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GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The 2009-10 Atlantic Coast Conference basketball schedule released today by Commissioner John Swofford is highlighted by 281 television appearances by the league’s 12 member schools, including 162 appearances on national television networks. This year’s schedule also includes 173 televised games involving ACC teams and marks the sixth-straight year the ACC has had more than 250 television appearances.

The Conference will provide an updated 2009-10 ACC schedule with additional television selections at a later date.

In addition, the league also unveiled the 2010 ACC Tournament logo today. The 57th annual ACC Tournament is set for March 11-14, 2010, and marks the 22nd time that the four-day event will be held at the Greensboro Coliseum.

ACC Basketball by the Numbers

162 - ACC teams are scheduled to make 162 appearances on national television networks, including 118 appearances on ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU, 35 on Fox Sports Net, and seven on CBS.

24 – ACC teams are scheduled to play a total of 24 games against 22 non-conference opponents that earned NCAA Tournament berths in 2008-09.

19 - Fox Sports Net and affiliates will televise 19 Sunday afternoon and evening games on a national basis, starting with North Carolina hosting Nevada on November 29.

11 - Headlining the league’s non-conference schedule is the 11th annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge pairing two of the nation's premier conferences in a regular-season challenge series. Last year, the ACC won the Challenge for the 10th-straight time, winning six of the 11 games played. The ACC (.640) and the Big Ten (.613) are the two winningest conferences in NCAA Tournament history.

True Hoop Blog (re-feed)

Just had to pass this along in case you have not seen it.

We hear the stories all the time. There are problems with the NBA. If you wanted to make a story about what that means exactly, you might want to use the facts from this stars real biography:

 

Raised in a single-parent home, with a rotating cast of father figures.

No tolerance as a youngster for real coaching. Countless victories are lost to poor strategy.

Terrible grades and at times a really glaring lack of education.

Shopping from school to school to find one who will grant a diploma.

 

A car provided by an unofficial "sponsor."

Trouble with teammates, family and sometimes the police, including for outrunning the police in more than one high-speed chase.

Later in life, divorce, dallying with various celebrities, and a child out of wedlock.  We see these stories and we pull our hair out fretting. What can be done? Someone needs to fix this!

 

Ban the high school players! Instill dress codes! Lecture everybody about this and that!

 

Heres a little thing to make you think, though. That biography I outlined up above?

 

Whose is that? Care to guess?

 

Thats the tale of Lance Armstrongs life (as I learned from a new book about him). Yet Armstrong, for many reasons, is generally seen as one of the most dignified, successful and admirable of all athletes. 

 

So, does that mean pro leagues need to get all wound up about character issues in more sports, or fewer? I cant say for certain. But I cant imagine a league of Lance Armstrongs would be subject to the same kinds of hand-wringing the NBA endures.

 

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-42-21/What-s-Wrong-with-the-NBA.html

 

The Emmy goes to...

A great night for FOX Sports South/SportSouth last night at the NATAS Southeast Regional Emmy Awards. FSS walked away with a grand total of 10 Emmy Awards!

It was a thrill for yours truly two be nominated for two Emmy's in the same category--in two different sports. Our college football broadcast, Central Michigan at Georgia, and our NBA telecast, Boston at Atlanta in Game Six of the playoffs last year EACH won last night for Outstanding Achievement: Television News and Program Specialty Excellence; Sporting Event/Game-Live/Unedited.

It was a thrill to join Executive Producer Hammond Reynolds and Co-ordinating Producer Rohan Backfisch on stage to accept the dual Emmy's.

On the SEC football game, it was a pleasure to work with one of the game's top analysts in Dave Rowe, plus our great production team of producer Joe Vencius and director Ric LaCivita.

My Hawks team also won for the second year in a row with a telecast from that thrilling Hawks-Celtics seven-game series from 2008. Kudos to Steve Smith, producer Jay Hoover and director Gary Lehman.

More pictures and stories to come!

