It's not something that will make me very popular, especially as a sports editor, especially at the University and especially at this time of year. But I need to get this off my chest.
I don't like ACC football.
I've heard thousands of times that the ACC is supposed to be one of the best football conferences out there, with powers like Florida State, North Carolina and Virginia. I've been told of powerful and exciting match-ups of years past, but frankly this year has been a big disappointment to me.
With the exception of Florida State and maybe Georgia Tech, ACC teams all have struggled. North Carolina, a team that supposedly had so much talent, is in the cellar of the ACC, while even Virginia is suffering from this "rebuilding season." One even could argue that with the legal battles facing Florida State, their season has been marred as well.
But more than legal troubles and injuries and everything else that's gone wrong for the football teams in the Conference, I'm bothered by the fact that one seemingly untouchable favorite exists.
And come to think of it, that's exactly what bothered me about last year's ACC basketball season and exactly what I'm looking forward to about this year.
Even for a self-proclaimed ACC basketball fanatic, last season bored me. Watching Duke beat every ACC team by at least 20 points gets a little old, and by halftime I found myself not really caring whether Elton Brand dunked anymore or whether Trajan Langdon nailed another three-pointer. Watching a team win by that much is boring.
I'm sure Duke fans will disagree with me here, as hundreds of them slept outside week after week to watch their team dominate opponents. For them, this year may be looked at like a possible failure, a time when they might not make it to the Elite Eight and when they might not win another ACC Title.
But that's exactly what should excite people about ACC basketball.
At Operation Basketball, the annual preseason basketball conference last month, the ACC coaches all admitted there was no clear favorite in the ACC, although North Carolina was slightly preferred to take home the Conference Championship this year.
"I still think there can be some really dominating teams," Maryland Coach Gary Williams said at Operation Basketball. "Carolina with [Ed] Cota coming back ... Any time you have a senior point guard [with skill comparable to] the NBA level, it gives you a tremendous advantage."
But recent events may have sent that tremendous advantage directly down the drain. Monday North Carolina Coach Bill Guthridge suspended Cota and his backup Terrence Newby indefinitely after being arrested on misdemeanor assault charges following an altercation early Monday morning.
Obviously, the potential loss of Cota and Newby is a horrible loss for the Tar Heels, and if the suspension lasts through the heart, or even the beginning, of the ACC basketball season, it will ruin North Carolina's chances to return to the type of dominance it enjoyed back when Vince Carter and Antawn Jamison roamed the court. But on the other side of the equation it also could open up the Conference title race to be anybody's game.
Last season, there were three teams - Duke, North Carolina and Maryland - that had their eyes more on the national crown than individual Conference battles. And this year, each ACC contest should provide a lot more drama than last year.
I'm looking forward to more upsets, more close games, more overtime victories. Maybe the race for the title will involve three, four or even more teams, which would add a lot to the suspense and excitement that already exists in ACC basketball.
"The ACC Championship Trophy does not have anybody's name marked on it," Florida State Coach Steve Robinson said at Operation Basketball. "It's open for any team to go hard enough to compete for that. Everybody's fighting. That's why you play the season, to see where people are going to fall."
So, Coach Robinson, bring on that competition. Bring on the attitude. I hope your peers all do the same. And let's see who takes home the crown. I can't wait.
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