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.
Thank goodness for Georgia Tech basketball coach Paul Hewitt, a historically gifted recruiter who has been allergic to scandal. He represents a segment of his profession that could squeeze inside a foul lane.
Duplicity and college basketball are now one. I mean, if you name a program that has acquired a bigger-than-life player in recent years (Memphis and Southern Cal come to mind), it's like this: The odds are greater than Dick Vitale screaming into a microphone that such a program is destined for the NCAA slammer.
Hewitt disagrees. For one, he is high profile as president of the Black Coaches and Administrators and as a veteran of the Atlantic Coast Conference. So if he decided to shove a few of his peers under the bus, others would roll the wheels back and forth across his tongue.
The Georgia Tech Yellowjackets are without a doubt the best team in the country with a 1-6 conference record. They lost to NC State and BC in overtime and Maryland by seven. They have come close, but failed to seal the deal in close games. That changed today in a significant way. The Yellowjackets took down Wake Forest in Atlanta 76-74.
Wake Forest just could not keep Georgia Tech out of the lane, other than continually fouling. The Yellow Jacket's penetration really bothered the Demon Deacons, allowing GT to keep it close despite being not shooting as well and a dismal 3-for-18 from behind the arc.
Derrick Favors and John Wall are the top two recruits in the nation -- Favors, as we mentioned yesterday, was rated number one by Scouts and Wall has been listed as Rivals number one overall prospect.
Favors is now off the board, having committed to be a Yellow Jacket for one year his college career. Wall, meanwhile, remains on the market, so to speak, but there's good news for the teams (Baylor, Duke, N.C. State, Memphis mainly; Kansas, Oregon and Miami are also in consideration) currently pursuing the point guard.
He won't be swayed by Favors decision to attend Georgia Tech when making his decision.
Derrick Favors, the number-one ranked college basketball prospect in the country, just announced that he will attend Georgia Tech for his brief stint in the NCAA. As a reminder that Favors is kind of decent, enjoy the following YouTube mashup of him posting a 42-point, 20-rebound, 12-block line.
So, yeah, to say that he's good is probably an understatement -- Favors will most likely only be in Atlanta for a single year, but he's going to make Georgia Tech very, very watchable while he's there.
Derrick Favors, the number one college basketball prospect in the country according to Scout, announced his college decision today and he's going to be a Georgia Tech Yellow Jacket.
Paul Hewitt (right), GT coach, is probably pretty thrilled. Sidney Lowe, who runs the the coffee-less N.C. State Wolfpack, well, probably not so much.
It was mentioned as well during the press conference that the Jackets are hoping to land John Wall, the number one point guard in the country. That seems unlikely though -- Wall and Favors only had Memphis as a common recruiting link.
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.
NCAA Basketball .jpg)
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.
Thank goodness for Georgia Tech basketball coach 
The Georgia Tech Yellowjackets are without a doubt the best team in the country with a 1-6 conference record. They lost to NC State and BC in overtime and Maryland by seven. They have come close, but failed to seal the deal in close games. That changed today in a significant way. The Yellowjackets took down Wake Forest in Atlanta 76-74.
Derrick Favors
Derrick Favors
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. 
