Boston College

Boston College Adds Heslip, Noreen, and Samba Ndao

Press Release — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 21:21:55 -0500

Three student-athletes - 6-foot-2-inch guard Brady Heslip, 6-foot-10-inch forward Kevin Noreen and 6-foot-9-inch forward Papa Samba Ndao - have signed national letters of intent to play basketball at Boston College, according to an announcement by Boston College head coach Al Skinner. All three players will begin play during the 2010-11 season.

Heslip averaged 28 points and four assists per game at Burlington, Ontario's Nelson High School in 2008-09. He led the Lords to the AAA/AAAA district championship game, where he tallied 26 points. This past summer, Heslip gained greater notoriety while playing with Grassroots Canada. The 6-foot-2-inch guard is currently playing at the New Hampton (N.H.) School.

Noreen averaged 32.8 points, 12.4 rebounds, 5.5 steals and 4.8 assists per game during the 2008-09 season at the Minnesota Transitions Charter School. He shot 66 percent from the field for the Wolves. He also made a name for himself in the Minnesota Pump N Run program.

Samba Ndao averaged 8.3 points per game as a junior at Montverde (Fla.) Academy. A two-year team captain, he shot 80 percent from free-throw line. This past summer, he played at the Nike Hoops Challenge. From there he was selected for the Senegal team in the Nike Global Challenge. His effort earned him an invitation to play with Senegal in the U-18 African Championships last month. Samba Ndao also played on the AAU circuit with the Dallas Heroes.

Boston College (2-0) returns to action on Friday, Nov. 20 against Saint Joseph's in the Paradise Jam. Game time is 7 p.m. in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands.

ACC Basketball Preview: 2009-10

CHN — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 16:46:54 -0500

With UNC rebuilding and Duke lacking depth, the ACC is more wide-open then its been in quite some time. Adding to the intrigue are top-notch prospects like Derrick Favors, Michael Snaer, and John Henson.

Conference Rank: 3rd

10 year average: 1st

ACC Page

All-ACC Team
Pos.	Player	Team	Yr.

G	Malcolm Delaney	Virginia Tech	Jr
G	Greivis Vasquez	Maryland	Sr
F	Kyle Singler	Duke	Jr
F	Ed Davis	North Carolina	So
F	Trevor Booker	Clemson	Sr
Second Team
G	Jon Scheyer	Duke	Sr
G	Sylven Landesburg	Virginia	So
F	Gani Lawal	Georgia Tech	Jr
F	Al-Farouq Aminu	Wake Forest	So
D	Derrick Favors	Georgia Tech	Fr

Player of the Year - Greivis Vasquez Freshman of the Year - Derrick Favors
CHN Award Winners		Returning Leaders
CHN All-Americans Kyle Singler (2nd team) Ed Davis (3rd) Derrick Favors (3rd) Greivis Vasquez (3rd) Al-Farouq Aminu Trevor Booker Malcolm Delaney Jon Scheyer All-Freshman Team Derrick Favors (1st Team) John Henson Ryan Kelly Mason Plumlee Durand Scott Michael Snaer Dexter Strickland Mfon Udofia		Points: Malcolm Delaney 18.1 Rebounds: Trevor Booker 9.7 Assists: Greivis Vasquez 5.0 Team: North Carolina 89.9

ACC Standings
Nat'l	Team	League	Tourney

4	North Carolina	ACC	1	NCAA
8	Duke	ACC	2	NCAA
20	Maryland	ACC	4	NCAA
22	Clemson	ACC	3	NCAA
26	Georgia Tech	ACC	5	NCAA
44	Wake Forest	ACC	6	NCAA
52	Florida St	ACC	7	NIT
64	Virginia Tech	ACC	8	NIT
70	Miami	ACC	9	NIT
78	Virginia	ACC	10	NIT
93	Boston College	ACC	11	CBI/CIT
119	NC State	ACC	12	CBI/CIT

*Click on links for full Top 144 team preview

Poll: Who Do You Think Will Win the ACC?

