The Confidential

The ACC Sports Blog

Archive for the category “Basketball”

25 Feb 2013
1 Comment

The Confidential Correspondent Weekly Poll: February 25, 2013

If you are a football fan, check out the newly-released full ACC schedules.  But, as this is basketball season, here is the weekly Top 12, with 5 precincts reporting:

#1 Duke, 3 first place votes, 57 points.

#2 Miami. 2 first place votes. 55 pts.

#3 (tie) Louisville & Syracuse.  48 pts.

#5 Notre Dame. 39 pts.

#6 Pittsburgh. 35 pts.

#7 North Carolina. 30 pts.

#8 North Carolina State. 26 pts.

#9 Maryland. 19 pts.

#10 Virginia. 18 pts.

#11 Florida State. 8 pts.

#12 Clemson. 7 pts.

With a win over Miami, Wake Forest got a vote!  Good for the Demon Deacons.

Some huge ranges…. some voters had North Carolina as low as 9th.  Same with Pitt.  Other voters had both schools has high as #4 (Pitt) and #5 (UNC).  One voter dropped Syracuse to 6th, while another put Syracuse ahead of Duke.  And, no, it was not the Syracuse correspondent.

Agree? Disagree? Feel free to share your top 12…

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Correspondent Poll, Opinion, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
23 Feb 2013
7 Comments

Syracuse-Georgetown Day!

Syracuse fans are thrilled to be going to the ACC next year.  But one of the downsides is the end to a rivalry like this.  Over the years this has been THE game for both Syracuse and Georgetown fans.  Today at 4pm on CBS the last ever Big East game at the Carrier Dome between these two storied programs.

Football rules college athletic decision making – but don’t tell that to the 34,000 fans that will pack the Carrier Dome today. With the nation’s longest home winning streak on the line, what Syracuse fan doesn’t remember the last game at Manley Field House when John Thompson concluded with saying Manley Field House was officially closed?  How about the Classic 1990 game where JT was ejected?

This ranks up there with NC-Duke.  All Big East fans will miss this rivalry.  Today will be college basketball at its best.  I hope all the ACC fans get a chance to take a look at this game today and see the Carrier Dome experience as new rivalaries get set to begin next year.

Anyone with other great SU-Georgetown moments they remember?

 

 

Posted by tjcuseacc in ACC only, Basketball, Syracuse correspondent and tagged , , , , ,
22 Feb 2013
4 Comments

State of the Pa…Tar Heels??

What? Here is the deal:

Last time State and UNC met, in a game that went the Wolfpack’s way but not by much, I gave you stats about the rivalry in my preview. This time, I have a slightly different idea.

Last time, ACC Confidential did not have a UNC correspondent. Now we do, in the guise of Mr. Tar Heel, whose posts have been consistently informative and engrossing, as have the posts from my other correspondent colleagues as well as our moderator’s.

So, on the eve of the rematch, I have a proposal for Mr. Tar Heel. Although I am not a betting man, I offer a friendly wager as follows:

If UNC wins, a distinct possibility since we are going to to their place and since this is being billed as a battle for 4th and a bye in the ACC tournament, then I will write a post praising the Heel’s performance. If State wins, then Mr. Tar Heel would write one praising the way the Pack took UNC to task. Simple. Elegant.

I haven’t brought this up via email or any other medium with Mr. Heel, so it may be that he will reject the idea faster than Richard Howell blocking a James Michael McAdoo layup. And that would be fair enough, since I am kind of putting him on the spot.

So, what say you, Mr. Tar Heel? Up for this?


Posted by mikemab2000 in ACC only, Basketball, NC State Correspondent, UNC Correspondent and tagged , ,
20 Feb 2013
3 Comments

Taking Action on Conference Realignment- Contact Information for Fans

UPDATE- With recent rumors  that UNC, GT, UVA and FSU are leaving, please focus on those schools, Jim Delany, John Swofford and ESPN if you are going to contact someone on this list. Unfortunately, I could not find email addresses for John Swofford, Jim Delany and John Skipper. If you DO find them, please post them to the comments section, and I will edit this post. It appears that the greatest need can be found with these parties. We deserve a say in this too. This is OUR conference. I’ve included my original message below. DON’T FORGET TO SIGN THE PETITION ON CHANGE.ORG.

Thank you to everyone who has provided feedback on my latest article regarding conference realignment. I really appreciate it, and this type of discussion is why I enjoy Atlantic Coast Confidential so much. While I plan discuss issues such as television ratings and academics in the near future, I wanted to provide everyone with a comprehensive list of individuals with a significant stake in the ACC’s future.   While this is all public information, please respect the time and position of these individuals, if and when contacting them.

