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Missouri basketball players Amanda Hanneman and Jessra Johnson were arrested for punching a male cheerleader who wanted to go to sleep after hosting a party the players attended after Thursday night’s basketball game.

Hanneman and Johnson have been suspended indefinitely, and the story has been picked up by the blogosphere today after originally being reported over the weekend.

My take? Well… I laughed.

A great read in today’s USA Today about increased athletic spending as a result of football success at D-1 universities.

Ok, so maybe I’m only recommending it because Missouri’s the focus. But still, read it.

The North was the other day. Now the South. The Davidson portion. Read on for more from UNC Boy. It is well worth it:

1. College of Charleston – Bobby Cremins will enter his fourth season as head coach of the Cougars, which will be his 28th overall over three programs. Charleston appeared to head to the Dance last season after knocking off defending three-time champion Davidson in the SoCon semifinals, but ran a huge stumbling block against home-standing Chattanooga in the final and they wound up in the CBI Tournament with a record of 27-9, 15-5 in the league.

Guard play out of senior Tony White, Jr., and junior Andrew Goudelock, who combined for almost 29 a contest, along with junior forward Antwaine Wiggins, 8.3 ppg, 31 blocks and 37 steals, will be the key element. All three started all 36 games last season for Cremins, which is going to dominate the entire Southern Conference in 2009-10. The guard duo also shot well over 80% from the free-throw line and hovered around 90% during conference play last season, and were deadly from three-point range as well, making a combined 42% from outside. Junior forward Jeremy Simmons is expected to get the starting nod at the start of the season after contributing with 37 blocks and five rpg. Junior guard Donavan Monroe will be the fifth starter in the 2-3 spread offense that is likely to average around 80 ppg this season. Also seeing time off the bench will be sophomore forward Matt Sundberg and freshman center Rashad Wright, helping the frontline that will average about 30 minutes a contest.

Outlook: College of Charleston is predicted to have the best record in the entire league by a wide margin at 15-3. They will likely split with Davidson, even though they won at Davidson last season on a last second shot block. Charleston will also get to play some tough non-conference matches at Tennessee, at Clemson, and host defending National Champion North Carolina. They will take part in the Diamond Head Classic during the Christmas holiday in Hawaii and will take on the host Warriors and possibly face off UNLV, St. Mary’s, or Southern Cal later on. Look for Charleston to get at least an NIT bid for their reward of having the best record in the league. If their non-conference schedule gets them to 27 wins and lose in the SoCon Championship, an at-large bid is likely.

2. Davidson – Bob McKillop’s Wildcats return just two starters from last season’s program, in which the nation’s leading scorer Stephen Curry left after his junior season for the NBA. McKillop will still employ three seniors in the starting lineup, but has a crop of sophomores and freshmen coming in for the future.

One of the leading seniors is power forward Steve Rossiter, who started all 35 contests last season. Another leader is swingman Will Archambault, who played in all 35 games, but managed to start seven of the last eight, and averaged 8.3 ppg in the process. Guard Bryant Barr will look to pick up the pieces that Curry had as the shooting guard, while Archambault will help out. Point guard and coach’s son Brendan McKillop will provide the signal calling duties for the Wildcats, and senior forward Dan Nelms will round out its starting core, with Ben Allison and Frank Ben-Eze coming off the bench in the post positions, while sophomores AJ Atkinson and Will Reigel will be used at times to play for Barr and Archambault.

Outlook: Davidson had played some tough competition on the non-conference front the last couple of seasons, but were totally exposed when Curry injured his ankle and was ineffective for a few games, including a home loss to Butler last season and Charleston in the SoCon semis that knocked them off the NCAA pedestal. The Cats still want to prove that they are among the NCAA elite as they open with a road game at Butler. Later on, they are likely to play South Carolina in a preseason tournament and then get Gonzaga on the West Coast. They will also play in the Holiday Festival in New York against Ivy League champ Cornell and possibly St. John’s in the finals. In league play, Davidson has a real big test with road contests at The Citadel and Charleston to start and then play them again in late January, but the final five games are rather easy as they will take on teams predicted to finish within the five worst records in the league. Davidson will still be amongst the better teams, but is likely to go 12-6 in the conference and win maybe 23 games overall.

3. The Citadel – Head coach Ed Conroy turned the Bulldogs’ program around last season after turning from 13 wins in his first two seasons to a 20-win campaign last year, the school’s first feat in 30 years. The Citadel is expected to contend for the Southern Conference Championship title crown and will be looking to continue its success from a 15-5 league record last season.

The Bulldogs only have one true senior and a cast of juniors leading the way. Junior guard Cameron Wells enters as the team’s scoring leader last season at 15.6 ppg while also leading the team with 45 steals and 100 dishes to boot. His guard mate, junior Zach Urbanus, is a force from the 20′9″ line as he made a whopping 44.1% from long distance. While they are the keys to a perimeter offense, expect junior F/G Austin Dahn to help out. The team is rather small, but they will have senior 7′ center Joe Wolfinger, transfer from Washington, and junior F/G Daniel Eykyn amongst its starters.

Outlook: The Citadel will likely finish 12-6 in the league in a very competitive South Division. Among the key conference games besides two with Davidson and College of Charleston are one game with North contenders Western Carolina and Appalachian State, which likely will gain a couple of more victories to their tab. Outside the league, they have battles at West Virginia and Texas A&M. But they get to host a big game at the 6,000-seat McAlister Field House on Monday, December 7 when NCAA runner-up Michigan State visits the Bulldogs.

