Only 3 ACC Teams Survived Round 1

[Jagwar]

And the Terps are one of them.

:clap3:

[ccbird]

No surprise that it's UNC, Duke and Maryland.

Maryland has not capitalized on the NC and has regressed in recent years but we are still the third best program in the premier conference in America. Not only that, but the two programs ahead of us are arguably the 2 best programs in the country. I have no problem playing 3rd fiddle in the ACC to those two programs. Even though we are third in the conference we still can and should be a top 10 program nationally. Luckily, while Gary has fiddled and fooled around the last 6 years no other ACC team has decided to step up and grab ahold of that valuable third place position. Still we have to improve, we are currently much closer to the middle of the pack in the ACC than we are to Duke or Carolina.

[orioles77]

And the Terps are one of them.

:clap3:

And the Terps, Tar Heels, and Blue Devils have 3 of the best coaches in the country.

[Lucky Jim]

No surprise that it's UNC, Duke and Maryland.

Maryland has not capitalized on the NC and has regressed in recent years but we are still the third best program in the premier conference in America. Not only that, but the two programs ahead of us are arguably the 2 best programs in the country. I have no problem playing 3rd fiddle in the ACC to those two programs. Even though we are third in the conference we still can and should be a top 10 program nationally. Luckily, while Gary has fiddled and fooled around the last 6 years no other ACC team has decided to step up and grab ahold of that valuable third place position. Still we have to improve, we are currently much closer to the middle of the pack in the ACC than we are to Duke or Carolina.

And the Terps, Tar Heels, and Blue Devils have 3 of the best coaches in the country.

Yeah. Given a week to prepare, Williams, K and Roy are really the only coaches who add value to the talent on their team.

There's no embarrassment in the way that FSU and Clemson went out - they played tough against power conference teams that (though perhaps they should have beaten) were battle tested.

Wake and BC should be ashamed, though. Especially Wake.

I agree with CCB's general point - the good news is that if Gary ever figures out how to recruit again, we've got a good chance at reclaiming our prior status. We're never going to be Duke/UNC elite. But we can be a real thorn in their side.

[Sports Guy]

And VaTech is losing by 20 to Baylor right now in the first half of their NIT game.

When this season started, i felt the conference would get 5 teams in.

As the season went on, I was thinking 6 and that would have been the number had MD not beaten Wake in the tourney.

That being said, the conference wasn't as strong as it appeared IMO. Wake, Clemson and FSU should have been much better.

Clemson and Wake really faded after they each beat Duke.

FSU played strong at the end of the year and I was really surprised to see them go out last night....I figured with Douglass and them playign well, that they should beat a less athletic and less talented Wisconsin team but Wisconsin was smarter and had a better coach.

And even though I had Clemson advancing to the elite 8, it doesn't surprise me to see them bounced...They are another team that just isn't smart(look at that kid getting thrown out in the second half early on against Michigan...name is escaping me right now).

Wake could have easily been a final 4 team but they are coached by an awful coach and they had visions of the NBA dancing in their heads for a while now.

The ACC is still elite, no doubt about that but unless they improve on the coaching in the conference, I think you could see some of the other conferences pass them in the upcoming years.

[Lucky Jim]

And VaTech is losing by 20 to Baylor right now in the first half of their NIT game.

When this season started, i felt the conference would get 5 teams in.

As the season went on, I was thinking 6 and that would have been the number had MD not beaten Wake in the tourney.

That being said, the conference wasn't as strong as it appeared IMO. Wake, Clemson and FSU should have been much better.

Clemson and Wake really faded after they each beat Duke.

FSU played strong at the end of the year and I was really surprised to see them go out last night....I figured with Douglass and them playign well, that they should beat a less athletic and less talented Wisconsin team but Wisconsin was smarter and had a better coach.

And even though I had Clemson advancing to the elite 8, it doesn't surprise me to see them bounced...They are another team that just isn't smart(look at that kid getting thrown out in the second half early on against Michigan...name is escaping me right now).

