to win with defense, but the duo of guard Malcolm Brogdon and swingman Justin Anderson is one of the more underrated throughout the entire country. Virginia will be even more potent once sophomore point guard London Perrantes fully recovers from a foot injury.

While the start of conference play is still more than a month away, the new-look ACC has the potential to be as good as it has in a long time. After having just one team get past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament last season, the Atlantic Coast Conference looks to have at least four viable national championship contenders.

With an influx of new talent and a number of returning players, who can light up the scoreboard, the 2014-15 campaign looks to be a fun one in the ACC. Add a roster of coaches that’s easily the most accomplished throughout the entire country and the nation’s most storied basketball conference could be in for perhaps one of its best seasons ever.

More from FanSided