ACC Sports Journal - Jim Young

ACC Blog Roundtable: Clemson Edition

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:56:02 EST

ACC Blog Roundtable: Clemson Edition

ACCSports.com

November 18, 2009

The ACC Blog Roundtable has returned. This week’s questions were sent out by Block-C one of the most popular Clemson blogs out there. You can check there for a compilation of answers from some of the top bloggers from around the ACC.

1) Let’s just say, not trying to jinx anything here, but let’s just say the Tigers make the ACC Championship game versus Georgia Tech. Who wins, and why?

Much like the kindergartener races at Field Day, everybody wins here. Clemson fans can shrug off a whole lot of psychic baggage. The ACC gets to hold a game in which the stands will be filled with actual, live fans. The rest of us get to watch an entertaining game featuring a high-scoring offense and the nation’s most versatile offensive player.

I’ll go out on a limb and declare with certainty that it will be a better game than the one the Yellow Jackets played the last time they were in the ACC title game.

(That was a 9-6 win by Wake Forest, in case you’d blocked the trauma out of your memory.)

2) Has the ACC taken the form that you thought it would at the beginning of the season? If not, what didn’t you see coming? Disappointments? Pleasant surprises?

Say what you will about the ACC, but it always keeps you on your toes. Georgia Tech being in the ACC title game is not a surprise. And neither, really, is Clemson – assuming the Tigers beat UVa, of course.

But the fact that BC is still in the Atlantic race heading into the final week? Pleasant surprise.

The fact that Clemson is in the driver’s seat despite losing to a predictably bad Maryland team? Actually, given the Tigers’ history, that was pretty much expected.

I didn’t foresee N.C. State regressing as badly as it did. The Wolfpack may be the league’s biggest disappointment.

Overall though, the ACC is what we thought it was, to parrot Dennis Green. It’s an entertaining league that still doesn’t have a team quite ready for the national title conversation.

3) If your team is not in contention for the ACCCG, what are the necessary changes your program has to make to get your team into the game next year? If there’s still a shot, what do you guys need to have happen in order to find yourself in Tampa? Non-team specific writers, pick your flavor of the week and go with it.

I’ll take a conference-wide view on this. I’ll eliminate the teams that aren’t at the point where they can be thinking about ACC title games next season.

That means skipping over UVa, Maryland, Duke and Wake Forest. Maybe that’s being harsh on the Deacs, but they’re 4-7 with Riley Skinner. I don’t see them winning the Atlantic Division without him.

Here are the to-dos for teams that have at least a theoretical shot of getting into the ACC title game in 2010.

Boston College – Get Herzlich back healthy, get a playmaker on the perimeter to replace Rich Gunnell, and give Dave Shinskie a crash course in how to play quarterback on the road.

Florida State – Get a new coach. And a top-notch defensive coordinator.

Miami – Keep Mark Whipple around and just keep developing the young talent.

North Carolina – Get better play from the quarterback position. As crazy as it may seem to replace a three-year starter with an unproven player, it might be worth the risk to go with the highly touted Bryn Renner over T.J. Yates, who seemed to regress this season.

N.C. State – Just stay healthy, would you? I know that defense was awful, but this makes three straight seasons in which injuries have decimated the Wolfpack. On second thought, maybe it’s time to go with a new strength and conditioning coach. Or hire a witch doctor. Or something …

Virginia Tech – Do I even need to say it? Get more production from the passing game.

4) If you could point to one player as the brightest spot on your team, who would that person be? Extrapolate a little for us please.

Brightest spot in the ACC for me. I’ll go with Mark Herzlich. His story was not only inspirational, but every time BC played a league opponent, it seemed like that school did something classy to honor Herzlich’s cancer fight. It was the kind of stuff that made you proud to be associated with the ACC.

5) Swap one player on your team for a player from your hated rival. Who you got and why?

Does the ACC have a rival? I guess we could go with the SEC, though we know that league doesn’t feel the same way.