I truly believe that the ACC has a bright future in college athletics. Yes, many changes can be, and need to be made, for the league to reach its full potential. But this is why I have provided the information below. Joining another conference is a short-term solution without a long-term vision. While football is driving the flow of money right now, its future is in doubt due to rule changes, governmental intervention and increasing awareness of injuries. Baseball was once America’s past time, but was replaced by football. Ice skating and boxing were once among the most popular sports in the country. If, and of course there are many factors involved, football ceases to be on top, where would you want your school?  Would you want to be geographically and culturally isolated, playing very few of your longtime rivals, or would you like to be in a group based off of common geographic, athletic, academic and social characteristics? No other conference has better media markets, basketball, lacrosse, baseball, soccer and academics than the ACC. Our football is undeniably on the way up. There is more potential in the ACC than any other conference. Please share this with your friends, retweet it, post it on Facebook, or whatever you need to do. By working together, and having our voice heard as fans, I believe that we can make a difference.

Boston College
Father William P. Leahy, S.J. (william.leahy@bc.edu)
Office of the President
140 Commonwealth Ave.
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467

Bradley J. Bates (brad.bates@bc.edu)
Director of Athletics
140 Commonwealth Ave.
Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Clemson University
Dr. James F. Barker, FAIA (jbarker@clemson.edu)
Office of the President
Clemson University
201 Sikes Hall
Clemson, SC 29634

Dan Radakovich (athldir@clemson.edu)
Director of Athletics
Jervey Athletic Center
PO Box 31
Clemson, SC 29633
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Duke University
Dr. Richard H. Brodhead (president@duke.edu)
Duke University
207 Allen Building
Box 90001
Durham, NC 27708

Kevin White (kwhite@duaa.duke.edu)
Director of Athletics
Box 90555
Durham, NC 27708
____________________________________________________________________________________
Florida State University
Dr. Eric J. Barron (ebarron@fsu.edu)
Office of the President
600 W. College Avenue
Tallahassee, FL 32306

Randy Spetman (rspetman@fsu.edu)
Director of Athletics
PO Box 2195
Tallahassee, FL 32316
____________________________________________________________________________________
Georgia Tech
Dr. G.P. Peterson (bud.peterson@gatech.edu)
Office of the President
Georgia Institute of Technology
North Ave.
Atlanta, GA 30332

Paul Griffin (njameson@athletics.gatech.edu)
Acting Athletic Director
150 Bobby Dodd Way, N.W.
Atlanta, GA 30332
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

University of Louisville
Dr. James Ramsey (jrrams02@louisville.edu)
Office of the President
University of Louisville
Louisville, KY 40292

Tom Jurich (tom@GoCards.com)
Director of Athletics
Athletics Department
University of Louisville
Louisville, KY 40292
________________________________________________________________________________________________
University of Miami
Dr. Donna E. Shalala (dshalala@miami.edu)
Office of the President
University of Miami
PO Box 248006
Coral Gables, FL 33124

Blake James (dgentile@miami.edu)
Director of Athletics
University of Miami Athletics
5821 San Amaro Drive
Coral Gables, FL 33146
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
University of North Carolina
Dr. Holden Thorp (chancellor@unc.edu)
Office of the Chancellor
103 South Building
Campus Box 9100
Chapel Hill, NC 27599

Bubba Cunningham (bubba.cunningham@unc.edu)
Director of Athletics
UNC Athletic Department
P.O. Box 2126
Chapel Hill, NC 27514
__________________________________________________________________________________

North Carolina State University
Dr. Randy Woodson (Chancellor@ncsu.edu)
Office of the Chancellor
Campus Box 7001, A Holladay Hall
Raleigh, NC, 27695

Deborah A. Yow (d_yow@ncsu.edu)
Weisiger Brown Building
2500 Warren Carrol Dr.
Campus Box 8502
Raleigh, NC 27695
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

University of Notre Dame
Rev. John I Jenkins, C.S.C. (president@nd.edu)
Office of the President
400 Main Building
Notre Dame, IN 46556

Jack Swarbrick (tinkham.1@nd.edu)
Director of Athletics
University of Notre Dame
C113 Joyce Center
Notre Dame, IN 46556
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

University of Pittsburgh
Dr. Mark A. Nordenberg (norden@pitt.edu)
Office of the Chancellor
University of Pittsburgh
107 Cathedral of Learning
Pittsburgh, PA 15260

