Saturday, May 29, 2010

Season Recap: Virginia

2009-2010
Virginia: 15-16 (5-11 ACC)

The season was a bit of a roller coaster for the Virginia Cavaliers. The general consensus coming into the season was that they would struggle, with one star player and not much else. And there were some growing pains. Virginia struggled a bit in the non-conference, losing four games. But they really turned the corner when they started ACC play. The Cavs went on an 8 game winning streak, starting the conference season 3-0. Much of the credit was given (rightly so) to new coach Tony Bennett, who instilled a different attitude. On the court, the catalyst was Mike Scott, who proved a more than adequate counterpart to Sylven Landesberg.

In February, things started to turn south. After their great start in conference, they lost 9 conference games in a row. They started 5-2 and ended up finishing 5-11 in the ACC. And of those 9 losses, only 2 were within single digits. One of the big reasons they struggled was the play of Sammy Zeglinski. The guard with seemingly unlimited range just couldn't hit a shot, and ended up finishing the season with a disappointing 8.9 PPG.

Best Win: 75-60 at UNC (1/31)

Some people thought coming into this game that UVA had come back down to earth, after two straight losses. But they came into Chapel Hill and really dominated from the get-go. They outhustled and outshot the Heels, and really embarrassed them in their own gym. This was probably the seminal moment in UNC's collapse. Unfortunately for UVA, it was a precursor to their own collapse.

Worst Loss: 76-71 to Virginia Tech (1/28)

In the game before their win over UNC, Virginia was in the driver's seat against their rival Hokies. They were up by 10 points at the under four timeout, only to see Tech come back and force overtime. In the overtime, the Hokies were in control. This was a devastating home loss for UVA and was really the first time in the conference season where they showed vulnerability.

Postseason Play:

UVA came into the ACC Tournament with no momentum and nothing to play for. But they were able to put together one of their better performances of the year, beating Boston College in the first round by six points. They then took on Duke, and were able to keep it somewhat close. But in the end, they only scored 46 points in an 11 point defeat. UVA finished the season with a losing record and did not get another postseason bid.

What's Ahead:

There is a lot of uncertainty facing this program now. At the end of the year, star player Landesberg got into some trouble, and ended up on the bench. And now he's headed to the NBA. That leaves a big offensive hole, as he was good for more than 17 points per game. Along with that, Jeff Jones decided to transfer. He was bringing in 7 points per game, and was coming on at the second half of the season. Tristan Spurlock also decided to transfer. He was a role player. UVA also loses Calvin Baker, Solomon Tat and Jerome Meyinsse to graduation.

That leaves them with about 29 points per game returning, with almost half of those coming from Mike Scott. UVA better hope that Zeglinski have a much better year and an incoming freshman class really perform, or they are in for a long 2010-2011 season.

Saturday, May 22, 2010

Season Recap: NC State

2009-2010
NC State: 20-16 (5-11 ACC)

Out of all the teams in the ACC, I would say NC State had the least surprising year. They were predicted to be near the bottom of the conference, and that's where they finished. Sidney Lowe's team had another year where they had some decent wins but some head-shaking losses and a pretty good run in the ACC Tournament. The season started out fine: an 8-1 record with the only loss being to Northwestern, and a road win at Marquette thrown in.

Things started to unravel with an unlikely heave from Chandler Parsons of Florida to beat State in Raleigh in overtime. And once they got into the conference, the lack of talent did them in. State had a stretch where they lost 7 of 8, with the only win being over NC Central. They were a team that had some real trouble scoring at times. Tracy Smith turned into a very nice inside player, but they didn't have any consistent threat on the outside. At times, Javier Gonzalez would be great, and other times he would disappear. The Wolfpack ended up with only two players averaging double figures.

You have to wonder how much rope Lowe has left. He had another year in which he finished pretty strong, which made the fan base feel a bit more optimistic. The Wolfpack did win 3 of their last 4 conference games, then won 2 in the ACC Tournament and 1 in the NIT.

Best Win: 88-74 over Duke (1/20)

This was an easy choice. NC State came into the game with a 1-3 conference record, and the eventual National Champion coming in. But they played their most inspired game of the year, really controlling the game, and played really well on both sides of the floor. This was a head-scratcher, but State did rise up to their competition a few times. Three of their five conference wins were against teams who made the tournament.

Worst Loss: 77-63 to UNC (1/26)

A week after the Duke game, the Wolfpack had a great chance to knock off their biggest rival at home, a team that was really struggling. But State had a dud performance, losing by 14. For all Carolina's struggles this year, they played well against NC State, sweeping the two games they played.