Congratulations to all of the nominees and Emmy award recipients.

Never, Ever

It was incredibly exciting. A double-overtime thriller at the Smith Center. Yet, when the finally horn sounded, we all said the same thing.

They will never win in Chapel Hill.

The Clemson Tigers blew a game Sunday night that confirms the above statement. Clemson held a 11-point lead with less than four minutes remaining and still managed to lose in Chapel Hill for the 53^{rd consecutive time without victory.}

All you needed to see was the body language. North Carolina knew it would win. Clemson knew it would not. It was only a matter of time. And when Clemson could not get off a game-winning shot in the final seconds of regulation, the feeling going into each overtime was not that Carolina would win, but by how many.

Add the fact that Clemson is also the worst free throw shooting team in the country (1-7???) it’s a wonder they were able to build such a tremendous advantage on the road.

I, for one, was hoping the streak would end.

I don’t like long streaks like this, losing streaks and games played streaks. They seem to take on a life of their own, and what does it really mean, anyway? These kids that played their hearts out for Clemson Sunday night had nothing to do with all those losses. Yet, they carried the weight of history with them.

Many a night, I broadcast the Clemson at UNC game, and it seemed that every game ended the same, with Carolina winning by an average score of 83-58! If memory serves, I called five Clemson at UNC games in the streak.

I hereby put in to call next year’s game!

You have to be impressed with the way Duke has been playing. A great win over Carolina on the road, followed by a string second half in taking care of Boston College, the Devils now have the inside track to home court advantage in the NCAA Tournament. No the games won’t be played at Cameron Indoor, but for Duke to get games in Raleigh and Charlotte would be plenty of advantage for Duke….Maryland is coming on strong. When James Gist plays like a superstar, the Terps emerge as a elite-team….why would I not be surprised to see Bobby Knight take over at LSU soon?....I’ll tell you another team that is coming on strong: Kentucky. They could be the sleeper come SEC Tournament time.

The Hawks hit the all-star break this week, staring at a Western Conference trip that will be as tough as any in recent years. At Lakers, Sacramento, Golden State, Utah and San Antonio is a rugged five-games-in-seven-days stretch. But even if the Hawks lose all five, they’ll still be in a position to clinch a playoff berth in the East with a month and a half to play. The way its going, 10-games under .500 will be good enough to make the playoffs in the East. And look at what is happening in the West. Potentially, a 50-win team could miss the playoffs.

The Best of the Best

The Major League Baseball all-star game has been here. Couple of times in fact. The NBA all-stars were here a few years ago.
And this weekend, we roll out the red carpet and the Southern hospitality for hockey world.
Welcome. We’re glad you’re here.
We missed you in ’05. That horrible year-lost postponed the party, but we’re ready and look forward to watching the best of the best.
The 2007 NHL All-Star weekend is sure to be great one. Activities are planned to touch as many fans as possible, old and new, youngsters and veterans.
Hockey is still sort of a new toy with us. We got a taste of the playoffs and what it meant last spring. We’ll be ready, next time.
And to have Philips Arena host this weekend as the hockey world descends upon Atlanta is a proud moment, indeed.
And we couldn’t be happier for our guys, Ilya Kovalchuk and Marian Hossa. It’s the second All-Star nod for Kovalchuk, who led all players in voting the for 2004 game.
This will be Hossa’s fifth All-Star appearance, following selections in 2001, 2003, 2004 and 2007. He missed the 2004 game due to injury.
Hossa is a pro’s pro, coming from one of the world’s top hockey families. But if you’ll allow us a bit of bragging, we think Ilya is really something special. We know he leads the league in goals, but folks, he’s Baryshnikov on skates.
Often, Kovy is seen at Hawks games. Did you know there is a little basketball in his blood?
Ilya’s dad, Valeri, played for the Soviet national basketball team.
By the time he was 3, Ilya was on his dad’s shoulder as he went to the gym. The two would do simple stretching exercises and coordination drills. But Valeri also taught his son the value of a positive mental approach in sports.
"My father never pushed me into one sport. He let me play basketball, soccer and street hockey," Kovalchuk said with a smile while recalling his younger days. "But I’ll never forget one day, when I was 5, he got this big smile on his face when I was playing street hockey with my friends. I think he saw that I was pretty good. The next day ... he bought me a pair of skates."
Valeri Kovalchuk also showed his son the right way to train and develop as a hockey player.
"The first thing he taught me was how important it was to shoot the puck accurately," Kovalchuk recalled, adding that his dad put up four targets on the side of their house – one at each corner of what would be a makeshift net. "I would practice for hours and hours. It was always wrist shots and snap shots. No slap shots, because sticks were too expensive … and I was afraid if I broke one we wouldn’t be able to buy new ones.
"I remember my dad coaching me back then. He told me, ‘It’s better to miss the net than hit the goalie.’ He was right. Maybe that’s why I can pick the corners so well now."
I try to make every Thrashers home game that I can. I wait for #17 to hit the ice and watch him weave his magic. How special it would be to see him light the lamp in the All-Star game in his adopted hometown of Atlanta. I’ll be watching Sunday, as soon as the Hawks are done in Portland.
And to the hockey world, welcome to Atlanta.
NHL.com contributed to this report.

