ACC Roundup - The Full Pack Debuts

For the first time this season Mark Gottfried had his full team healthy and together and it was a pretty solid outing for the Pack as State blasted Appalachian 97-64.

Up to this point the Pack has struggled to its 8-2 record. It barely beat Georgia Southern (79-77), Loyola (same score), Boston University (77-73) and Tennessee State (67-55 in overtime).

Defense has been a concern as has depth.

Defense was better against App State - State held the Mountaineers to 31.6% - but that’s an ongoing concern for State. It’s not necessarily Gottfried’s strength anyway.

So we’ll see about that end.

On offense though State is going to be a load.

State has four guards that can all play and several big guys who can as well.

Yurtseven changes things. The young big man is highly agile. He can shoot and can clearly pass. He’s thin but that’ll change over time. It doesn’t take long to see that he’s going to be really good.

Yurtseven didn’t start but outplayed Beejay Anya easily. Yurtseven had 12 points and four rebounds; Anya had six boards and one block.

And despite no assists, Yurtseven clearly understands how to pass the ball.

This team has significant talent and it’s not just Yurtseven and Dennis Smith. Torin Dorn and Terry Henderson can both play. Abdul-Malik Abu is very solid. Ted Kapita has shown real flashes and will only get better.

Upshot: there is no reason this isn’t an NCAA tournament team and possibly a Sweet 16 team as well. State should get very good.

One concern: rebounding. There is no reason that a team with this level of talent should see Dorn be its leading rebounder against App State.

State missed 22 shots and got just four offensive rebounds. Anya, Abu, Kapita and Yurtseven combined for...none.

So State has some things to work on but overall, now that this team is finally together, the Pack looks formidable.

On Friday night, there is only one ACC team in action as Miami takes on FAU. FAU simply isn’t very good so Miami should win easily.

*****

As the Wake football scandal continues to unfold another school has been identified: Virginia Tech.

Hokie A.D. Whit Babcock confirmed it, saying that it happened under former coach Frank Beamer in 2014.

As in the other known cases, former Wake QB, assistant coach and radio color man Tommy Elrod reached out to an assistant who, in this case, is unnamed.

For his part, Beamer denied any knowledge: “I can assure you, that while I was the head coach at Virginia Tech, I had no knowledge of what is being alleged. I’ve built my entire career and life on doing things the right way and that will never change.”

We learned Thursday that the Army assistant who is involved worked at Wake Forest with Elrod as did the Louisville assistant.

Nice news: Malcom Brogdon will have his UVA jersey retired. That’s richly deserved.

• U of L hoops coaches' salaries highest in ACC
• 10 years later, Paul Tudor Jones' gift to Virginia basketball has paid off
• Virginia Tech basketball discovered its depth after starting season a little short
• UM basketball teams back in action Friday
• Virginia basketball to retire Malcolm Brogdon's jersey
• Joel Berry's status remains uncertain for Kentucky
• The story, 25 years later, behind how the Smith Center became known for ‘wine and cheese’