SWC75
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Saturday 1/1/22 8PM in the Dome VIRGINIA TV: ACC Network
The Cavaliers have been the most consistently successful ACC basketball program under Tony Bennett since we’ve been in the conference. He’s 219-50 overall and 117-28 in the conference, (Coach K: 213-64/101-45. Roy Williams: 203-84/95-49. Leonard Hamilton: 181-85/86-57. Jim Boeheim 167-100/79-65). That’s not likely to change as long as Tony is there. He’s got a national championship but, like Jay Wright, I don’t think his first will be his last. Last year they were only 18-7 but 14-4 in the conference, winning unofficial regular season title. They beat us in the ACCT but had to bow out due to Covid, then lost in the first round of the NCAAs to Ohio U.
They lost six players from that team, including double-figure scorers Sam Hauser, Jay Huff and Trey Murphy. They brought in two transfers. They still have Kihei Clark, the 5-9 point guard who averaged 9.5p/4.5a. Lindy’s: “Clark is a strong leader, a fine defender and an excellent penetrator who can finish at the hoop.“ 6-3 Reese Beckman (4.7p/2.8r/3.0) “set up teammates and defended well”. He’s a Bennett-type player. Indiana transfer Armaan Franklin (6-4, 11.4p/4.1r) could had some much-needed scoring to the backcourt. 6-7 235 Jayden Gardner transferred in from East Carolina, where he was second in the ACC in scoring and in rebounding with (18.3/8.3). he is “counted on for immediate production”, (Athlon).
Wednesday 1/5/22 8PM in Coral Gables, FL U of MIAMI TV: ACC Network
The Hurricanes have suffered plenty of damage to their roster the last couple of years due to injury. Last year they were 10-17 overall and just 4-15 in the conference. They lost 6 players from that team. They have brought in a lot of transfers to jack the program back up but this could take some time.
6-3 Isaiah Wong is one of the best guards in the conference (17.1p/4.8r/2.4a). He “scores inside and out”, (Lindy’s), including 30 points at Louisville. 6-5 Kameron McGusty, (great name for a Mimi Hurricane!), averaged 13.3p/3.8r/2.8a. Harlond Beverly (6-5, 6.7p/4.5r/3.3a) is “the best distributor on the team”, (Athlon). 5-11 Charlies Moore (14.4p/4.2a), transferred in from DePaul and “brings experience”, largely because this will be the 4th team he’s played for. 6-7 195 Jordan Miller, (15.8p/6.1r) comes from George Mason. 6-9 218 Anthony Walker (9.6p/4.7r) is the best they have up front.
Saturday 1/8/22 2PM in Winston-Salem, NC WAKE FOREST RV: RSN
Wake Forest used to have an impressive program but in the last 11 seasons they are 135-203, including 6-16, 3-15 in the conference last season. They lost five players from that team. Coach Steve Forbes, in his second season, has his work cut out for him.
Daivien Williamson, (6-2, 12.9p/2.1r/2.5a) followed Forbes from East Tennessee State where hit 47.3 of his treys. Lindy’s says that he’s “a solid distributor”. Athlon says he’s ”never been a great distributor”, (so I guess he’s good but not great), but both agree that he can score and play defense. Carter Whitt, (6-3, 4.7p/2.7a) will be at the point. He “struggled with turnovers and his shooting last year”. Freshmen 6-4 Robert McCray and Cameron Hildreth and 6-5 Lucas Taylor will push for time but none are rated higher than #130 by 247. Up front they are hoping 6-9 260 Tarig Ingraham’s luck changes he missed 2020 with a torn Achilles tendon and all but two games in 3032 due to Covid. 6-8 205 Isaiah Mucius averaged 10.3p/5.2r. 6-8 235 Jake LaRavia transferred from Indiana State where he averaged 12.3p/6.3r.
