GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The talk of the Atlantic Coast Conference's basketball media day Sunday was the trouble a player could get into if he talked too much.
Or said the wrong thing, or gestured the wrong way, or celebrated excessively, or did anything else that might be considered "unsporting behavior,'' according to a new zero-tolerance policy approved for this season by the NCAA.
Many of the players and coaches gathered at Greensboro's Grandover Resort bluntly said they either did not like the change, didn't understand why it was necessary, or both. The biggest issue: there is too much room left for the wrong interpretation.
Duke and North Carolina were separated by a single game in the ACC standings heading into Sunday; little did Duke know it, but they nearly had a chance to tie the Tar Heels again. However, games against Boston College and Miami, respectively, ended the wrong way for the Devils.
Boston College 80, Duke 74: The same problems that have plagued the Blue Devils all season -- point guard play as well as lack of an inside presence -- came into play again Sunday afternoon.
Virginia proved the 2008-09 adage about "winning on the road" today, beating nationally ranked Clemson in overtime. It was a big day for the Cavaliers program as a whole; they honored Sean Singletary by retiring his jersey and then notched their biggest win of the season, all in a few short hours.
Clemson, of course, was coming off a 2-1 stretch that saw them throttle Duke for arguably the biggest win in program history. Clearly, a loss to Virginia hits on the other end of the spectrum.
Thinking that the Virginia Cavaliers might have contended with North Carolina Thursday night seems kind of silly in hindsight, but for the first 18 minutes of the game, it at least seemed mildly plausible. Well, okay, it was more like Carolina was somehow 0-2 in the ACC, reeling off of losses to Boston College and Wake Forest, and the faint possibility of an 0-3 nightmare existed for the Heels.
It wasn't the case. Obviously. Tyler Hansbrough, despite shooting poorly from the floor, still managed to pass Christian Laettner for sixth all-time in ACC scoring (please don't get me started on who's more awesome between the two of those guys).
The ACC has had an interesting start to the season. You have top-ranked North Carolina just rolling over everyone and flexing their muscle. Duke has looked very impressive for most of the year. Wake Forest and Clemson are still undefeated and climbing the polls.
Still, there have been some bad moments. Miami hasn't looked as good as advertised, Maryland followed up one impressive win by getting blown out twice. Virginia Tech has lost on two buzzer beaters. Then there is the glut of also-rans that litter the bottom half of the league.
Conference season doesn't get into full swing for another week or so and there has already been two league games played. There are some big non-conference game this week (Ga Tech at Alabama, Xavier at Virginia, NC State at Florida, Wake Forest at BYU) but the highlight will be the ACC's top two teams starting conference play.
The ACC/Big Ten Challenge is entering its final day of action. Both conferences have won three games. The ACC has a slim lead in points, 405 to 402.
One interesting note is that the ACC was 33-4 at home during the first nine years of the Challenge. They've already lost two home games this year.
Let's take a look back at what has happened:
Wisconsin 74, Virginia Tech 72: The Badgers avoided an upset with a Trevon Hughes jumper with 0.7 seconds remaining. The Tech loss was the first for an ACC team at home in the Challenge in 11 games. Big Ten leads 1-0
Ohio State 73, Miami-FL 68: How about another road win for the Big Ten? Miami's Jack McClinton was ejected after taking a swipe at a Buckeye player. After an agressive run by the Canes, Ohio State mounted a second half comeback and pulled out the win. Big Ten leads 2-0.
Clemson 76, Illinois 74: Clemson puts the ACC on the board with their own road win. The Tigers' Demontez Stitt led the Tigers with 18 points and they used their defensive pressure to force 17 Illini turnovers. Big Ten leads 2-1.
Boston College 57, Iowa 55: Iowa's Andrew Brommer missed the front end of a one-and-one with 0.4 seconds left as the Hawkeyes fell to BC. Boston College held on despite scoring just one point in the final 4:45. Challenge tied 2-2.
Duke 76, Purdue 60: Jon Scheyer came back to his home turf and scored 20 points for the Blue Devils. Kyle Singer was scorching hot late to put the game away. The win helped flex the ACC's muscle. ACC leads 3-2.
The ACC/Big Ten Challenge is back once again. This is the 10th edition of the Challenge with the ACC winning it in each of the first nine seasons.
The ACC has won 16 of the last 22 games in this series.
Already we've seen a few games between ACC and Big Ten teams: Duke beat Michigan in the 2K Sports Championship game; Maryland beat Michigan State in the Old Spice Classic. Purdue beat Boston College in the Preseason N.I.T.