Steve Pederson (spederson@athletics.pitt.edu)
University of Pittsburgh
Department of Athletics
PO Box 7436
Pittsburgh, PA 15213
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Syracuse University
Dr. Nancy Cantor (ncantor@syr.edu)
Office of the Chancellor
900 S. Crouse Avenue
Crouse-Hinds Hall, Suite 600
Syracuse, New York 13244

Dr. Daryl Gross (Djgross@syr.edu)
Director of Athletics
Manley Field House
1201 E. Colvin St.
Syracuse, NY 13244
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

University of Virginia
Dr. Teresa A Sullivan (jdb4d@virginia.edu)
Office of the President
PO Box 400224
Charlottesville, VA 22904

Craig Littlepage
Director of Athletics
McCue Center- PO Box 400846
Charlottesville, VA 22904
_____________________________________________________________________________________________

Virginia Tech
Dr. Charles W. Steger (president@vt.edu)
Office of the President
210 Burruss Hall
Blacksburg, VA 24061

Jim Weaver (weaverj@vt.edu)
Director of Athletics
Virginia Tech Athletics Department
Jamerson Athletic Center/Cassell Coliseum/Merryman Center
Virginia Tech (0502)
Blacksburg, VA 24061
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
Wake Forest University
Dr. Nathan O. Hatch (nhatch@wfu.edu)
Office of the President
211 Reynolda Hall
P.O. Box 7226
Winston-Salem, NC 27109

Ron Wellman (halldf@wfu.edu)
Director of Athletics
PO Box 7265
Winston-Salem, NC 27109
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
John Skipper
President- ESPN
ESPN Plaza
Bristol, CT 06010

John Swofford
Commissioner
Atlantic Coast Conference
4512 Weybridge Lane
Greensboro, NC 27407

Jim Delany
Commissioner
Big Ten Conference
1500 West Higgins Rd
Park Ridge, IL 60068

Larry Scott
Commissioner
Pac-12 Conference
1350 Treat Blvd
Walnut Creek, CA

Mike Slive
Commissioner
Southeastern Conference
2201 Richard Arrington Blvd. North
Birmingham, AL 35203

Bob Bowlsby
Commissioner
Big 12 Conference
400 East John Carpenter Freeway
Irving, TX 75062

 

Posted by Mr. Tar Heel in Basketball, Conference News, Conference Realignment, Football, UNC Correspondent
20 Feb 2013
1 Comment

Miami Accused of Lack of Institutional Control

Hopefully our Miami correspondent will have much more on this later, but the NCAA finally got around to handing down its allegations to Miami–lack of institutional control.  Of course, the real issue for Miami fans is what kind of sanctions the Hurricanes are looking at.  But at least Miami has an idea of exactly what violations the NCAA is pursuing.

To its  credit, Miami has self-imposed significant sanctions already, including the voluntary loss of two bowls.  Of course, Penn State fans will probably make the argument that Miami’s crimes are worse NCAA violations than what happened in Happy Valley.

Posted by acaffrey in Basketball, Football, Scandal and tagged , , , ,
19 Feb 2013

The Confidential Correspondent Weekly Poll: February 18, 2013

With apologies to all, the Confidential is on the road.  Anyway, the votes for this weeks’ poll were submitted before the Monday games, but the Confidential was slow to issue the rankings.  Here they are for February 18, 2013:

  1. Miami  21-3  (5 first place votes)  81 points
  2. Duke 22-3 (2 first place votes)  79 points
  3. Syracuse 21-4   70 points
  4. Louisville 21-5   58 points
  5. Notre Dame 20-6  51 points
  6. Pittsburgh  20-6  49 points
  7. NC State  18-7   46 points
  8. North Carolina  17-8   35 points
  9. Virginia  18-7  31 points
  10. Maryland  18-7  24 points
  11. Florida State 14-11  13 points
  12. Clemson 13-12   9 points

None of the bottom four received votes.  In case you were wondering.

If there standings were to be replicated in 2015, it would mean that 5 of the top 6 teams were formerly in the Big East.  Are the ACC’s veteran teams going to stand for that?

 

The poll continues to be variable between #4 and #8.  Louisville was the most consistent team in that spot, with all votes putting them 4th, 5th, or 6th.  No other school from #4 to #8 had that small a range.

 

What do you think?  How is the poll good or bad?

 

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Correspondent Poll, Opinion, Rankings and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
18 Feb 2013

Canes Update

I’ve been busy recently, sorry for the lack of updates.