4. Wofford – The Terriers finished 12-8 in league play last season and is expected to continue the path this season. Eighth-year head Mike Young expects bigger expectations from his team, with only two senior starters from last year’s 16-14 team.

Point production will come from senior shooting guard Junior Salters, who helped lead the Terriers with 15 ppg, despite appearing in 25 of the 30 games, starting in 23 of them. He will be helped out by 6′6″ small forward Tim Johnson, who averaged 10 per contest and led the team under the boards with nearly nine off the glass. Sophomore point guard Brad Loesing also played a vital role last season as he started 29 games and dished out 86 assists. Junior forward Noah Dahlman will upgrade from the bench to starter after making 60% from the field and averaging 17.8 per contest, leading all scorers, and 6.5 rebounds. Senior guard Corey Godzinski will likely play in a starter role on occasion, averaging seven per game. Other that will be contribution from the bench are junior forward Drew Crowell, who made 62% of his shots in only 45 attempts, and sophomore guard Jason Dawson, who started 10 games last year. Freshman power forward Nathan Parker will try to help get some experience off the bench in the rebounding department.

Outlook: Likely scenario for the Terriers is an 11-7 record, but I will officially predict them at 10-8. Their interdivisional play contains two contests with North bottomfeeders Elon and UNC Greensboro. Their divisional round robin may work to its advantage as they close the season out at Charleston and The Citadel. Out of conference is very tough as he they open at Pittsburgh and Georgia, then later play at Illinois, and at Michigan State, three days prior to the Spartans traveling to The Citadel. It will be tough for Wofford to surpass 16 wins with this non-conference tilt.

5. Furman – Furman finished with a 6-24 record last year and not much hope is expected for at least the next of couple of years. Third-year coach Jeff Jackson has another young squad that is going to have to step it up if they want to get out of the cellar area this season.

On the positive side, three of the five starters from last year return, including team leader and junior 6′2″ guard Jordan Miller averaging close to 14 ppg, 41 steals, and 31.5 minutes to lead the Paladins. Also returning is 6′9″ sophomore forward/center Brandon Sebirumbi, 100 rebounds, Furman’s floor leader senior Darryl Evans was an everyday starter until a knee injury sat him out for the rest of the season after just eight games. Evans will be the running mate to Miller in the backcourt. Two other forwards, 6′8″ junior Noah States and 6′6″ sophomore Bryson Barnes, will round out the balance on the front court in terms of boards and second-chance shots. Coming off the bench are sophomore forward Neil Duval, freshman forward Chris Toler, and junior guard Justin Dehm.

Outlook: The Paladins are likely to have one of the worst RPI rankings and SOS this entire season. Aside from their annual upstate tug at Clemson and at South Carolina, the only true trip the Paladins will have on the non-conference scene is at California playing in the Golden Bear Classic against UC Santa Barbara and possibly, but unlikely, California. For the conference, they do get two games with Elon and UNC Greensboro, but would likely fall to them both, at best split both meetings each. Furman is expected to be 4-14 in league play and will struggle heavily to get to 10 wins this year.

6. Georgia Southern – Former GSU standout Charlton Young is the new head man in Statesboro, replacing Jeff Price who resigned after a 10-year run. He inherits a squad that has seniors but not much experience behind them.

The Eagles, who finish 5-15 in the conference and 8-22 overall, return senior guard Antonio Hanson, who led the team with 12 ppg, and junior point guard Willie Powers, who was team’s scoring leader at 14.5 ppg through 11 games before sitting out the rest of the season with an ACL injury. While Powers was sitting at the end of the bench, sophomore guard Ben Drayton took over and scored nearly 12 per game himself. Tyler Troupe and Sandy Perry, both 6′7″ senior forwards are the front court starters, and senior Antoine Johnson will round out the starting five at the third guard position. Off the bench, 6′6″ sophomore guard Colby Wohlleb and center Krzysztof Janiszewski will get playing time and Brayton will come off the bench on occasion to help out on the ball handling.

Outlook: Georgia Southern basically has no opponents to deal with outside of the league, with the exception of a couple of early roadies at South Carolina and Florida, and then close out its non-conference portion at Auburn. In league play, they will have two meetings with Western Carolina and Appalachian State outside their division, plus get the meat of their superiors in their division against College of Charleston, Davidson, and The Citadel. The Eagles are only predicted to get to a record of 3-15 and will not even get to 10 wins this year.

Conference Outlook As A Whole: The Southern Conference will continue its tradition of only getting one representative into the NCAA Field of 65, and it will be its conference tournament champion. Competitively, this should be a good season to watch with Charleston, Davidson, and The Citadel battling for the top seed in the entire tournament. The games I am looking forward to is Charleston hosting North Carolina and The Citadel hosting Michigan State, which could help boost some points in their RPI. If they make tournament, Charleston is likely to go as high as a 10-seed. Any other 11+ win team will likely be a 14 or 15 if they win the SoCon Tournament.

