ACC Basketball: 10 biggest storylines to watch for 2022-23 season

INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA - MARCH 27: Head coach Jim Boeheim of the Syracuse Orange reacts in the first half of their Sweet Sixteen game against the Houston Cougars in the 2021 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Hinkle Fieldhouse on March 27, 2021 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images) /

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ACC Basketball Alondes Williams Wake Forest Demon Deacons (Photo by Ryan M. Kelly/Getty Images) /

Last season, the biggest storyline for ACC Basketball regarded the conference as a whole and its struggles to get multiple teams in the NCAA Tournament. It worked out in the end, with two of the programs (Duke and North Carolina), making it to the Final Four. The league salvaged its reputation overall and enter the 2022-23 campaign with some momentum.

There are plenty of individual storylines for the 15 programs in the ACC. But which specific topics should we keep in mind? Here’s a top-10 list of key storylines to watch.

10. Can Wake Forest replicate its transfer success from last season?

Last season, Wake Forest took a nice leap towards the middle of the ACC, thanks in part to ACC Player of the Year Alondes Williams, along with stretch forward Jake Laravia. Both of them were transfers last offseason and both flew under the radar in terms of their potential impact. Yet both were fantastic and have now gone pro.

The Demon Deacons added four more transfers this offseason, including Florida guard Tyree Appleby, Marist scoring guard Jao Ituka, Kansas State big man Davion Bradford and Delaware forward Andrew Carr. Ituka averaged 15.0 ppg as a freshman but the transition from the MAAC to the ACC isn’t the easiest to make.

The team will need at least one of these newcomers to take a leap in order to be a competitor to make the NCAA Tournament. If not, Wake Forest could very well take a step back and finish in the bottom third of the ACC, which is where they were in the past until Williams and Laravia arrived.