ACC Nation

Column by Patrick Hite
patrick@accnation.com

We profiled the males in the running for ACC athlete of the year yesterday and asked for your input. Now it’s time for the females.

I briefly considered Amanda McDowell and Rachel Dawson, but in the end I don’t think I can go against Virginia Tech’s Angela Tincher. She finished the year with a 0.63 ERA and 669 strikeouts, both tops in the nation.

She also went 38-10 this year. Nothing against the rest of the Hokies, but without Tincher, Virginia Tech wouldn’t have been in the NCAA Tournament, much less the Women’s College World Series. She was the single most dominant player on a team sport this season, men’s or women’s, and for that reason alone she gets my vote.

What do you think?

The nominees: Read more »

Just wanted to pass along that Eva Quist, the mother of The Evil Q (AKA Jim Quist), passed away Tuesday night. Here is more from the News Leader in Staunton, Va.  

Our thoughts and prayers are with Jim and his family. If you wish to express your condolences, I’m sure Jim would appreciate it. He can be reached at jim@accnation.com or your comments can be left here at ACCNation.com.

Column by Will Ojanen
will@accnation.com

ESPN’s ESPY awards are July 20, and with the nominations recently revealed, the ACC is represented in two categories, with a total of three players getting nominated. While the competition is stiff, there is a chance of victory in both categories.

There is no question that those nominated were the elite of their craft, and deserve the accolades bestowed upon them. They rose to the top and led their teams to glory. Okay, so I’m not Bob Costas or Jim Nantz, but that’s the best I way I could describe these athletes. Anyways, here’s the list of those nominated. Read more »

Column by Patrick Hite
patrick@accnation.com

As a member of the ACSMA, I get to vote on the ACC athletes of the year. I’d like to get some feedback from you, the readers, on who should receive the award.

I’ll list the candidates for the men’s award (the Anthony J. McKevlin Award) today and the women’s award (the Mary Garber Award) tomorrow.

For the men, I’ll tell you that I’m leaning toward Virginia’s Somdev Devvarman. He won the NCAA singles title for the second season in a row and was in the finals for the third straight year. While the rest of the nominees had great years and put up fantastic numbers, Devvarman actually won a title, doing it all on his own without the help of teammates.

But maybe I should consider someone else. Let us know in the comments section who you would select and why. Keep in mind that the deadline to turn in my ballot is July 15.

The nominees: Read more »

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It’s never too early to talk ACC hoops and Bob Rathbun stops by to chat about basketball. Rathbun, who calls ACC games for Raycom and is the Voice of the Atlanta Hawks, discusses the U.S. Olympic basketball team, a couple of ACC players taken in the NBA Draft and the outlook for ACC hoops in 2008-09.

We also discover that, in spite of his lofty credentials that include being a multiple Emmy Award winner and a member of the 2008 class of the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, Rathbun — much like Paul Johnson last week — can’t keep his dog quite.

Also this week: Read more »

Column by The Evil Q
jim@accnation.com

How the NBA Draft affected the conference, the individual and overall ACC Sportsmanship Award, baseball has wrapped up another year and time once again for those hidden tidbits in our Bits and Pieces segment. There is really no telling what you might find this week.

As always we encourage you to call us on the Buzz Line at 206-202-1706 with your thoughts and comments on stories affecting your favorite ACC team. Be sure to listen to the weekly podcast when we play back select calls.

Read more »

J.J. Hickson , NC State, 6-9, 235-pound Forward – First Round (19th overall) by the Cleveland Cavaliers

Hickson is the third NC State player in the last four years, and 14th overall, to be selected in the first round … a unanimous first All-ACC Freshman team selection … led all ACC freshmen in scoring (14.8) a year ago … also led the ACC and was 18th nationally in field goal percentage (.591) … finished second in the ACC and was 50th nationally averaging 8.5 rebounds per game … the 8.5 rebounds per game average ranked 11th all-time among ACC freshmen … set an ACC freshman record scoring 31 points in his first collegiate game … made all 12 of his field goal attempts and pulled down seven rebounds in State’s 66-47 win over William & Mary on Nov. 15, 2007 … set a second ACC freshman single-game record with 23 rebounds in a 71-64 loss to Clemson on Feb. 16 … is the 16th ACC player selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers, including five first-round selections.

