ACC open practice times set

One of the best days of the ACC basketball season happens on the eve of the ACC tournament.

That's when teams hold a one-hour shootaround practice at the tournament site that's free and open to the media and the public. It's a good chance for fans who can't get seats for the games to see the players and coaches in a relaxed environment. Duke and North Carolina are the only teams that aren't participating in the open practices this year.

Here's the schedule for Wednesday's open practices at the Greensboro Coliseum:

Virginia 10-10:55 a.m.; Boston College 11-11:55 a.m.; Miami noon to 12:55 p.m.; Georgia Tech 1-1:55 p.m.; Wake Forest 2-2:55 p.m.; Clemson 3-3:55 p.m.; N.C. State 4-4:55 p.m.; Virginia Tech 5-5:55 p.m.; Florida State 6-6:55 p.m.; Maryland 7-7:55 p.m.

Ken Tysiac

Is Duke as good as Roy Williams says?

During a postgame news conference that was extremely classy considering the magnitude of Duke’s 82-50 hammering of North Carolina, Tar Heel coach Roy Williams paid the Blue Devils a huge compliment Saturday night.

“This is the best Duke team that’s been here in the seven years I’ve been here,” Williams said.

It was an interesting point that’s worth a closer look. In Williams’ first season at North Carolina, the Blue Devils went to the 2004 Final Four. In 2006, Duke was ranked No. 1 in the nation at the end of the regular season before falling to LSU in a regional semifinal game in Atlanta.

Both of those teams boasted one of the ACC’s best shooters ever in J.J. Redick and a strong post presence on offense and defense in Shelden Williams. Is this Duke team really better?

Probably not. The ACC was stronger in each of those seasons than it is in 2009-10, but Duke still won the conference outright during the regular-season in both 2004 and 2006.

The Blue Devils are a better rebounding team in 2010 than the 2004 and 2006 teams. But that strength is offset by the fact that the current team lacks a big guy like Williams who can physically dominate an opponent by scoring in the low post.

Duke’s 2006 team was flawed, though, because it relied so heavily on Redick and Williams; no other player averaged more than nine points per game. In that respect, the three big scorers on the current team (Jon Scheyer, Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler) give the Blue Devils more options if one player is cold.

But the 2004 team had the most balance, which probably was why it reached the Final Four. Redick, Luol Deng, Daniel Ewing, Williams and Chris Duhon all averaged at least 10 points per game on that team.

Four of those players still are in the NBA, and it seems unlikely that the current team has that many players who are going to have that kind of NBA longevity. So the 2004 team probably is the best one Williams has faced since he came back to North Carolina.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, incidentally, is staying out of this discussion.

“This is a good Duke team,” he said. “This is a very good Duke team. I’m not big on comparisons.”

In that respect, Krzyzewski took the same position as former North Carolina coach Dean Smith, who didn’t like to compare his Tar Heel teams to one another.

As for Williams, his appreciation for the 2010 Duke team might be heightened by his admiration for the seniors who were honored Saturday night, especially guard Jon Scheyer.

“To go from a quote ‘shooting guard’ to one of the primary ball handlers and have seven assists and no turnovers (Saturday), that’s sensational,” Williams said. “I’ve really enjoyed him as a college basketball player and think he stands for so many great things.”

Williams went on to say that Lance Thomas does all the dirty work and helps the Blue Devils, and complimented Brian Zoubek on his play late in the season. All three of those players represent something the Tar Heels haven’t had this season.

North Carolina tried to convert Dexter Strickland from a shooting guard to a point guard and found out how difficult it was. The Tar Heels could have used a fiery senior like Thomas who can defend multiple positions. They would be a better team if they had some players who’d responded to adversity throughout their careers as well as Zoubek.

This may or may not be the best Duke team Williams has faced in his seven seasons as the Tar Heels’ head coach. But it’s easy to see what he likes about this team.

- Members of Duke’s incoming freshman class – point guard Kyrie Irving and forward Josh Hairston – sat in the locker room after Saturday’s game, taking in the spirited atmosphere.

Thomas said it was good for them to be there and see Duke (26-5, 13-3 ACC) celebrating its share of the regular season ACC championship. He said there was a sense of passing down the tradition to the next generation.

