Battle of the Orange–Poll
Simply stated…as of today… which program is better… Clemson football or Syracuse basketball. Tell us why in the comments…
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ACC Lacrosse Update
The best conference in lacrosse, the Atlantic Coast Conference, continues to impress. The latest top 20 for the men has all six schools ranked in the top 9. The fourth place team in the ACC, Notre Dame, is ranked fifth overall after winning the ACC tournament. Virginia, who was 1-4 in conference play, is ranked #8 overall. There is simply no precedent for such top-to-bottom conference domination.
That being said, it is Loyolla and Denver that are atop the standings at #1 and #2. and Johns Hopkins squeezes in between the ACC sextet at #6. It was quite a coup for the Big 10 to land Johns Hopkins–the Confidential still bemoans the ACC’s failure to do so. However, as lacrosse remains a non-revenue sport, there is only so much the conference could have or should have done in that regard.
There are few regular season games left for the ACC schools. on Saturday, there are a trio of games, as Notre Dame hosts #19 Army, Maryland hosts Navy, and Syracuse hosts Colgate. Duke travels to Boston on Sunday for its finale.
The women are similarly as impressive, with seven of the eight schools in the top 15. Of course, with Maryland #1, Syracuse #2, North Carolina #4, and Boston College #5, an argument can be made that the women are doing even better than the men.
All in all, the ACC is simply dominant in lacrosse. Let’s hope that the ACC can follow through on its dominant regular season by bringing home two trophies.
NBA Mock Draft–ACC Players
Depending on whether you are an ESPN insider, you may or may not be able to access Chad Ford’s latest Mock NBA Draft, found here: http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft/mock/?season=2014&version=4&source=Chad-Ford-Mock-Draft. Where do the ACC players project?
Looking for Correspondents!
Do you like an ACC school? Do you like writing about your ACC school? Not sure, but want to give it a try?
The Confidential is looking for school correspondents to write about their respective school. Send an email to afc44enterprises@yahoo.com.
It is just for fun… unpaid, obviously. But it is a great chance to have a voice with your school’s fan base. Also, if you are interested in creating a portfolio of your writing ability or even having your own blog some day, not a bad incubator. Participate in our weekly polls.
Priority schools to add right now:
- Duke
- Virginia Tech
- Notre Dame
- Georgia Tech
- Pittsburgh
If interested, let us know.
Syracuse Loses Jerami Grant
The news is out by now… the 2014-2015 Syracuse basketball team will be without Jerami Grant, who has decided to take his potential to the NBA. The Confidential will take a deeeeeep breath and not analyze just how much this confirms everything that is wrong with the NBA right now. Needless to say, if the NBA is going to draft Jerami Grant in the 15-20 range, he is wise to go now and cash in on the NBA foolishness. But what does it do for Syracuse?
Around the ACC: April 11, 2014
Basketball is over. Football is long over. In fact, we are closer to the next football season than the last one. So… what else is going on to keep us interested?
Well, there is always lacrosse. The ACC is stacked in lacrosse right now. All six of the ACC programs are in the top 10, with Duke leading the way at #2. The women are nearly as dominant, with the same six programs in the top 18. On the womens’ side, however, the ACC has the top three spots: UNC, Maryland, and Syracuse. Also, Louisville is #19.
And the ACC is doing typically well in baseball too. Florida State is #1, while Virginia is #2. Clemson and Miami area also ranked, while soon-to-be ACC member, Louisville, is #11 overall.
Softball is not faring as well for the ACC, with only FSU and Notre Dame in the top 25. Meanwhile, Union eliminated Boston College in the frozen four last night in mens hockey.
But if you cannot get away from the revenue sports, there is always something going on somewhere involving an ACC team. Consider the following articles on the Internet today:
- Jimbo Fisher discussing the Florida State football championship @ http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/10766326/jimbo-fisher-breaks-mentor-nick-saban-wanting-florida-state-remember-their-title
- An update on Miami QB Ryan Williams and his ACL surgery @ http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/10760481/miami-hurricanes-qb-ryan-williams-surgery-torn-acl
- A question and answer session with Syracuse QB Terrel Hunt @ http://espn.go.com/blog/acc/post/_/id/69053/qa-with-syracuse-qb-terrel-hunt-2
- The UNC-centric Tar Heel blog discusses possible hoops rule changes @ http://www.tarheelblog.com/2014/4/10/5603196/more-basketball-rule-changes-on-the-horizon
- Not to be outdone, the Duke Basketball Report blog discusses some changes to college athletics in general @ http://www.dukebasketballreport.com/2014/4/11/5603930/some-interesting-suggestions-on-ncaa-college-sports-reform
So… there you go… some football and hoops news, even in the middle of April! Enjoy the day!