Sean Singletary, Virginia, 6-0, 185-pound Guard – Second Round (42nd overall) by the Sacramento Kings

Singletary is the first Virginia player selected in the NBA draft since Roger Mason was chosen by the Chicago Bulls in 2002 … the Cavaliers first three-time All-ACC selection since Bryant Stith (1990-92), Singletary was third in the ACC in scoring (19.8) and second in assists (6.1) in 2008 … scored 20 or more points 43 times in his career … finished his career scoring 10 or more points in 55 straight games and in 92 of his last 98 … finished fifth on the Cavaliers’ all-time scoring list with 2,079 points and started all 123 games he has played in at Virginia … Singletary is the only player in ACC history to have 2,000 points, 500 assists, 400 rebounds and 200 steals in his career … is the 33rd player from Virginia to be selected in the NBA draft.

James Gist, Maryland, 6-8, 233-pound Forward – Second Round (57th Overall) by the San Antonio Spurs

Gist is the third ACC player selected in the 2008 draft … marks the second-straight year that a Maryland player has been drafted … D.J. Strawberry was drafted by Phoenix in the second round a year ago … was a second-team All-ACC selection as a senior in 2008 after earning honorable mention honors as a junior in 2007 … was eighth in the ACC in scoring (15.9), fourth in rebounding (7.9), second in blocked shots (2.3) and third in field goal percentage (.496) … finished 17th on Maryland’s career scoring list with 1,414 points, 11th in rebounds (783) and fourth in blocked shots (231) … Gist is the 56th player from Maryland to be selected in the NBA draft.

Deron Washington, 6-6, 199-pound Forward – Second Round (59th overall) by the Detroit Pistons

The first Virginia Tech player to be drafted since the Utah Jazz selected Eddie Lucas in the second round in 1999 … Washington is the 25th Virginia Tech player selected in the NBA draft and the 18th ACC player drafted by the Detroit Pistons … averaged 13.1 points and 6.5 rebounds per game as a senior in 2008 and earned honorable mention All-ACC … a four-year starter at Virginia Tech, Washington finished his career with 124 starts, 1,408 points, 689 rebounds and 115 blocked shots.

ACC NOTES

With Hickson’s selection by the Cavaliers, the ACC has had at least one first round draft pick in each of the last 20 NBA drafts … the last time that the ACC did not have a player selected in the first round of the NBA draft was 20 years ago (1988) … Hickson is the 420th ACC player to be selected in the NBA draft, including 149 first round draft pick.

Column by Will Ojanen
will@accnation.com

With the recent elimination of North Carolina from the College World Series, the 2007-08 ACC athletics season has come to an end. And as much as I would like to sugar coat the success of the conference as a whole, I just can’t. There were plenty of opportunities for the conference to represent itself in the big time sports, and, like seemingly every team I root for, they choke it away.

Let’s start with baseball. The ACC sent three teams (North Carolina, Florida State, and Miami) to the College World Series in Omaha. Miami and Florida State both lost their first games in their half of the bracket, and they were forced to play each other. Miami won, but was eliminated in the next game by Stanford. North Carolina, on the other hand, beat LSU in the first game, lost to Cinderella Fresno State in the next game, beat LSU again, beat Fresno State to force a third game with the Bulldogs, which Carolina lost. That eliminated the Tar Heels. Read more »

Dave Koehn has been named, the new “Voice of the Cavaliers,” for Virginia Sports Properties. CBS Collegiate Sports Properties, a division of CBS Outdoor and the multi-media rights partner of the University of Virginia , announced Koehn’s hiring.

“A chance to become a part of a program like the University of Virginia which has such a rich tradition, is a tremendous honor and truly an opportunity of a lifetime” said Koehn. “My wife and I are excited to get to Charlottesville and become a part of the University and community family.” Read more »

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Georgia Tech football coach Paul Johnson joins the guys this week to talk about installing a new offense in Atlanta, why that offense will work despite what critics say, the rivalry with Georgia and more.

Also,

– Which ACC football coaches are on the hot seat?;

– Duke football admits it stinks;

– Patrick needs vacation advice;

– Is Carolina baseball a failure?;

– Thanks to Doug Adams for his ACC football Q & A with Patrick;

– Rank your school’s sports in order of importance;

– Three former ACC players are on the U.S. Olympic team;

And more on this week’s podcast.

Column by The Evil Q
jim@accnation.com

This week we’re close to wrapping up a pretty good baseball season in the ACC. We’ll take a quick look at women’s basketball, how the ACC nabbed some postseason NCAA Cross Country action, look at the Tar Heels new lacrosse coach, recognize a Maryland lacrosse player who picked up some nice postseason recognition, salute the Florida State track team who have three-peated and take a look at three exceptional ACC women student-athletes.

If that doesn’t do the trick then be sure to go face first into the Bits and Pieces segment for some up-to-the-minute news from around the ACC.

