44. I think Georgia Tech retaining sophomores Baye Ndongo and Nait George was huge, but make no mistake: Javian McCollum is easily the best player on this team.
45. I think Wake Forest’s depth is so, so, so much better, but finding that closing-time lineup will be a major work in progress. Hunter Sallis, Cam Hildreth and Efton Reid will be on there, but those other two spots will be a vicious battle.
46. I think Virginia Tech sophomore Brandon Rechsteiner will open some eyes. His stage is set after Sean Pedulla left and Hysier Miller got booted from the club for off-the-court infractions.
47. I think Virginia has the weakest group of wings in the ACC after Jalen Warley‘s decision to exit stage left. Elijah Saunders and TJ Power both are closer to stretch 4s, but Power may need to flip to the 3 to get Virginia’s best five players in the game.
48. I think Syracuse point guard Jaquan Carlos is the perfect sidekick for ex-five-star JJ Starling to put it all together.
49. I think Pitt guard Jaland Lowe should get all the hype, but this frontcourt is so loaded. Guillermo Diaz Graham and Cam Corhen is a tantalizing duo and there’s real depth here for the Panthers.
50. I think Boston College guard Dion Brown will lead the ACC in usage rate.
51. I think Clemson’s new center Viktor Lakhin has a bounceback year for a Tigers’ offense that has shown it is not afraid to dial up a heavy dose of post-ups.
52. I think Duke surpasses Iowa State and Houston as the No. 1 defense in America. This group is huge and switchable on the perimeter and has elite rim protection on the back end with Cooper Flagg and Khaman Maluach. Plus, Duke has multiple big men who are incredibly mobile. Everything is here for Duke to be stupid-good defensively.
53. I think Florida State desperately needs freshmen AJ Swinton and Daquan Davis to be way ahead of schedule if it wants to sniff a Big Dance appearance.
54. I think Louisville’s pairing of Noah Waterman and Kasean Pryor will be one of the top sharpshooting frontcourts in the sport and unlock Louisville’s ceiling offensively. The paint will be wide open for drivers.
55. I think Miami is too talented to be No. 54 on KenPom. Miami’s depth is much-improved and the vibes in the locker room should be way better after some defections. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if Miami finishes as high as third in the league.
56. No disrespect to DJ Burns, but I think NC State’s new center platoon of Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and Year 2 of Ben Middlebrooks is actually better than last year’s options.
57. I think North Carolina retaining junior Jalen Washington will end up looking so smart. He will outperform some of the top transfer portal big men from the 2024 cycle.
58. I think Notre Dame is a tournament team in Year 2 under Micah Shrewsberry and it plays with a lot more tempo than last year’s in-the-mud group. Matt Allocco, a Princeton transfer, has a huge year.
59. I think SMU forward Matt Cross will get his due this season with a bigger stage. He rocked for UMass last year, and he’ll be super productive for this squad. Pony Up, indeed.
60. I think Cal’s size on the wing is super noticeable. Andrej Stojakovic, BJ Omot and Rytis Petraitis are all at least 6-foot-7 and highly skilled and versatile.
61. I think Stanford guard Oziyah Sellers is one of the breakout players in the ACC.
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