ACC Roundup

Saturday's ACC action sees Clemson at Georgia Tech, Wake at N.C. State,
Virginia Tech at Maryland, and B.C. at Miami.

The one that jumps out is State-Wake. After last season's memorable
dirty play by Chris Paul, when he gave Julius Hodge one of the great cheap shots
in ACC history, the State crowd should be fired up to say the least. It
should be a very intense game.

Wake will have to rely on Harvey Hale, who is improving, but facing a tough
backcourt. A more interesting matchup: Cedric Simmons vs. Eric
Williams.

Georgia Tech has a weak record, but we think the Yellow Jackets are coming
on. We also have a lot of respect for what Oliver Purnell is doing
at Clemson. He doesn't have enough horses to really work his system, but they're
doing pretty well, all things considered. This could actually be one of
the more interesting games this weekend.

Given everything that has happened this season, and with Virginia Tech's road
struggles in the ACC, Maryland should win. On the other hand, if Tech can
get Maryland to cough it up as they have at times this season, they'll have a
shot.

And with Boston College jetting down to Miami, it's a power frontcourt
against a dynamic backcourt. Miami seems to be getting it together, while
B.C. has struggled, although of course they have now won a conference game.

Several years ago we had a nice conversation with Anthony Grundy, and found
him to be a really nice guy, and someone we'd keep an eye on. So here's an
interesting story which
finds the State grad impressed by a homeless shelter.

No great surprise here - Travis Garrison is back on the team. Or is
he? This site says he's
back, but the Winston-Salem Journal says "Travis Garrison of Maryland
ran afoul the law and Coach Gary Williams last week and has
been indefinitely suspended."

We're guessing he's back. Either way, Maryland
is working on offensive patience.

ACC teams have been winning pretty consistently at home, and fan
intensity is definitely a part of the tradition, at Duke and at most of the
other schools as well.

Cedric Simmons is a really good player, and we admire what he's done this
season. But there is a bit of a disconnect about his performance vs.
Shelden Williams, just as there was about Marco Killingsworth's. Yes, both
players did very well. But was Shelden Williams that bad?

Depends on what you think happened. If they both outplayed him, then
okay, maybe so. But in the Indiana game, we think what happened was that
Duke and Williams decided to err on the side of caution, and Williams played
somewhat passively to avoid foul trouble.

Was that the case in the State game? We're not sure. But we do
know that at the end of the game, Williams was the dominant big man.

Simmons had a great game and was a revelation, though, and State has a
major building block. His future is very bright.

Matt Doherty is a terrible liar. He tried to say for a while that he
wasn't that upset with leaving UNC, when any normal human being would be
traumatized. As he establishes himself at Florida Atlantic, though, he's
gradually come clean about his feelings, although he continues to spin. Latest
example:

"I think the biggest
problem was that I tried to institute change too fast. Now, through
experience and studying leadership, you realize that when you step into an
organization that is entrenched in tradition and success, you don't try to make
changes.

"Maybe they're the right
changes. But people don't like change. I make change here, and people are like,
'Wow, that's great.' I could have done the same thing at
North Carolina, but people didn't look at it that way."

Well, Roy Williams made changes too, and brought his own coaching staff, and would have if he had
come in when Doherty did. It wasn't that he was making changes. It
was that he was arrogant and abrasive about making changes, and many
people felt he was abusive.

We also notice how he's increasingly introducing his leadership studies as
part of his rehabilitation. Not a bad move, all things considered.

Now,
he's trying to say that playing Jacksonville in a double OT game is
"like playing Duke," and suggesting that he likes the view from a
small school better.

Balderdash. Say what you will about Matt Doherty, but he's a driven
man, and he knows Jacksonville and Campbell are small time. So is FAU.

Matt Doherty's dark side was illuminated in Chapel Hill. But he also
has some positive qualities, including being a very hard worker, a good
salesman, and having a strong sense of, shall we say, self-confidence.
This is not a humble man who is, like Homer Drew, content to work at a smaller
place which he loves. This is a guy who believes he belongs in the big
time and who, we believe, wants to stick it to the people who he thinks screwed
him. That combination of traits ensures he'll take the first train out of
Boca Raton that's headed to a major program.

The Kentucky job could be open after this season. He won't get it, but
don't be surprised if you hear that he's making inquiries, and, well, the man
can clearly recruit, and they'll be looking for that. So will some other
programs.

• Jackets
  don't need to panic over 2-2 ACC start
• Patience
  pays off for Terps
• Cavaliers
  find confidence and success
• Reaching
  The Point Of Recovery
• Virginia
  shows potential in upset victory
• Bench
  mark for Cavs
• UNC
  Observations
• Wake
  Forest musings