One last note. I just happened to wear a Virginia Tech hat into the office today and was berated by a Duke fan, a UVa. fan and a few others who are fans of schools not worth mentioning. Here’s the deal. I’m not typically a hat wearing kind of guy, but I will wear any hat from any school in the ACC.

So if you send me a hat from any of the other 11 ACC schools I’ll be sure to wear it for a rotating series of pictures in this column. I may consider wearing other things if Patrick will let me. LOL.

Read more »

Now that we know which college players are staying in the NBA Draft and which ones are returning to school, several writers have starting looking ahead to the 2008-09 college hoops season. We’ll eventually do that here on ACCNation.com, but for now I’m devouring the football preview magazines that are out. I need to be prepared when Q and I head to Georgia late next month for the ACC football kickoff.

But, for those worried about basketball, here are some good stories on next season.

Our friend Ben Allaire is optimistic about Virginia’s season. He writes,”This upcoming season is a preview of what Leitao’s Virginia program will look like for years to come…if Leitao is around long enough.” Wow, OK, maybe he’s not totally optimistic. But Allaire does believe that recruits John Brandenburg and Assane Sene will help Virginia’s problems in the post. While Allaire doesn’t think the Cavaliers can compete with Carolina, Duke or Wake for the top spot in the conference, he does believe a middle-of-the-pack finish is possible for the Wahoos. Read more »

Column by Patrick Hite
patrick@accnation.com

Georgia Tech’s Paul Johnson talked with me this week for an interview you can hear on next week’s podcast. When I hung up the phone, I started thinking that, with Johnson taking over at Georgia Tech this year and David Cutcliffe getting the job at Duke, half of the ACC schools have changed football coaches since the end of the 2006 season.

That either means we won’t see any turnover after this season because all the coaches on the hot seat have been sent packing or we will see turnover because patience isn’t a virtue when it comes to athletics directors wanting a successful football program (how’s that for a bold prediction — either we will or we won’t see an ACC football coach fired after the 2008 season?)

Now is as good a time as any to take a look at the conference coaches and just how hot their seats are in 2008. I should let you know that I don’t think any of the 12 are truly on the hot seat. Some are on warmer seats that others, but, short of some scandal, I don’t think we’ll see much change after this coming season. But I am predicting one coaching change after 2008.  Keep reading to see which coach I think is gone. Read more »

By Will Ojanen
www.accnation.com

In case you have been in seclusion the last few days, the trio of Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, and Danny Green, are coming back for another go around at North Carolina.

It’s not a shock to most that Ellington and Green are returning. Both were going to be second round picks at best, and probably undrafted. Lawson had a chance to be a late first-round pick, but with recent troubles with the law, combined with his injury suffered midseason, his stock was probably going to drop to where the money wouldn’t have been good enough to keep him around in the draft. Read more »

Story by Patrick Hite
patrick@accnation.com

The postseason magic had to end eventually. It did Tuesday night. North Carolina lost for the first time in the NCAA Tournament this year, losing to Fresno State 5-3 in the College World Series and falling to the loser’s bracket. Carolina will face LSU Thursday night, a team the Tar Heels beat to open CWS play Sunday.

North Carolina got all of its runs in the fourth inning on RBIs by Tim Fedroff, Kyle Seager and Chad Flack. The Heels managed to knock out 11 hits, but other than the fourth, the Bulldogs held the Heels scoreless. Jason Breckley got the win in relief, working just a third of an inning. Brandon Burke recorded the save for Fresno State, which used five pitchers during the game. Read more »

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Patrick and Q talked with Joe Ovies, co-host of the morning show on 850 The Buzz in Raleigh, N.C. The guys discussed several subjects with Ovies, including his blog post last week about the worst fans in the ACC.

Also on the podcast:

– North Carolina wins its CWS opener, but Florida State was sent home by Miami;

– J. J. Hickson is staying in the NBA Draft, but Ty Lawson, Danny Green and Wayne Ellington will be back in Chapel Hill next season;

– The Sporting News’ Matt Hayes ranked the ACC’s non-conference schedules;

– FSU men win track and field title;

– Mike Shropshire joins the guys to talk about his new book, “The Last Real Season.”

– NBC’s Tim Russert, a big Boston College fan, passed away last week;

And more on ACC Nation.

Press release from UNC:

University of North Carolina men’s basketball players Wayne Ellington, Danny Green and Ty Lawson have decided to withdraw from the 2008 NBA Draft and return to Chapel Hill for the 2008-09 season, head coach Roy Williams announced on Monday.

The trio had entered their names into the NBA Draft pool in April but did not hire agents, leaving open the possibility of returning to school. The deadline to withdraw from the draft was 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Monday.

“After a long and exhaustive process of gathering information and sharing it with these youngsters, I stepped back and asked them to make