What’s that? Fuck yes, I said Southern Conference preview. And once you read this two-parter from swamper UNC Boy, you won’t be sleeping on Western Carolina. Well, you might. But at least when you seen them as a #15 seed next March, you might think, hey, Western Carolina! At any rate, part I of the Southern Conference preview per UNC:

SoCon Basketball Predictions for 2009-10:

North
1. Western Carolina
2. Appalachian State
3. Samford
4. Chattanooga
5. Elon
6. UNC Greensboro

1. Western Carolina – Head coach Larry Hunter has his Catamounts in position to challenge the likes of College of Charleston and Davidson for supremacy of the conference and against their heated rival Appalachian State in the North Division this year. They only lost one senior last year and this team is loaded with five seniors and four juniors leading the way.

Their leadership will be coming from redshirt sophomore Harouna Mutombo, who led the team with nearly 14.5 points per game and was the team’s leading scorer 13 times last season. Also in the backcourt is senior Brigham Waginger, who is their ball carrier that led the team last season with 102 assists. The Cats will employ a three-guard offense as senior Brandon Giles, 13.2 ppg last year, can also play the 3 position on the floor. Their frontcourt is led by junior Richie Gordon, their tallest player at 6′9″ and averaged 4.5 rpg, and seniors Jake Robinson and Adrian Gailliard, will basically platoon for the starter’s position each outing.

Outlook: Western’s key will be the three-guard play that should have more teams having to play the perimeter defense. Forget the fact that they will start 1-0 because they open at Texas in the O’Reilly CBE Classic. However, they will also have their hands full in the non-conference as they host Duquesne, travel to Bradley and at Louisville and Clemson later this year. When they get to conference play, they start out with Wofford and Furman and hit Georgia Southern, UNC Greensboro, and Elon. They should be no worse than 4-1 through these games when they get to the meat part of the first half as they travel to Davidson, ASU, and host Charleston. At the end of the season, I should have WCU at 12-6 in the conference and get the top seed in the North Division in the SoCon Tournament.

2. Appalachian State – Buzz Peterson is back for a second stint in the High Country, leaving his post in 2000 after five seasons and a 79-39 record which included a SoCon conference title and an NCAA automatic bid in 2000. Like Western Carolina, this team will be loaded with upperclassmen as 11 of their 16 players on the roster are seniors and juniors.

The Mountaineers will be relying on the backcourt tandem of seniors Kellen Brand and Donald Sims. Brand is Appalachian’s leader with nearly 15 ppg. Sims averages 13.7 ppg and is deadly from the three-point range as he made just over 40% last season. He also is the team’s go-to guy from the charity stripe as he made 86% of his FTs. Coming off the bench is Ryann Abraham who averaged three assists per game and between him and Sims, they should combine for at least seven per game. On the frontcourt, junior Isaac Butts led the team last year at 8.5 rpg, while senior PF Josh Hunter is also challenging the opposition with 7.2 rpg. Also seeing time this season will be senior forward Tyler Webb, likely to pick up the slack of both Hunter and Butts and also expect some more time for sophomore F/C Andre Williamson, who was second on the team with 32 blocks in 28 games last season (Butts’ had 39 in 31 games).

Outlook: Appalachian’s conference schedule starts out favorable against Furman and Wofford and then after The Citadel, they get Elon, UNC Greensboro, and Georgia Southern. By the time they get to Western Carolina, they should be 5-1 or 4-2 and they will host the first of two meetings, in which it spans 14 days between the two meetings. They only get Davidson and Charleston once each this year, which could help avoid a couple of losses. Appalachian is looking to be 11-7 in conference play. Their non-conference schedule will have five teams from last year’s NCAA Tournament (four of them on the road) – at East Tennessee, at Louisville, home to Morgan State, and at Robert Morris and Dayton. Also in the schedule is Arkansas and the Mounties should be able to play in the Bracket Busters game in February.

3. Samford – Jimmy Tillette is in his 12th season at Samford and has his team primed to do better than their 14-16 record from a season ago. Samford has a very young team coming to the 2009-10 campaign with only two returning seniors.

The Bulldogs will employ a balanced attack from their senior guard Trey Montgomery, who averaged 10 per game last year. Also returning is 6′6″ senior forward Bryan Friday, who should start this season after averaging over 3 rpg. Also getting playing time this year is PG Josh Bedwell, who will replace Travis Peterson, and junior center Andy King and sophomore center Matt Friday, Bryan’s brother, will likely jump to starter this season after earning six starts last season.

Outlook: Samford should finish 9-9 in the North Division on account of playing two games with College of Charleston and may be going 1-3 vs. Appalachian and Western Carolina, plus they have to play at Davidson. Their non-conference will feature two games in the state of Texas in November (@Texas A&M and @Texas Tech), plus a game at Alabama. This youth movement will get destroyed in these games, so I expect them to be hovering around .500 for the overall season.

4. Chattanooga – Last year’s tournament champions shocked the world in getting into the field of 65 with a 16-15 record. Don’t expect another miracle from the Mocs as they are practically reloading with just one senior and team mostly dominated by sophomores.

Sixth year head coach John Shulman lost five starters from last year’s squad, meaning he will have to rely on inexperience to step it up. Ty Patterson will start at the two-guard position after starting nine games last year and is the only player on this year’s squad to average over 20 minutes per game. Starting at the point will be sophomore Jasper Williams, who provided 11.7 minutes off the bench last season. The front line will be led by 7′1″ center Jeremy Saffore, with Chris Early and JUCO transfer DeAntre Jefferson pulling in the weight for the Mocs.

