Byline: David Droschak Associated Press
RALEIGH, N.C. -- No Dean. No Duncan. No problem for the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Most conferences would be worried about losing one of the game's greatest coaches and one of its best players. Not the ACC, which is fighting back the only way it knows how - with talent.
``The conference and the game are always bigger than any one individual, however in Dean's case, that one individual has given an incredible amount to the game,'' Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said of Dean Smith, who retired last month after 36 seasons and an NCAA-record 879 wins at North Carolina.
About 90 miles down Tobacco Road, Wake Forest is dealing with the loss of Tim Duncan, the consensus college player of the year and No. 1 NBA draft pick who scored 2,117 points, grabbed 1,570 rebounds and blocked 481 shots in his college career.
``Tim Duncan is gone. We had made peace with that back in the spring,'' Wake Forest coach Dave Odom said. ``At that time we said to our team there is no one person in this country at the collegiate level or the high school level that can come in and replace Tim Duncan. Given that fact, we said the only thing left for us is to try to replace him as a team.
``We are going to ask for 10 percent more from everybody else. If we can do that then that is the best chance for us to replace a player of his magnitude.''
Duncan's loss is only the beginning of Odom's worries, considering senior forwards Ricky Peral and Sean Allen also departed. The program with the most ACC wins (42) over the past three seasons is now behind Duke, North Carolina, Clemson, Maryland and North Carolina State in preseason predictions.
Those clubs share one big advantage - experience.
Each has four starters returning except N.C. State, which returns three and a renewed excitement under second-year coach Herb Sendek. Florida State also returns four starters for first-year coach Steve Robinson.
A league that lost Jerry Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace, Joe Smith, Stephon Marbury and Jeff McInnis early to the NBA in the past three seasons has suddenly been restocked with talent. The ACC is now looking for its 10th Final Four appearance in the past 11 seasons.
``I don't think there is a team in our league that somebody outside of the league would say, `Boy, I would really like to play them, that's a sure win,''' Maryland coach Gary Williams said. ``That's a pretty good indication of the strength of the league. If you are not ready to play you are going to lose a league game this year. It's as simple as that.''
Duke and North Carolina are considered 1a and 1b this season with Clemson not far behind.
The Blue Devils, who took a whopping 714 three-point attempts last season, return shooting ace Trajan Langdon, point guard Steve Wojciechowski and forwards Roshown McLeod and Chris Carrawell. Ricky Price is also expected back Dec. 21 from academic suspension.
Krzyzewski, entering his 18th season with 473 wins, also landed a four-man recruiting class considered the best in the country.
But major changes are beginning in Durham.
``Our menu on offense was pretty one-dimensional - the three-point shot and drive and kick and get fouled,'' Krzyzewski said. ``I would hope we could attack people in a few more different ways this year. Defensively, we want to quicken the tempo.''
At North Carolina, 30-year assistant Bill Guthridge takes over for Smith and will try to return the Tar Heels to the Final Four, where the team went cold from the field and lost to eventual national champion Arizona.
Most around the league believe the new-look Tar Heels will be just like the old Tar Heels - a major force in the ACC.
``I'll notice, but it was never Dean Smith. He never made it Dean Smith,'' Virginia coach Jeff Jones said. ``It was North Carolina. It will be obvious to everyone in the building that he's not there, but his imprint on the Carolina style and everything that North Carolina does will be there and I would assume it would always be there.
``North Carolina is still going to have a very good coach on its bench and still have a very good team.''
Preseason ACC player of the year Antawn Jamison leads a talented and diverse group that includes Vince Carter, Shammond Williams, Ademola Okulaja and point guard Ed Cota, last year's ACC rookie of the year. But depth, unlike at Duke, could be a major problem for the Tar Heels, who went to 23 straight NCAA tournaments under Smith.
``The only significant change I've made is that our staff meetings start at 8:30 in the morning instead of 10:30,'' Guthridge said. ``I'm a morning person, Dean was the night person.''
At Clemson, Rick Barnes will try to lead the Tigers to a third straight NCAA Tournament appearance for the first time in school history. Clemson reached No. 2 in the nation in January before faltering in the second half of the season, finishing 23-10.
