Duke basketball head coach on ACC: 'We have been disrespected'
The media said the ACC was down last year. So only five of its teams received an invite to the NCAA Tournament. And after the No. 2 seed Duke basketball squad, UNC was the next highest at No. 8.
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Then the conference produced three of the Elite Eight teams (Duke, UNC, and No. 10 seed Miami) and half of the Final Four (Duke, UNC).
Nevertheless, the "ACC is weak" narrative continues — despite the conference's current programs accounting for nine of the past 21 winners of the national championship game.
This week, only two ACC teams are ranked: Virginia at No. 6 and Miami at No. 13. Meanwhile, most bracket projections again list only five representatives from the conference: Virginia, Miami, Duke, NC State, and Pitt.
Addressing the outside perception during his press conference on Thursday, first-year Duke basketball head coach Jon Scheyer echoed some recent sentiments from Pitt's Jeff Capel, Wake Forest's Steve Forbes, and others in defense of the conference.
"I feel like I have a unique perspective," the former Duke basketball national champ (as both a player and assistant) said, "because I've been in the league, even though it's my first year as a head coach, been in this league four years as a player and now 10 years as a coach...So I know the strength of the league this year, but also, the history of what we've done in the NCAA Tournament speaks for itself."
Scheyer continued, pointing to how the ACC's mix of styles perfectly prepares its squads for March.
"I think there's a reason for that [NCAA Tournament success]," Scheyer explained. "You look at the different styles of play you go against. Let's use who we played last weekend. We played Syracuse, who plays all zone, and Louisville is more of an aggressive, athletic team. And the next three teams we play are all different styles. I could go down the list."
It's simple in Jon Scheyer's eyes.
"So, I think it's [that] we have been disrespected," the 35-year-old opined. "I know there's a lot of metrics out there that rate the league based on different things, and all I know is I think our league is much improved from last year. And you're coming off a year you had three of the [last-standing] eight teams...There's no question the ACC isn't given the respect that it deserves."
Unfortunately, the conference's coaches and bigwigs are running out of time to lobby for more respect. Only 16 days, with no more out-of-conference games for any ACC team, remain until Selection Sunday on March 12.
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