Top Players in Conference
Tyrese Rice, Boston College
Jack McClinton, Miami Fl.
Tyler Hansbrough, UNC
A.D. Vassallo, Virginia Tech
James Johnson, Wake Forest

Player of the Year
Tyler Hansbrough, UNC

Player to Look Out For
Terrence Oglesby, Clemson

Projected ACC Finish
1. UNC 14-2
2. Duke 13-3
3. Virginia Tech 10-6
4. Miami Fl. 9-7
5. Wake Forest 9-7
6. Clemson 8-8
7. Georgia Tech 8-8
8. Maryland 6-10
9. Florida St. 6-10
10. Virginia 5-11
11. Boston College 4-12
12. N.C. State 4-12

UNC
No question that UNC is hands down the team to beat in the conference. They return the core of their lineup including all five starters as they only had one senior on last year's squad. Not to mention, they added two five star recruits that they'll have a hard time finding significant playing time for. That could be where the freshman come in because UNC's interior defense was the weak spot last year.

Duke
Duke has to be considered clearly the 2nd best team in the ACC. They return much of their team, although DeMarcus Nelson will be missed. They lack a big time star player, but they are well balanced and bring in a big time SG in Elliot Williams. Much like UNC, the Blue Devils struggled defending in the post since they lack much height.

Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech is a team that I think is really under the radar and will be better than people expect. Led by one of the best players in the conference in A.D. Vassallo, the Hokies return much of their team. They were very young last season and will be more experienced this year. Stat of note: Va. Tech won 4 of their final 5 regular season games, and only lost by a basket in the ACC tourney to UNC.

Miami Fl.
Miami had one of their best season's in some time last year and there's no reason to think they can't be just as good, if not better this season. They only had two seniors on the team a year ago, and they returned everyone else while adding a five star recruit in SF DeQuan Jones. Jack McClinton returns as the best player on the team and the senior leader at PG.

Wake Forest
Wake Forest should be the most improved team in the conference this season as they return more than any other team. James Johnson had a very nice freshman season and should be considered one of the best players in the conference. One area of concern has to be their perimeter shooting, since they only had one player over the 34% clip last season.

Clemson
Clemson is the team I have predicted to fall the farthest from a year ago, as they were 3rd last season and I have them tied for 6th. They have to replace senior starters Cliff Hammonds and James Mays which will be no easy task. Terrence Oglesby played really well as a freshman off the bench last season, so he's someone to keep an eye on.

Georiga Tech
Georgia Tech should be able to do better than their underachieveing 15-17 record in '07-'08. Despite losing three seniors, including key guys Anthony Morrow and Jeremis Smith, the rest of the starting lineup and bench return. The Yellow Jackets also bring in five star recruit Iman Shumpert who will likely start right away.

Maryland
This is where the conference starts to drop off a bit as Maryland lost two key starters in James Gist and Bambale Osby. The Terps weren't a very deep team last season, and they lack a lot of talent so they're going even more so than they did a year ago. The good news is that Williams always has his teams playing defense, but that's only going to get them so far.

Florida St.
Florida St. lost about half of its team, and that's from a squad that was only 7-9 during ACC play last year. They do bring in a nice recruiting class that features five star prospect Chris Singleton, but they probably won't be a factor until at least next season. Expect the Seminoles to be pretty sound defensively once again.

Virginia
Virginia's disappointing season last year will continue this season after losing its star player in PG Sean Singletary. The Cavs also lost Adrian Joseph who was probably their 2nd best player so they're going to be lacking in talent. Not to mention, they haven't been good on the defensive side of the ball the past couple of years.

Boston College
BC returns one of the better players in the conference in senior Tyrese Rice, but he can't do it all himself. They didn't lose a ton of players, but you have to consider that Skinner doesn't focus on defense at all and that's going to limit their upside no matter how much talent they have.

N.C. State
The Wolfpack lost their final nine games last season leaving a lot of question marks heading into this year, especially after losing their two best players in Gavin Grant and J.J. Hickson. That makes this season a rebuilding year for sure.