In Wednesday’s ACC action, Louisville smacked USC Upstate 76-50, Florida State clobbered UT-Chattanooga 89-53, BC’s Eagles beat the guest Eagles from Eastern Washington 72-68, Virginia Tech opened a can of whoop-ass on Delaware State, winning 100-64, Syracuse knocked off Cornell in the Boeheim Bowl 72-53, Georgia nipped the Yellow Jackets 82-78 and UNC survived Elon 75-61.
We got an idea of what might happen if freshman star Cole Anthony were limited offensively and while he did have 10 rebounds and eight assists, he shot just 4-14 and the game was very nearly tied at halftime.
UNC got a bit of separation early in the second but never really handled Elon like you might have expected. Armando Bacot had a big game with 22 points and 14 boards and Garrison Brooks had 14 points and six boards.
UNC out rebounded the Phoenix 56-26 and didn't turn the ball over (just 10 turnovers) so how did Elon hang around?
Three point shooting and foul shots.
Elon had 36 points from deep and hit all nine free throws and that’s 45 points leaving 16 on whatever else they managed.
Young Anthony came close to a triple double and he’s a major talent but he’s not what you would call efficient. He’s 30-79 (37.9 percent) on the season and that’s not against great competition.
Of course that was the knock against RJ Barrett last year too.
We’re going to make a mildly radical suggestion: Virginia Tech freshman Hunter Bacoor will have a better ACC career than Anthony.
Seriously DBR?
Well yes. We’re not saying he’ll be a better player but he may have a better ACC career.
Here’s why.
First he’ll be here longer and have more time to establish himself. And second, while he’s not as talented as Anthony is, he is vastly superior in one key way: he gets the ball where it’s going much, much faster than does Anthony.
In that he reminds us of Mark Price, who showed up to Georgia Tech as a well regarded but hardly major recruit.
Most coaches would have a hard time turning Anthony down but Bacoor will probably be around at least three seasons and he really has an advanced understanding of the importance of moving the basketball. Watch some of Virginia Tech’s win over Delaware State and you’ll quickly see what we mean. That kid makes decisions very, very quickly.
Compare that to what Anthony said about rebounding this week - he’s good at it and feels like it saves time for him to get the ball. Why? Because he has the ball in his hands. He’s placing a bigger emphasis on that than moving it. Rather than explode downcourt for a pass he wants full control.
He’s more talented but we prefer Bacoor’s approach. Watch that kid. He really gets it.
We haven’t really seen the Hokies play a great team but we’ll say this: Buzz Williams had them playing an intelligent style and Mike Young is going to continue, if not accelerate that. Size may cost Virginia Tech this season but they’re going to be a tough out and will get better soon. Landers Nolley and Bacoor are two great building blocks.
That said, they’re not going to hit 21 threes every time out.
Georgia Tech gave Georgia a game but fell by four. Jose Alvarado did start but coach Josh Pastner said that while he’s Tech’s “heart and soul” he clearly wasn’t fully recovered from his injury.
So tough loss for Tech and the fifth straight to the Bulldogs.
In the Boeheim Bowl, Jimmy had 25 to Buddy’s 15, but the Orange pulled away from Colgate and won by 19.
Wunderfrosh Joe Girard shot just 2-8 but he did add six boards and four assists.
Afterwards, Boeheim - dad Jim that is - said that “I don’t really like coaching against my son, but you gotta do it once a year and you gotta get through it. He played really well. And I’m sure his mother’s happy.”
And during the presser July Boeheim piped up to say yes she was.
There’s not a whole lot to say about the other games because really who cares? BC wins by four over an anonymous Western team. Yahoo. Louisville rolls again over SC Upstate. What’s to be gained there? Strike up the band.
However, we would like to suggest one thing to keep an eye on and that’s FSU freshman Patrick Williams. He’s versatile and is turning into a big asset for Leonard Hamilton’s program. He had 16 points, three assists and two steals in 20 minutes. He’s from Charlotte and another kid that NC State and Wake Forest might have had.
On Thursday, Missouri State plays Miami in the Charleston Classic, Pitt hosts Arkansas Pine-Bluff, Alabama A&M journeys up to Clemson and Toledo rockets over to South Bend to take on the Fighting Irish.
Thursday’s ACC Action
- Missouri State vs. Miami || 11:30 || ESPNU
- Ark Pine Bluff @ Pitt || 7:00 || ACCNX
- Alabama A&M @ Clemson || ACCNX
- Toledo @ Notre Dame || 8:30 || ACCN
- Duke vs. Cal || 9:00 || ESPN2
- UNC struggles early against Elon, but pulls away in the second half for win
- Roy Williams following win over Elon: ‘We really made a bunch of mistakes’
- EXCLUSIVE: Juli Boeheim reflects on watching her sons play
- Bacot, Anthony lead No. 5 UNC past Elon 75-61
- A timeout for Coach Williams? ‘I just wanted to scream’
- A basketball star is reborn at Boston College: Third college the charm for Derryck Thornton
- Why Pitt’s win against Monmouth meant so much to Jeff Capel, King Rice
- How ‘Rocky III’ helped Pitt improve its play and manage expectations
- Elijah Hughes keeps Syracuse’s most important conversation front-and-center
- Jimmy Boeheim leads all scorers with 25, draws praise from dad
- Quincy Guerrier sparks key run in SU’s win over Cornell
- Observations, what mattered most from SU vs. Cornell
- David Johnson and Malik Williams return to help U of L beat USC Upstate
- Virginia Tech makes school-record 21 3-pointers in rout of Delaware State