If so, the swap is easy. You grab Tim Tebow. Any time you can get a quarterback who can win national titles, win Heisman Trophies, solve the financial crisis and provide a sensible, affordable health care system, you have to do it.

The Latest ACC Sports Journal Is Here!

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:44:32 EST

The Latest ACC Sports Journal Is Here!

Jim Young | Mailbag

ACCSports.com

November 18, 2009

The latest ACC Sports Journal is out on newsstands and as usual it’s chock full of information.

You’ll get insight and analysis on all 12 league schools from our ACC Insiders, as well as Brick Oettinger’s Recruiting Notebook.

There are also one-on-one interviews with Roy Williams and Bud Foster, Brett Friedlander’s Media Watch and much, much more.

To get a copy you can either call (1-800-447-7667), email (support@accsports.com) or drop by one of these newsstand locations.

A single issue costs $4. But heck, why not just go here and subscribe?

More On Maryland Hoops Recruit Ashton Pankey

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:02:51 EST

More On Maryland Hoops Recruit Ashton Pankey

Jim Young | Mailbag

ACCSports.com

November 16, 2009

Maryland landed Class of 2010 forward Ashton Pankey on Monday afternoon.

Harrison Barnes Picks UNC

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:42:36 EST

Harrison Barnes Picks UNC

Jim Young | Mailbag

ACCSports.com

November 13, 2009

Landing Harrison Barnes addes to Roy Williams’ reputation as a dominant recruiter.

(Nike/Kelly Kline)

Behold the recruiting power of Roy Williams.

Harrison Barnes was supposed to be the prototypical “Duke kid.” He was supposed to be the next Shane Battier.

Instead, Barnes will be a Tar Heel next season.

He finally put an end to one of the most compelling recruiting sagas in recent memory when he announced his college choice this afternoon on ESPNU. And in typical fashion, it ended with a twist.

“I just wanted to let you know I’ll be joining you guys next year on the squad,” Barnes told Williams and the UNC players via Skype. “I can’t wait to play with all you guys.”

For a long time, going back to Barnes’ “surprise” visit to Duke last basketball season, the 6-7 swingman from Ames, Iowa had been considered a Duke lean. But North Carolina made a strong push at him and Barnes refused to give any indications about what his final decision would be until he sat in front of ESPN’s cameras.

During the run-up to the announcement there was all sorts of drama. Mike Krzyzewski and Roy Williams wound up at Barnes’ house on the same night. Rumors swirled wildly as fans desperately searched for any signs that would indicate Barnes’ intentions.

“The thing about this recruitment that made it different from everything else is this kid could have won the World Series of Poker,” said Dave Telep, national recruiting director for Scout.com and a frequent ACCSports.com contributor. “He just flat-out didn’t tip his hand. As good as we once thought Julius Hodge was at it, this guy is better.”

Of course, UNC isn’t giddy about landing Barnes because he’s good at keeping a secret. There’s a reason – many reasons actually – why Brick Oettinger ranked Barnes as the No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2010.

“He’s the one guy who not only doesn’t have a weak area but does everything better than good,” Oettinger said. “He’s either very good or better than that in all the facets of the game.”

Telep had similar praise.

“There just aren’t many guys with his talent, his size and his drive in college basketball,” Telep said. “He’s a freight train small forward.”

Barnes now joins a UNC recruiting class that already included top-flight point guard Kendall Marshall and Reggie Bullock, one of the nation’s top shooting guard prospects.

“Not only is Coach Williams good at instructing the game,” Barnes said. “I thought I had developed a great relationship with the players. I’m just so anxious to play with them.”

The uber-rich get even richer. And they do it at the expense of their biggest rival, Duke. It’s another head-to-head recruiting victory for Roy Williams over Mike Krzyzewski, to go along with Leslie McDonald and Brandan Wright.

Jim Young | Mailbag

ACCSports.com

October 30, 2009

Check here for Friday’s top stories from around the ACC.