ACC Coaches Experienced, Seasoned

The ACC's coaches are getting older. Yeah, yeah, every day they're getting older, just like the rest of us if we're lucky.

Our reference is to the coaching corps cumulatively. As a group the men directing ACC clubs are staying on the job later in life - assuming they win, of course. Or, to put it most exactly, the enduring winners among ACC coaches are staying in the game to a riper age, thereby increasing the group average.

This season there are six ACC coaches who already qualify for Social Security - Syracuse's Jim Boeheim (70), Duke's Mike Krzyzewski (68), Florida State's Leonard Hamilton (66), Miami's Jim Larranaga (65), North Carolina's Roy Williams and Louisville's Rick Pitino (62). All but Hamilton are either in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame or, in Pitino's case, nominated for inclusion.

There also are six coaches in their forties. Virginia Tech coach Brent "Buzz" Williams is the ACC's youngest at 42. Until he arrived this season, Virginia's Tony Bennett was the league's reigning youngster. Now he just reigns.

For purposes of comparison, Dean Smith was 30 when he took over at North Carolina and 66 when he retired in 1997.