Some big news for the Canes

Despite recent struggles on the road, the Canes have ascended to #2 in the nation in College Basketball. An ugly defensive showing in FSU’s house almost lead to an upset, and awful offense in Little John led to a narrow Miami W against Clemson. Miami returns home for a bit, where they (hopefully) will get back to full health and energy.

New TE coach/Assistant Head Coach, Mario Cristobal, is gone, after only a month. He left to take the OL job at Bama, and he will serve as an Assistant Head Coach their. This was probably a recruiting move made by Bama, Cristobal knows South Florida inside out.

NCAA Football: UL Monroe at Florida International

Mario Cristobal appeared to have FIU uprising until a surprising 3-9 season

More news on the Miami-NCAA mess. If you’ve been trying to keep up with the NCAA’s investigation of itself, today they announced these findings:

    • Knowingly circumvented legal advice to engage Nevin Shapiro’s criminal defense attorney.
    • Violated the internal NCAA policy of legal counsel only being retained and monitored by the legal staff.
    • Paid insufficient attention to the concern that engaging the criminal defense attorney could constitute an inappropriate manipulation of the bankruptcy process.
    • Did not sufficiently consider the membership’s understanding about the limits of the enforcement staff’s investigative powers.
    • Did not violate a specific bylaw or law.

    Additionally, the report found:

    • Enforcement leadership exercised insufficient oversight of the engagement of the criminal defense attorney.
    • The legal and enforcement staffs took appropriate action to rectify the situation once they realized select enforcement
Posted by jakekess in Basketball, Football, Today in the ACC
15 Feb 2013

State of the Pack: Basketball Red Zone

OK, now we find out who the Wolfpack really are.  Are we the team that was the ACC preseason favorite or the one that lost so many games they were supposed to win? Admittedly, winning the regular season is a ship that has sailed; it’s pretty much down to Duke and Miami at this point.

However, the close win over Clemson gave some reason to hope.  This game was the kind the Pack had been losing; a close contest in front of a rabid road crowd (no other kind in the ACC).  But when the Tigers had State on the ropes a funny thing happened; for perhaps the first time this season, the Wolfpack responded and were able to eke out a win over a lower-ranked team.

This is an excellent time to discover that State can win these games.  If you look at the rest of the season, there are no ranked teams left.  Per the most recent poll in the Confidential, and despite Virginia being ahead of them in the standings, NCSU is the third-best in the ACC (current membership, not the “futures”) at this point.  With apologies to our own Mr. Tar Heel, every game is winnable from here on out and I would not be surprised if we did finish 24-7 going into the conference tournament.  Of course, we could also go the other way, but my glass is half full and so, I believe, is the Pack’s.

All starts with Saturday’s game vs Va Tech.  Playing at home, we should show out and not be challenged.  This being the ACC, however, I would be satisfied with a nail-biter victory over Erick Green and company.  In the event of a loss, this post will self-destruct…sorry, watching Ghost Protocol on Netflix…

Posted by mikemab2000 in ACC only, Basketball, NC State Correspondent, Uncategorized and tagged , , , , ,
13 Feb 2013

Duke-Carolina- The season begins or ends here for the Tar Heels

It’s been called many things. The “greatest rivalry of all time.” The “unofficial start of the basketball season.” College basketball’s only “national rivalry.” It’s seen Gerald Henderson throw his elbow into Tyler Hansbrough’s face, Austin Rivers make “the shot,” and future surprise NBA superstar Danny Green leap over a flopping Greg Paulus. But tonight’s UNC-Duke game represents so much more than that for the 2012-2013 North Carolina Tar Heels. It represents a chance at redemption. So much of the season has been characterized as a disappointment. Carolina fans just aren’t used to a 16-7 record and NCAA Bubble talk in mid-February, but this year it’s a reality. Carolina NEEDS to win this game. Is it fair to the team for fans to act so spoiled? Probably not. It’s one thing to expect excellence, but another to demand it on an insane level. After losing four first round draft picks to the NBA, another Final Four was not a realistic expectation. This is a YOUNG team.

So what are MY expectations for tonight as a UNC fan?

1) That the game will be competitive

We’re going into a hostile environment, much like we did on Saturday, and we got destroyed. Duke has great fans, I’ll be the first to admit that. Cameron Indoor and the Crazies give Duke one of the best home-court advantages in the country, despite what derogatory things their fans may or may not say. Condolences to NC State’s Tyler Lewis. The Tar Heels need to learn from their mistakes and play at a high-level the WHOLE game. Second-half runs against Butler and NC State show that they can hang with the big guys if they try. They have the talent, and what they lack in experience, they should make up for in effort. Carolina can’t get behind early, or its chance at a competitive edge will be gone.