All Great Leaders are Readers

OK, troops, how are those New Year’s Resolutions coming?
Well, all righty then! Let’s hit that re-start button!
One of the great people in sports and education is Dr. Paul Schempp from UGA’s Sports Instruction Research Laboratory.
Paul was kind enough to send along his study of readings recommended by expert coaches.
One distinguishing characteristic propelling experts to consistently superior performance is their extensive knowledge. One source often identified by experts as fundamental to their knowledge base is reading. Paul has done us the favor of asking coaches to identify the books that the great coaching leaders would recommend to beginning coaches.
I can think of no better way to get 2008 started than by going out and getting these books to start your own high performance library.
392 coaches from 29 different sports were sent letters explaining the study. 107 coaches from 17 sports responded. The participants recommended 156 authors and 177 book titles.
With Paul’s permission, here are the Top 5:

1. The Winner Within. Pat Riley, 1993. New York: Putnam’s Sons.
2. Wooden, A Lifetime of Observations and Reflections On and Off the Court. John Wooden and Steve Jamison, 1997. Lincolnwood, IL: Contemporary Books.
3. Search for the Perfect Swing, The Proven Scientific Approach to Fundamentally Improving Your Game. Alistair Cochran and John Stobbs. Chicago, IL: Triumph Books.
4. My Personal Best, Life Lessons from an All-American Journey. John Wooden and Steve Jamison, 2004. new York: McGraw-Hill.
5. Season of Life, A Football Star, A Boy, A Journey to Manhood. Jeffrey Marx. New York: Simon and Schuster.

Isn’t it interesting that three of the top five books are authored by basketball coaches? And Paul notes in his research that the authors most frequently identified were Wooden, Riley, and Dean Smith.
Marx, the Pulitzer Prize winning author, wrote A Football Star to chronicle the work of Joe Ehrmann, the former Baltimore Colt, and his teaching of life lessons through football at Gilman High School in Maryland.

Dr. Schempp will present these findings later this month in Japan at a Sport Science Conference. The entire reading list of 177 book titles would keep you going for years. Exceptional material.

My goal for 2008 is the same as 2007—a book a week, minimum of 52. I’ve got my first one done, working on number two. Paul has given us five must-reads!

Atlanta's Rising Stars

Tomorrow night, the Hawks will face the Magic in Orlando. It will be Atlanta’s first look at the 16-5 Magic men, and will give us another installment of the Battle of Atlanta, Dwight Howard vs. John Smith.

Heading into the game, Josh had put together an outstanding run of five games. Starting with the New Orleans game on November 30th, J-Smoove was shooting .560 from the floor, and had not attempted a three-point shot in his last three games. Included in the run was a 28-point effort against Minnesota. The NBA’s league-leading shot blocker swatted seven against the T-Wolves. Josh has averaged 20.8 PPG over the stretch.

