Thoughts/Analysis on the ACC heading into 2025-26 | Page 5 | The Boneyard
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Thoughts/Analysis on the ACC heading into 2025-26

YKCornelius said:
Rooster, great analysis again. Your optimism and excitement for the 'Canes is very apparent.

I will start off by stating that Miami picked up my favorite South Florida Bull - Vittoria Blasigh - from the portal. Blasigh is a beautiful player to watch: superb court vision, crisp, darting passes and a beautiful jump shot that carried the Bulls in over two dozen games in her first two years. Non-stop energy who glides down the court and runs defenders into screens better than almost every non-Huskie player I've seen. IMO, she will be on the Italian National Women's Team in the not-too-distant future. I am disheartened that she left the Bulls, but it was clear that the Bulls were not able to capitalize on or develop her skills. Hopefully, Miami can in both regards.

That said, I think Cullop will be tested on how well she can weave a team of players that don't know each other into a cohesive unit. As you pointed out, last year was eye-brow raising in her inability to get an experienced group to play together, and more importantly, fight for one another. With four 1,000 point scorers on their team, the Hurricanes were a group of individuals without a team identity.

I also think the Miami question marks began well before the VT game. After a cupcake schedule start, the thrashing by Vanderbilt at home in which the 'Canes shot almost 53% from the field with eight steals - but also committed 21 turnovers - was an ominous harbinger of things to come. Overall, last season's conference results were perplexing with a few blowout losses intertwined with a handful of games lost by single digits in the fourth quarter. In their last two games, it seemed like they simply gave up.

If Cullop can get these players to believe in each other then finishing in the top half of the conference is a distinct possibility. To rise up out of the ashes and make it to the Big Dance would be quite an achievement. Regardless, it will be fun watching what strides they can make.
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Really nothing to add here or reply to. I felt your comments/analysis really was spot on in everything you said here. My optimism stems from having watched the "Road to March" episode 1(I assume they'll be more) and other practice clips they've put out which leads me to believe this year's team will not have the problems last year's team had. Since the time I wrote that Talia Goodman over at On3 sports put out her ACC preview power rankings and listed Miami as 7th - which should get them to the tournament if correct (8th and you're on the bubble I think) - also a good analysis of all the ACC teams by her and worth the reading. You were correct in that turnovers were really a very big issue for them last year and kept them from winning many close games. Hopefully they'll be causing turnovers this season rather than committing them.
 
Rooster, I’ve truly enjoyed these previews. Very interesting and informative . I assume you’ll be doing the SEC next? 😅
 
YoDore said:
Rooster, I’ve truly enjoyed these previews. Very interesting and informative . I assume you’ll be doing the SEC next? 😅
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Thank you for the kind words but I think I'll leave that for somebody over in the SEC Forums lol
 
ACC: Commits in 2026 ESPN NEXT 100 So Far:

Cal, GT, VA, BC, SYR, PITT, MIA, WF - 0

(Duke - 3, ND - 3, Clem - 3, NC - 2, Lou. - 2, NC St. - 2, SMU - 2, FSU - 1, VT - 1, Stan. - 1)
 
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ACC commits in 20266 ESPN NEXT 100 so far:

Duke - 4, ND - 3, Clem - 3, NC - 2, Lou - 2, NC St - 2, SMU - 2, FSU - 1, Stan - 1

CAL, MIA, VA, GT, SYR, PITT, BC, WF - 0

Heck man, my team gotta get 2 or 3 just to keep pace wth?!
 
Rooster C. said:
ACC commits in 20266 ESPN NEXT 100 so far:

Duke - 4, ND - 3, Clem - 3, NC - 2, Lou - 2, NC St - 2, SMU - 2, FSU - 1, Stan - 1

CAL, MIA, VA, GT, SYR, PITT, BC, WF - 0

Heck man, my team gotta get 2 or 3 just to keep pace wth?!
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Wow!!

