Seeding Breakdown, Part II: The Second Six, Or The Very Under-est Of The Underdogs

The ACC Tournament is nearly upon us, and after looking at the top six seeds yesterday, today we take a look at the bottom half of the league seeds (my 2007 and 2008 breakdowns are also available if you're the nostalgic type). Swing back by for my bracket breakdown at some point this afternoon if you're interested.

Giddyup …

#7 Maryland (18-12 overall, 7-9 in the ACC)
Coach Gary “Another Dewar’s, please” Williams has been dogged all season long about his refusal to play the game of AAU basketball, his recruiting tactics and the fact that none of his players has ever passed a class, ever. All that being said, he’s done yet another rather remarkable job to put his Terps in position to actually be considered for an NCAA Tournament bid. Losing three out of four down the stretch—to Virginia? Really?—means Maryland’s on the outside looking in right now, but Williams has proven to be a master tourney coach.

You could argue about the late-season el foldo and whether the turtles have been playing above their heads all year long or not, but you can’t argue about the fact that Greivis Vasquez has been incredible for most of the season, highlighted by his insane triple-double against the Tar Heels. He’s the player that opponents love to hate, he’s a walking commercial for acne cream and his on-court demeanor makes Sebastian Telfair look like Jerry freaking West, but it’s still amazing what Vasquez has been able to do while still holding down a job busing tables at El Rodeo.

Can you name three other players on the Maryland team? Probably not. But Landon Milbourne, Eric Hayes and Adrian Bowie have all had their moments, while bruising Dave Neal is a headhunter on picks with the ability to knock down the occasional three-pointer. They also have a Chinese kid on their bench named Jin Soo Kim (shouldn’t he have gone to Duke?), and I’ve selfishly been praying for that poor bastard to get into a game at some point. Do these players comprise enough for the Terrapins to be a factor in the ACC Tournament? Um, no. Back to the drawing board, guys … er, bad example. By the way, I’ll take a dinner especial numero ocho and a Sol cerveza, por favor, Greivis.



#8 Virginia Tech (17-13 overall, 7-9 in the ACC)
I once had a begrudging respect for Seth Greenberg. I liked the way that he stood up to ACC officials, got tossed out of Cameron Indoor Stadium, and took his crew of perpetual underdogs up against the big boys and fought them tooth and nail. (Also, State used to beat VT like a rented mule, so that made it a little easier to like the Hokies). But then Greenberg turned into a Jewish love-child of Coach Krazooski and Paul Hewitt, started to look disturbingly like Jerry Tarkanian, and started to bring every thug in a 200-mile radius to Blacksburg.

Losing six out of seven down the stretch should pop VT’s NCAA bubble yet again, but this is still a pesky, dangerous team. The Hokies have three of the most underrated players in the ACC in A.D. “older than Che Guevara” Vassallo, Malcolm “In the Middle” Delaney and “Biggest Loser” winner Jeff Allen, and the 52 points that trio puts up per game will likely keep VT in each and every matchup they have in the ACC Tournament.

The dropoff is huge after those three, so do they have the depth to sustain a longer tourney run? The only thing you can count on for sure is that the Hokies will scratch, claw and fight, and Greenberg will spend most of the game cursing out referees in both English and Hebrew as assistants scurry to try to make him aware of the score of the game. Virginia Tech is a hard school to like under any circumstances, but Greenberg’s act is getting more than a little old and makes it way too easy to root against his squad.



#9 Miami (18-11 overall, 7-9 in the ACC)
Most were ready to anoint Frank Haith as the ACC’s next great coach prior to this season, but the Hurricanes slid from grace early in the season and could not never quite get into a rhythm. Three overtime losses severely damage their chances for an NCAA bid, so this is a team that knows it needs a compelling run in the ACC Tournament in order to have a legitimate shot to go dancing.

Jack McClinton wears more eyeliner than Richard Alpert from “Lost,” and that combined with his incredible number of tattoos makes him look more than a little like a black Kat Von D. But—he’s the most dynamic offensive force in the ACC, is in range from anywhere in the gym and hasn’t missed a free throw in about 15 years. Also, there’s no way you can prove to me that center Dwayne Collins isn’t 43 years old. He’s the Danny Almante of the ACC and he’s going to have rickets before he “graduates,” but he’s a double-double waiting to happen at all times.

James Dews, Brian Asbury, Lance Hurdle and Adrian Thomas have all had their moments, while Jimmy Graham is the ultimate elbows-and-garbage man, giving Haith a lot of different options for a lot of different styles. Miami plays a good enough zone defense to give some teams problems, but they too often play selfish, one-on-one basketball and don’t look like a cohesive unit. Can Haith get through to them for long enough to win a few in Atlanta and steal a tourney berth? It says here that if he hasn’t done it by now … shit ain’t happenin’.


