State Of The ACC

The ACC has long been considered one of the stronger conference’s in the country. Yet in recent years the ACC has slipped in the National standings. There are many theories as to why this has happen, some are valid, some are mythical. Carolina and Duke remain among the top of both the ACC and National standings. Since 2001 The ACC has 5 National Championships, Duke and Carolina with 2 each, and Maryland with 1. That’s 5 in the last 11 years. Looking at that stat would make one wonder if the ACC has indeed slipped.

After Carolina and Duke things take a down turn. One of the reasons the ACC has suffered is multiple coaching changes at the remaining Schools.  Gary Williams’ stunning exit left the ACC with just four head coaches who have been on the job more than two seasons. Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski with 31, Florida State’s Leonard Hamilton nine, and North Carolina’s Roy Williams and Virginia Tech’s Seth Greenberg eight each. Virginia’s Tony Bennett is the fifth most tenured Coach with a mere 2 years on the job. That instability has become one of the main reasons the ACC has suffered.

From the 2001/02 season through last year 2010/11  the numbers go a long way in explaining the decline inside the ACC.

Clemson: Since the 2001/02 season through last year Clemson has three Coaching changes Larry Shyatt, Oliver Purnell and Brad Brownell. In those years the Tigers have a 188-130 record. Larry Shyatt in two years posted a woeful 28-30 record. Oliver Purnell became Head Coach to start the 2003/04 season, during his tenure Purnell posted a 138-88. Brad Brownell posted a respectable 22-11 record last year. Purnell’s  best year was a 23-9 record in the 2008/09 season, his worst 10-18 during 2003/04.

Florida State: The Seminoles have had two Coaches since 2001/02. Steve Robinson and Leonard Hamilton. Robinson (now an assistant with UNC) only managed a 12-17 record in 2001/02. Hamliton has earned his way with a 195-124 record. His best season was during the 2008/09 when he led the Seminoles to a 25-10 record. His worst seasons were 2002/03 with a 14-15 mark and in 2004/05 he posted a 12-19 record.

Georgia Tech: The Yellow Jackets under Paul Hewitt were largely inconsistent, up and down years led to him leaving after the 2010/11 season.                                                                                                                                              Hewitt’s record from 2001/02 through 2010/11 stood at 262-172. Hewitt’s best season during this span was in 2003/04 with a 28-10 mark, his worst was in 2005/06 and 2008/09 when in both years he went 11-17. Georgia Tech has now replaced Hewitt with Brian Gregory, another coaching change. It should be noted that while Gregory’s numbers from last year are not included here he is 9-17.

Maryland: Like Georgia Tech, Maryland had only one Coach during this stretch, Gary Williams. While another Coaching change has happen at Maryland with the hiring of Mark Turgeon, Williams was one of the more successful Coaches in the ACC along with  Coach K and Roy Wiliams. During the years through 2001/02 until 2010/11 Williams posted a 219-113. Williams Won the National Championship in the 2001/02 season. His best year was of course that year with a 32-4 record, his worst during that span was his last year 2010/2011 at 19-14.

Miami: The Canes had two Coaches from 2001/011. Perry Clark from 2001/02 – 2003/04 and Frank Haith from 2004/05 to 2010/11. a combined record of 178-142. Perry Had a record of 49-41, Haith with a 129-101 record. Haith’s best year was a 23-11 mark in the 2007/08 season, his worst was 12-20 in 2006/07 season. Miami now has another Coaching change with the hiring of Jim Larranaga.

NC. State: Again, during this same span, the Wolf Pack has had two Coaches in Herb Sendek and Sidney Lowe. Sendek finished with a 105-58 mark from 2001/02 through 2005/06 and Sidney Lowe had a 86-78 a combined 191-136 record. Sendek’s best year was 23-11 in 2001/02, his worst was 18-13 in 2002/03. Lowe posted his best record in 2006/07 and 2009/10 each time with a 20-16 mark. NC. State has also now hired Mark Gottfried, another coaching change.

Virginia: The Cavaliers have had three Coaches in this span, Pete Gillen, Dave Leitao, and Tony Bennett.  The three Virginia Coaches have combined for a 179-156 record. Pete Gillen had  minimal success with a 85-65 record. Dave Leitao finished just above .500 with a 63-60 mark. Tony Bennett has two full years under his belt with a .500 record but has the Cavaliers at 20-6 this year.

Virginia Tech: The Hokies from 2001 to present day had Ricky Stokes as head coach (former Virginia guard) and Seth Greenburg. Stokes had a record of 22-35 during the 2001/02 seasons. Greenburg took over the reigns at Virginia Tech in the 2003/04 season while VT was still in the Big East Conference. VT joined the ACC in 2004/05 season. Greenburg led the Hokies to a 154-106 during that span. Greenburg’s best year was 25-9 in the 2009/10 season and his worst record was in 2005/06 at 14-16.

Wake Forest: The Demon Deacons during this span have had two Coaches as well, Skip Prosser from 2001/02 through 2006/07 followed by Dino Gaudio from 2007/08 through 2009/10. Prosser a much loved Coach at Wake led the Deacons to a 126-68 record. Gaudio posted a 61-31 record in his time at Wake. The Deacons have since hired a third Coach in this span, Jeff Bzdelik.

Boston College: The Eagles  joined the ACC in 2005/06, since then BC has had two Coaches. Al Skinner from 2001/02 until 2009/10 led the way with a record of  188-88. The Eagles are now Coached by Steve Donahue who in his first full year 2010/11 posted a 19-11 mark. Al Skinner had several good years, posting a 24-10 mark in 2003/04, a 25-5 mark in 2004/05 and a 28-8 mark in 2005/06. His worst year came in 2009/10 with a 15-16 record.

UNC: The Tar Heels have had three Coaches during this span. Matt Doherty in the 2001/02 season posted a 8-20 record, then in the 2002/03 season he posted a 19-16 record. Roy Williams then returned to UNC, in his tenure from 2003/04 Williams led the Heels back to prominence. He’s posted a record of 225-62 through 2003/04 to 2010/11. The program is strong.

Duke: The Blue Devils are the only team in the ACC to have the same Coach during this span of years. Mike Krzyzewski has compiled a 294-61. Like the UNC program, Duke is strong.

The change in Coaches in recent years serves to at least temporarily disrupt programs. Some of the Coaches had or are having success, but a new system takes time to develop. Some of the recent hires are obviously over their heads. Recruiting is another area of concern for the ACC with the rash of coaching changes. Schools are sometimes to quick to pull the trigger firing a coach before he’s had a chance to recruit, others have held on to the coach much longer than maybe they should have.

The current class of coaches in the ACC seem to be up to the task, given time. Some of the more recent hires such as Tony Bennett, Brad Brownell, Jim Larranaga, Mark Turgeon, and Mark Gottfried, seem to be moving their teams in the right direction. Steve Donahue at BC has struggled but I belive in time he’ll do a good job there.

So in my mind the Conference as a whole have the right people in place for the most part, while a couple Schools are still struggling (Wake Forest, Georgia Tech) the rest are showing improvement from years past. The ACC has possibly been on a down turn, but the future looks pretty good, especially with Pitt and Syracuse on the way.

*Numbers and stats only reflect the years between 2001/02 through 2010/11.

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