Just looking at this when it’s all said and done Clemson & ND could be at 4 and FSU could end up with 3!!!
 
HuskyFan1125 said:
Wow!!

Just looking at this when it’s all said and done Clemson & ND could be at 4 and FSU could end up with 3!!!
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The ACC is having a good year overall. I expect Stanford to land 1 more also. Miami is still in the mix for 3 but realistically will probably get 1 which is okay since they got 4 last year. The gap between the "haves" and "have-nots" is going to grow larger every year unless college sports figures something out - and that goes for every conference and every sport.
 
Rooster C. said:
The ACC is having a good year overall. I expect Stanford to land 1 more also. Miami is still in the mix for 3 but realistically will probably get 1 which is okay since they got 4 last year. The gap between the "haves" and "have-nots" is going to grow larger every year unless college sports figures something out - and that goes for every conference and every sport.
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Wouldn't be so sure about that with what we're seeing in football. This was an interesting article talking about how it seems like parity is starting to emerge. Considering some of the upsets this season, he may have a point.
 
cancontent said:


Wouldn't be so sure about that with what we're seeing in football. This was an interesting article talking about how it seems like parity is starting to emerge. Considering some of the upsets this season, he may have a point.
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I personally believe this parity is short-term while the new Bluebloods are establishing themselves, but ultimately will end up in a new list of 'haves' and 'have nots'. The Bluebloods will no longer be those teams with the tradition/championship legacy, but the universities who have the donors with the deepest pockets...
 
cancontent said:
Wouldn't be so sure about that with what we're seeing in football. This was an interesting article talking about how it seems like parity is starting to emerge. Considering some of the upsets this season, he may have a point.
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Although he makes some valid points overall he's making too much out of too little. The "blue-bloods" will rise to the top as always. The $$$ is there. The transfer portal and NIL will make quick corrections and programs will adjust from developing young talent to assembling proven talent through the portal every year. Which coaches can master that will be the ones the big programs will hire away from lesser programs. It will take a few years for those adjustments to happen but it will happen. If Tennessee decides down the road that Sweet 16 finishes aren't good enough they'll come a-callin to the doorstep of Kara Lawson. Will Penn State go after Indiana's head football coach at the end of the season? There will always be some outliers every year but only over the next few years will we see anything resembling parity. Even now programs like Boston College,Rutgers,Purdue,Wisconsin,etc. are falling further and further behind across the board. Enjoy it while it lasts. I know I will but ultimately look at which programs are in the playoff and tournaments every year and which are in the Final Four and championship game. In this country sports is like everything else - we do have a King and it's name is MONEY.
 
Rooster C. said:
Although he makes some valid points overall he's making too much out of too little. The "blue-bloods" will rise to the top as always. The $$$ is there. The transfer portal and NIL will make quick corrections and programs will adjust from developing young talent to assembling proven talent through the portal every year. Which coaches can master that will be the ones the big programs will hire away from lesser programs. It will take a few years for those adjustments to happen but it will happen. If Tennessee decides down the road that Sweet 16 finishes aren't good enough they'll come a-callin to the doorstep of Kara Lawson. Will Penn State go after Indiana's head football coach at the end of the season? There will always be some outliers every year but only over the next few years will we see anything resembling parity. Even now programs like Boston College,Rutgers,Purdue,Wisconsin,etc. are falling further and further behind across the board. Enjoy it while it lasts. I know I will but ultimately look at which programs are in the playoff and tournaments every year and which are in the Final Four and championship game. In this country sports is like everything else - we do have a King and it's name is MONEY.
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Time will tell, however it's interesting to see what has played out so far as in my opinion. With respect to the question in bold, highly doubt it as Indiana just signed Crane to a significant extension.
 
I think the NiL and rev share splits potentially could open up a different class of contenders, but I think it's maybe a little unlikely that many programs that haven't won much go all in on WBB.

