Sophomore guard Terrell Stoglin is returning for the Terps and has them picked No. 5 in the ACC by The Diamondback next season.
1. N.C. STATE
2011-12 RECORD: 24-13 (NCAA, Sweet 16)
KEY DEPARTURES: G C.J. Williams, G Alex Johnson
PLAYERS TO WATCH: G Lorenzo Brown, F C.J. Leslie, F Richard Howell, F Scott Wood, G Rodney Purvis* (recruit)
OVERALL: With a top-five recruiting class and five of his top six players returning, Wolfpack coach Mark Gottfried has a real chance to win the conference in just his second season. If Leslie returns for his junior season, N.C. State should be the favorite in the ACC. Leslie, a second-team All-ACC selection, gets most of the attention, but Brown makes this team run. Their play, coupled with Purvis’ arrival, should give N.C. State one of the best backcourts in the conference.
2. NORTH CAROLINA
2011-12 RECORD: 32-6 (NCAA, Elite Eight)
KEY DEPARTURES: F Tyler Zeller, G Kendall Marshall, F John Henson, F Harrison Barnes
PLAYERS TO WATCH: G Dexter Strickland, G Reggie Bullock, F James McAdoo, G Marcus Paige*
OVERALL: Despite losing ACC Player of the Year Zeller to graduation and Marshall, Henson and Barnes to the NBA Draft, the Tar Heels are still loaded. McAdoo, who came on strong in the NCAA Tournament, will have freedom to score, and coach Roy Williams still has experience in his backcourt with Bullock, Strickland and Leslie McDonald all returning. Paige could be the best incoming point guard in the country.
3. FLORIDA STATE
2011-12 RECORD: 25-10 (NCAA, Second Round)
KEY DEPARTURES: G Luke Loucks, G Deividas Dulkys, F Bernard James, F/C Xavier Gibson
PLAYERS TO WATCH: G Michael Snaer, F Okaro White, G Ian Miller, F Antwan Space
OVERALL: Seminoles coach Leonard Hamilton will wave goodbye to six seniors from this year’s ACC Tournament champion team, but he still has one of the best defenders in the country in second-team All-ACC guard Snaer and two potential stars in Miller and White. Miller’s increased scoring production should outweigh the loss of Loucks and Dulkys, while White can still man the post well, even without James.
4. DUKE
2011-12 RECORD: 27-7 (NCAA, First Round)
KEY DEPARTURES: G Austin Rivers, F Miles Plumlee
PLAYERS TO WATCH: F Mason Plumlee, G Seth Curry, F Ryan Kelly, F Marshall Plumlee, G Rasheed Sulaimon*
OVERALL: Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski received great news yesterday when Mason Plumlee announced he would return for his senior season, in part to pair with his younger brother Marshall. Kelly, meanwhile, should be healthy again, while Curry will have two years of experience leading the team. Sulaimon, one of the nation’s finest incoming shooting guards, should provide a valuable contribution off the bench or in the starting lineup.
5. TERPS
2011-12 RECORD: 17-15
KEY DEPARTURES: G Sean Mosley, C Berend Weijs, G Mychal Parker
PLAYERS TO WATCH: G Terrell Stoglin, G Nick Faust, C Alex Len, C Shaquille Cleare*, F Jake Layman*
OVERALL: With the arrival of a top-25 recruiting class, coach Mark Turgeon is beginning to mold the Terps as he sees fit. Top-100 freshmen Cleare and Layman will both play crucial roles in the rotation, while Len and Faust are expected to make important leaps forward. Turgeon will still have the ACC’s leading scorer in Stoglin, who opted not to leave for the NBA, and Howard, who is recovering from an ACL injury.
6. MIAMI
2011-12 RECORD: 20-12 (NIT)
KEY DEPARTURES: G Malcolm Grant, G/F DeQuan Jones
PLAYERS TO WATCH: G Durand Scott, G Shane Larkin, F/C Kenny Kadji, C Reggie Johnson
OVERALL: Kadji and Johnson, who made up arguably the most imposing frontcourt in the ACC behind North Carolina last season, will both return for coach Jim Larranaga’s second season. The losses of Grant and Jones will hurt, but Scott and Larkin are both talented enough to lead the Hurricanes’ backcourt. Miami should have the starting talent to compete with anyone, but will they? That’s always the most compelling question in Coral Gables.