Other ACC Content

ACC: Top 25 Players

ACC Fantasy Stats Preview

ACC Media Poll & All-Conference Team

ACC 5-Year Ranking

College Basketball Preview - 348 Team Ranking - Alphabetical Ranks/Previews

ACC Basketball: Top 25 Players

Shawn Siegel — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:44:10 -0500

Ranking players is more art then science. How do you compare the potential of freshmen with seniors who have already peaked? How much does physical talent come into play versus intangibles and experience? How big a role do numbers play?

In some situations, the bigger challenge is deciding what position to list a player. College basketball is filled with combo guards, wings who can play from the 2 to 4, centers who are really power forwards, and so on.

All of these questions make lists like this fun and debatable.. if you disagree with CHN's rankings, post what you think below.

ACC

PG
1. Greivis Vasquez - Maryland
2. Malcolm Delaney - Virginia Tech
3. Demontez Stitt - Clemson
4. Derwin Kitchen - FSU
5. Dexter Strickland - UNC

SG
1. Jon Scheyer - Duke
2. Sylven Landesberg - Virginia
3. Iman Shumpert - Georgia Tech
4. Michael Snaer - FSU
5. Reggie Jackson - Boston College

- Considering this is the ACC, the guard class in general is rather uninspiring. Amongst PG's, Kitchen is the potential breakout star. Shumpert can play both guard positions, it will be interesting to see whether he loses shots to the likes of Favors & Lawal.

SF
1. Kyle Singler - Duke
2. John Henson - UNC
3. Rakim Sanders - Boston College
4. Chris Singleton - FSU
5. Marcus Ginyard - UNC

PF
1. Derrick Favors - Georgia Tech
2. Ed Davis - UNC
3. Al-Farouq Aminu - Wake Forest
4. Jeff Allen - Virginia Tech
5. Gani Lawal - Georgia Tech

C
1. Trevor Booker - Clemson
2. Solomon Alabi - FSU
3. Joe Trapani - Boston College
4. Dwayne Collins - Miami
5. Deon Thompson - UNC

- The power forward position is stacked, as solid players like Landon Milbourne (Maryland) and Corey Raji (BC) don't make it. Booker is one of the best senior Draft prospects in the country, while Alabi is one of the top 10 sophomore prospects.

-- SEC Top 25 Players

-- Pac-10 Top 25 Players

-- Big Ten Top 25 Players

-- Big East Top 25 Players

College Basketball Preview - 144 Teams in 144 Days - Alphabetical Ranks/Previews

ACC Basketball: 5-Year Ranking

Shawn Siegel — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:23:02 -0500

ACC 5-YEAR STANDINGS

CHN's annual 5-year ranking answers a simple question is in a simple manner: How do ACC teams stack up over the last five years?

Teams get points for league wins, making the postseason (NIT or NCAA) and winning games in the Big Dance. NIT wins are meaningless here, as are non-conference wins. Also, league tournaments wins are not taken into account. (An original trial-scoring system included points for conference tourney wins. But the flukish nature of these tourney's did more harm than hurt: ie, 2008 Georgia, 2006 Syracuse, and 2004 Maryland ended up getting too much credit despite the reality that they were mediocre to sub-par teams.)

100 total points is set up to be the equivalent of batting .300 in baseball.. anything above and beyond is all-world stuff. 50 points is mediocre and you only start to get bad below 40 points.

