Changing of guards in ACC
The obvious big winners in the offseason shuffling are the Cavaliers, who were facing a backcourt wipeout and a quick trip to the league's second division until Singletary withdrew from the NBA Draft pool. Although offensive production without star shooting guard J.R. Reynolds will be challenging, the Cavs at least will begin the season with the league's top-ranked player at the college game's most important position. Singletary and North Carolina big man Tyler Hansbrough are the only returning members from last season's first-unit all-conference team. Behind Singletary are several experienced point guards who should collectively make the ACC better and improve its hopes of a more impressive showing in the NCAA Tournament. That group is led by Boston College's Tyrese Rice and UNC's Ty Lawson. Rice, a rising junior, is the only returning player from last season's second-team all-conference group and _ like Singletary _ will have to adjust to the heavy personnel losses. Without conference player-of-the-year Jared Dudley and versatile Sean Marshall, the Eagles are a long shot to extend their string of 20-win seasons to five but still should be competitive. Ty Lawson's situation is exactly the opposite. The Tar Heels' likely starting lineup of Wayne Ellington, Marcus Ginyard and either Deon Thompson or Alex Stepheson in addition to Ty Lawson and Tyler Hansbrough will be the ACC's most experienced and talented. Identifying the league's No. 2 team in preseason could be a guessing game, but UNC almost certainly will go off as the unanimous favorite. If Ty Lawson can keep his poise and the perimeter shooters have just a little more success against zone defenses, the Heels should be a top-five team nationally start to finish. Behind Singletary, Rice and Lawson are a cluster of playmakers with the potential to make a difference. The group includes Clemson's Cliff Hammonds, Duke's Greg Paulus, Florida State's Toney Douglas, Maryland's Eric Hayes/Greivis Vasquez combo and Wake Forest's Ishmael Smith. Hammonds, a rising senior, has been beneath the radar for his entire career but quietly made a lot of progress last season. Thanks to a deep run in the NIT, the Tigers finished a deceptively respectable 25-11 overall. Hammonds, with almost 100 more assists than turnovers, was instrumental. Throw in James Mays and K.C. Rivers, and Clemson has the look of an NCAA team for the first time since 1998. Paulus, injured most of last season, rates as the league's primary X-factor player. Josh McRoberts' exit for the NBA leaves the Blue Devils with one of their smallest teams in years and virtually guarantees that Mike Krzyzewski will implement an up-tempo, transition offense that's likely to sink or float on the point guard's ability to push the pace, score and distribute. Few people expect the Devils to falter again, but it could happen if Paulus doesn't play well. The remainder of the conference _ primarily Georgia Tech, N.C. State and Virginia Tech _ is in point-guard purgatory. All three will start either a freshman or a returning player with limited experience in the role. State, with four returning starters, is best prepared to deal with the dilemma. If Sidney Lowe can find a solution, his second team could be exceptional. If not, the Wolfpack should still be good enough to win eight or nine league games and get back to the NCAA Tournament. The big loser is Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets could have absorbed the departure of freshman forward Thaddeus Young to the pros, but the additional loss of Javaris Crittenton really hurts. Rising junior Lewis Clinch no doubt will get a look, but he's never displayed a point guard's mentality. With Javaris Crittenton, the Jackets would have been a contender for No. 2 in the league. Without him, they'll be lucky to match last season's 8-8 conference showing, which included a 1-7 road record.
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