Outlook: Among the cast of characters on Chattanooga’s non-conference schedule include East Tennessee, at Richmond, at Missouri, hosting Georgia Tech and at Murray State. Because of their NCAA appearance last season, look for them likely in the Bracket Buster game in February. The conference lineup starts out strong with the likes of Elon and UNC Greensboro at home, plus College of Charleston. They also travel to Charleston and they get Davidson at home. I see 7-11 from them in the league, but the non-conference tilt will once again have them almost repeating their performance from last season.

5. Elon – The Phoenix are continuing their rebuilding project, as well as bringing in a whole new coaching staff. Elon has tabbed Matt Matheny as their head coach after he spent ten seasons as an assistant to Bob McKillop at Davidson. Elon lost its two main scorers due to graduation, plus their leading rebounder from a team looking to improve its 11-20 record of a year ago.

Matheny will be relying on the experience of senior guard Devan Carter, who started 23 games last season and averaged seven per game on the floor, and senior forward Adam Constantine, who is the team’s returning leader in rebounds from a year ago at five per game. Helping out Carter in the backcourt will be junior Chris Long, who averaged 7.2 per game and made barely over 40% of his three-pointers out of 117 attempts last season. Also looking to bomb from outside is 6′6″ senior forward TJ Douglas, who made 42 of 118 from behind the arc. Also appearing to start is sophomore guard Josh Bonney, who started 19 games last year. Others with playing time expected this season will come from sophomore guard Terrance Birdette and junior forward Scott Grable, returning after sitting out last season to ACL surgery.

Outlook: In league play, aside from the mandatory home-and-home against their divisional opponents Western Carolina and Appalachian State, the Phoenix also have two games with South Division foes Furman and Wofford, expected to finish near the bottom in their division, and play home to Davidson. Outside the league, they have a tough task in playing Charlotte in the NIT Tip-Off Classic. If they should luck themselves into a win, then they will likely play Duke in the second round. After that, they have road games to Wake Forest and NC State back-to-back and then a trip to Ohio before New Year’s. Elon is looking at a 7-11 season in the league and around 14 wins for the overall.

6. UNC Greensboro – Mike Dement returns a wealth of upperclassmen from a 5-25 team and a 4-16 league season of a year ago. UNCG plans to rebound well in the conference, but will have a bumpy road outside of league play that could be in the top 50 on non-conference strength of schedule this season.

Returning are their top scorers in double digits on average, senior forward Ben Stywall at 11.7 per contest and 8.4 rebounds on top and senior shooting guard Mikko Koivisto, the team’s leader at 12.4 and almost automatic from the charity stripe at 89%. Along side Koivisto is senior Kendall Toney, contributing eight points per game. Senior forward Pete Brown and senior guard Montel Smith also will see action on this senior-laden Spartan ball club, as well as redshirt sophomore forward DeAngelo Jackson, who should get a few more minutes off the bench.

Outlook: UNC Greensboro will likely finish 6-12 in the SoCon, with home-and-home dates with Appalachian State, Western Carolina, and toss up games with Wofford, Furman, and I-40 rival Elon. The Spartans spent the last twenty seasons at Fleming Gym, and has moved their home games beginning this season about a mile away at the 23,000-seat Greensboro Coliseum (configured to about 10,000 for their games with the drapes in the upper section being lowered). Out of conference, they have a handful as they start the season against three ACC opponents (@Duke, @Virginia Tech, and home to Clemson). In December, they face three more ACC foes at the Coliseum against Wake Forest, NC State, and Maryland in order. They will also play Princeton at the Coliseum, as well as MAC Tournament champion Akron and Richmond on the road. Overall, the Spartans will have difficulty getting to 12 wins with this overload.

Part I of UNC Boy’s opus from yesterday here. For certain read that, and then read on for Part II:

ACC Basketball Predictions for 2009-10:

1. North Carolina (12-4)
2. Clemson (11-5)
3. Duke (11-5)
4. Maryland (10-6)
5. Georgia Tech (9-7)
6. Wake Forest (9-7)
7. Boston College (8-8)
8. Florida State (8-8)
9. Virginia Tech (7-9)
10. Miami (6-10)
11. Virginia (5-11)
12. NC State (2-14)

7. Boston College – With their main player Tyrese Rice now in the NBA, the Eagles will be bringing just about everybody from last season. Coach Al Skinner brings back a squad mostly dominated by juniors this season and no freshmen on the staff. The Eagles are expected to return to the NCAA with the possibility of being a Sweet Sixteen threat.

Led by their swingman Rakim Sanders and inside player Corey Raji, Boston College is looking to pound their way on the boards against some of the best competition the league has to offer. Throw in their only senior Tyler Roche in the mix, the Eagles should look strong this season. The question at this point is who is going to replace the role of Rice, who averaged 23 a game. Sophomore Reggie Jackson returns as he averaged nine per game and Biko Paris is looking at getting some extra playing time this season to help out.

Outlook: Boston College did fairly well in league play and should be on the mark again to finish enough to get an NCAA bid. They will be involved in the Paradise Jam tournament early this season that will also feature last year’s tournament teams Tennessee and Purdue. Afterwards, they will have two relatively tough battles at Providence and Michigan before they begin ACC play against Miami to start the first of an eight-game homestand of which it features Harvard, which upset them last season, and South Carolina before resuming league play. BC gets two dates with Miami, and also two dates with Clemson and Duke, in which they may have some trouble here. I have the Eagles going 8-8 and probably needs at least one win in the ACC Tournament to get back in the Dance.

