As we’ve just gotten past the mid-season of the college basketball season who are the leading candidates for ACC COY?
Hubert Davis – North Carolina
I think at the moment Hubert Davis is the leader in the clubhouse. Picked 3rd in the ACC in the pre-season, the Heels look like the best team in the ACC at the moment. The Heels are 13-3 (5-0) and have 6 games in a row. While there was some inconsistency earlier in the year closing out games against quality opponents, that seems to be in the rearview mirror. The last few weeks have seen the Tar Heels move from a good team to a potential national title contender as their defense has ramped up to a level that can make the Heels great. There was pressure for the Tar Heels to rebound from last year’s disappointing season and they’ve done that so far.
Steve Forbes – Wake Forest
Steve Forbes has managed Damari Monsanto’s injury among others early in the season to guide the Deacs to a 12-4 (4-1) start. Sitting at 2-3 early in the season, Forbes has led Wake Forest to wins in 10 of their next 11 games, and back to the NCAA bubble discussion. If Forbes can continue this trajectory, he’ll continue to be in the discussion with Davis for ACC COY.
Brad Brownell – Clemson
During the pre-conference portion of the schedule, Clemson raced out to a 11-1 top 15 start with wins over Alabama, South Carolina, and TCU. That included a tournament win in Asheville, NC. Their single loss at that time was 2 2-point defeat at Memphis. He was probably leading this chase as the new year started. Since that time Clemson has lost 3 games to fall to 12-4 (2-3) and Brownell has fallen off the COY pace set by Davis and Forbes. If Clemson can finish in the top 4 of the ACC, then Brownell becomes a more viable candidate.
Other Candidates
Kevin Keatts – NC State, Leonard Hamilton – Florida State
Picked pre-season 7th and 11th in the ACC, NC State, and Florida State are currently sitting at 4-1 in the ACC tied for second. Should they be able to maintain that pace, they could get into the COY picture.