“Definitely,” Thomas said as Irving listened from the chair next to him. “Them being here and seeing what this feels like, getting a taste of it before you even get here, is big time. Because when they get here, they’re going to have to do everything in their power to get this feeling again. This is something that me and my team will share. They haven’t felt this yet. They didn’t earn this yet. So when they come, they know what they will have to do to be in this position. There’s no better feeling.”

Ken Tysiac

Heels' Henson soon will have reason to cheer for Duke

Despite his team's 32-point loss Saturday at Cameron Indoor Stadium, North Carolina forward John Henson will have reason to root for Duke a couple years from now.

Well, for the women's team, that is.

Henson's sister Amber, a junior at Tampa's Sickles High, verbally committed to the Blue Devils on Sunday night, according to The St. Petersburg Times.

Duke beat out Florida, Maryland, Stanford, Texas and UNC for the 6-feet-4 player, who averaged 22.1 points per game and 12.1 rebounds this season.

"Even though going to school with John would be great, I tried to ignore all the pressure to go there because of him and think about where I'd be most comfortable without him," Amber Henson told The Times. "But make no mistake, when he plays Duke, I will definitely be sitting being the Carolina bench in light blue supporting my brother."

John Henson, who moved into UNC's starting lineup late in the season, will be a junior by by the time his sister is a freshman at Duke -- if he stays in school that long, rather than hopping early to the NBA.

On his Twitter account Sunday night, John Henson tweeted: "Tried my hardest but, Congrats to my Sister on her commitment to dook....guess ill be making a few more trips over there than expected lol."

-- Robbi Pickeral

Heels' McDonald to miss Duke game

DURHAM - North Carolina freshman wing Leslie McDonald is in street clothes at Cameron Indoor Stadium and will miss tonight's game with Duke because of a strained hamstring.

McDonald is the ninth Tar Heel to miss at least one game with an injury this season. He is averaging 3.5 points and 1.6 rebounds per game, and scored a season-high 16 points a week ago at Wake Forest.

Ken Tysiac

Duke's Smith to return for senior season

DURHAM - Duke junior guard Nolan Smith confirmed Friday that he will return to the Blue Devils for his senior season.

Although Smith ranks fourth in the ACC at 17.5 points per game, he has not been the subject of nearly as much speculation about leaving early for the NBA as junior teammate Kyle Singler.

Nonetheless, Smith was asked during a Friday media availability whether he'll be back.

"I'm coming back next year, of course," he said.

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski has said Singler will wait until the season ends before deciding whether he wants to forgo his senior season and leave for the NBA.

Ken Tysiac

Finger injury won't stop Zoubek

DURHAM - A finger injury suffered Wednesday at Maryland won't stop Duke senior center Brian Zoubek from playing in Saturday's 9 p.m. regular-season finale against North Carolina, coach Mike Krzyzewski said Friday.

Zoubek went to the locker room with his left index finger bent grotesquely. But he returned to the game, and Krzyzewski said he will play with the finger taped against the Tar Heels.

Krzyzewski said that he doesn't expect the struggles of North Carolina (16-14, 5-10 ACC) to take away from the excitement at Cameron Indoor Stadium. He expects it to be the same kind of atmosphere as it's been when the Tar Heels are highly rated.

"I think it will be," Krzyzewski said. "They've won their last couple, and they're very talented."

The game will be a chance for fourth-ranked Duke (25-5, 12-3) to clinch at least a share of the ACC regular-season championship. The Blue Devils also can clinch the No. 1 seed for next week's ACC Tournament with a win.

Duke had a chance to clinch first place outright with a win Wednesday at Maryland, but fell 79-72 on the Terrapins' senior night.

"There is a little bit of frustration," said senior guard Jon Scheyer. "We watned to win it Wednesday night. We were pretty angry. And coach told us to use that anger [for motivation]."

Scheyer, Zoubek, forward Lance Thomas and walk-on Jordan Davidson will be honored Saturday on senior night. Last night they had the traditional dinner with Krzyzewski and his family that all Duke players have before their senior night.

They talked about how far they have come since they were freshmen and Duke finished 22-11 with a first-round NCAA Tournament loss to Virginia Commonwealth in 2007.

Today, Scheyer recalled the 74-47 loss at Clemson last season. He watched film of the game and was thorougly disappointed at how he looked, and it motivated him not to repeat the performance.

"Those are moments you need to have to get better," Scheyer said.

