University of Virginia Library

ACC Basketball Preview

BY DOUG DOUGHTY

Now that South Carolina
has left the ranks of the
conference faithful, reigning
NIT champion North Carolina
is the top bet for ACC
basketball honors, with Lefty
Driesell's Maryland Terrapins
casting a haunting shadow on
the Tar Heels' title hopes.

ACC writers have picked the
Tar Heels first in pre-season
polls, with Maryland and North
Carolina claiming second and
third place votes in front of
Virginia's Cavaliers. The scribes
have selected Duke, Clemson
and Wake Forest as second
division picks. North Carolina
lost little material from its 23-6
squad last year, but Bill
Chamberlain, the NIT
most-valuable player last year,
has been temporarily
suspended. North Carolina
State has problems too:
starting front courtmen Bob
Heuts and Paul Coder have quit
the Wolfpack, pending the
outcome of their trial on
marijuana charges.

North Carolina returns all of
its starters, except for Lee
Dedmon pre-season ACC picks
George Karl and Dennis
Heels, picked second in the
nation by an AP pre-season
poll. The cream of the crop off
of Maryland's undefeated
freshman team promises to
move the Terrapins into the
first division. Tom McMillen,
the top pick for ACC honors in
a poll of 55 ACC sports writers,
joins Jap Trimbles and Len
Elmore as sophomore starters
for Maryland, which returns
Jim O'Brien and Howard
White.

Sports Illustrated cover boy,
7-4 Tom Burleson bolsters N.C.
State's lineup this year and 6-6
Steve Graham and 6-8 Steve
Nuce will join him as
game breakers for the Wolfpack.
All three are sophomores and
the loss of Ed Leftwich last
year, Coder and Heuts should
hurt Coach Norm Sloan.

The Cavaliers' first ACC foe,
Duke, will have to rely on
juniors Gary Melchionni and
Richie O'Connor to perk up a
team hit sorely by graduation.