His former AAU teammate Dwight Howard continues to lead a Magic team that has been incredible on the road this season. (Mark your calendars now: Orlando will be at Philips much later in the season: Sat. March 22 and Tues. April 15).

Dwight’ presence inside has brought back memories of the franchise’s halcyon days when Shaquille O’Neal patrolled the middle.

This Magic team looks to have the most potential of any club that has followed in the wake of failure and frustration created by O’Neal’s exit in the summer of 1996.

The Magic have matched the record 20-game start recorded by the franchise’s two best teams—the 1994-95 and the ‘95-96 clubs of Shaq, Penny Hardaway, Nick Anderson and Dennis Scott.

Much like those teams, the Magic now have a big-time center, and have surrounded him with fantastic shooters.

“There is so much of a resemblance,” said Anderson, now a community ambassador for the Magic. “I really think this team could become like our team of ‘94-95. There are lots of similarities, starting with Dwight and Shaq. They’re not as big as we were, but the makeup is there.”

The scary things is  Howard is just 22 (same as Josh), and is signed through 2013.

I say bring back the old NBA territorial draft! Atlanta should have both Smith and Howard.

“The biggest comparison is that they have multiple weapons like we did,” Scott, the current Hawks radio analyst and former three-point bomber in Orlando, said.

“And people want to use the Shaq- and Dwight-as-anchors angle, and it works. I’m not sure they have a guy like Penny, but we didn’t a Rashard Lewis, either.

“This team just needs maybe one more guy who can come off the bench and win the game for you. They are close, but I’m not sure they are there yet.”

With the Hawks improving day-by-day, and Washington crippled with a key injury to Gilbert Arenas, it may not be very long until we are looking at a situation that the Hawks and the Magic will be the top two teams in the Southeast Division for the foreseeable future.

The Kiddie Corp

One of the ancillary benefits of my job is getting to talk hoops with the great men and women who cover the game on a regular basis.
Hop-scotching between the NBA and major college basketball brings me in contact with the elite of the 5th Estate and often those pre-game discussions spark some interesting fact-finding missions.
Last weekend, I ran into my old pal Ron Morris, now the lead sports columnist for The State in Columbia, SC.
We got talking about college personnel, and I shared with him a list of the players who are currently in the NBA that have collegiate eligibility time remaining.

Here’s the list, courtesy of STATS LLC:

NBA Players Who Would Still Have NCAA Eligibility if Stayed/Went to College
(Based on Current NBA Rosters)