Pos.	Was	Team	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	Wins	Gms.	Points

1	1	UNC	14	12	11	14	13	64	80	80	Win %
			Champs	NCAA 32	Elite 8	Final 4	Champs			46	Post Pts.
										126

2	2	Duke	11	14	8	13	11	57	80	71	Win %
			Sweet 16	2nd Round	1st Round	2nd Round	Sweet 16			22	Post Pts.
										93

3	3	BC	13	11	10	4	9	47	80	59	Win %
			2nd Round	Sweet 16	2nd Round	X	1st Round			16	Post Pts.
			*Big East							75

4	5	MD	7	8	10	8	7	40	80	50	Win %
			NIT	NIT	2nd Round	NIT	2nd Round			11	Post Pts.
										61

5	7	Wake For.	13	3	5	7	11	39	80	49	Win %
			2nd Round	NIT	X	X	1st Round			7	Post Pts.
										56

6	11	Clemson	5	7	7	10	9	38	80	48	Win %
			NIT	NIT	NIT	1st Round	1st Round			7	Post Pts.
										55

6	8	VA Tech	8	4	10	9	7	38	80	48	Win %
			NIT	X	2nd Round	NIT	NIT			7	Post Pts.
										55

8	10	FSU	4	9	7	7	10	37	80	46	Win %
			X	NIT	NIT	NIT	1st Round			5	Post Pts.
										51

9	6	NC State	7	10	5	4	6	32	80	40	Win %
			Sweet 16	2nd Round	NIT	X	X			11	Post Pts.
										51

10	12	Miami	7	7	4	8	7	33	80	41	Win %
			NIT	NIT	X	2nd Round	NIT			7	Post Pts.
										48

11	9	Virginia	4	7	11	5	4	31	80	39	Win %
			X	NIT	2nd Round	X	X			5	Post Pts.
										44

12	4	GA Tech	8	4	8	7	2	29	80	36	Win %
			2nd Round	X	1st Round	X	X			6	Post Pts.
										42

Was = Last year's rankig

-Ties are broken by favoring conference winning %

ACC Thoughts

- UNC has officially blown past Duke in terms of ACC dominance.

- BC is solidly in 3rd. They're the only other team besides UNC & Duke to have won 9 league games in 3 of the last 4 years.

- Georgia Tech plummets like a stone now that a dismal 2 win season comes onto the books, and their surprising 2004 Finals run comes off.

- Georgia Tech has won the least amount of ACC games over the last 5 years.

- NC State's slow demise continues, and with their 2005 Sweet 16 trip coming off the books this year, they could fall even farther.

Postseason Points

NIT = 1

NCAA 1st Round = 2

NCAA 2nd Round = 4

Sweet = 6

Elite 8 = 8

Final Four = 10

Final = 11

Champs = 12

Other 5-Year Rankings

Poll: Who Will Win the ACC?

Shawn Siegel — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:59:38 -0400

ACC Preseason Basketball Poll

Press Release — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:54:58 -0400

GREENSBORO, N.C. (theACC.com) – Everybody knows that coaches and fans can’t agree on anything. When it comes to predicting the order of finish in ACC men’s basketball, the media can’t seem to get on the same page, either.

For the first time in the 41-year history of preseason voting, there is a tie for No. 1. Duke, chosen first on 25 of 48 ballots cast, and North Carolina, recipient of 20 picks for the top spot, each finished with 545 points. Media members attending the ACC’s Operation Basketball on Sunday event cast the ballots.

While the tie is unprecedented, the selection of the Tar Heels and Blue Devils is far from rare. Either UNC (18 times) or Duke (12) had been chosen first in 30 of the previous 40 years of the informal (and non-binding) survey.

A similar oddity occurred in the voting for Player of the Year. Duke’s Kyle Singler, named on 19 ballots, is the predicted winner of the honor even though two other players outpolled him in the All-ACC selection process. Maryland guard Greivis Vasquez was an all-conference choice on 45 of the 48 ballots and Clemson forward Trevor Booker garnered 44 votes. Singler secured 43 votes for All-ACC but won the Player of the Year voting over Vasquez 19-15.

Booker’s Tigers (409 points) are the choice to finish third in the league standings. They edged Georgia Tech (387) and Maryland (378). Wake Forest (315) took sixth by a single point over Florida State and Virginia Tech (273), Boston College (251), Miami (135), Virginia (116) and N.C. State (76) rounded out the totals.