#10 NC State (16-13 overall, 6-10 in the ACC)
The Pack’s logo should be changed from a wolf to an apple turnover, because turnovers have crippled the Wolfpack all season long. And wouldn’t you know it, just when Javy Gonzalez starts to find some stability at the point guard spot, upperclassmen Courtney Fells and Brandon Costner decide to disappear. Granted, Fells has a severe groin injury that’s likely to limit him in the ACC Tournament, but even before that, he seemingly hadn’t made a meaningful basket in a month. Despite all that, NC State has actually improved over the course of the campaign.

Sophomore Tracy Smith has emerged as State’s most consistent and best player, with a low-post game highlighted by his ability to finish with contact and hit the offensive glass. Unfortunately, like Damon Thornton years before, neutralizing Smith has become the pet project of ACC refs, who call him for several imaginary travels and fouls per game. In a league that condones four-step dunks, hanging on the rim, continuation plays and all other sorts of playground-style basketball, the infatuation with Smith is mind-boggling at best.

Coach Sidney Lowe has seen his goatee go gray as he’s tried to figure out why certain players can’t dribble, others can’t shoot, others can’t pass and none want to take a leadership role. That’s why watching NC State play can be akin to watching a monkey trying to f*%k a football. Fourth-year players Fells, Costner and Ben McCauley need to play well for the Pack to have a chance, and too often, those players could combine for either 55 points or 14—you just don’t know from game to game. Lowe has enough junk defenses up his sleeve and draws up good enough offensive sets for the Wolfpack to win a game or two in the conference tournament, but a weak backcourt and a lack of passion and heart from the older players submarined State’s chances long ago.



#11 Virginia (10-17 overall, 4-12 in the ACC)
At one point this season, the Cavaliers looked like they might be one of the worst teams in the history of the ACC. But somehow, against all odds, they improved down the stretch, severely damaging the NCAA hopes of hated Virginia Tech and Maryland and even taking down Clemson in overtime. Coach Dave Leitao still appears to be in pretty big trouble in Charlottesville—especially with a pretty new arena to justify—but he deserves credit for the relatively strong finish.

Freshman Sylvan Landesberg sounds like a Swedish tour pro, but he has been tremendous as the league’s no-brainer Rookie of the Year. Mamadi Diane hasn’t improved as expected and Mike Scott is the only other double-figure scorer, but Calvin Baker, Sammy Zeglinski, Jamil Tucker and Jeff Jones have like, scored baskets and stuff. And yes, I just typed all those names, and yes, I have no idea who those kids are, and yes, that’s actually a pretty big part of the problem in Wahooland.

The Cavs would appear to be easy fodder as a first-round opponent in the ACC tourney, but if Landesberg doesn’t melt in the spotlight, Diane gets hot at the right time and *fill-in-a-UVa-player-here* contributes anything, then the Wahoos could—ah, hell, I can’t even finish that. Jumpin’ Jefferson jumpshot, they’re freakin’ toast.


#12 Georgia Tech (11-18 overall, 2-14 in the ACC)
It is hard to do less with more talent than Paul Hewitt has done this year. It’s simply hard to pull off. Taking down Miami, followed by a one-point loss to Boston College, to close out the regular season helped take some of the sting out of the Yellow Jackets’ swoon (you liked that), but there’s no excuse for GT to win only two stinkin’ ACC games this year.

Gani Lawal is an underrated force in the paint, Lewis Clinch is a streaky shooter, Alade Aminu is a factor on the interior, Zachery Peacock is a physical presence on the offensive boards, Maurice Morris is a versatile guard and Iman Shumpert is a matchup nightmare at the point. So what gives? That may not be an ACC first-division unit, but by god, those pieces should add up to more than a distant last-place finish in the league. There were rumors that a former player went into the locker room and began cursing at Hewitt’s team at halftime of a game this year for poor play. I don’t really know what to say about that. Wasn’t Michael Vick available?

Hewitt has the nation’s No. 1 prep player, Derrick Favors, coming in next year, which likely bought him another season to give it another shot in Atlanta. But Favors is a one-and-done, so what happens if GT improves to 6-10 and he bolts? Things don’t look good for Hewitt and the chronically underachieving Jackets, but an inspired tourney run in front of the home folks on your own floor would certainly help matters moving forward. But all the screaming at refs in the world isn’t going to save Tech, Hewitt … or his horrific ‘stache.



Next up ... the Scooter & Hum ACC Tournament bracket predictions!