Postseason Play:

The postseason certainly could have gone much worse for NC State. They came into the ACC Tournament as an 11 seed. In the first round, they were able to win a close one against Clemson, by 2 points. Then they knocked out another NCAA Tournament bound team in Florida State by 6. They gave Georgia Tech a battle in the semis before losing by 3. Carrying that momentum, they were able to get a bid to the NIT. In the first round, State put together a nice performance to knock off South Florida on the road by 1. They had a tough time in the second round, though, losing by 20 to UAB in a game in which they only scored 52 points.

What's Ahead:

Like I said before, there is reason for optimism in Raleigh, but I'm not sure if that is justified as long as Lowe is still there. The Wolfpack have a decent nucleus coming back, led by Smith, who tested the draft waters but decided not to go pro. Gonzalez returns, along with young players with potential like Richard Howell and CJ Williams. State will lose Dennis Horner, the second leading scorer this past year, and Farnold Degand, who I always thought was more of a negative than a positive. Josh Davis and Julius Mays have decided to transfer.

State will also bring in a very strong recruiting class, led by C.J. Leslie. They will probably have the pieces to finish in the top half of the ACC next year. But will they be able to win with Lowe as coach? That remains to be seen.

Monday, May 17, 2010

Season Recap: North Carolina

2009-2010
North Carolina: 20-17 (5-11 ACC)

By their fans' standards, it was nothing short of a disastrous year in Chapel Hill. UNC was coming off another national championship, and was losing most of its best players. But the returning talent was equal to any other team in the league. They were even in some people's Top 5 in the preseason. And the season started out ok. They started out 7-1, with wins over Ohio State and Michigan State. But then things started to unravel. The tipping point was a loss at College of Charleston.

North Carolina's youth never really seemed to gel. They would get into stretches where they would just continue to turn the ball over and miss shots, and games would spiral out of control. They were especially vulnerable at home, going 3-5 in the conference. And at one point they lost 7 of 8 games. That is just not Tar Heel basketball. If you take a look at their five conference wins, two of those were against NC State and one was against Miami. They just did not get it done against top shelf competition in the conference.

The one bright spot of the season had to be how the Tar Heels played in the NIT. They honestly should not have even gotten a bid to this tournament, and could have gone out quietly. But they won four games in getting to the final in Madison Square Garden. Perhaps that's something to build on for next year.

Best Win: 89-82 over Michigan State (12/1)

This was back in the part of the season where the Heels were playing well. But still, beating a Final Four team like Michigan State was a big achievement. UNC built a big halftime lead and was able to hold on for the seven point win. It had to be a big confidence boost for the Heels, which did have a very tough non-conference schedule. Their next game, in fact, was a road game at Kentucky.

Worst Loss: 75-60 to UVA (1/31)

There were a lot of candidates for this slot, but I'm going to go with their home loss to UVA. They had lost three of four coming in to this game, but no one expected them to just get blown out at home by the Cavaliers. This was one of those games where the Heels just had no fire and things seemed to spiral out of control. This was also the start of that losing streak of 7 out of 8.

Postseason Play:

At first, it looked like the postseason would be short for UNC. They built a lead in their first round ACC Tournament game against Georgia Tech, only to see that disappear. They were lucky to get a bid to the NIT, but made the best of it. It started with a strange home win against William and Mary, in a game not played in the Dean Dome. Then they traveled on the road and beat Mississippi State by 2 and UAB by 5. UNC carried that momentum to New York, winning in overtime over Rhode Island before finally falling to Dayton by 11.

What's Ahead:

UNC probably has the most uncertainty of any team in the conference coming into next year. A lot of the pundits will have them ranked pretty high purely based on talent. Although they are losing a lot: Deon Thompson and Marcus Ginyard are graduating. Ed Davis is going pro. And David and Travis Wear have transferred out. So what's left? They still have solid guards in Larry Drew and Dexter Strickland. 3-point shooter Will Graves returns. As do solid big men Tyler Zeller and John Henson. That right there is a pretty good starting five. But it remains to be seen whether they can put it all together for a solid season.

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Season Recap: Miami

2009-2010
Miami: 20-13 (4-12 ACC)

It was certainly an up and down year for the Miami Hurricanes. No one knew quite what to make of them early in the year. They came out looking very strong in the non-conference. The Canes started the season 15-1, with the only loss being a one point road defeat at BC. In that stretch, they managed wins against South Carolina and Minnesota. But from that point forward through the end of the regular season, they went 3-11. It started with blowout losses at Virginia Tech and UVA, and snowballed from there.

