In many ways, the 2020-2021 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) basketball season was one of the most disappointing. For one thing, no ACC team made it to the NCAA Tournament’s Elite Eight. This hasn’t happened since 2014 when the UConn Huskies from the American Athletic Conference (AAC) won the national championship.
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In the 2020-2021 season, only two ACC teams–Syracuse and Florida State–made it past the first round in the NCAA Tournament. Both were unfortunately shown the door in the regional semifinals. ACC teams finished with only a 4-7 overall record. It was the conference’s lowest winning percentage and lowest win total in this tournament since 1979.
The ACC hasn’t had a lot of seasons like these, with Duke’s 16 finals appearances and North Carolina’s record of 20 appearances at the Final Four. Teams from ACC also have won a total of 15 national championships, and that’s not counting the new members of Syracuse and Louisville. Based on this record, yes, you could say that the 2021 season was dismal.
For the 2021-2022 season, ACC teams are raring to bounce back and to put the ghost of 2021 behind them. So, what should you expect for the Division I conference?
Things Are Cooking Up in ACC
The pandemic affected everybody in the league. Team practices weren’t enough, at least not enough to satisfy their coaches. The crowd just wasn’t there to give them that extra oomph. But a new season is coming, and anything is possible, right? So, gear up, don your favorite team’s jersey, and get your basketball shoes online. If anything, the next season is full of potential for the ACC.
Many of the teams are hoping to shore up their rotations with fresh recruits, and there are a lot of promising players out there who are expected to suit up for various ACC teams this coming season. Out of the top 100 available high school players in the country, the conference has snagged 18 of them. On the other hand, the NBA draft affected more than a few ACC teams’ player lineups as some underclassmen have declared their availability for the 2021 NBA draft.
This off-season has been the busiest for college basketball. As you can imagine, teams are assiduously preparing for the coming season that they hope won’t be a repeat of the previous season’s debacle.
Here are a few things you can expect to happen in the ACC basketball 2021-2022 season:
1. Big Changes in Duke University’s Team, The Blue Devils
College basketball’s winningest, and one of the greatest college basketball coaches of all time, the Blue Devils’ Mike Krzyzewski, is retiring after the 2021-2022 season. He has coached Duke University’s men’s basketball team for more than forty years.
‘Coach K’ is a Hall of Famer who has led the Blue Devils to 12 ACC regular season and 15 ACC Men’s Basketball Tournament titles. Under his mentorship, the Blue Devils also made 12 Final Four appearances, resulting in five NCAA Division I national championships. He will be replaced by Jon Scheyer, associate head coach since 2018, for the 2022-2023 season.
Duke’s roster will also be undergoing a major revamp, now that the team is losing Matthew Hurt, the All-ACC forward and the conference’s top scorer, along with a bunch of other supporting casts that added depth to the Blue Devils’ bench. But worry not, the recruiting class is nothing short of star-studded, which is led by the 6’9” forward Paolo Banchero, the number 2 overall prospect.
Besides, with Mark Williams returning to the Blue Devils, the five-time national champions could be a serious contender again this season. They’re projected to be in the Elite Eight and 1st in the ACC.
2. Roster Turnover For The Florida State Seminoles
The Seminoles’ roster will undergo significant changes this coming season, as four of last season’s top players won’t be returning. Three of these four players got drafted in the NBA–Scottie Barnes in the first round (fourth pick) by the Raptors, and Balsa Koprivica and RaiQuan Gray in the second round, by the Hornets and the Suns, respectively.
Expected to return is Anthony Polite, a 6’6’ wingman who averaged 10.1 PPG and shot a team-leading 44% from the three-point range last season. He was a significant contributor to the Seminoles team that finished as runner-up in the ACC Tournament the previous season.
He’ll be joined by Caleb Mills, a 6’3” scoring guard from Houston, the promising freshman 6’5” combo guard Jalen Warley, 6’6” shooting guard Matthew Cleveland, and the 6’11 power forward John Butler Jr. The Seminoles are predicted to be 4th in the ACC, and in the Round of 32 at NCAA.
3. The Tar Heels After Coach Roy Williams’ Retirement
Coach Williams retired after the 2020-2021 season, ending a storied 33-year career as a coach, 18 of them spent at North Carolina. He assumed the Tar Heels head coaching job in 2003, steering the Tar Heels to three NCAA national championships in 2005, 2009, and 2017. He’s replaced by Hubert Davis, who served as Assistant Coach under Coach Williams for nine years.
This season’s Tar Heels is projected to be in the Elite Eight, thanks to Coach Davis’ addition of strong transfers, like the 6’11” power forward Dawson Garcia from Marquette and the 6’9” Brady Manek from Oklahoma. They’ll be beefing an already robust frontline, joining the 6’10” PF Armando Bacot, who averaged 12.3 PPG and 7.8 REB.
Caleb Love, the incoming sophomore will lead the offense and is projected to be a breakout star for the 2021-2022 season. The team’s projected to be 2nd in the ACC.
Final Thoughts
With several teams undergoing major roster revamps, this off-season has been considered the busiest in college history. This season, a few teams are looking to be in a position to make a huge impact at the NCAA, after the previous season’s forgettable performance from the ACC basketball teams.