NBA Team    Player                  College/High School     Would Be IF Stayed
Atlanta     Al Horford              Florida                       Sr.
Atlanta     Josh Smith              Oak Hill Academy HS           Sr.
Atlanta     Marvin Williams         North Carolina                Sr.
Boston      Glen Davis              LSU                           Sr.
Chicago     JamesOn Curry           Oklahoma St.                  Sr.
Chicago     Thomas Gardner          Missouri                      Sr.
Chicago     Joakim Noah             Florida                       Sr.
Chicago     Tyrus Thomas            LSU                           Jr.
Cleveland   Daniel Gibson           Texas                         Sr.
Cleveland   Cedric Simmons          North Carolina St.            Sr.
Denver      J.R. Smith              St. Benedict’s Prep HS        Sr.
Detroit     Arron Afflalo           UCLA                          Sr.
Detroit     Amir Johnson            Westchester HS                Jr.
Detroit     Rodney Stuckey          Eastern Washington            Jr.
Golden St.  Monta Ellis             Lanier HS                     Jr.
Golden St.  Patrick O’Bryant        Bradley                       Sr.
Golden St.  Brandan Wright          North Carolina                So.
Indiana     Shawne Williams         Memphis                       Jr.
LA Clippers Shaun Livingston        Peoria Central HS             Sr.
LA Lakers   Andrew Bynum            St. Joseph HS                 Jr.
LA Lakers   Javaris Crittenton      Georgia Tech                  So.
LA Lakers   Jordan Farmar           UCLA                          Sr.
Memphis     Mike Conley             Ohio St.                      So.
Memphis     Rudy Gay                Connecticut                   Sr.
Memphis     Kyle Lowry              Villanova                     Sr.
Miami       Daequan Cook            Ohio St.                      So.
Miami       Dorell Wright           Leuzinger HS                  Sr.
Milwaukee   Ramon Sessions          Nevada                        Sr.
Minnesota   Corey Brewer            Florida                       Sr.
Minnesota   Gerald Green            Gulf Shores Academy HS        Jr.
Minnesota   Al Jefferson            Prentiss HS                   Sr.
Minnesota   Sebastian Telfair       Abraham Lincoln HS            Sr.
New Orleans Julian Wright           Kansas                        Jr.
Orlando     Dwight Howard           SW Atlanta Christian Academy  Sr.
Philadelphia Jason Smith            Colorado St.                  Sr.
Philadelphia Louis Williams         South Gwinnett HS             Jr.
Philadelphia Thaddeus Young         Georgia Tech                  So.
Portland    Lamarcus Aldridge       Texas                         Sr.
Portland    Taurean Green           Florida                       Sr.
Portland    Josh McRoberts          Duke                          Jr.
Portland    Greg Oden               Ohio St.                      So.
Portland    Martell Webster         Seattle Prep                  Jr.
Sacramento  Spencer Hawes           Washington                    So.
San Antonio Darius Washington       Memphis                       Sr.
Seattle     Kevin Durant            Texas                         So.
Seattle     Jeff Green              Georgetown                    Sr.
Seattle     Robert Swift            Bakersfield HS                Jr.
Utah        C.J. Miles              Skyline HS                    Jr.
Washington  Andray Blatche          South Kent Prep               Jr.
Washington  Dominic McGuire         Fresno St.                    Sr.
Washington  Nick Young              USC                           Sr.

What goes through your mind when you see this? Didn’t realize that Josh Smith would be a senior this year? Or what the college landscape would look like with these guys back on campus? Think Tyler Hansbrough would be the pre-season player of the year with these bigs still in school?
That’s 51 players out of 450 spots in the NBA. Over 10% of the league would still be in college, based on this chart. Wow. I knew it was a lot, but not that many!
With Minnesota and Memphis coming into Philips arena this week, youth will definitely be served!

The Big Three

What does it take to win?
Here are three things, that if even one is missing, your team might be in for a very long season.
Here are three cornerstones that are essential:

1. LEADERSHIP

We all know this, but it is amazing sometimes how lightly this key component is taken. As Dr. John C. Maxwell so rightly says, “Leadership is influence. Nothing more. Nothing less.”
A successful team must have leaders, some vocal, some by example. But unless there is a take charge person in your organization, the team will be rudderless.
And in today’s professional sports climate, if your best player is not your best person, you don’t have a chance. It will be the death of your team.

2. TALENT

We all know that a jack-ass has never won the Kentucky Derby. You must have the horses. But you don’t need the “best” players to have a successful team. You need to have the best “right” players for your team.
If I were to ask you to name the 10 greatest players in NBA history, you all would turn in a list that would include these three names: Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West, and Elgin Baylor. And these three did play together. They did not win the championship. In the 1968-69 season, The Big Three lost to the Boston Celtics, who finished fourth in the East during the regular season. You need the best “right” players to unite and inspire the rest of the team.