7. VIRGINIA
2011-12 RECORD: 22-9 (NCAA, First Round)
KEY DEPARTURES: G Sammy Zeglinski, F Mike Scott, C Assane Sene
PLAYERS TO WATCH: G Jontel Evans, G Joe Harris, G/F Justin Anderson*, F Evan Nolte*
OVERALL: Cavaliers coach Tony Bennett will lose the heart and soul of last year’s team with first-team All-ACC selection Scott departing, along with sharpshooter Zeglinski. Still, Harris and Evans, the ACC’s best perimeter defender and a capable antidote to the conference’s most prolific scorers, are both returning. Anderson, a swingman who originally committed to the Terps, should play quality minutes for the Cavaliers, who will struggle to return to the NCAA Tournament.
8. VIRGINIA TECH
2011-12 RECORD: 16-17
KEY DEPARTURES: G Dorenzo Hudson, F Victor Davila, G Joey Racer
PLAYERS TO WATCH: G Erick Green, G/F Jarell Eddie, F Dorian Finney-Smith, G Robert Brown
OVERALL: Without Green this past season, Virginia Tech would have been lucky to win more than 10 games. With him back, Hokies coach Seth Greenberg has a solid veteran scorer to pair with several key underclassmen (Finney-Smith and Brown) who played extensively this past season. Expect the Hokies to win some quality games, make a run at the postseason, but falter at the end – as most Greenberg-coached teams have in Blacksburg.
9. CLEMSON
2011-12 RECORD: 16-15
KEY DEPARTURES: G Tanner Smith, G Andre Young, F Bryan Narcisse
PLAYERS TO WATCH: F Devin Booker, F Milton Jennings, G T.J. Sapp, G Jaron Blossomgame*
OVERALL: The Tigers were in the middle of the ACC pack this year. It doesn’t look like things will get all that much better next year. Their two leaders in points and assists, Smith and Young, are gone. Booker’s back as a strong rebounding presence, but their recruiting class boasts only one of ESPN’s top 100 prospects (Blossomgame).
10. BOSTON COLLEGE
2011-12 RECORD: 9-22
KEY DEPARTURES: None
PLAYERS TO WATCH: F Ryan Anderson, G Matt Humphrey, C Dennis Clifford
OVERALL: The good news for the Eagles? Anderson, their leading scorer and rebounder, will be back. Same for Humphrey, who scored 10.3 points a game last year. The bad news? The team those two players led won only nine games. A lackluster two-man recruiting class won’t help much, either. Boston College will spend 2012-13 in the same place it spent last season: the ACC basement.
11. GEORGIA TECH
2011-12 RECORD: 11-20
KEY DEPARTURES: G Glen Rice Jr., G Nick Foreman, G Pierre Jordan
PLAYERS TO WATCH: G Mfon Udofia, F Kammeon Holsey, C Daniel Miller, F Robert Carter*
OVERALL: Last season wasn’t pretty for the Yellow Jackets, who won only four ACC contests. The loss of Rice, who was dismissed from the team after being involved in a shooting, stings just as bad – he was their leading scorer and rebounder. Fortunately, reinforcements on the way. Carter is one of the best power forward recruits in the country, and Marcus Hunt has the potential to be a very good small forward.
12. WAKE FOREST
2011-12 RECORD: 13-18
KEY DEPARTURES: G Tony Chennault, F Nikita Mescheriakov, C Ty Walker, C Carson Desrosiers
PLAYERS TO WATCH: G C.J. Harris, F Travis McKie, G Codi Miller-McIntyre*
OVERALL: The days of Wake Forest being a factor in the ACC are long gone. The cellar-dwelling, to be certain, will continue next year. Harris will team with McKie to form a solid scoring tandem, but coach Jeff Bzdelik and the Demon Deacons just don’t have the talent to compete in the ACC.
ceckard@umdbk.com, schneider@umdbk.com