Tuesday 1/11/22 7PM in the Dome PITTSBURGH RV: ESPNU
For years in the Big East, Pittsburgh was the hardest team for us to beat. They won 14 of their last 19 Big East games against us – and we were a lot better then than we have been since. But so were they. Since we both moved to the ACC, we are 10-8 against the Panthers, which is actually disappointing since we have a much better overall record against them in this period, (167-100, 79-65 in conference vs. 130-126, 47-97 in conference, including an 0-18 disaster in 2018). Last year was particularly frustrating. In the first game, in the Dome, we scored the first 9 points, extended the lead to 28-10 and led 32-18 at the half and 49-33 with 10:44 left. Pitt took the lead with 8 seconds left and won 60-63. Ten days later, we started 9-1 and were up 15-6 with 10:54 left in the half. The Panthers caught us at 6:07 but we wrested the lead back and led 37-32 at halftime. They caught us again at 18:33 and still led only 60-64 with 8:03 left. The rest of the game was an appalling 16-32, resulting in an 76-96 final, the nadir of the season. This was the game where Bourama Sidibe, who was injured on 11/27 and was supposed to be out 4 weeks, sat and watched while Pitt’s Justin Champagnie, who was injured 12/20 and was supposed to be out 6-8 weeks scored 24 points and grabbed 16 rebounds on 1/16. We wound up 18-10/9-7 and in the Sweet 16 and they wound up 10-12/8-10, watching us on TV. We will again be playing them twice this season, here first and at their place two weeks later.
The Panthers lost their top three scorers, none of whom were seniors. Champagnie jumped to the NBA while Au’Diese Toney and Xavier Johnson transferred to Arkansas and Indiana, respectively, (we will already have played Johnson by this point). Jeff Capel brought in three transfers of his own and a freshman to fill the gaps. 6-5 Femi Odukale and 6-4 Nike Sibande took over for Toney and Johnson when they left early. In the last five games Odukale averaged 13.6p/4.0r/3.2s and scored 28 vs. Miami in the ACCT. and Sibande averaged 15.0p/6.2r over the same stretch. 6-5, 6-4 will make for a big backcourt.
Barring further legal troubles, 6-9 240 John Hughley, who was suspended for being charged with stealing a car on 1/13/21, (a 2020 incident) will be back. The charges were reduced to “unauthorized use of a vehicle”, a misdemeanor on 5/13 and he was reinstated by the school. Hughley played behind Champagnie last year and played 14.9 minutes per game with 5.1p/4.3r, numbers that should go up sharply with Campagnie gone. 6-9 210 Mouhamadou Gueye averaged 9.7p/7.1r for Stoney Brook last year. 6-7 220 Dan Oladapo averaged 12.9p/8.8r for Oakland last year. 6-7 210 Chris Payton averaged 12.5p/10.0r in junior college.
Saturday 1/15/22 TBD in the Dome FLORIDA STATE TV: ESPN2/ESPNU
Game #2 (See 12/4/21)
Tuesday 1/18/22 in the Dome 8PM CLEMSON TV: ACC Network
The Tigers had a strong season last year: 16-8, 10-6 in conference. We split with them, losing to them by a dismal 61-78 at their place but beating them in the Dome 64-54 a month later, a 27 point turnaround.
They went a disappointing 0-2 in the post season, losing to Miami in the ACCT and Rutgers in the first round of the NCAAs.
They’ve lost Aamir Simms, one of those big, muscular (6-8 240) inside guys that drove us crazy the last few years. He had 18p/11r in the loss at Clemson. 6-10 235 PJ Hall averaged 3.5p/2.0r in 10 minutes a game. 247 ranked him the 13th best center coming out of high school. 6-8 215 Hunter Tyson (7.5p/4.2r) was the team’s best three-point shooter (43.1%). 6-6 230 Naz Bohannon scored 16.5p/8.2r for Youngstown State.
The backcourt returns: 6-2 Al-Amir Dawes shot 39% from three while averaging 9.0p/2.0r/1.9a. 5-10 Nick Honor shot 36.7% from three and had a knack for stealing passes, (which doesn’t seem quite honorable). David Collins, a 6-4 220 transfer from South Florida, averaged 12.5p/3.5r there.
Saturday 1/22/22 in Durham, NC DUKE TV: ESPN2
This will be the first of two confrontations between the two winningest coaches of all time, Jim Boeheim and Mike Krzyzewski in Coach K’s final season. Mike, (who will be 75 on 2/13), comes into the year with
1,170 wins. Jim, who will be 77 on 11/17, has 1,083, (although the NCAA denied him credit for 101 wins due to a dispute over the application of the university’s drug policies). Jim could conceivably catch Mike someday but he’s have stay long enough to win 88 more games plus any differential from this year plus the 101 wins the NCAA stole. That seems highly unlikely and in any case it’s speculated that Jim might choose to go out with his two sons this year. (He says not.) Jim is 5-10 all-time vs. Mike.
