THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, November 13, 1994 TAG: 9411130189
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C16 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB MOLINARO
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
OK, let's clear up any misconceptions before the start of another college basketball season.
College hoops at its biggest and brassiest - as well as its classiest - is all about keeping up with the Joneses. And the Smiths. And the Krzyzewskis.
It's about the Atlantic Coast Conference.
As usual.
Word has it that the Big East is back. That's good news, I guess, though I didn't realize anybody had missed it.
Over the last five or six years, the Big East fell off the face of the earth. To those who sent out a search party, I ask, Why did you bother?
In the '90s, the Big East shot an air ball in the entertainment department. It became a league of overbearing coaches and underwhelming talent.
The Big East was to finesse what the Fox network is to tasteful programming. By the end of a scrum between, say, Georgetown and Villanova, you would find yourself hating basketball, and cursing James Naismith for ever vandalizing the peach basket.
It was that bad.
Now, the Big East boasts the two best freshmen in the country - Georgetown's Allen Iverson and St. John's Felipe Lopez, as well as two bright new coaches - Providence's Pete Gillen and Pitt's Ralph Willard - who believe the basketball is for dribbling and shooting, not tucking under your arm for an off-tackle plunge.
Apparently, the Big East will be worth a look once again.
These things go in cycles. Conferences fall in and out of favor. The Big Ten. The Southeastern. The Big Eight. All make claims to greatness. Even the Atlantic 10 has its share of admirers.
What these leagues want to be, of course, is the ACC.
This season, the ACC could very easily put six teams in the top 25. No one would be surprised to see it happen. The league wins more than its share of NCAA tournament games, not to mention national titles. Everybody knows what Duke and North Carolina have done in recent years. And now Virginia, under coach Jeff Jones, is being touted as the next premier program.
Maryland has gained national prominence with Joe Smith, the sophomore center from Norfolk, while Wake Forest, Florida State and Georgia Tech should share in what remains of conference glory.
It won't be dull. But, then, it never is.
Has there been a more consistently competitive, enjoyable, memorable basketball conference than the ACC?
If some of us can remember a time when the ACC may have been even deeper in excellence than it is now - seems impossible, huh? - we also know that no conference plays a more attractive brand of ball.
If this smacks of provincialism, so be it. College athletics, at their root, have always been a regional passion. No apologies for that.
It's possible, though, to be both parochial and perceptive. Against an uncertain sports landscape, ACC basketball is something you can depend on. The league never disappoints. Unlike some other big-time conferences, the ACC never needs to come back, because it doesn't go anywhere. Except to the Final Four.
As we approach the start of another season, defending champion Arkansas is the logical favorite to win it all. But does anybody doubt that an ACC team is a good bet to be there in Seattle, with or without the Razorbacks?
One of my picks to reach Seattle is Virginia. Just a hunch.
There's a lot of basketball to be played before the Final Four. A lot of enjoyment to be had from watching the individual and school rivalries play out.
The ACC is ready to deliver again. It's a tradition, after all. by CNB