I knew Miami would be down after losing Jack McClinton. And I think one of the biggest factors in their disappointing season was the ineffectiveness of Dwayne Collins. He was primed to have a big year on the inside, but never really got it going, and ended up the season injured. The Canes were also very young and inexperienced, and I think that weighed on them as the losses piled up. Their performance on the road was certainly a factor. The Canes went 0-8 in conference on the road.

They did finish the season strong, though. Miami had a very good showing in the ACC Tournament as a 12 seed, beating Wake by 21 points and Virginia Tech by 5 before losing a close game to Duke.

Best Win: 83-62 over Wake Forest (3/11)

Miami came into this first round ACC Tournament game having lost 5 of 6. They were facing a team headed to the NCAA Tournament. But they didn't show any signs of intimidation, taking it to Wake from the opening tip. Miami held a pretty substantial lead at halftime and never looked back, sparking a nice ACC Tournament run.

Worst Loss: 79-75 to Boston College (1/19)

The Canes were coming off those two blowout losses to the Virginia schools, and were finally getting something going. They were up by 17 points at home in the second half, and somehow blew that lead to a not very good Boston College team. This had to be extremely demoralizing, and was a definite sign that this Miami team was not as good as its 15-1 start indicated.

Postseason Play:

As noted before, Miami had a nice run in the ACC Tournament. They played their best basketball of the year against three good teams, and certainly surprised a lot of people. The main theme of this year's ACC Tournament was parity, and Miami was the foremost example of the strength from top to bottom in the conference. The Canes must have been disappointed after posting a 20-13 record to not get any sort of invitation for a postseason tournament. I thought the NIT would have taken Miami.

What's Ahead:

The performance at the end of the year certainly leaves a lot of optimism in Coral Gables about next year. Miami definitely has talented players, but they were very young this past year. So it's not unreasonable to expect a fairly big improvement. They do lose some key players, including Collins, James Dews, Adrian Thomas and Cyrus McGowan. That represents the top two scorers from this year, as well as the number five scorer. But the rest of the team is freshmen and sophomores. I expect Durand Scott and Malcolm Grant to really have an impact next year. The question will be getting inside production. Miami needs guys like Reggie Johnson and Julian Gamble to step up and fill the void Collins is leaving. If they can, Miami has a chance to make it back to the NCAA Tournament.

Saturday, May 01, 2010

Season Recap: Maryland

2009-2010
Maryland: 24-9 (13-3 ACC)

You'd have to say it was a pretty good year for the Maryland Terrapins. They came in with one of the best players in the country, Greivis Vasquez, as well as a good incoming freshman class. And they really did not disappoint. The Terps started out a little slowly, with a less than stellar showing in Maui. But they turned it up once they got into conference play, and really dominated the competition.

I don't think many people thought Maryland would lose only 3 ACC games. They were a very skilled offensive team, and really played just as well on the home and the road. In some games, the Terps completely dominated their competition. Obviously the main reason why was Vasquez. He has always had the ability to elevate his play when he needed to and win in the clutch. He wasn't alone, though. Eric Hayes and Landon Milbourne could be counted on for big scoring nights, and freshman Jordan Williams was a breakout star. All that under consideration, the stars were aligned for a special year.

Best Win: 79-72 over Duke (3/3)

A lot of people thought Duke was going to win this game, even up in College Park. But the Terps played a strong game, getting out to a big early lead and pulling it out down the stretch. This win enabled them to seize a first place tie they would not relinquish.

Worst Loss: 69-64 to Georgia Tech (3/12)

Maryland had a chance to really make a run in the ACC Tournament, but they were stopped even before they started. The Terps played really poorly in the first half of this quarterfinal game, and despite trying to make a furious comeback were unable to win. This may have hurt their seeding in the NCAAs.

Postseason Play:

The ACC Tournament was definitely a disappointment for Maryland. They went into the NCAAs as a 4 seed with a tough draw. They were able to put together a nice win over an up-tempo Houston team, 89-77. The real heartbreak came in the next game, though. Maryland took on 5 seed Michigan State. The Spartans outplayed Maryland for most of the game, but the Terps were able to stage a valiant comeback, even taking a late lead. But Michigan State was able to win with a 3 pointer at the buzzer, knocking Maryland out in the second round.

What's Ahead:

I talked earlier about how everything came together for a great season for Maryland. This really was the year to get something done, because I think they are due for a step backward. Maryland loses the heart and soul of their team, Vasquez. Also gone are Hayes and Milbourne. So Maryland will be losing its 3 top scorers. They still have a chance to have a good year with emerging talents in Williams and Sean Mosley. But some of these other guys will really have to pick up the slack if they want to make it back to the Big Dance.