Coach K had a rare down year last season with a 13-11/9-9. They still handled us in the only game between the teams, 71-85 in Durham, where this first game will be played. Lindy’s: “Duke is still formidable but the model of recruiting multiple one-year players hasn’t created the level of success many thought it would, though Kentucky also learned how that formula does not always work out. Duke and Kentucky were sitting at home while two teams with experience and grit – Gonzaga and Baylor – did battle for the national title. “
Mike has no returning double-figure scorers. 6-1 Jeremy Roach will be the point guard. (get out the Raid bug spray!) he averaged 8.7p/2.8a and only shot 31% from three point range. But he can “set up teammates, get to the basket and be effective defensively”. Roach’s former high school teammate, 6-5 221 Trevor Keels, ranked #22 nationally by 247 and the second best shooting guard, now joins the team. He “will be expect to put up points right away. He has a good long-range stroke and can get to the basket.” 6-5 213 Wendell Moore is the leading returning scorer: 9/7p/4.8r/2.7a. Mark Williams, 7-0 242, “emerged last season as a force, averaging 16.7 in his final six games, (Athlon), He had 23 point and 19 rebounds against Louisville in the ACCT. 6-9 245 Theo John started 87 games in three season at Marquette, averaging 8.0p/5.0r/1.5a.
The primary recruit is 6-10 250 Paolo Banchero, who 247 ranks as the nation’s second best recruit and best power forward. (They have Chet Holmgren, a 7-footer going to Gonzaga #1.) Their scouting report: “Respectable size for post with decent length, wide shoulders and a very good frame. Strong for his age but has plenty of room to grow into frame. Shouldn’t have issues increasing strength. Best from high post where he can hit jumpers, take bigger defenders off dribble or use his outstanding vision to find cutters. Terrific rebounder. Uses his size and basketball IQ to protect rim. Should be able to play both the four and five at college level. Improving efficiency from perimeter would take game to next level and greatly impact his NBA upside. Projects as a high-level performer at high major level. Has first-round upside with continued development.”
It might not be a vintage Duke team but they will still be a Duke team thus tough to beat.
Tuesday 1/25/22 in Pittsburgh, Pa PITTSBURGH TV: ACC Network
Game #2 (see January 11th)
Saturday 1/29/22 in the Dome WAKE FOREST TV: ACC Network
Game #2 (see January 8th)
January comments: None of these teams scare me, although any wins over Virginia and Duke will have to be regarded as upsets. A 6-3 January would get us to around 15-7.
The Cavaliers have been the most consistently successful ACC basketball program under Tony Bennett since we’ve been in the conference. He’s 219-50 overall and 117-28 in the conference, (Coach K: 213-64/101-45. Roy Williams: 203-84/95-49. Leonard Hamilton: 181-85/86-57. Jim Boeheim 167-100/79-65). That’s not likely to change as long as Tony is there. He’s got a national championship but, like Jay Wright, I don’t think his first will be his last. Last year they were only 18-7 but 14-4 in the conference, winning unofficial regular season title. They beat us in the ACCT but had to bow out due to Covid, then lost in the first round of the NCAAs to Ohio U.
They lost six players from that team, including double-figure scorers Sam Hauser, Jay Huff and Trey Murphy. They brought in two transfers. They still have Kihei Clark, the 5-9 point guard who averaged 9.5p/4.5a. Lindy’s: “Clark is a strong leader, a fine defender and an excellent penetrator who can finish at the hoop.“ 6-3 Reese Beckman (4.7p/2.8r/3.0) “set up teammates and defended well”. He’s a Bennett-type player. Indiana transfer Armaan Franklin (6-4, 11.4p/4.1r) could had some much-needed scoring to the backcourt. 6-7 235 Jayden Gardner transferred in from East Carolina, where he was second in the ACC in scoring and in rebounding with (18.3/8.3). he is “counted on for immediate production”, (Athlon).
Wednesday 1/5/22 8PM in Coral Gables, FL U of MIAMI TV: ACC Network
The Hurricanes have suffered plenty of damage to their roster the last couple of years due to injury. Last year they were 10-17 overall and just 4-15 in the conference. They lost 6 players from that team. They have brought in a lot of transfers to jack the program back up but this could take some time.
6-3 Isaiah Wong is one of the best guards in the conference (17.1p/4.8r/2.4a). He “scores inside and out”, (Lindy’s), including 30 points at Louisville. 6-5 Kameron McGusty, (great name for a Mimi Hurricane!), averaged 13.3p/3.8r/2.8a. Harlond Beverly (6-5, 6.7p/4.5r/3.3a) is “the best distributor on the team”, (Athlon). 5-11 Charlies Moore (14.4p/4.2a), transferred in from DePaul and “brings experience”, largely because this will be the 4th team he’s played for. 6-7 195 Jordan Miller, (15.8p/6.1r) comes from George Mason. 6-9 218 Anthony Walker (9.6p/4.7r) is the best they have up front.