Georgia Tech forward Derrick Favors, considered by some as the top freshman in the nation, was the runaway winner in the Rookie of the Year contest. He earned 40 votes; UNC forward John Henson was named on the other eight ballots.

Voting was conducted by media members attending the league’s Operation Basketball event at the Grandover Resort, a conference, hotel, spa and golf facility located less than two miles from the site of the ACC’s founding in 1953.

Singler, a junior forward Medford, Ore., won the Rookie of the Year award in 2008 and earned second-team all-conference honors last year as the Devils won the ACC Tournament title for the eighth time in the past 11 years and the 17th overall.

Vasquez placed in the ACC’s top seven in five major statistical categories in 2008-09 while joining Singler on the second-team all-conference group.

Booker is the ACC’s top returnee in rebounds and blocked shots and another second-teamer from last year.

Virginia Tech guard Malcolm Delaney, the league’s top returning scorer from last year, also made the All-ACC team in Sunday’s preseason selections. North Carolina forward Ed Davis, who averaged 14 rebounds per 40 minutes played as a rookie, completed the squad.

The Blue Devils won or shared the regular-season title in seven of the 12 previous seasons in which they were predicted to do so. UNC’s success rate is 11-for-18 in that department.

All in all, media representatives have accurately predicted the winner in 20 of the 40 previous years and in five of the past six.

Favors would join a long line of Yellow Jackets to earn the Rookie distinction. Georgia Tech has produced 10 of the award’s first 24 winners.

Singler would be the 12th Blue Devil to win Player of the Year. The previous 11 have combined for 13 citations. Both totals are tops in the league.

2009-10 ACC Preseason Poll:
1. Duke, 545 (25)
1. North Carolina 545 (20)
3. Clemson, 409
4. Georgia Tech, 387 (2)
5. Maryland, 378
6. Wake Forest, 315 (1)
7. Florida State, 314
8. Virginia Tech, 273
9. Boston College, 251
10. Miami, 135
11. Virginia, 116
12. NC State, 76

ACC Basketball: Fantasy Preview

Shawn Siegel — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:22:57 -0400

This is the first of six fantasy stats projections of BCS conference starters. One of my favorite series of the year, and a helpful guide when drafting for fantasy college basketball leagues. For an idea of whether I know what I'm talking about, check out last year's ACC Stats Projection. As always, some teams were nailed better then others.. Clemson was particularly solid, Virginia was a bit off.

Keep in mind stats are highly dependent on minutes, and freshmen are obviously the hardest to predict. I try to note places below where other starters not listed may emerge. Stats are listed by ppg, rpg, and then apg.

ACC

Boston College

G Biko Paris - 7, 2, 4
G Reggie Jackson - 11, 6, 3
F Rakim Sanders - 16, 6, 2
F Corey Raji - 12, 7, 2
6 Joe Trapani - 13, 8, 2

Notes: The departure of Tyrese Rice should open up more scoring opportunities for the likes of Jackson & Sanders. Trapani shouldn't see much of a boost from last year however.

Clemson

G Demontez Stitt - 12, 3, 5
G Tanner Smith - 9, 3, 2
F David Potter - 9, 5, 2
F MIlton Jennings - 10, 5, 1
C Trevor Booker - 15, 11, 2

Notes: The freshman Jennings could be hit or miss. Andre Young and Jeria Grant should also see substantial time and could find themselves in the starting lineup depending on how things go.

Duke

G Nolan Smith - 11, 4, 3
G Jon Scheyer - 16, 4, 4
F Lance Thomas - 8, 5, 1
F Kyle Singler - 19, 9, 3
C Brian Zoubek - 7, 5, 1

Notes: Outside of Singler, minutes in the froncourt are up in the air as newcomers Mason Plumlee and Ryan Kelly should see substantial time and either could win a starting spot. I'm

Florida State
G Michael Snaer - 11, 4, 2
G Derwin Kitchen - 14, 5, 4
F Chris Singleton - 13, 6, 2
F Ryan Reid - 8, 6, 1
F Solomon Alabi - 10, 7, 1

Notes: Without Toney Douglas, Derwin Kitchen should become a much more dangerous offensive weapon. The freshman Snaer is a solid talent but FSU doesn't have the best track-record developing big-time freshmen.

