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ACC Basketball: Ranking all 18 programs after additions of Stanford, Cal, and SMU

By Tristan Freeman

Feb 5, 2023; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Stanford Cardinal head coach Jerod Haase during the second half against the Colorado Buffaloes at the CU Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 5, 2023; Boulder, Colorado, USA; Stanford Cardinal head coach Jerod Haase during the second half against the Colorado Buffaloes at the CU Events Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports /
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ACC Basketball Head coach Jon Scheyer talks with Kyle Filipowski #30 of the Duke Blue Devils (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)
ACC Basketball Head coach Jon Scheyer talks with Kyle Filipowski #30 of the Duke Blue Devils (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images) /

1. Duke Blue Devils

There’s not much that can be said about Duke and its standing as a national powerhouse. They have a bunch of national titles and are viewed as the premier blue blood in the sport. Focusing on ACC Basketball, they’re always viewed as the team to beat and the one opposing teams and fan bases want to defeat the most.

When Coach K retired over a year ago, Jon Scheyer took over. He had a fairly successful first year, going 27-9 and winning the ACC Tournament before losing in the Round of 32 to Tennessee. Making matters better, the team is set to be a preseason top-5 team for the upcoming campaign, thanks to returning guys like Tyrese Proctor and Kyle Filipowski.

Most importantly, Coach Scheyer was able to keep the program at the very top of the recruiting class rankings. Despite losing Mackenzie Mgbako, the Blue Devils still have four other five-star prospects joining the team, along with likely landing Cooper Flagg, the consensus No. 1 prospect in the 2024 class.

Next. Top 25 team winners from offseason transfer portal. dark

That’s all to say that Duke isn’t taking a step back without Coach K around and they’ll remain an annual threat to win both ACC Basketball and potentially a national title in April. Cal, Stanford, and SMU have dealt with juggernaut programs in their previous conferences but none will have the talent and the name recognition as the Blue Devils.