Thanks to those moments, they have a chance to gain at least a share of an ACC regular-season title for the first time in their careers.

Ken Tysiac

Duke to play in November tournament

Duke will join Kansas State, Gonzaga and Marquette in Kansas City, Mo., in November for the championship round of the CBE Classic on Nov. 22-23, tournament organizers announced Thursday.

Those four teams also will play host to two of what are being called "regional round" games from Nov. 14-17. But the four host teams will advance to Kansas City regardless of the outcome of their "regional" games.

Ken Tysiac

SoCon men's, women's postseason awards

Southern Conference men's basketball awards

All-Conference Team
Donald Sims, Appalachian State
Andrew Goudelock, College of Charleston
Jeremy Simmons, College of Charleston
Cameron Wells, The Citadel
Amu Saaka, Furman
Willie Powers, Georgia Southern
Ben Stywall, UNC Greensboro
Brandon Giles, Western Carolina
Noah Dahlman, Wofford
Tim Johnson, Wofford

All-Freshman Team
Willis Hall, College of Charleston
Harrison DuPont, The Citadel
Jake Cohen, Davidson
JP Kuhlman, Davidson
Kyle Randall, UNC Greensboro

Player of the Year
Noah Dahlman, Jr., F, Wofford

Co-Defensive Players of the Year
Jeremy Simmons, Jr., F, College of Charleston
Brigham Waginger, Sr., G, Western Carolina

Freshman of the Year
JP Kuhlman, G, Davidson

Coach of the Year
Mike Young, Wofford



Southern Conference women's basketball awards

All-Conference Team
First Team
Tonia Gerty, College of Charleston
Shanara Hollinquest, Chattanooga
Jenaya Wade-Fray, Chattanooga
Ali Ford, Elon
Emily London, Samford

Second Team
Ashlen Dewart, Appalachian State
Anna Freeman, Appalachian State
Sam Ramirez, Appalachian State
Alex Thompson, Davidson
Savannah Hill, Samford

Player of the Year
Shanara Hollinquest, Chattanooga

Freshman of the Year
Ali Ford, Elon

Coach of the Year
Darcie Vincent, Appalachian State

Davidson's wild finish

Here's video of the final few seconds of Davidson's 99-96 double-overtime victory against Elon on Saturday -- certainly one of the wildest finishes in college basketball this season.

Here's how it unfolded: After Elon's Chris Long hit two free throws to give the Phoenix a 96-93 lead with 14.4 seconds left in the second overtime, Davidson's JP Kuhlman missed a jumper that would have cut the lead to 96-95 with 10 seconds left. It was just as well that Kuhlman's shot missed: The Wildcats' Nic Cochran got the rebound and passed it to point guard Brendan McKillop, who hit a tying 3-pointer with three seconds left.

The Wildcats' Steve Rossiter then stole Elon's inbounds pass and hit a 3-pointer as the buzzer sounded to win it for the Wildcats.

The loss was especially tough to take for Elon coach Matt Matheny, a former Davidson player and assistant coach.

Davidson's next game is a first-round Southern Conference matchup Friday at Bojangles' Coliseum against, who else, Elon. -- David Scott

All-CIAA tournament teams

MEN
Angelo Sharpless, G, Elizabeth City State; Chris Jordan, G, St. Augustine's, Lando Morrison, F, Chowan; Trent Bivens, G, Elizabeth City State; Haywood Fain, F, St. Augustine’s'; Raheem Smith, G, Shaw; Blake Price, G, Elizabeth City State; Jaleel Nelson, Sr., Chowan; Greg Henry, F, Livingstone; Shaun Washum, F, St. Augustine’s.
MVP – Chris Jordan, St. Augustine's.
John B. McClendon Sportsmanship Award- Elizabeth City State.
WOMEN
Tiffany Haywood, F, Fayetteville State; Bianca Lee, G, Bowie State; Kenyatta Gill, F, Elizabeth City State; Leslie Phillips, G, Virginia State; Deja Middleton, C, Fayetteville State; Lakisha Walker, G, Bowie State; L’Oreal Price, G, Fayetteville State; Juliette Turner, G, Bowie State; Tatiana Ellis, G, St. Paul's; Danielle Russell, G, Fayetteville State.
MVP-Tiffany Haywood, Fayetteville State
John B. McClendon Sportsmanship Award- Elizabeth City State