Georgia Tech

G Maurice Miller - 8, 3, 5
G Iman Shumpert - 13, 5, 5
F Gani Lawal - 15, 10, 2

F Derrick Favors - 17, 8, 2
C Zack Peacock - 10, 6, 1

Notes: Favors is a monster talent, but Georgia Tech has other weapons and doesn't necessarily need to force him shots. Don't expect Lawal's numbers to jump very much now that Favors is around.

Maryland

G Greivis Vasquez - 19, 6, 6

G Adrian Bowie - 12, 4, 3

G Sean Mosley - 8, 5, 2
F Landon Milbourne - 11, 6, 1
F James Padgett - 8, 5, 1

Notes: Maryland has some options in its starting 5. Jordan Williams could usurp fellow freshman Padgett from the post. Eric Hayes and Cliff Tucker will also push for minutes, and Mosley may very well be the 6th man.

Miami

G Malcolm Grant - 10, 3, 4
G Durand Scott - 9, 3, 2
F James Dews - 11, 3, 2
F Dwayne Collins - 14, 8, 1
F Cyrus McGowan - 8, 6, 1

Notes: Collins has the potential to put up 15 & 10 if he sees 30+ mpg. The transfer Grant will start at the 1, although the 2 spot is not guaranteed to go to Scott.

NC State

G Javier Gonzalez - 10, 3, 3
G Julius Mays - 8, 3, 3

G CJ Williams - 10, 2, 2
F Tracy Smith - 15, 8, 2
F Dennis Horner - 11, 4, 2

Notes: Smith is the only player to get excited about in terms of fantasy. It's conceivable he even exceeds these projections. The only other guard to see major minutes will be Farnold Degand.

North Carolina

G Larry Drew - 7, 2, 3
G Marcus Ginyard - 9, 5, 2
F John Henson - 14, 6, 2
F Deon Thompson - 13, 7, 1
F Ed Davis - 15, 10, 1

Notes: Dexter Strickland will also see major minutes at guard and could approach double-digit scoring as well so long as he gets 20+ mpg. You also have the talented Tyler Zeller at forward, who would score 12+ ppg on most teams easy.

Virginia

G Calvin Baker - 8, 2, 4

G Sammy Zeglinski - 9, 3, 4
G Sylven Landesberg - 17, 8, 4
F Mike Scott - 10, 8, 1
F Jamil Tucker - 11, 6, 1

Notes: As good as Landesberg is, his stats might not improve from last year because Virginia is expected to play at a slower pace. Assane Sene is an improving option at center, and will haul in boards and block shots if given minutes.

Virginia Tech

G Malcolm Delaney - 18, 5, 6
G Dorenzo Hudson - 8, 3, 1
F JT Thompson - 10, 5, 1
F Jeff Allen - 16, 10, 1
F Victor Davila - 9, 5, 1

Notes: Delaney averaged 5 ppg more than I predicted last year, and could conceivably approach 20 ppg this season. I overestimated Davila last year, and perhaps am doing the same again.

Wake Forest

G Ishmael Smith - 9, 3, 5
G LD Williams - 10, 4, 1
F Al-Farouq Aminu - 16, 9, 2
F Ari Stewart - 10, 4, 2
C Chas McFarland - 10, 7, 1

Notes: Smith hasn't come close to matching his freshman year assist totals, but he could bounce back in that category this year. The freshman Stewart is the big wild card here, as his minutes could be lost to the likes of Tony Woods or Ty Walker.

