The ACC Tournament has come up to the Big Apple to display the greatest assortment of player talent and coaching in any conference in the NCAA this season. Likely 2017 NBA Draft picks will be on the court in every matchup over the next five-day stretch. We here at The Step Back want you to feel like you are watching it courtside right along with us so we’ll have these game-by-game diaries for each day with scouting notes on the players involved.
The notes for each game are presented chronologically. Read Day 1’s notes here.
GAME 1: Syracuse vs. Miami (Noon EST)
-Sean Marks didn’t make an appearance prior to the start of this game, possibly because the Nets are playing the Hawks in Atlanta tonight. We’ll see if he pops up for the bigger prospects that Duke will bring out for the next game.
-The atmosphere was very much reminiscent of a Syracuse home game. The better part of the crowd was decked out in Syracuse apparel. They were at their loudest whenever the Orange looked ready to take control of the game. This was easily the loudest the Barclay’s Center has been all week (and maybe even all season with it being home to the 11-win Nets).
-The first half saw both teams come out scorching. Miami shot 62 percent from the field and the Orange hit 52 percent of their shots. The biggest difference being that the Hurricanes were hot from behind the arc against Syracuse’s vaunted 2-3. Miami took 21 shots in the first half and 11 of them were 3-pointers. They nailed six of them.
-Bruce Brown is the biggest name on the team in regards to pro potential, but finished the afternoon with just five points and was the lone Miami player to shoot under 40 percent from deep. Brown has come into his own as the team’s guard and at 6-foot-4 with long arms, his length was responsible for some deflections and steals early on. With Miami advancing Brown gets a second opportunity to impress the barrage of NBA personnel in attendance for the ACC Tournament.
-Davon Reed was the man of the day for Miami. He was a big part of their strong start on 3-pointers and his 10 first half points paced the Hurricanes. Reed will likely go undrafted in June, but he will definitely be a name that colleague Chris Reichert gets to know well. Expect a future #ReichertRocket about Reed getting a call up from the D-League at some point next season. Along with Reed, guard DJ Vasiljevic combined to make three timely 3-pointers to give Miami a cushion they’d hold onto in the end for the win.
-For Syracuse, the feeling of playing in a Carrier Dome-lite setting wasn’t enough to will them to a win. The Orange were paced by wings Andrew White III and Tyus Battle; the two combined to score 36 of Syracuse’s 57 points. Both players rely on their jumpers to get a majority of their points but are at ease attacking the paint when the defense overplays them for the shot. White is a graduate senior and likely will be a late-first or early second round pick in the upcoming draft. Battle is a freshman — the ACC might have the best collection (in terms of depth) of freshmen in one conference this season — and has really come on as the season progressed. He’ll likely test the waters at the combine before deciding what his next move will be.
-Another Orange that might not be ripe for the picking yet is sophomore big man Tyler Lydon. Lydon finished the game with 12 rebounds but didn’t really have an impact on the game. He took four shots in the first half (two 3-pointers) and two in the second half (one 3-pointer). The best thing I could say about Lydon as a player is that he has the second-greatest pump fake of all-time (Sam Young of Pittsburgh Panther fame has the best pump fake ever).
GAME 2: Duke vs Clemson (2:30 p.m. EST)
-As much as the early game crowd was pro-Syracuse, the feeling here as the second game gets set to go is very anti-Grayson Allen. Sean Marks must be out of town as he also didn’t make a tunnel appearance prior to the start of this game.
-Frank Jackson continued his strong play since being inserted into the starting lineup. The freshman guard really took the game into his hands as Luke Kennard was unable to get his shot going in the first half (1-of-9 from the field). Jackson led the way at half with nine points and was aggressive whenever he got into the paint. Jackson is a long way from being a true point guard, but at 6-foot-4 and impressive athleticall,y he’s a handful to keep from getting to where he wants to go.