The Confidential Bracket Update: FINAL STANDINGS, April 9, 2014
Well, another bracket contest comes to an end. Congrats to Andrew, whose HermanHarriedsHero entry won!
Thanks to all who entered!
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1
|
41
|
114
|
27
|
141
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||
|
2
|
43
|
116
|
22
|
138
|
||
|
3
|
42
|
113
|
22
|
135
|
||
|
4
|
40
|
108
|
26
|
134
|
||
|
5
|
42
|
115
|
18
|
133
|
||
|
6
|
39
|
106
|
26
|
132
|
||
|
7
|
39
|
99
|
26
|
125
|
||
|
8
|
38
|
102
|
22
|
124
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||
|
9
|
38
|
104
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18
|
122
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||
|
10
|
36
|
98
|
23
|
121
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||
|
11
|
39
|
106
|
14
|
120
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||
|
12
|
38
|
101
|
18
|
119
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||
|
13
|
40
|
108
|
10
|
118
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||
|
14
|
39
|
102
|
14
|
116
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||
|
15
|
37
|
94
|
20
|
114
|
Student-Athletes and Sub-Par Academics
As is often the case, the devil is in the details. As a lawyer, it is notable that most commentary on legal issues in public is done by persons without the legal savvy to fully understand it. Folks remember that woman who received the huge verdict from McDonald’s for burning herself with hot coffee. Few realize the true facts of the case make even this grizzled civil defense attorney think that the case had some merit worthy of an atypical judgment/settlement. The long and short of it is that people would be well advised to know the actual facts (to the extent possible) and read the actual rulings by judges with a legal eye before criticizing same. Such may be the case with the recent Northwestern-union issue, where the idea of student-athletes as employees seems far-fetched… until you analyze the facts, the legal standard for what an “employee” is, and the ruling itself.
Indeed, it was disappointing to read that the academically-successful Northwestern student-athletes may have been discouraged from taking the courses that they wanted to take. At the other extreme, however, are the discussions about how some student-athletes have academic skills that are so far below those of their college peers. The purported North Carolina essay that is making the rounds on the Internet is one example of that story. The Confidential believes that it may be appropriate to consider an alternative track for the at-risk student-athlete with subpar academic skills.
The ACC Basketball Coaching Tree: Two Polls!
The ACC basketball coaching community is growing in talent with the addition of Buzz Williams. There are historical greats with national championships: Coach K, Boeheim, Pitino, and Roy Williams. There is the next tier of Bennett, Larranaga, Brey, Buzz Williams, Hamilton, Gottfried, and Dixon, all of whom are awaiting their first national championship as a coach. And all Mark Gottfried has done is go to three straight Big Dances at North Carolina State.
Georgia Tech’s Brian Gregory is from the Tom Izzo line, and had great success at Dayton, but has not done much yet for the Yellow Jackets. Brad Brownell is also doing good things at Clemson. Boston College and Wake Forest are set to announce new moves soon enough and, in the mean time, remain unknowns. Still, that is a very proven set of 11 coaches.
You could have an interesting debate ranking the historical greats, 1-2-3-4, based on their all-time cumulative performance. So let’s do a poll! Look, Coach K is going to be most people’s #1 all-time, so half of the options have him at #1. Try not to be a homer.
But here is another great question… you have an elimination game to win and get to pick one coach at his current level of performance–who would YOU take? Again, try not to be a homer. And let everyone know why you picked who you picked.
Comments encouraged!
ACC to 16…Navy to Get Notre Dame-esque Scheduling Deal From ACC
The Atlantic Coast Conference did not drive the recent expansion like the Big 10, but it has been very very involved nonetheless. Syracuse, Pittsburgh, and Louisville are full members. Maryland is exiting. Notre Dame has a quasi-membership for football and a full-membership otherwise. In a move that is somewhat shocking, but perhaps not VERY shocking, the reports are that Navy will be joining the ACC in a deal akin to Notre Dame’s, only with far less compensation. See link to article below.
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