ACC Has Just One First Round Pick, Marking a Great Sign For the Upcoming Season

Congratulations to NC State's J.J. Hickson, who was drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the 19th overall draft pick in last night's NBA Draft. Hickson was the lone wolf of sorts -- the only ACC player to be drafted in the first round.

As I said a couple weeks ago, the league is in a bit of a crisis mode about why they've been in a down period and creating only one first rounder was a sign of that. However, ACC Now points out this is the third time this decade that only one ACC player was taken in the first round ... and it may be a great sign.

For the third time this decade, the ACC had only one player taken in the first round. It also happened in 2000 (Georgia Tech's Jason Collier) and 2004 (Duke's Luol Deng).

Those seasons were also the smallest overall draft classes for the ACC. Only two players were drafted in 2000 (Duke's Chris Carrawell was the other) and four total in 2004.

This 2008 draft also was small, overall (UVa's Sean Singletary, Maryland's James Gist and Va Tech's Deron Washington also were drafted last night). Now, what happened in the college basketball seasons after the 2000 and 2004 drafts? Oh yeah. An ACC team went on to win the National Championship.

That could just be a kwinky-dink or there really is something to that. In 2001, that stacked Duke team of Shane Battier, Carlos Boozer, Jay Williams and Mike Dunleavy cruised to the NCAA Championship. In 2005, that North Carolina team of Sean May, Raymond Felton, Marvin Williams and Rashad McCants did the same thing.

Note that the 2008-2009 Tar Heels will be overwhelming favorites to win the championship as well. What is shows is that the league returned a lot of talent and was primed for great things.

Just as typically (and predictable), when an ACC team does win a title, the league sees a lot of its talent leave. In 2001, the ACC had six players drafted in 2001 (including three first rounders). In 2005, the league had seven players drafted in the first round -- including five in the lottery and three of the first five overall picks (and nine drafted overall).

• In 2002 (Maryland won it), four ACC players went in the first round (nine went overall)
• In 1993 (UNC won it), six ACC players went in the first round (ten went overall)
• In 1992 (Duke won it), six ACC players went in the first round (nine went overall)
• In 1991 (Duke won it), four ACC players went in the first round (six went overall)

Of course, the ACC had huge drafts in 1995 (a record eight first rounders ... including three of the top four), 1986 (six ... including the first three picks) and 1981 (six ... when there were only 23 picks) in which they didn't win a championship. All three years, however, the league did send a team to the Final Four.