Wake could have easily been a final 4 team but they are coached by an awful coach and they had visions of the NBA dancing in their heads for a while now.

The ACC is still elite, no doubt about that but unless they improve on the coaching in the conference, I think you could see some of the other conferences pass them in the upcoming years.

Yeah - Wake's loss is a Maryland/St. John's type of loss. Just lack of mental preparation, maturity and toughness.

[Fairfax Bird]

Yeah. Given a week to prepare, Williams, K and Roy are really the only coaches who add value to the talent on their team.

There's no embarrassment in the way that FSU and Clemson went out - they played tough against power conference teams that (though perhaps they should have beaten) were battle tested.

Wake and BC should be ashamed, though. Especially Wake.

I disagree here. USC is hot and BC was more smoke and mirrors than anything this year.

[beaner]

Coaching, coaching, and coaching. There should not be one person surprised that Dino Gaudio and Oliver Purnell lost to teams they should have beaten in the first round.

Wake Forest had the most talent in the league with three lottery picks and for whatever reason Dino could not get through to them. Really strange season for them.

[Fairfax Bird]

Coaching, coaching, and coaching. There should not be one person surprised that Dino Gaudio and Oliver Purnell lost to teams they should have beaten in the first round.

Wake Forest had the most talent in the league with three lottery picks and for whatever reason Dino could not get through to them. Really strange season for them.

Watching them last night they played with no discipline. As soon as a great play was made by a Cleveland St player they tried to match that great play with a one-on-one move by those three lottery picks. Teams have figured out Teague also as he is not fooling anyone lately.

[Sports Guy]

Vitale was right about Wake yesterday..They played with no intensity and no emotion.

The great coaches always get their kids to play hard, no matter what the game is.

[The Rick]

This season has really been a season of growth for me personally as a fan. All the Gary bashing early on rubbed off on me and I put one foot on the bash Gary wagon, but I kept one foot off because I've always loved GW.

Before too long he turned the team around and made a run and somehow made the tournament. Something that most fans thought was close to impossible prior to this season.

My point is that this season has really put what makes a great coach into perspective for me. Sure, he has a lot to improve. But look at the recruiting done at other schools in the ACC, yet we're talking about how horrible coached those teams are, and because of that they're home watching while the Terps are still dancing. This is despite the fact that the talent level is far inferior.

Maryland should be proud to have Gary.

[Pedro Cerrano]

This season has really been a season of growth for me personally as a fan. All the Gary bashing early on rubbed off on me and I put one foot on the bash Gary wagon, but I kept one foot off because I've always loved GW.

Before too long he turned the team around and made a run and somehow made the tournament. Something that most fans thought was close to impossible prior to this season.

My point is that this season has really put what makes a great coach into perspective for me. Sure, he has a lot to improve. But look at the recruiting done at other schools in the ACC, yet we're talking about how horrible coached those teams are, and because of that they're home watching while the Terps are still dancing. This is despite the fact that the talent level is far inferior.

Maryland should be proud to have Gary.

All the good-will these last few weeks should not make us overlook the fact he is still a below-average recruiter -- especially when you consider what he has to work with.

[Mackus]

All the good-will these last few weeks should not make us overlook the fact he is still a below-average recruiter -- especially when you consider what he has to work with.

And all his below-average recruiting should not overlook the fact that he is still one of the best in-game coaches and one of the best at getting the most out of the players that are here.

He's much more good at every other aspect of being a great college basketball coach than he is bad at recruiting.

[Sports Guy]

All the good-will these last few weeks should not make us overlook the fact he is still a below-average recruiter -- especially when you consider what he has to work with.

Would you rather have a below average recruiter who does nothing but win or would you rather have a team full of stars who disappoints?

In other words, Maryland or Wake?

[Pedro Cerrano]

Would you rather have a below average recruiter who does nothing but win or would you rather have a team full of stars who disappoints?

In other words, Maryland or Wake?

If the end-result is the same, what does it matter?