Saturday 1/8/22 2PM in Winston-Salem, NC WAKE FOREST RV: RSN
Wake Forest used to have an impressive program but in the last 11 seasons they are 135-203, including 6-16, 3-15 in the conference last season. They lost five players from that team. Coach Steve Forbes, in his second season, has his work cut out for him.
Daivien Williamson, (6-2, 12.9p/2.1r/2.5a) followed Forbes from East Tennessee State where hit 47.3 of his treys. Lindy’s says that he’s “a solid distributor”. Athlon says he’s ”never been a great distributor”, (so I guess he’s good but not great), but both agree that he can score and play defense. Carter Whitt, (6-3, 4.7p/2.7a) will be at the point. He “struggled with turnovers and his shooting last year”. Freshmen 6-4 Robert McCray and Cameron Hildreth and 6-5 Lucas Taylor will push for time but none are rated higher than #130 by 247. Up front they are hoping 6-9 260 Tarig Ingraham’s luck changes he missed 2020 with a torn Achilles tendon and all but two games in 3032 due to Covid. 6-8 205 Isaiah Mucius averaged 10.3p/5.2r. 6-8 235 Jake LaRavia transferred from Indiana State where he averaged 12.3p/6.3r.
Tuesday 1/11/22 7PM in the Dome PITTSBURGH RV: ESPNU
For years in the Big East, Pittsburgh was the hardest team for us to beat. They won 14 of their last 19 Big East games against us – and we were a lot better then than we have been since. But so were they. Since we both moved to the ACC, we are 10-8 against the Panthers, which is actually disappointing since we have a much better overall record against them in this period, (167-100, 79-65 in conference vs. 130-126, 47-97 in conference, including an 0-18 disaster in 2018). Last year was particularly frustrating. In the first game, in the Dome, we scored the first 9 points, extended the lead to 28-10 and led 32-18 at the half and 49-33 with 10:44 left. Pitt took the lead with 8 seconds left and won 60-63. Ten days later, we started 9-1 and were up 15-6 with 10:54 left in the half. The Panthers caught us at 6:07 but we wrested the lead back and led 37-32 at halftime. They caught us again at 18:33 and still led only 60-64 with 8:03 left. The rest of the game was an appalling 16-32, resulting in an 76-96 final, the nadir of the season. This was the game where Bourama Sidibe, who was injured on 11/27 and was supposed to be out 4 weeks, sat and watched while Pitt’s Justin Champagnie, who was injured 12/20 and was supposed to be out 6-8 weeks scored 24 points and grabbed 16 rebounds on 1/16. We wound up 18-10/9-7 and in the Sweet 16 and they wound up 10-12/8-10, watching us on TV. We will again be playing them twice this season, here first and at their place two weeks later.
The Panthers lost their top three scorers, none of whom were seniors. Champagnie jumped to the NBA while Au’Diese Toney and Xavier Johnson transferred to Arkansas and Indiana, respectively, (we will already have played Johnson by this point). Jeff Capel brought in three transfers of his own and a freshman to fill the gaps. 6-5 Femi Odukale and 6-4 Nike Sibande took over for Toney and Johnson when they left early. In the last five games Odukale averaged 13.6p/4.0r/3.2s and scored 28 vs. Miami in the ACCT. and Sibande averaged 15.0p/6.2r over the same stretch. 6-5, 6-4 will make for a big backcourt.
Barring further legal troubles, 6-9 240 John Hughley, who was suspended for being charged with stealing a car on 1/13/21, (a 2020 incident) will be back. The charges were reduced to “unauthorized use of a vehicle”, a misdemeanor on 5/13 and he was reinstated by the school. Hughley played behind Champagnie last year and played 14.9 minutes per game with 5.1p/4.3r, numbers that should go up sharply with Campagnie gone. 6-9 210 Mouhamadou Gueye averaged 9.7p/7.1r for Stoney Brook last year. 6-7 220 Dan Oladapo averaged 12.9p/8.8r for Oakland last year. 6-7 210 Chris Payton averaged 12.5p/10.0r in junior college.