2) That the UNC lineup will start to reflect real-game results, not practice performance

I love Roy Williams, and I’m a big believer in what he does. Fans can criticize him for being stingy with his timeouts, or not putting certain players on the floor, but he knows the team better than any of us do. We’re not in the locker room. We’re not in practice. He’s loyal, and to be honest, he’s not the one playing the game. It’s the players. So when he takes credit for each and every loss I really respect that because it’s fundamentally not his fault. At the same time, I’ve watched so many games this year where lineups just haven’t worked. For whatever reason, this year’s team seems to have a hard time getting started. This has led to big deficits early on. Roy has experimented a lot and that’s okay because these are young players who are adjusting to their own individual roles on the team. But this is the Duke game. This is not the time for experimentation. The best players need to be on the floor as much as possible. And the best players during the game may be different than the “best players” in the last practice and the “best players” so far this season. Roy needs to stick to the hot hand tonight. There’s too much on the line for anything less.

3) That UNC will do a better job of guarding the three-point line

Duke lives and dies by the three, it’s a fact. They were off at Miami and we all know what happened then. But this is Duke-Carolina and it’s on an entirely different level than that, no matter what Miami’s ranked and what UNC’s not. UNC needs quality wins and a postseason berth IS at stake tonight whether the team will admit it or not. Since the game is at Duke, I don’t expect them to be off tonight. Duke has great fans. So it’s extremely important that Carolina does a better job of covering the three. Our perimeter defense is notoriously bad and it has been for years. But this year’s team is a guard-oriented group which gives us the opportunity to change this for the better. Mason Plumlee is a force inside, but Seth Curry earns more points each time he scores. Our focus needs to be on Curry and the other Duke three-point shooters, not Plumlee. With Joel James out we just don’t have the size to do that anyway. The Tar Heels NEED to commit to better perimeter defense or they cannot be competitive.

I’m cautiously optimistic about tonight’s game. Yes, it is a long-shot that Carolina wins. On paper, Duke just has a better team, even without Ryan Kelly. More experience, more size, a home-court advantage. But this is Duke-Carolina and anything, I mean ANYTHING, can happen. If the Tar Heels can pull out the win, then they’ll have a lot of momentum going into the last half of conference play.

Posted by Mr. Tar Heel in Basketball, March Madness, UNC Correspondent, Uncategorized
13 Feb 2013
36 Comments

ACC Poll Day–If Notre Dame Went All-In with the ACC, Who Do You Like For Team #16

Today is a good day for a poll.  Query–if Notre Dame was to shock the world by going “all-in” for the ACC, giving it 15 teams, who would you like for team #16?  Let’s assume that schools from the SEC, Big XII, and Big 10 are out of the mix because…. they are.  Nobody is taking a pay cut to join the ACC.  It is what it is.

The candidates:

  • Connecticut.  Pros–outstanding hoops (mens and womens) & competent football, with at least one BCS appearance.  Rivalries with Syracuse and Pitt, and a huge rivalry potential with Boston College.  Even Duke-UConn womens hoops would be huge.  Cons–only competent football, not outstanding football.  Geographical overlap with Boston College.  Not a pedigreed football name.
  • Cincinnati.  Pros–new market (southern Ohio), good football recently, and some decent hoops.  Close to Pittsburgh & Louisville for potential rivalries.  Cons–small market, as Ohio is dominated by Ohio State, while neighboring Kentucky is  swallowed by Louisville and Kentucky.
  • Navy.  Pros–national name and a partner for Notre Dame.  Back into the Maryland/DC market.  Cons–terrible hoops in the post-David Robinson era.  Football would not exactly be an upgrade–although it is hard to say that Navy is demonstrably worse than UConn or Cincinnati in the big picture.
  • South Florida.  Pros–outstanding location for football recruiting and potential.  Cons–ACC already has the Florida market in check with Miami and FSU.  Hoops team has not done much, and the football team has underachieved of late.  Not a national name by any stretch.
  • Temple.  Pros–Philly market, good hoops history, and potential for football.  Cons–football has been more bad than good in the modern era, especially in the absence of a certain Mr. Golden.
  • Hybrid craziness.  Let’s say #16 gets to be UConn for hoops, Navy for football, and Johns Hopkins for lacrosse–take it or leave it, folks.  Or some other combination, like VCU for hoops subbing in for a UConn not being happy with a partial membership.

Anyone else out there?  This seems to be the list.

Who do you like and why?

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Conference Realignment, Football, Opinion and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Post Navigation

← Older Entries
Newer Entries →