So let's take a look at what the next three days have in store.
Wisconsin at Virginia Tech (Mon. 7 pm ET): The Badgers are 0-5 as the road team in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Tech is coming off a tough showing in the Puerto Rico Tip Off. They lost two games by a total of five points and barely beat Elon in the 7th-place game at home. Both could find themselves in the NCAA Tournament in March. Watchability: It is a decent appetizer to get ready for the Challenge.
College basketball is back, ladies and gentlemen! That means it is time for the first ACC Power Poll of the season. Most of this is based on projections, theories and guess-work.
There is always one team that surprises us each year (Miami was that team last year) and one that disappoints us (NC State). Let's begin!
1-North Carolina: There hasn't been a favorite this heavy in a long, long time.
2-Duke: Remember that the Blue Devils were a game from winning the ACC last year. Gerald Henderson is my darkhorse for ACC Player of the Year.
3-Miami-FL: The Canes have a great shot at the ACC Championship and a deep run in the NCAAs.
Almost every spring, there are mumblings and grousing by college coaches about the length of time allowed for college players to decide about whether they should enter the NBA Draft or come back to play college basketball for another year. There are rumors of changing the rules to shorten the time for students to reconsider. Most of the times the complaints are off-the-record, because no coach wants to be seen as undermining or not supporting their players considering the NBA Draft.
Coaches hate the rule, though, because it puts them in a difficult spot. They don't know if they will have an open scholarship or need to go after one more recruit. It creates uncertainty for them, their recruiting and plans for the following season.
The ACC plans to propose NCAA legislation that would force men's basketball underclassmen to decide within seven to 10 days after the NCAA title game whether they are leaving for the NBA draft. ... Under the legislation, "there would be no grace period – either you're in or you're out," said Karl Hicks, the ACC's associate commissioner for basketball operations. "We feel that's what would work best for the student athletes and that's what would work best for the coaches."
So, uh how does it help the student-athletes? No testing the draft process? No tryouts? No grace period to reconsider?
All it does is help the coaches. Specifically, the coaches at major programs -- like the ACC.
With the fall beginning and college basketball just around the corner, it's time to look back at what our favorite teams did during their summer vacations. Some did some good things; some had a bad time. So let's look back at who did what in our How I Spent My Summer Vacation series.
Today's look is the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Roy Williams Hits Jackpot When All His Guys Return
The Tar Heels were at quite the crossroads. After a great season ended with a disappointing loss to Kansas, Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green all decided to take a look at the NBA Draft. Hansbrough decided to come back, but the other three entered the draft with the opportunity to come back to school if they didn't like their draft status.
If any or all left, the Heels were facing some uncertainty heading into the season. Yes, they'd still be a good team but they'd have a few holes.
In a somewhat surprising move, all three Heels decided to come back for one last hurrah. That means Ol' Roy gets everyone back from that Final Four team (sans a transferred Alex Stepheson and a graduating Quentin Thomas -- both role players). They also bring in three McDonald's All Americans.
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GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The talk of the Atlantic Coast Conference's basketball media day Sunday was the trouble a player could get into if he talked too much.
Virginia proved the 2008-09 adage about "winning on the road" today, beating nationally ranked Clemson in overtime. It was a big day for the Cavaliers program as a whole; they honored 
The ACC has had an interesting start to the season. You have top-ranked North Carolina just rolling over everyone and flexing their muscle. Duke has looked very impressive for most of the year. Wake Forest and Clemson are still undefeated and climbing the polls. 
The ACC/Big Ten Challenge is entering its final day of action. Both conferences have won three games. The ACC has a slim lead in points, 405 to 402. 
The ACC/Big Ten Challenge is back once again. This is the 10th edition of the Challenge with the ACC winning it in each of the first nine seasons.
College basketball is back, ladies and gentlemen! That means it is time for the first ACC Power Poll of the season. Most of this is based on projections, theories and guess-work. 
Almost every spring, there are mumblings and grousing by college coaches about the length of time allowed for college players to decide about whether they should enter the NBA Draft or come back to play college basketball for another year. There are rumors of changing the rules to shorten the time for students to reconsider. Most of the times the complaints are off-the-record, because no coach wants to be seen as undermining or not supporting their players considering the NBA Draft.
With the fall beginning and college basketball just around the corner, it's time to look back at what our favorite teams did during their summer vacations. Some did some good things; some had a bad time. So let's look back at who did what in our 
