UNC is unanamous No. 1 in Top 25 poll

For the first time since USA Today took over the coaches poll in 1991, a team is the unanimous preseason No. 1 pick.

Surprise!

North Carolina is No. 1 in the USA Today college basketball preseason Top 25. The Tar Heels are a unanimous choice, receiving all 31 votes and they are the first team to start back-to-back seasons as the No. 1 team in the land.

North Carolina returns its starting lineup from last season's Final Four team and added three McDonald's All-Americans. The Tar Heels are one of four ACC teams ranked in the top 25. Duke is picked No. 5, Miami is No. 16 and Wake Forest is No. 24. The full list with last year's record:

1. North Carolina (36-3)
2. Connecticut (24-9)
3. Louisville (27-9)
4. UCLA (35-4)
5. Duke (28-6)
6. Pittsburgh (27-10)
7. Michigan State (27-9)
8. Texas (31-7)
9. Notre Dame (25-8)
10. Purdue (25-9)
11. Gonzaga (25-8)
12. Memphis (38-2)
13. Tennessee (31-5)
14. Oklahoma (23-12)
15. Arizona State (21-13)
16. Miami (23-11)
17. Marquette (25-10)
18. Georgetown (28-6)
19. Florida (24-12)
20. Davidson (29-7)
T21. USC (21-12)
T21. Wisconsin (31-5)
23. Kansas (37-3)
24. Wake Forest (17-13)
25. Villanova (22-13)
Also receiving votes: UNLV (27-8) 60; Saint Mary's (25-7)59; Ohio State (24-13) 54; Baylor (21-11) 47; Xavier (30-7) 27; Syracuse (21-14) 23; LSU (13-18) 19; Texas A&M (25-11) 19; Arizona (19-15) 18; Virginia Tech (21-14) 15; Brigham Young (27-8) 13; West Virginia (26-11) 10; Siena (23-11) 8; Washington (16-17) 8; Kentucky (18-13) 7; Vanderbilt (26-8) 7; Oklahoma State (17-16) 4; Clemson (24-10) 2; Washington State (26-9) 1.

Ga. Tech coach: Shorter season sensible

Just when you think you’ve heard it all, a college basketball coach offers to give back a portion of his salary.

Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said he’d do it if the NCAA would shorten the college basketball season. It starts Nov. 10 in the ACC with Presbyterian at Duke.

Hewitt would prefer to start after Thanksgiving and play fewer games.

“You want to pro-rate my salary, go ahead,” Hewitt said. “I would do it tomorrow. Because it just puts a lot of stress on our guys.”

In 2006, the NCAA approved a 27-game regular-season schedule, plus an "exempt" tournament that can be up to four games. Teams that don't play an exempt tournament can play 29 regular-season games. Previously, teams played a 26-game regular season and were limited to two exempt tournaments in a four-year period. Now teams can play 31 games every season.

Hewitt said the extra games increase pressure on young men who already are struggling to manage challenging academic and athletic responsibilities.

“I do find it interesting that we talk out of both sides of our mouth about the need to graduate and the need to make sure the grades are good,” Hewitt said. “And we keep increasing the standards, but we don’t give the kids any more time to be successful.”

Following Georgia Tech’s run to the 2004 NCAA championship game, Hewitt emerged as one of college basketball’s most passionate reformers. He is the only Division I coach on a coalition of experts from across the basketball landscape who have begun an initiative to improve youth basketball in the United States.

He is a member of the NCAA’s Academic Enhancement Group, which is attempting to develop strategies to improve classroom performance in men’s basketball.

Shortening the schedule is one strategy that he believes makes sense.

“We’re putting the kids in a very, very tough spot with the amount of class time we ask them to miss,” Hewitt said. “We really infringe on their preparation time for first-semester final exams.”

– Ken Tysiac

Davidson names team captains

Davidson has picked its team captains for the upcoming season, and if your captain is your team leader, the Wildcats are in great shape -- they have four.

The duties will be shared by senior guard Max Paulhus Gosselin, senior forward Andrew Lovedale, junior guard Stephen Curry and junior forward Stephen Rossiter. The captains are picked through a vote of the players and coaching staff.