-Duke is 100 percent Kennard’s team. With Clemson hanging around towards the end of the game the Blue Devils twice went to Kennard to get them a basket when they most needed one. Both times Kennard coolly dropped the ball into the bottom of the net. He took a game-high 20 shots and looked more like the sharpshooter he’s been all year in the second half when he netted eight of his eleven attempts. Kennard’s ability to get his shots off quickly (on the catch or coming off screens) will help him at the next level. He’s most comfortable with the ball in his hands, if he can convince a team that he can be a secondary ball handler he’ll find a spot and have great value on the NBA.
-The best player on the court today was another Duke freshman, Jayson Tatum. Tatum also helped pace the Blue Devils in the first half as he matched Jackson’s nine-point showing after the first 20 minutes. Facing off against Jaron Blossomgame for most of the day, Tatum was able to outplay the Clemson forward. Tatum plays at his own pace, it’s not as off-putting as Kyle Anderson’s style when he was in college, but in a time when spacing and up-and-down play is dominating the sport Tatum might be able to find a niche for himself by playing at just enough of a slower tempo. Two plays that really stood out for Tatum: an and-1 layup with a nifty baseline spin finish and a rocket pass out of the post to an open Amile Jefferson on the baseline. Tatum’s ability to score is as good as advertised, but he really showed off a well-rounded game today.
-For his own part, Blossomgame got the numbers he needed, but for most of the game did so quietly. Blossomgame was one of the few players that have a comparable skill set to anyone on Duke and he needed to make a bigger impact on this game than what he did. The biggest number that jumps off the page when looking at his stat line is the six turnovers he committed. He needs to be more careful with the ball when he has it. At the NBA level, he’s a second round pick who in the right role and system could become a valuable piece to a team’s rotation. The real bright spot for Clemson in two games was guard Shelton Mitchell. He went head-to-head with Dennis Smith Jr. and Frank Jackson and did more than hold his own, dropping in 22 and 17 points respectively in both games with strong shooting numbers (13-of-23 from the floor and 6-of-8 on 3-pointers).
-Finally, Duke’s Harry Giles is starting to look like he’s back in basketball shape. He only played five minutes for the day (had a strong showing in the first half, but two phantom foul calls forced him to the bench after three minutes) but the feel for the game has been there all along and now it looks like his body can do what his mind expects it to. Giles still has issues defensively, any time Clemson involved him in an action involving a screen he looked a step slow to react or over helped on the ball.
GAME 3: Virginia Tech vs Wake Forest (7 p.m. EST)
-In their first two games of the ACC Tournament, Wake Forest has jumped ahead early thanks to hot shooting, particularly from behind the arc. Once again Austin Arians was locked and loaded early for the Demon Deacons. John Collins was also ready to go from the tip as he made a nice recovery block to help fuel Wake’s early 10-2 run.
-Virginia Tech altered between running man-to-man and zone defense, but choose not to double-team Collins often. The one time they did (a guard was matched up against him following a switch) it resulted in a turnover as Collins traveled, attempting to escape the trap.
-Collins would finish the game with a double-double (15 points and 10 rebounds), but he showed more negatives than positives in his second game. The Hokies were unafraid of him as a rim protector and they would fearlessly attack the basket even with Collins acting as the last line of defense for the Deacons.
-JOEL EMBIID IS HERE! TRUST. THE. PROCESS.
-Still trying to figure out why Joel Embiid is here…
-Bryant Crawford of Wake had another solid showing. He plays point guard, but is much more of an attacking/scoring guard than a true setup man. At 6-foot-4 he has the size to get his shot off over smaller defenders. He also attacks the basket with no fear or reckless abandon depending on who you’re rooting for. Only a sophomore, Crawford could definitely use another season in college to try and shore up his playmaking abilities and make himself more intriguing to NBA teams.
