Five Burning Basketball Questions: ACC Style

1)      Who will replace Tebow Hansbrough?

Tyler Hansbrough was one of those four-year players that seemed like he played college basketball for ten years. If you think of UNC basketball the past couple of years, you still think about Michael Jordan and then you think about Hansbrough. He was a unanimous selection for the All-ACC team as a freshman and ended his career with a national championship. Sophomore Ed Davis is a contender for ACC Player of the Year and will be a lottery pick next season. Deon Thompson should be one of the most improved players in the conference and highly-touted freshman John Henson is expected to be a star from the beginning. If the Tar Heels plan on winning back-to-back national championships, they need a big year from freshman scorer Dexter Strickland.

2)      Will Maryland push Gary Williams out like Auburn did with Tommy Tuberville?

Look at how similar these two coaches are: Williams won a national championship at Maryland in 2002 and Tuberville led Auburn to an undefeated season in 2004. Williams’ teams always do well against Duke and Tuberville always had success against Alabama. Tuberville was wrongfully fired after last season and Williams might face the same fate after this season. In today’s “What have you done for me lately?” world, Williams has been under fire for not leading the Terrapins to an Elite Eight or Final Four since 2002. Marlyland hasn’t been to a Sweet Sixteen since 2003. While UNC, Duke and other ACC teams routinely spit out NBA players, Williams has also been under fire for his recruiting classes. Fans choose to overlook the great job Williams did last year, when he led the Terrapins to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Fans need to be careful, as schools like Texas Tech, Ole Miss, Arkansas, Cincinnati and Louisville (If Pitino “screws” up again) would jump at the opportunity to hire Williams if he is available.

3)      Is this Duke’s most overrated team?

This Duke apologist sees bad things on the horizon for the Blue Devils. Quick trivia question – What number is higher: The number of guards on Duke’s roster or the number of stooges in The Three Stooges? The answer is that the numbers are the same as veterans Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith and freshman Andre Dawkins are the only talented guards on Duke’s roster.  For a team to advance far in the NCAA Tournament, you need to have strong guard play. Scheyer averaged 14.9 points per game last season, but he can also be a liability when the game is on the line. Kyle Singler needs to show some toughness now that Coach K needs him more down low. Freshmen Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly need to break the trend of McDonald’s All-Americans that turn soft once they play at Duke. These two big men need to show that they are not the second-coming of Josh McRoberts and Shavlik Randolph.

4)      Is Derrick Favors the next Chris Bosh?

The Toronto Raptors’ star forward averaged 15.6 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocks in his one year at Georgia Tech. Bosh is listed at 6’10”, 230 pounds, but he was nowhere near that weight when he was in college. Favors is one of the most talented recruits to ever play for the Yellow Jackets and Favors already has Bosh’s size as a freshman. Like Bosh, Favors is a very strong shot-blocker, a very good rebounder and is very good at running the floor. The addition of Favors means that teams can’t double team forward Gani Lawal like they did last season. Unlike Bosh’s 2003 team, Favors should lead this team far in the NCAA Tournament. Favors could win the ACC Player of the year and Lawal will join Favors as first round draft picks next season. This is Paul Hewitt’s most talented team since the 2004 team that lost to Connecticut in the NCAA Championship.

5)      Will Clemson make the Sweet 16 for the first time under Oliver Purnell?

Trevor Booker is about to end one of the best careers in Clemson history and he is welcoming a familiar face to help lead the Tigers deep in the NCAA Tournament. Trevor’s brother, Devin, is expected to make an immediate impact and is almost the exact same size as Trevor. The Tigers lost shooter Terrence Oglesby to Europe, but I think this could be an addition by subtraction. Oglesby averaged 13.2 points last season, but he tended to attempt poor shots at crucial moments. Former Southern Cal recruit Noel Johnson will be another freshman that will have an immediate impact. Expect this team to do something that Purnell’s teams didn’t do in the past – start strong and actually finish strong.