Curry, of course, is expected to be the dominant scorer again despite switching from shooting guard to the point this season. Lovedale, following a strong NCAA tournament performance, is being counted on for frontcourt scoring and rebounding. And Paulhus Gosselin and Rossiter, both strong defenders, are expected to add to their offensive numbers with offseason improvement and increased playing time. -- Stan Olson

Winthrop's Robinson makes mark on D

Winthrop junior Mantoris Robinson had a breakout season as a sophomore, but it didn't draw a lot of notice.

While the Eagles were winning their fourth straight Big South Conference championship, others took the starring roles, scoring more points and grabbing more rebounds. Robinson, who played prep basketball at Charlotte's Butler High before finishing up at Fork Union Military, averaged 5.9 points and 4.4 rebounds. But the 6-foot-5 forward built his reputation with his defense. He wound up starting 25 of 34 games, leading the team with 29 blocked shots and regularly guarding the opponent's best offensive player.

As the new season prepares for launch, Winthrop coach Randy Peele sums Robinson up this way:

"I think a lot of our leadership will come from Mantoris. I think ultimately, he is one of the best defenders in the country."

At Butler, Robinson was an all-state performer as a senior, averaging 21 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and three steals. While his scoring and leadership should increase in keeping with his new status as one of the most experienced Eagles, expect him to continue playing that remarkable "D."

The next time you watch the Eagles, keep an eye on Robinson. You'll likely see him do a lot of the little things that make a good team even better.

--Stan Olson

Former Davidson center Knowles dies

Rodney Knowles, one of Davidson's best centers, died Saturday at age 62 in North Topsail Beach. Knowles attended Davidson from 1964 to '68, starring for coach Lefty Driesell.

Knowles, who was 6-foot-9, 215 pounds, was a quality center in his Southern Conference days, a good shooter, strong rebounder and a key to the dominant Wildcats' teams of that era, helping them to NCAA tournament appearances in 1966 and '68. He now ranks fifth on Davidson's lists in career rebounding (804) 17th in scoring (1,344 points) and 10th in scoring average (16,0 ppg). He played briefly with the NBA's Phoenix Suns.

The 1968 team lost to North Carolina 70-66 in a regional semifinal, barely missing a trip to the Final Four.

Knowles finished his Davidson career with a 51.5 field goal percentage and a 75.4 free throw mark.

In 1990, he was appointed by the state legislature to the North Topsail Beach Incorporation Committee and served as the first appointed Mayor. He later was elected the first Mayor of the newly incorporated township, serving in that position from 1990-1993 and again from 2003-2008.

Knowles was inducted into the Davidson Hall of Fame in February.

His memorial service will be held at Faith Harbor United Methodist Church on Thursday at 1 p.m.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be sent to Operation Topcat, P.O. Box 922, Sneads Ferry, NC, or Faith Harbor United Methodist Church, P.O. Box 2713, Surf City, NC 28445.

--Stan Olson

Catch up with Ben McCauley

Q&A with N.C. State men’s basketball center Ben McCauley (right):
Q: How is Courtney Fells responding to his move from shooting guard to small forward?
A: He’s more of a slasher now instead of just shooting from the 3-point line, which is big because he can get up and he’s long and athletic. Not only that, but he can help with the defensive rebounds, too. He can jump and maybe get those long rebounds that Brandon (Costner) and I can’t get underneath.
Q: Did you lose weight during the offseason?
A: About five to eight pounds.
Q: How did you do it?
A: Eating right. Not eating the North Carolina food that gets you overweight. Not barbecue, stay away from the sweet teas and stuff like that. Making sure I eat right and work out every day.
Q: Coach is saying having the big guys running the floor is important to his new style?
A: It is important. Me as a five-man (center), maybe there aren’t as many five men that can run up and down. To have that advantage or slight advantage is really important.
Q: How is your post rotation working. Does it look like Tracy (Smith) is a backup to you and Dennis (Horner) is a backup to Brandon? How is that working?
A: That would be a fair assessment. I see Tracy sticking with the five man and Dennis sticking with the four man (power forward). But at the same time, I can see Brandon sliding over to the five man and Dennis at the four man. There are some different options we could throw at different teams.
Q: I hear Dennis has improved during the offseason. Is that true, and if so, how has that manifested itself?
A: Coming into the program his first couple years, he was long and lanky and kind of would get pushed around a little bit. But this offseason he has really worked on gaining some weight, getting stronger and being able to post up a little bit. Because with his height, he has an advantage on some people. So he has done a great job with that, and he’s also worked on his shot a lot. It was an off-year shooting last year, but he definitely came into this year with the idea that he has to get his shooting down.
-- KEN TYSIAC

