ACC Basketball: 5 key questions and storylines for 2021-22 season
It’s been a very eventful offseason for ACC Basketball, thanks to a pair of huge coaching decisions. The first came at North Carolina, where Hall of Fame head coach Roy Williams decided to retire immediately, with assistant Hubert Davis selected to be his replacement. Then there was Mike Krzyzewski of Duke, who announced that he would be leaving after the 2021-22 season, with assistant Jon Scheyer the picked successor.
That alone creates questions for those programs for the short and long-term future, but the rest of the ACC also needs attention, as the league is looking to keep its status as one of the very best when it comes to basketball.
This roundtable features a discussion about the ACC overall, with three talented contributors tasked with answering these burning questions. Here are the participating writers, along with how to follow them on social media to get their ACC and college basketball takes throughout the upcoming season.
Jerran Anderson – @HereGoJayAgain
Joey Loose – @jloose128
Matthew Travis – @MatthewJTravis_
1. Biggest concern – Duke’s PG situation, UNC’s new coach, or FSU’s lack of potential scoring?
Anderson
My biggest concern has to be UNC’s new head coach. It’s not really out with the old and in with the new as they hire Hubert Davis, a person who’s been on the UNC basketball coaching staff since 2012. While they’ll look to start a new era, Davis will have big shoes to fill as the head coach now. It may not be smooth all 2021-22 for him
Loose
There are always growing pains in college basketball, especially for new head coaches or freshmen players. That being said, the biggest concern might be over at Duke, who will be depending a lot on growth from Jeremy Roach to anchor a fresh backcourt.
Travis
The biggest concern here would have to be UNC’s new head coach, Hubert Davis. I think Jeremy Roach takes a big step up for the Blue Devils and surprises a lot of people, which would solve a lot of Duke’s questions at the position, and I think Leonard Hamilton will figure out their scoring situation, I think it might take a little while for the Seminoles to start winning their games comfortably, but I think they will figure it out in due time.
As for UNC, I have no clue how Hubert Davis is going to handle taking over a team in UNC that is expected to compete for the ACC title this season behind Armando Bacot, Caleb Love, and RJ Davis. I see UNC dropping a couple of games before ACC play that they probably shouldn’t lose, and I don’t see the same for Duke or Florida State.