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The last time an ACC team failed to crack the top five of the AP’s preseason rankings was 2009-10.
The 2012-13 version features four teams from the ACC with the North Carolina State Wolfpack ranked the highest at sixth. Last year’s preseason poll featured only two teams from the conference, the Tar Heels and Duke Blue Devils. The conference finished the year with three teams as the Florida State Seminoles joined Duke and North Carolina in the final Top 25 rankings of the season.
Let’s take a look at the four teams from this year’s AP Top 25 and determine who’ll still be there at season’s end.
#25 Florida State: Last year’s ACC Champions saw Bernard James go in the second round of the NBA Draft and lost four out of five starters. However, they return two of three leading scorers with guards Ian Miller and Michael Snaer. Miller averaged 10.3 points as a sophomore coming off the bench.
Snaer is entering his senior season after coming off an explosive ACC Tournament a year ago, where he averaged 18 points. He’d take home MVP honors and is the only returning starter from last year’s team.
Coach Leonard Hamilton has built his team on defence and has a lot of length to throw at the opposition. The team is known for grinding out wins and has proven it can beat the ACC’s best. Last year they beat N.C. State along with North Carolina and Duke twice.
Florida State will bounce in and out of the polls throughout the season. They have key scorers returning along with a track record for solid defence, but it’s impossible to predict the impact of losing four starters from a year ago. Look for the Seminoles to be on the bubble to crack the Top 25 at season’s end.
#11 North Carolina: The Tar Heels are a major wild card in the AP rankings. Early indications suggest the season rests entirely on the shoulders of sophomore James Michael McAdoo. The rest is up in the air, with whether Dexter Strickland and Leslie McDonald can stay healthy. Are Marcus Paige and Brice Johnson ready? Will P.J. Hairston be a consistent option?
The potential is undeniable and the Tar Heels will be in the Top 25 at season’s end. Only time will tell if they become a top 10 force, crack the top five or hang around trying to find themselves lower in the rankings.
#8 Duke: The Blue Devils have a chance to be the highest seeded ACC team at the end of the year with the inside-out combination of Mason Plumlee and Seth Curry. A year ago Duke had chemistry issues largely in part to Austin Rivers trying to be a one man show on the offensive end. With Rivers gone, the offence will go through the three seniors in Plumlee, Curry and Ryan Kelly. All three players averaged double-digit points a year ago.
If freshmen guard Rasheed Sulaimon and forward Amile Jefferson can step in and contribute right away, then Duke could find themselves in a top five spot at the end of the year. They have leadership, scoring, size and a lot more experience than the Tar Heels and Wolfpack.
#6 North Carolina State: The Wolfpack are receiving a lot of hype as many consider them favorites to win the ACC, and for good reason. If anybody can match up with Duke’s Curry and Plumlee it’d be the Wolfpack’s juniors C.J. Leslie and Loronzo Brown. Both Leslie and Brown have been predicted as ACC player of the year candidates and have 2013 first round pick potential.
At six-foot-eight, Leslie has one of the most polished post-games in the country and averaged 14.7 points and 7.3 rebounds a year ago. Brown is the team’s undisputed leader and has triple-double potential every night. Last year he averaged 12.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists.
The Wolfpack will surround their duo with a strong supporting cast that features freshmen expected to make an instant impact. Rodney Purvis is expected to be a key part of the team as soon as he hits the floor. T.J. Warren and Tyler Lewis will provide much needed depth off the bench. N.C. State also has one of the best shooters in the country in senior Scott Wood.
Unless the wheels completely fall of the wagon, N.C. State should be bouncing around in the top 10, all season long.
The ACC has three locks to be in the Top 25 all year long, and it’s no surprise all three come from the state of North Carolina. The Wolfpack, Tar Heels and Blue Devils could all finish in the top 10 at season’s end. Florida State will have to grind its way to cracking the top 25 at the year of the end. The Seminoles are on the bubble and it’ll come down to whether their lack of experience plays a factor. If they happen to fall out, look for the Maryland Terrapins or Miami(FL) Hurricanes as potential ACC teams that could slide into the rankings at season’s end.
The AP’s preseason rankings has four teams from the ACC and that number isn’t likely to change by the end of the year.
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