Impressions from ACC media day

Impressions from ACC media day:

- ACC coaches seem in favor of shortening the time underclassmen have to explore their NBA draft status.
Currently players have about two months after the season’s end to decide whether to withdraw from the draft if they enter . ACC officials are proposing NCAA legislation that will require athletes to decide within a week to 10 days whether they’re returning to school.
“That 50- or 60-day period, they’ve got to shorten it,” said Virginia Tech coach Seth Greenberg. “It’s not fair to the kids on your team more than anything else. Is he coming back? Is he coming back because he’s not going to go high enough? Then how good a teammate is that guy going to be?”

- Coach Sidney Lowe grew tired of answering questions about N.C. State’s chemistry (or lack thereof) last season.
“I hate to put that chemistry thing out there, because I played the game and to me chemistry is when everybody is playing for one reason and accepting that role,” Lowe said. “. . .I think ours, the major thing with ours was when Farnold (Degand, the point guard) got hurt.”

- Freshman DeQuan Jones gives Miami an athlete on the wing the likes of which it hasn’t seen before under coach Frank Haith.
Jones is 6-foot-6 and 217 pounds with the potential to become a fantastic defender, according to Haith – if Jones learns concepts quickly.
“He’s a tremendous athlete, but he also has good skills,” Haith said. “He can shoot the ball. He’s a good ball handler. But he’s just a physical specimen.”

- North Carolina guard Wayne Ellington was the most noticeable omission from the preseason All-ACC team.
Teammates Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson made the team, so it would have been difficult to vote a third Tar Heel on the team with so much talent. Boston College’s Tyrese Rice, Miami’s Jack McClinton and Duke’s Gerald Henderson also made the team.
All are deserving, but nobody made more big shots last season than Ellington.

- ACC commissioner John Swofford opened the meeting by congratulating Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski and his staff for directing Team USA to the Olympic gold medal last summer in Beijing.
“(They) certainly made our country very proud,” Swofford said.
With reporters later, Krzyzewski displayed understated satisfaction about what must have been the thrill of a lifetime.
“It was pretty good,” he said.


- Ken Tysiac

UNC women picked to win ACC

GREENSBORO - As the ACC holds its annual women's basketball media day today, North Carolina was selected as the top preseason pick for the 2008-2009 ACC season.

The Tar Heels, winners of the past four ACC Championships, were chosen ahead of Maryland and Duke, receiving 15 of the 42 first-place votes from the conference's Blue Ribbon Panel of media members and school representatives.

UNC finished last season 33-3 overall and 14-0 in conference play. The No.1-seeded Heels advanced to the NCAA regional finals in New Orleans, losing to LSU, 56-50, in that round.

Maryland's Kristi Toliver was selected as the preseason Player of the Year, while her new teammate freshman Lynetta Kizer was selected as the preseason Rookie of the Year.

2008-09 Predicted Order of Finish

1. North Carolina (15)

2. Maryland (11)

3. Duke (4)

4. Virginia (2)

5. Florida State

6. Georgia Tech

7. Boston College

8. N.C. State

9. Clemson

10. Virginia Tech

11. Miami

12. Wake Forest

2008-09 Preseason All-ACC Team

Chante Black, Duke

Marrisa Coleman, Maryland

Rashanda McCants, North Carolina

Kristi Toliver, Maryland

Monica Wright, Virginia

Preseason Player of the Year: Kristi Toliver, Maryland

Preseason Rookie of the Year: Lynetta Kizer, Maryland

Bilas: Lowe just needs some time

During a phone conversation Tuesday, ESPN analyst Jay Bilas shared his opinions on ACC basketball and N.C. State. Here are some of his comments:

On N.C. State: “If they get guard play they’ll be fine. I’m not sure exactly what was behind some of last season where they didn’t perform like they wanted to. I attribute it more to guard play rather than personality issues. I would love to know more about why (Ben) McCauley was suspended . . . why he didn’t take the trip they took (to Toronto in August). That would bother me. . . . You want all your kids to be in with both feet and I don’t know what’s behind it. But it’s not a good sign.