8. Florida State – Leonard Hamilton made a strong statement getting the Seminoles back on the national map in over a decade. Florida State lost three key players from last year’s ACC tournament finalist season and has a very young squad this year.

Florida State’s leadership falls in the hands of their only senior Ryan Reid, a forward who was tabbed the team’s most improved player last season. But he does have help with junior guard Derwin Kitchen and sophomore forward Chris Singleton bringing back a total of just under 20 points between the two. Expect some playing time added for sophomore center Solomon Alabi, who was a freshman All-ACC and honorable mention All-American, and freshman point guard Pierre Jordan, who elected to sit out on a redshirt after six games early last season and will have four full years of eligibility with them.

Outlook: 8-8 is very likely with this class of players, but will it be enough to get a NCAA berth?? Their non-conference tests do include teams in the Old Spice Classic at Disney World, including Marquette, Michigan, Xavier, Alabama, Baylor, and Creighton, all looking to show positive statements this season. They also get Ohio State in the ACC/Big 10 challenge and Auburn at home later this season. FSU also gets two dates with state rival Miami, Maryland, and Clemson.

9. Virginia Tech – The Hokies have literally come up short each of the last two seasons after their tournament dreams were dashed away by North Carolina by two and three points, respectably, in the ACC Tournament. Head coach Seth Greenburg believes this team will have to work hard after the losses of key players AD Vassallo and Cheick Diakite.

Their team leader in production is junior guard Malcolm Delaney, who averaged 18 points a game last season. Delaney, along with junior forward Jeff Allen, returns after starting all 34 games last season. Plenty of help will be provided by senior forward Lewis Witcher and junior guard Dorenzo Hudson.

Outlook: The Hokies weakness over the last two seasons was its early non-conference schedule, including a couple of close wins against teams well below them in the RPI and a couple of heartbreakers in the early part of the season. Their schedule this time around looks to be a bit more favorable, but still have to tend to teams like Temple, VMI, and Penn State before they commence league play. They have a brutal conference schedule as they will play UNC twice and have road games at Duke, Boston College and Georgia Tech. But they do get home dates with Clemson, Wake Forest, and Maryland in the second half of league play, so they need to win at least six games against this group if they want to beg for a Dance spot, otherwise, it’s another season of NIT play.

10. Univ. of Miami – The Hurricanes missed a golden opportunity to secure an NCAA bid last season after a great run the season before. This 2009-10 team is picked by many to improve its 7-9 season and a 19-win campaign overall, but the huge losses of Jack McClinton, Lance Hurdle, and Jimmy Graham (although he’s playing football this year, he has already used up his eligibility) make me think otherwise.

Head coach Frank Haith returns senior forward Dwayne Collins and sophomore forward DeQuan Jones, plus will have senior James Dews to replace Hurdle in the backcourt. Their bench will be relied on the production of sophomore center Julian Gamble and freshman shooting guard Durand Scott, who could make the move to a starter before league play begins as he was ranked fifth in the nation among high school SG’s.

Outlook: I expect Miami to finish 10th in the ACC this season based on them playing their roadies at Maryland, at Wake Forest, at Clemson, and at North Carolina – all looking like huge losses here. They do get another game with Wake at home and one with Duke as well, but they look to be overmatched in these games. Their non-conference is not much to brag about. They only have Minnesota in the ACC/Big 10 challenge and that is merely it. They’re going to have to really finish well in the ACC (at least 9-7) if they want to convince the committee.

11. Virginia – Tony Bennett heads over 3,000 miles east to ACC territory and will have to pick up a lot of pieces that was left by Dave Leitao. Virginia lost just two key players in Mamadi Diane and Tunji Soroye, but they have a good core of players returning from a 4-12 league season and just 10 wins overall.

Amongst the leaders on the floor is sophomore shooting guard Sylven Landesberg, who led the team in scoring last season and junior forward Mike Scott, who also averaged in double figures. With the losses of Diane and Soroye, expect senior forward Jamil Tucker and junior forward Jeff Jones to get some more time in the game. Freshman swingman Tristan Spurlock will also be looking to be on the scene and is considered an ACC All-Freshman candidate after he averaged 23 points in his senior year in high school.

Outlook: At his former position at Washington State, Tony Bennett had the tendency of slowing the game down – which is perfect for Virginia’s tempo. But if he brings his 55 points per game, it’s not going to work here in the ACC. Their league schedule includes two games against Maryland, plus a fairly home schedule which only has Duke as its main threat. On the road, they have to tangle with Wake Forest, Clemson, UNC, and Boston College, all favorable to lose here. I have them at 5-11, but look out in the next couple of years if the Bennett era improves a great deal from last season.

12. NC State – When you lose Courtney Fells, Ben McCauley and Brandon Costner after playing its worst season since the Les Robinson era, you’re not going to expect much in return for the Wolfpack this year. Head coach Sidney Lowe has practically a brand new team in which only junior point guard Javier Gonzalez is the only player from last year’s squad that started at least half of the games for State.

NC State only has one senior in forward Dennis Horner, who should start this season despite doing so in just three games last season, but did average 19 minutes a game. Also looking to see some playing time will be junior forward Tracy Smith and sophomore guard Julius Mays. In terms of freshmen, Raleigh high school product Josh Davis is looking to be the catalyst to replace Costner in the frontcourt and become a future star in Raleigh. Also, forward Richard Howell and forward/guard Scott Wood should get some quality time off the bench to help the Pack.