I suppose there are some signs of that in Texas. It's probably a relatively small amount of money to move the needle compared to football and mbb to make an impact.
 
It's finally time for Wake Forest!

Megan Gebbia is heading in to her fourth season as head coach and unfortunately has been heading in the wrong direction. In her initial season WF finished 17 - 17/ 5 - 13, followed by 7 - 25/ 2 - 16 in year two, and ending last year at 9 - 20(.310) overall and a dismal 2 - 16(.111) in conference. Wake Forest finished 17th - one spot from the bottom - and won only once on the road all season. I think they're in for yet another difficult year ahead.

What was lost: Too much for a team that finished 17th. Gone are their top 6 scorers and all but one starter. Gone is the only ranked player on the roster and #1 scorer R.Theuerkauf (5'9" Jr. G 12.0ppg) to join Georgia, gone is #2 scorer E. Williams (5'9" G 11.3ppg) to graduation, gone is #3 scorer D. Hinds (6'2" Gr. F 9.3ppg) who will now be looking at them from across the court at Clemson, gone is #4 scorer M. Cowles (6'3" Gr. F 8.8ppg) to ACC foe ND, and also gone to graduation are R. Conley (6'0" G 7.2ppg), T. Jones (5'8" G 7.1ppg), and A. Andrews (6'0" G 4.2ppg). Although M. Quimby (5'9" Jr. G 1.3ppg) withdrew her name from the portal she's not listed on the official roster so ......

What remains: Not a lot. Sometime starter A. Sorbye (5'9" So. G 4.2ppg), reserves M. Jordan (6'1" Jr. G/F 2.7ppg) and K. Moore (6'2" So. F 1.0ppg). That's it. Technically E. Johns (6'1" Gr. F 12.5ppg) who transferred in from American University a year ago but was injured and did not play last year.

Incoming transfers: M. Carter (6'3" rs Sr. G/F 12.9ppg) from Cal Poly, R. Preston (5'11" rs Jr. G 12.3ppg) from Elon, and G. Oliver (6'1" So. F 3.8ppg) from Colorado.

Incoming Freshmen: Two players from Australia, S. Metcalf (6'5" F) and O. Bird (6'3" F). Also coming in are M. Brown (5'8" G), C. Jones (5'8" G), and G. Galbavy (6'0" G) for a total of 5 freshmen.


It's going to be another challenging year for WF to be sure. They have only 3 returning players (one Jr. and two So.), 4 incoming transfers (one Gr. , two Jr., and one So.) and 5 incoming freshmen. Two of the three returning players did not play significant minutes and three of the four transfers were from smaller schools. Coach Gebbia has practically a new team and for all intents and purposes no likely starters outside of A. Sorbye. It will be trial - and - error or more likely trial - by - fire for this squad as she determines what combination works best. She lost both her best back court and front court players so spots are up for grabs. She has a team with 8 players 6'1" or taller and that may help as well as some taller guards on the roster. Having said that I don't think they will match up very well on either end as the ACC is a "guard heavy" league (supposedly) and there are plenty of good , strong post players they will be up against.

With all of that said, they still have a chance to finish ahead of last year. BC was decimated, GT is starting over with a new coach, Cal lost most of their better players, and FSU and Syracuse look to be having a down year so there's a tiny chance to improve although with only 12 players on the roster depth is yet another issue that's a concern. To Gebbia's credit she did get her team to play very competitively last year - losing to Clemson by 6, losing at VT by 7, losing to NC St by 7, losing to Stanford by 3, losing at Miami by 2, taking Louisville to OT before losing, and defeating both Pitt and SMU. If she can get this year's squad to do the same they might actually steal a few more wins. This is essentially a fresh start for WF with 75% of the team made up of Sophomores and Freshmen. It's a chance to build a culture for the future and (hopefully) if they don't continue to lose their best players to the portal each year they could start to turn things around for this program. Hope Springs Eternal.
 

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