“But I think Sidney (Lowe) is a good coach, and I think every guy needs some time. And he hasn’t had that yet. I’ll tell you one thing, when they let Herb Sendek walk out the door and didn’t try to stop him, most people in basketball knew they were losing a really good coach and that they were going to have to take a step back to get back to where they wanted to be.”

“This is the step-back portion. Whether they can take the step forward, we’ll see. I think they hired a good coach and a really, really good guy. They just need to give him the time. This is what they wanted and they’ve got it. They’ve got to give him the time.”

Bilas said North Carolina’s talent and experience are unmatched. Among emerging teams, he expects Miami and Wake Forest to continue improving: “(The Deacons) are young but really, really good, and it wouldn’t be a shocker to see them as the third-best team in the league. There’s nobody in the league that they can’t be competitive with.

Bilas predicted Duke will be a top-10 team: “I think Duke is going to be a lot better this year than last year, and heck, last year they won 27 games.”

He said Clemson has a good nucleus back: “(Trevor) Booker is a really good player and I think (Terrence) Oglesby is going to take a step forward. They lost some athleticism and some leadership and some real productivity. They’ll be fine and they’ll be good, but I think a lot is going to be determined by how tough some of these guys are.”

- Ken Tysiac

Notes from Tar Heels' media day

CHAPEL HILL -- Several North Carolina basketball players said it will take the entire team to replace what it will be missing from Marcus Ginyard (above) for the next couple of months — defense, rebounding, leadership.

But it will begin with senior Danny Green (right).

Coach Roy Williams said during Friday’s practice-opening media day that Green is the leading contender to replace Ginyard, who had foot surgery earlier this month. Ginyard was on crutches and in a cast Friday, hopes to be in a walking boot Monday, and should return in December.
“If we had to play a game today, I’d start Danny,’’ Williams said.

In Ginyard, he said, "you’re losing your best defender, a guy who gets more little cheap baskets, offensive rebounds, steals than anyone else on your club. You guys as writers, and us as coaches, always like to talk about somebody that does all the little things, all the dirty work and that kind of thing, so you’re missing somebody to do that early.

"But hopefully over the course of this time where he’s rehabbing and getting healthy, he might be able to sit back and look and maybe even gain something out of it.”

Green, one of the top sixth men in the country last season, has started only one game in his career. But he said he’s ready to fill the starting role, if he’s called upon. UNC opens the regular season Nov. 15 vs. Penn.

“It might be a little different; it’s something I’ve never really done before,’’ Green said. “It’s just making an adjustment. I’ve been coming off the bench and giving a spark, and now I just have to, if I do start, adjust to playing right off the bat … and be ready to play right away.”

LOOKING FOR ANOTHER YEAR: Senior guard Bobby Frasor said he is “still in the process” of applying for a fifth year of eligibility. He tore his ACL during the 12th game of last season, and was sidelined for the rest of the season.

“I just recently submitted my letter again, with my parents’ letter, to the NCAA,’’ he said. “I’m sure if I went to a D-II, D-III school, I would have another year in college. But since I’m at such a prime school, in the spotlight, I’m sure they’re going to take special consideration with my case.”

Under NCAA rules, a player who has participated in less than 30 percent of a team’s regular season games is eligible for a medical redshirt. UNC played 31 regular-season games in 2007-08, so another season of eligibility may be a long shot.

THE NUMBERS GAME: Freshmen are not allowed to talk to the media before they play in a regular-season game, so UNC’s new quartet shot baskets and watched the interviews Friday.
Forward Ed Davis will wear jersey No. 32; point guard Larry Drew II — who has “Drew II” on the back of his jersey — is No. 11; guard Justin Watts is No. 24; and forward Tyler Zeller is No. 44.

-- Robbi Pickeral