Outlook: Don’t expect Sidney Lowe to win some hearts if he wears his red sports jacket to every game. Aside from the traditional two-game head-to-head with defending National Champion North Carolina, State also has back-to-back home games with Clemson and Duke, plus two games with Maryland and a home game with Wake Forest. I would love to see State win at least four out of the five games at home with the aforementioned, but that would mean Sidney would have to head to the cleaners moments after every game after he nearly rips them to shreds. Their non-conference schedule also includes a road trip to Arizona and to Marquette, but they do get Florida in a return match from last year won by the Gators.

Conference Outlook As A Whole – OK, so they are not the Big East and won’t be any time soon. With the Big 10 improving this season, the ACC is looking at 3rd in the conference RPI. While looking at the non-conference schedule, especially the ACC/Big 10 Challenge, the ACC could lose it for the first time since it was instituted in 1999. Top to bottom, the ACC is a bit more competitive than in recent years. I expect at least seven teams this year to make the NCAA tournament (UNC, Clemson, Duke, Maryland, Boston College, Georgia Tech, and Wake Forest), and maybe three teams in the NIT (Virginia Tech, Florida State, and Miami). If they win enough games, Virginia could get a postseason bid to the CBI tournament for the second time in three years.

Not from me. From swamp stalwart UNC Boy. And it’s a whopper. First part now, next part tomorrow. Enjoy:

ACC Basketball Predictions for 2009-10:

1. North Carolina (12-4)
2. Clemson (11-5)
3. Duke (11-5)
4. Maryland (10-6)
5. Georgia Tech (9-7)
6. Wake Forest (9-7)
7. Boston College (8-8)
8. Florida State (8-8)
9. Virginia Tech (7-9)
10. Miami (6-10)
11. Virginia (5-11)
12. NC State (2-14)

Breaking down the teams:

1. North Carolina – Gone are four core players from the National Championship team (Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, and Danny Green – plus Bobby Frasor), but Roy Williams’ continual success in recruiting over the past couple of seasons have the Tarheels basically on a slight overhaul rather than rebuilding.

Deon Thompson is the only regular starter to return, but plenty of experience is there to back him up. Sophomores Ed Davis and Ty Zeller are looking to replace the role of Hansbrough and freshman John Henson is going to be the “Diaper Dandy” of the squad and arguably a prime candidate for ACC and National Freshman of the Year. The backcourt is a serious question. Marcus Ginyard returns after a medical redshirt and is expected to be the guy handling that duty; but to replace Lawson will fall on the hands of Larry Drew II and will be backed up by freshman Dexter Strickland.

Outlook: The Tarheels have a semi-brutal non-conference schedule this season before league play starts. They have Cal in the Coaches v. Cancer tournament and then either Syracuse or Ohio State in the second game. After that, three of the next four are projected top-five teams (Michigan State, @ Kentucky, and @ Texas at the Cowboys’ new stadium). The ACC is expected to be slightly better this season competitively. I have them losing four games in the conference this year (@ Clemson, @ Maryland, @ Duke, and one game at home – take your pick – possibly Georgia Tech). 12-4 is not far-fetched but they could slide down easily to 10-6. Also, a Final Four is not out of the question again for the Heels.

2. Clemson – Oliver Purnell always has the Tigers start well and then falter toward tournament time. Clemson lost forward Raymond Sykes and point guard KC Rivers to graduation, but the Tigers have reloaded well. Senior Trevor Booker will provide well under the boards and his younger brother Devin, a freshman this year, will help him off the bench. David Potter and Karolis Petrukonis are expected to replace Sykes. Jerai Grant also will be expecting to start in the frontcourt. The backcourt still has Demontez Stitt as their three-point catalyst, but the point guard will be fought for by sophomore Andre Young, with Zavier Anderson coming off the bench.

Outlook: Clemson is picked to finish at 11-5. Their season looks to be replicate of the past few seasons. They have a relatively favorable non-conference schedule, with a trip to Anaheim for the 76 Classic against Texas A&M, possibly West Virginia in the next round, and either Minnesota, UCLA, or Butler. After that, all they have is a very good Illinois team and a expected-to-be improved South Carolina. Clemson does have two matchups with Duke, Georgia Tech, and Florida State which they could split these in home-and-home contests. Clemson is definitely looking at 22-7 season, good enough for a top four or five seed in the NCAA’s.

3. Duke – It’s hard to imagine that Mike Krzyzewski is in his 30th season in Durham. Duke is facing a test that hasn’t been in their ammo for the first time since the mid 1990’s – a decent backcourt in terms of shooting. With Gerald Henderson gone to the NBA and Greg Paulus exhausting his eligibility but still playing football at the ‘Cuse, those positions are going to be a work in progress.

Junior Kyle Singler is the leading candidate this year for ACC Player of the Year and will benefit with the help of senior leadership from Lance Thomas. Senior Brian Zoubek rounds out the frontcourt, but also look for Miles Plumlee to get some valuable time off the bench. Jon Scheyer is expected to earn first-team All-ACC as he returns for his senior year. The point guard will have to come from Nolan Smith as he did a great job in the latter stages of the 2009 season.

