Outside opinions and attitude

Earlier this week basketball blogger and ESPN’s latest hire Kenpom wrote something that gave me a bit of hope:

"The ACC isn’t going to get much consideration for being the best conference because the top of the conference isn’t as strong as the Big Ten or Big East. But the bottom half of the ACC is stronger than the comparable group in any other conference."

Being a classic know-it-all, it makes me happy anytime an unbiased, respected opinion can confirm my highly-biased and emotional thinking. I am new to the ACC so I sent Ken a follow-up email on why he thought the ACC was better. Here is his response:

"I came to that conclusion mainly from just looking at both of my systems and seeing the entire ACC in the top 100. It’s really hard to pick who the worst team in the conference is. Let’s just say the worst team is UVa. They actually played pretty well at Gonzaga. Their embarrassing loss to Fordham was without Singletary who carries a huge load in their offense. Clemson might be the worst now without Mays, but then they beat Wake. Unless you’re Duke, there are no gimmes on the road this season. I could really see three games separating fourth from last with Duke/UNC/NC St. being the top 3."

So, what does this mean? BC has a rough road ahead (which we already know). But it also means confirms that the ACC is still the deepest conference in basketball. Hopefully the selection committee and the media will pick up on this and reward the middle of the pack ACC teams come March.

I also wanted to point out the Globe article today. It included some great Dudley quotes. Maybe the team attitude is changing. Let’s hope Dudley backs up his words this weekend.