ACC Basketball: 5 biggest storylines of 2020 offseason

By Brian Rauf | May 2, 2020

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA - FEBRUARY 27: Head coach Tony Bennett of the Virginia Cavaliers and head coach Roy Williams of the North Carolina Tar Heels shake hands before North Carolina's game against the Virginia Cavaliers at John Paul Jones Arena on February 27, 2017 in Charlottesville, Virginia. (Photo by Chet Strange/Getty Images) /

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GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA – MARCH 11: D.J. Funderburk #0 of the North Carolina State Wolfpack (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images) /

3) Who gets key returnees?

Virginia may not have to worry about the NBA Draft early entrant process significantly impacting their outlook for next season, but many other teams around the conference do.

NC State already suffered a surprise loss when four-star guard Josh Hall, the highest-rated prospect in Kevin Keatts’ 2020 class, announced he was bypassing college to remain in the draft. It’s the second straight year the Wolfpack lost its top recruit to the prep-to-pros route after Jalen Lecque declared for the draft last year. They are still awaiting final decisions from Devon Daniels and D.J. Funderburk and, if they were to lose one or both, they will have serious depth concerns (and frontcourt issues if Funderburk leaves).

Syracuse suffered a surprise blow when Elijah Hughes announced he was planning to stay in the draft pool, hurting their chances to compete in the ACC.

Clemson could certainly use the return of Aamir Simms, who led them in virtually every category last season. Without him, their chances of rising up the conference rankings certainly take a beating.

All three of these teams are hoping to break through from the middle of the conference next season, and these decisions have a major impact on their ability to do just that.