-Zach LeDay of Virginia Tech was the best player on the court all game. The ACC Sixth Man of the Year recipient made an immediate impact the moment he was inserted in the game. He was also the model of consistency. In the first half, he chipped in 15 points and 7 rebounds for the Hokies. Then as his encore he dropped 16 points and 8 rebounds. His 31-point, 15-rebound performance easily takes the cake for best game of the tournament so far. If there’s any player on Virginia Tech capable of making a Jimmy Butler style leap in his play LeDay is that guy.
-Collins can do nothing against LeDay defensively. Collins isn’t considered a stout post defender, but with three or four inches on LeDay you would think that he could bother him or alter some shots with his advantage in length and athleticism. LeDay routinely rooted him out for the spot he wanted in the paint and he banged his way to basket after basket.
-Seth Allen doesn’t have the size to be a real factor in the NBA — though many people doubted Isaiah Thomas when he was coming out of Washington — but he knows how to get the shots he wants. He had Wake Forest defenders spinning like tops at times and was able to get into the interior whenever he pleased. Allen and LeDay both come off the bench for the Hokies and after today there shouldn’t be any argument over who the two best players on the team are.
GAME 4: Virginia vs Pittsburgh (9:50 p.m. EST)
-First things first, Joel Embiid is likely gone and that’s a bummer.
-The pack line defense is even more amazing in person than watching on television. All five Virginia players are constantly moving in unison and talking to each other to keep the opponents out of the paint. There really isn’t much Pittsburgh can do against it. Jamel Artis was able to knock in a couple 3-pointers to pace the Panthers in the first half, but as halftime approached the Cavaliers defense tightened, even sending a few double teams at Artis.
-Artis for his part did what he could, at 6-foot-7 he was able to shoot over most of the defenders that Virginia used against him, but it wasn’t enough as Virginia knocked down an onslaught of 3-pointers of their own. The Wahoos made seven of their first 14 3-pointers and they had five different players (Kyle Guy, Ty Jerome, Devon Hall, Darius Thompson, and Isaiah Wilkins) hit a 3-pointer from one of the corners. Virginia looks to attack and hit the corners for open 3-point attempts as the defense collapses to protect the paint.
-London Perrantes is the pacer for Virginia, whenever he’s on the court it just feels like things run smoother for the Cavaliers. Perrantes has total control of the game and always has his fingers on the pulse of his team. Perrantes’ ability to hit from deep keeps defenders honest, but his true skill is the way he is able to stop on a dime as he drives to the paint. Twice Perrantes attacked the middle of the lane off of a ball reversal and once the defense over-committed he would pull back and have a wide open look from 15 feet or closer.
-Virginia’s two freshmen, Jerome and Guy make a world of difference. Both have developed rapidly over the year — it’s at the point now where Bennett trust them to share the floor as Perrantes rests for stretches.
-Jerome first showed his potential during the team’s game against the defending champion Villanova Wildcats earlier this season. He’s a steady player that never seems to get too high or too low and the defense can’t speed up how he wants to play. He’s also the second-best shooter on the roster behind Perrantes. Leaving Jerome open behind the line is the easiest way to guarantee that Virginia scores three points.
Next: Scouting NBA Draft prospects at the ACC Tournament: Day 1
-Meanwhile Guy, and his world famous man-bun bring a whole different aspect to Virginia. Bennett is best known for his ability to turn prospects into solid two-way players, mainly by upping their defense. However, Guy is a different breed than what Bennett usually has to work with. Guy is a player that is instant offense the moment he steps onto the floor. If things stall out offensively they can just put the ball in his hands and most of the time they’ll end up with a good look — whether it’s Guy shooting the ball or finding the open teammate after he drives to the basket. He started tonight and showed why early scoring eight of the Cavaliers first 10 points. Guy is an above-average shooter both off the dribble and on the catch. He also has sneaky athleticism that allows him to score around the rim against bigger players. When Guy and Jerome are both on their game it’s hard for an opponent to match their offensive output.