Another season has come and gone, and just like past NCAA Tournaments, the ACC has fared well sending teams to the Final Four in three of the past four tournaments. But, as has been the case in the past few years, there’s been questions about the overall strength of the league.
It’s obviously way too early to know that now. As we enter the offseason, here are some storylines to follow as we lead up to November.
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What does Miami do to follow up the success of the past two seasons? After making an Elite Eight appearance last year, and the first Final Four in school history, expectations will be high for the Hurricanes. Conceivably, they could bring back everyone except for Jordan Miller, although I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of their guards test the NBA waters. It’s the defense that has let them down at times and it really showed at points during the Final Four game against UConn. They could use another big man to help them out against some of the taller teams they will face.
Season
How does Jon Scheyer follow up year one? The Blue Devils made the second round of the tournament and they’re getting some pieces back from a team that was hot down the stretch. Mark Mitchell and Tyrese Proctor have already announced that they are returning and once again they have a strong recruiting class. Expectations will be high for the Blue Devils in ’23-24.
Can UNC rebound from a disappointing year? This roster is getting a much-needed retooling as six players have entered the transfer portal. Notably, Caleb Love. However, Armando Bacot and R.J. Davis are returning which will be a big boost for what will be a critical year for the Tar Heels. With only two commits the Heels will need to hit the portal heavy this offseason.
What will Virginia do to rebuild? After winning another share of the regular season championship the Hoos are going to have a lot of work ahead of them. Six of their top nine, in minutes, are gone and if Reece Beekman decides to stay in the NBA draft that will be seven of nine. This team is in desperate need of shooters and Tony Bennett will likely look to the portal.
Can the first year coaches have immediate success? Adrian Autry, Damon Stoudamire, and Micah Shrewsberry are the new faces on the block. Autry replaces Jim Boeheim, Stoudamire replaces Josh Pastner and Shrewsberry replaces Mike Brey.
Autry has no head coaching experience, but he has some key pieces to work with at Syracuse including landing former Notre Dame guard J.J. Startling. Shrewsberry has shown more success in his career but Notre Dame’s cupboard is really bare at the moment. Stoudamire has college experience but has been in the NBA the past couple of seasons. It might take him a couple of years to get things going at Georgia Tech.