Projected ACC Leaders

Top PPG
1) Kyle Singler (19)
2) Greivis Vasquez (19)
3) Malcolm Delaney (18)

Top RPG
1) Trevor Booker (11)
2) Ed Davis (10)

3) Jeff Allen (10)

Top APG
1) Greivis Vasquez (6)
2) Malcolm Delaney (6)

3) Maurice Miller/Iman Shumpert/Ishmael Smith/Demontez Stitt (5))

Fantasy Stats Preview Archive

Cheerleader of the Day: Boston College

Shawn Siegel — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:57:53 -0400

Each day (just about), CollegeHoops.net features a Cheerleader (or Dancer) of the Day. Today's picture is courtesy of Icon Sports Media. Check out the archive for more

-- BOSTON COLLEGE

More Cheerleaders!
>>		>>		>>

- Check out past Cheerleaders of the Day!

- Also check out the Picture of the Day!

- Watch all of CHN's favorite College Basketball Videos!

ACC Basketball: High-Low Preview

Shawn Siegel — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 13:23:26 -0400

Everybody loves a prediction. People that claim to hate sports predictions are just jealous that no one cares what they have to say or that their predictions are never right. But sometimes when making predictions, certain teams or groups of teams are truly to close to call. On CHN or in preview mags, we do our best to slot teams into specific spots, but sometimes you just want to say honestly, teams A, B, and C are virtually the same and luck will determine how they finish. You can't say that in a Top 144 ranking, but I'm saying it here in a series of High-Low predictions. Instead of plugging teams into specific spots, I'll give a range for each team's finish and a few reasons why.

(How about the high production values with that picture?..)

ACC HIGH-LOW

* my projected finish in yellow

BOSTON COLLEGE
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
BC is tailor-made for this type of article. A team with a legit shot at making the Big Dance, but also one that could slip deep into the ACC race if Biko Paris fails or one of Sanders & Trapani gets injured.

CLEMSON
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
Opinion is mixed about Clemson depending on who you ask, but expect the Tigers to be a tournament team that either goes home early or wins no more then a game.

DUKE
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
With Singler (due for a monster season) & Scheyer back, Duke will still be right there in the ACC race. 2nd seems like the likely finish.

FLORIDA STATE
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
Despite losing Toney Douglas, it's not all doom and gloom for FSU. Michael Snaer joins a roster full of young and talented players. Whether this talent meshes or not will determine which side of the Tourney bubble they fall.

GEORGIA TECH
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
Overrated by many in my opinion, but still extremely dangerous, Tech can push UNC & Duke for the title, but also find themselves on the Bubble if the young talent doesn't mesh into a cohesive whole.

MARYLAND
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
If Vasquez plays at his best every time out, it's not crazy to think Maryland could push for 2nd in the league. 3rd-5th is more likely however, with the Terps making the tournament for the 2nd season in a row.

MIAMI
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
Miami loses McClinton and 2 other key contributors and could certainly end up in a battle with State for the ACC cellar. But the cupboard isn't bare, and Frank Haith welcomes one of the U's best ever classes. How it all adds up, I'm not sure.

NORTH CAROLINA
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
We could talk all day about the players leaving the program, but with NBA prospects like Davis & Zeller returning along with a monster recruiting class, it's hard to fathom a finish below 3rd in the conference.

NORTH CAROLINA STATE
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
It's hard to imagine NC State finishing higher then 11th.. the talent just isn't there to justify a higher prediction.

VIRGINIA
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
With the likes of Landesberg and Scott, UVA has some quality emerging talent. The real key though is how well the team takes to Tony Bennett's system and whether it can stand up to a full ACC schedule.

VIRGINIA TECH
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
Most consider VT a bubble or NIT team, but with Malcolm Delaney and an improving Jeff Allen, the Hokies have enough talent to win games in a league that is perhaps as wide-open as ever. VT could be a major surprise..

WAKE FOREST
1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
You can't lose the likes of Jeff Teague and James Johnson and not regress somewhat, but Wake's 09-10 demise is being overdone by some. .

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