Crickets Chirping - Random ACC Notes

If you're wondering what that sound is, it is clearly crickets chirping.

With the ACC football starting, most ACC blogs have shifted their focus, but here at SCACCHoops.com we're getting ready for another great hoops season.  We'll start to roll out our previews soon, and recently interviewed a new force in the college basketball stats world.  Look for that to come soon.  For now, let's take a quick look around at any hoops news...

First, NC State has announced some schedule changes, which are now reflected on the NC State schedule. 

Two home games have switched days after they were picked up by ESPNU. The Florida State home game will now be on January 13 with a 7:00 p.m. tip, and the Miami home contest has been moved to January 27 also at 7:00 p.m.

In addition to those two contests, ESPNU will also carry the Marquette game on December 22 at 7:00 p.m., and the final home game of the season on March 4 against Boston College at 7:00 p.m.

Fox Sports South and New England Sports Network will now broadcast the Pack’s road game at Davidson on December 6, with a tip time of 12:00 p.m.

The February 11 home contest versus Wake Forest has now been set for 7:00 p.m.

Speaking of NC State, the Duke Basketball Report just started their ACC Previews, and the Wolfpack were up first...

This is not a team without talent but fitting it together is going to be problematic, and that’s assuming someone can handle the point at an ACC level.

Our guess is that, given his preference for a running team, Lowe may end ultimately end up going with a smaller lineup.  He’s probably going to have to make a choice between the old and the new, and since his idea (and his recruits) are the new, and the fans didn’t much care for the old, there’s no argument whatsoever for going back.

This is somewhat complicated by the fact that this is Lowe’s third season, yet he only has five of his own recruits in the program, and only Degand is more than a sophomore, and he’s a transfer. 

It’s a program in a prolonged transition, in other words, and there’s more work to be done than you’d expect in the third year of a new regime.

On balance, we’d say - cautiously - that the prognosis is, overall, positive.

Finally, Kenny George got a lot of press last season as the 7'7" behemoth put together a pretty decent season.  While his team, UNC Asheville is on the schedule for several ACC teams, George won't be visiting ACC Country.  He just had surgery on his foot which may lead him to missing the entire 2008-09 season.