Outlook: Look for the senior leadership to be the reason Duke finishes in the top three in the league. The Blue Devils are the top seed in this year’s NIT Tip-Off Classic, which has a stacked field that follows (UConn, LSU, Arizona State, and Western Kentucky). They have a road trip to Wisconsin in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge afterwards, plus a game against Gonzaga at New York, and a mid-season out of conference game at Georgetown. Duke plays UNC twice, as well as Clemson and Maryland, which makes their league schedule rated the toughest. This could be the first time Duke will win in five years at home to the rival Tarheels when they play on Saturday, March 6. If the backcourt plays better than what many observers expect to see, this team could be your 2010 regular season champions.

4. Maryland – The Terrapins surprised their way back to tournament consideration after wins over North Carolina and going deep in the ACC Tournament last season. The Terps only lost Dave Neal, but they are completely loaded with experience behind them.

Coach Gary Williams looks to have Maryland back on the map for the first time since his 2002 team won the NCAA title. Returning are their shooting specialist Greivis Vasquez, their power forward Landon Milbourne, and point guard Eric Hayes, all seniors. Cliff Tucker will get some more playing time as he is expected to start in the SF position, and freshman James Padgett is expected to provide some work underneath the boards this season.

Outlook: For Maryland to earn one of the four first-round byes in the ACC Tournament, they need to step it up and beat the elite with two games against Duke and Clemson. Their non-conference schedule looks rather soft outside of the Maui Invitational with the only real test game against Villanova in Washington on December 6. If the Terps can finish with at least 10 wins in the league as I am projecting and then duplicate last year’s run in the ACC Tournament, they have a good shot at a very high two- or three-seed in the NCAA Tournament.

5. Georgia Tech – The overall roller coaster of Paul Hewitt’s tenure at Atlanta is about to take an upward crawl. From a team that finished dead last in the league at 2-14 and a paltry 12-19 overall record, the Yellow Jackets have a brighter outlook for the 2009-10 season.

The team will be led by potential ACC Freshman of the Year and National Freshman of the Year contender Derrick Favors. Favors will be playing alongside potential first-team All-ACC Gani Lawai and senior leader Zach Peacock on the frontline, which could be the most talented in the conference. With the three-point and outside production from Iman Shumpert and freshman Glen Rice, Jr., Georgia Tech will be loaded with complete talent for the next couple of years.

Outlook: As you can see, the Jackets are going to be the most-improved team in the league, and possibly the nation. 8-8 is a strong possibility, but I believe with the addition to Favors that they can sneak in a couple of extra victories. They will get an early test this season as they play in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off classic against Dayton and then possibly Villanova. They also have Southern Cal on the schedule. All in all, 12-19 will definitely change over to a 20-win season.

6. Wake Forest – Third year coach Dino Gaudio brings back three productive seniors, despite the losses of Jeff Teague early to the NBA Draft and point guard Harvey Hale due to graduation. Barring injury, the backcourt will be one of the best in the league. LD Williams and Ish Smith are the catalysts of a perimeter-played offense that will have local rookie CJ Harris along the way to back up Smith at the point. The front line is handled by senior Chas McFarland and the shot-blocking ability of Al-Farouq Aminu. This tandem could produce fits for the opposition.

Wake Forest also will have a great amount of depth with junior Gary Clark expected to get some playing time behind Williams and sophomore Tony Woods picking up the slack in the post.

Outlook: Many experts believe the Deacons will slither to an 8-8 record and possibly miss the NCAA mostly due to them believing that they will be collapsing toward the end of the year. While many may think that way, Wake has a great chance this year as their non-conference schedule is pretty manageable. The Deacons start out four out of five against teams that were no better than .500 last year before they tackle at Purdue and then a long roadie to Gonzaga out in the Northwest. After that, the only other prime threat to their non-conference is Xavier, in which they will play the first of ten straight seasons to honor the late head coach of both of those programs Skip Prosser. I expect the Deacons to go 9-7, win at least 21 games overall and earn another trip to the Dance.

Stuff that was of note that I just didn’t have time to get to in the last 48 hours:

—The Allen Iverson era in Memphis starts with a fizzle as with three weeks left in the pre-season he comes up with a partially torn left hamstring that will sideline him, conveniently enough, for three weeks. The cynics among Grizzlies fans think that is rather convenient. The realists among Grizziles fans think this is not all that surprising given his age and the abuse he has taken to play his style of game over the years. Frankly, I think he misses more than the three weeks, and the Grizzlies are soft-pedaling the issue to keep boosting ticket sales.

—The Washington Post columnists and local sports radio folks have been playing with the Sherm Lewis consultant hire in for 48 hours now like a cat with a mouse wrapped in catnip. Hire a guy who was on his way to call a Bingo game at a senior citizens center to consult and find yourself unable to articulate just what his position is with the team will do that. Michael Wilbon takes swings at ownership. So. easy.

—The President’s Cup is going on. The excitement level for that appears to rival the excitment for the FedEx Cup playoff.

—College basketball is almost here, and Luke Winn takes the time to explain how he built his 50-person ballot for the Naismith watch list for the upcoming season. Great overview, if you, like me, have completely forgotten who’s worth knowing in the college hoop as the season draws nearer.

That’s the million dollar question that everyone in the Kansas City area seemingly has an opinion on.

Here’s what Jason Whitlock had to say. And no, he didn’t mail this one in.