3. CONFIDENCE

This is always a tough one. Does success breed confidence? Or the other way around? One thing is for sure, in pro sports if you don’t think you can win, you’ll be right. How do you become a confident player? With your personal preparation, i.e., those long, lonely hours in the gym, far away from the cameras and the bright lights, working on your game. Busting you butt in practice. Knowing your play book inside-out. And not just your position, everyone’s position on the floor. (80% of a team’s offense is played without the ball). KYP which stands for Know Your Personnel. You have to know every night who you are up against, what he likes to do, what he doesn’t like to do, what is his pet move, what will he do when the pressure is on?
This may be the biggest challenge for the Hawks. The group that has been here the last three years has won 69 games out of 246. How quickly can they establish confidence and keep it through an entire season will be a major key.
Winning early will go a long way in establishing the baseline of confidence for this team. They are looking at opening with six straight playoff opponents. The tests will come early.

Next week, the Hawks season preview.

Best of luck to new Atlanta WNBA owner Ron Terwilliger has he steps up bring us the league’s newest team. I’ve always wondered why Atlanta has never been on a short list for cities getting a team. This markets’ TV ratings for the WNBA have always been amongst the best in the country (with Knoxville and Memphis). But thanks to Ron, we now have a team. Can’t wait for May of ’08 when we can watch them play at Philips. And for all those ripping the idea and making jokes about it, you obviously don’t have daughters. This is a great thing for our community. At last week’s press conference, Atlanta's sports movers and shakers were all there lending their support. Didn’t see any of the naysayers, though.

Bring It On!

Midnight Madness means only one thing—the start of the college basketball season.
And the blessed day is coming Friday.
And this season, you won’t have to wait until Midnight to get the party started.
By golly, common sense has prevailed in this tiny corner of the college basketball world, and teams will be allowed to practice at a saner hour, around 7-8 pm.
Memphis is picked by many to make it to the Final Four this year, and just might win it all. Head coach John Calipari had a confident look about him last week, when he stopped by the first day of Hawks camp.
Long the class of Conference-USA, the Tigers are as deep and talented as anyone this year. The city of Memphis has the fever. Memphis will be one of four schools highlighted during ESPN’s Midnight Madness coverage. There are no single game tickets available this season in the massive FedEx Forum.
Memphis, just to refresh your memory, returns all five starters from a team that went 33-4 last season, a win shy of the Final Four.
UCLA, North Carolina, and Kansas round out the consensus top four.

Speaking of the Tar Heels, I couldn’t help but think back on a women’s college basketball game I did for ESPN years ago.
The North Carolina Tar Heels were playing at Carmichael Auditorium, when one of their guards stole the ball near mid-court.
It seemed that she was laying the ball in the basketball before the player she had stripped turned around.
That player? None other than Marion Jones, who showed her world class speed on the hardwood as the world was learning of her amazing abilities on the track.
It was sad watching her life, for all intents and purposes, end on the court house steps in White Plains, NY, last week.
Broke, humiliated, and now looking at prison time, Marion Jones, like Michael Vick, had it all and threw it all away.
After her years of denials, Marion Jones finally spilled the beans about her illegal drug use.
Makes you wonder if anyone involved in that darkness is capable of telling the truth.

NBA exhibition games started this week. The Hawks will host Portland Sunday afternoon at 2 pm at Philips Arena.
Douglasville native and former Georgia Tech Jacket Mario West is playing great in Hawks camp. He’s a hard nosed defender, just like he was on the Flats, and is making a case to stick as the Hawks 15th man on the roster….Chris Ellis, Dale’s son, late of Wake Forest, is in Portland’s camp…Georgia State’s Brad Stricker is with the Nuggets, as is GT’s Alvin Jones…Seattle’s Damien Wilkins has changed his number to 21….scouts are telling me that Golden State’s Marco Belinelli is the real deal, perfect for coach Don Nelson’s system....GT’s Javaris Crittendon debuts with the Lakers this week against the Warriors in Honolulu.

Let’s hope that this weekend is better than last: Thrashers lose their home opener in front of a sellout crowd…Dogs get spanked at Tennessee…Tech loses at Maryland….the Falcons found a way to lose against the Titans…Andruw Jones leaves the Braves and no one seems to care…Marvin Williams didn’t have a hoop in the Hawks open scrimmage. Yuck.