Saturday 1/15/22 TBD in the Dome FLORIDA STATE TV: ESPN2/ESPNU
Game #2 (See 12/4/21)
Tuesday 1/18/22 in the Dome 8PM CLEMSON TV: ACC Network
The Tigers had a strong season last year: 16-8, 10-6 in conference. We split with them, losing to them by a dismal 61-78 at their place but beating them in the Dome 64-54 a month later, a 27 point turnaround.
They went a disappointing 0-2 in the post season, losing to Miami in the ACCT and Rutgers in the first round of the NCAAs.
They’ve lost Aamir Simms, one of those big, muscular (6-8 240) inside guys that drove us crazy the last few years. He had 18p/11r in the loss at Clemson. 6-10 235 PJ Hall averaged 3.5p/2.0r in 10 minutes a game. 247 ranked him the 13th best center coming out of high school. 6-8 215 Hunter Tyson (7.5p/4.2r) was the team’s best three-point shooter (43.1%). 6-6 230 Naz Bohannon scored 16.5p/8.2r for Youngstown State.
The backcourt returns: 6-2 Al-Amir Dawes shot 39% from three while averaging 9.0p/2.0r/1.9a. 5-10 Nick Honor shot 36.7% from three and had a knack for stealing passes, (which doesn’t seem quite honorable). David Collins, a 6-4 220 transfer from South Florida, averaged 12.5p/3.5r there.
Saturday 1/22/22 in Durham, NC DUKE TV: ESPN2
This will be the first of two confrontations between the two winningest coaches of all time, Jim Boeheim and Mike Krzyzewski in Coach K’s final season. Mike, (who will be 75 on 2/13), comes into the year with
1,170 wins. Jim, who will be 77 on 11/17, has 1,083, (although the NCAA denied him credit for 101 wins due to a dispute over the application of the university’s drug policies). Jim could conceivably catch Mike someday but he’s have stay long enough to win 88 more games plus any differential from this year plus the 101 wins the NCAA stole. That seems highly unlikely and in any case it’s speculated that Jim might choose to go out with his two sons this year. (He says not.) Jim is 5-10 all-time vs. Mike.
Coach K had a rare down year last season with a 13-11/9-9. They still handled us in the only game between the teams, 71-85 in Durham, where this first game will be played. Lindy’s: “Duke is still formidable but the model of recruiting multiple one-year players hasn’t created the level of success many thought it would, though Kentucky also learned how that formula does not always work out. Duke and Kentucky were sitting at home while two teams with experience and grit – Gonzaga and Baylor – did battle for the national title. “
Mike has no returning double-figure scorers. 6-1 Jeremy Roach will be the point guard. (get out the Raid bug spray!) he averaged 8.7p/2.8a and only shot 31% from three point range. But he can “set up teammates, get to the basket and be effective defensively”. Roach’s former high school teammate, 6-5 221 Trevor Keels, ranked #22 nationally by 247 and the second best shooting guard, now joins the team. He “will be expect to put up points right away. He has a good long-range stroke and can get to the basket.” 6-5 213 Wendell Moore is the leading returning scorer: 9/7p/4.8r/2.7a. Mark Williams, 7-0 242, “emerged last season as a force, averaging 16.7 in his final six games, (Athlon), He had 23 point and 19 rebounds against Louisville in the ACCT. 6-9 245 Theo John started 87 games in three season at Marquette, averaging 8.0p/5.0r/1.5a.
The primary recruit is 6-10 250 Paolo Banchero, who 247 ranks as the nation’s second best recruit and best power forward. (They have Chet Holmgren, a 7-footer going to Gonzaga #1.) Their scouting report: “Respectable size for post with decent length, wide shoulders and a very good frame. Strong for his age but has plenty of room to grow into frame. Shouldn’t have issues increasing strength. Best from high post where he can hit jumpers, take bigger defenders off dribble or use his outstanding vision to find cutters. Terrific rebounder. Uses his size and basketball IQ to protect rim. Should be able to play both the four and five at college level. Improving efficiency from perimeter would take game to next level and greatly impact his NBA upside. Projects as a high-level performer at high major level. Has first-round upside with continued development.”
It might not be a vintage Duke team but they will still be a Duke team thus tough to beat.
Tuesday 1/25/22 in Pittsburgh, Pa PITTSBURGH TV: ACC Network
Game #2 (see January 11th)
Saturday 1/29/22 in the Dome WAKE FOREST TV: ACC Network
Game #2 (see January 8th)
January comments: None of these teams scare me, although any wins over Virginia and Duke will have to be regarded as upsets. A 6-3 January would get us to around 15-7.