On Thursday, when Taylor and Collins met with the media, they downplayed Taylor’s Facebook posts, suggesting they were misinterpreted by the media. Taylor said he constantly posts rap lyrics on his Facebook page.

“I listen to my iPod all day,” he said. “If you know me, you see me with my headphones on all the time.”

When asked about his use of the N-word, Taylor hesitated and fumbled to explain. Collins intervened.

“It’s like second nature to us,” Collins said.

Taylor added: “It’s a word we use on a regular basis. It’s accepted when we’re talking to each other.”

Finally, Collins tied the whole thing together.

“Jay-Z uses it. Lil Wayne uses it,” Collins said. “These are rappers we look up to and listen to their music.”

They’re kids. They’re swept up in a culture that preaches to them on their iPods that the way to handle any dispute is with violence. Rep your ’hood (team). Never hesitate to put a N-word on his back. Bitches ain’t (spit).

It’s a dangerous culture that entertains those of us not in it and destroys the young people who buy into it.

Jack Harry, Kansas City sports media icon who has learned to love to watch himself rant:

Head football coach Mark Mangino sees no reason to discipline any of his players.

Any other student would be expelled from school for being involved in three altercations in less than a day.

The only way KU can put an end to this is to yank a scholarship or two, but the chances of that happening are zero.

Do you really think KU will do without any of their star athletes?

Hell, I like Chad Rader’s idea, even though his opinion that this will die down and be laughable, is, well, laughable.

Just hold a Jayhawk version of the Royal Rumble. Set up a ring at center court of Allen Fieldhouse. Sell tickets for $25 a pop, $40 for ringside. Proceeds to a designated charity. The basketball and football team each get to select eight representatives.

For those unfamiliar with the Royal Rumble, it started in the WWF days. I watched the first Royal Rumble as a high schooler in 1989, as it’s a fun format (Jim “Hacksaw” Duggan won). The WWE has carried it over today, though I haven’t watched wrestling in 10 years, give or take another five.

Anyway, the match starts with two wrestlers and every 90 seconds, another wrestler enters the ring. Eventually a melee peaks with a ringful of wrestlers swinging, kicking and slugging. Wrestlers are eliminated if they are tossed over the ropes, out of the ring.

Personally, I think something public needs to be done. I’m not naive enough to think that anyone good would lose a scholarship over this–even though three sober brawls in 24 hours is a pretty big offense–but at the same time, suspensions would go a long way. For the Kansas basketball team, it wouldn’t be much of a problem if players were suspended at various points for the first five or six games of the season. It’s a long season, and the first few games really don’t matter.

But Mark Mangino is in a tougher situation. Conference play is next, and he’s already suspended Dezmon Briscoe once this season. Suspending Briscoe and others for the conference opener would send a strong message, but at the same time, could potentially put Kansas behind the eight ball for the Big XII North title. Oh hell, who am I kidding. Dammit Mangino, you’re playing Iowa State and Colorado in your first two conference games. Your tubby behind could start at running back and you’d still win.

What do you think, are Lew Perkins, Mark Mangino and Bill Self being pansies? Or are closed door punishments good enough? Drop by in the Swamp with a thought or two.

Luke Winn wanders about half an inch down a limb at si.com and notes that Kansas’ image is hurt by the brawling between its football and basketball teams.

Uh, ya think, Luke? And let’s just say you and I arrived at the same place with your thoughts in this paragraph:

The damage had already been done, thanks to Facebook and streaming video. While watching Wednesday’s clip, I thought back to the national title game in San Antonio in 2008, and how I’d encountered a number of unaffiliated fans who were rooting for Kansas to beat Memphis because, well, they thought the Jayhawks were more virtuous than the “thuggish” Tigers.

The university newspaper at Kansas doing some good work here.

Courtesy swamper UNC Boy, this:

Isiah Thomas and Florida International are threatening to pull themselves out of the Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament at the beginning of the upcoming NCAA season if the organizers of the tournament refuses to let them play Ohio State. FIU learned on Tuesday when North Carolina released its schedule that UNC would begin their defense of their National Championship against the Golden Panthers.

This irritated Isiah, and an irritated Isiah is a stupid Isiah. So, either give them tOSU as opposed to UNC or they are taking their ball(s) and going home. FIU had claimed during the offseason that the tournament committee emailed them to have them play UNC – obviously for national TV coverage and ratings – and they said “No.” They wanted to play Ohio State as they claim was agreed upon when Isiah became the coach last March.

When the Tar Heels released their schedule, that was when they found out that it would be the Tar Heels.

However, Sporting News reported that the 2K Sports Classic said that FIU signed a contract in 2008 to begin their 2009-10 campaign in this event versus either UNC or tOSU.

Here’s another issue. Ohio State is also in the Coaches vs. Cancer tournament. In fact, regardless what the Tarheels and Buckeyes do in their two games, they will play in the semifinals at MSG. The Ohio State schedule has not released its full schedule for 2009-10 as of this time. But here’s a suggestion…………….just have FIU go to Columbus and play and whoever was slated to play tOSU, have them play the Tar Heels. Either way, Carolina will win the game by 40+.

Of course, that maybe is the real reason why Isiah didn’t want to play Carolina………..who wouldn’t, especially with a team that essentially is doing a slight rebuild from last year??

IMHO, it’s probably a good thing there’s an “I” in FIU.