We've made the argument for some time now that coaching is what has slowed the ACC down. With eight new coaches over the last couple of seasons, the problem may be solved. And with the exception of Jeff Bzdelik, who had a truly awful first season, Gary Williams excluded for the moment, who's not at least arguably better than his predecessor? Dave Leitao was a disaster, Al Skinner was fading fast, Sidney Lowe, as beloved as he was, never fully figured out the college coaching game, Frank Haith seemed to fall short annually despite some nice talent, and Paul Hewitt just ultimately failed.
| School | Current/New Coach | Current/Former Coach |
| Duke | Coach K | Coach K |
| UNC | Roy Williams | Roy Williams |
| FSU | Leonard Hamilton | Leonard Hamilton |
| Virginia Tech | Seth Greenberg | Seth Greenberg |
| Virginia | Tony Bennett | Dave Leitao |
| Clemson | Brad Brownell | Oliver Purnell |
| B.C. | Steve Donahue | Al Skinner |
| Wake Forest | Jeff Bzdelik | Dino Gaudio |
| NC State | Mark Gottfried | Sidney Lowe |
| Miami | Jim Larranaga | Frank Haith |
| Georgia Tech | Brian Gregory | Paul Hewitt |
| Maryland | Mark Turgeon | Gary Williams |
We think that Turgeon has a chance to do at least as well as Williams and Lefty Driesell did at Maryland, though of course he has to prove it, and Bzdelik may yet surprise.
On the other hand, if he doesn't, A.D. Ron Wellman has shown that he can be quite cold-blooded when it comes to assessing coaches.
As for the rest of the new guys, we think they'll do well. When you look down the list actually, other than Bzdelik, who is the least likely to do well? It's a solid group.
Most of the schools have the infrastructure and fan support, even if it has waned lately. Toss coaching in the mix and it's very hard not to see improvement.
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