An interesting fact about ACC coaching now: the coaching corps may be as old as it's ever been. With Coach K, Gary Williams, Roy Williams (we believe) and new Miami head man Jim Larranaga over 60, and Jeff Bzdelik pushing it himself if he hasn't already reached that milestone, the league, inevitably, will soon undergo another large turnover. It may not be as quick as it was these past two seasons, but the ACC without Krzyzewski and both Ol' Roy and Gary will be a vastly different place.
Incidentally, at least one Miami recruit appears to be reconsidering his departure and may recommit from his decommit.
So what can we say about Larranaga? Clearly, the guy can coach. He's a superb coach, unusually good in fact.
Our sole objection is that starting over in your 60s is both tough and by definition short-term. But after reading comments by Seth Davis and Mike DeCourcy, we're slowly changing our opinion on that. After all, it's not like Frank Haith was in it for 25 years. As DeCourcy said, if your coach moves on, what difference does it make if he moves on to a new job or to retirement? Either way you need a new coach.
Overall, as we said the other day, our argument for the last couple of years about the quality of play in the ACC has proved largely accurate:Â it was the coaches, stupid.
Now, with quality new guys at BC, Virginia, Georgia Tech, Clemson and Miami, and coaches at Wake and State who have at least had success previously, things should be much more interesting around the league.
We've talked about those guys and the Hall Of Famers extensively. But what about Seth Greenberg and Leonard Hamilton?
Hamilton has gone from being somewhat shaky to being an annual tournament presence. He's turned FSU into a defensive juggernaut -- no one wants to take them on.
Greenberg hasn't been as successful, but it's tougher at Virginia Tech than most places. He has made them competitive - immensely so at times - but not consistently, and not when it counts most. If teams take on the personalities of their coaches, then they've taken his: emotional, insecure, yet rising to any perceived slight with fierce hand-to-hand combat.
Can he get to another level? Almost certainly. Will he? Another question entirely.
Here's something for Hokies to ponder:Â of all the new guys, and toss in Leonard Hamilton just for fun, would you prefer any of them to Greenberg?
We would. In no particular order, Larranaga, Brownell, Bennett, Mark Gottfried, Donahue and Gregory could make Tech a consistent tournament team. Just food for thought.