Chip Bremer
It’s still only one month into the college basketball season, but teams already are displaying the strengths that could carry them through to March, as well as the weaknesses that might end up derailing their postseason hopes.
In previous stories, we’ve explored the potential strengths of every ACC team, from returning superstars, and dominant coaching styles to freshman phenoms and impact transfers. However, if we want to understand what these teams need to address as the season progresses, it’s important to look at their apparent weaknesses. Here’s a look at what we’ve learned so far about the area’s ACC teams:
North Carolina—Inside presence
It’s no secret the Tar Heels miss Armando Bacot, the team’s dominant low-post stalwart for the past 3-4 years. The problem with having a force like that for so long is finding a replacement for the production, and while there’s no replacing Bacot, the Heels have been unable to find any significant inside presence to help fill the void.
That’s not to say Jalen Washington can’t eventually develop into what the Heels need, or that former transfers Jae’Lyn Withers or Ven-Allen Lubin can’t use their skills to boost the frontcourt, but Hubert Davis can’t depend on R.J. Davis, Elliot Cadeau and Seth Trimble to carry the Heels every night—not when there are so many skilled low-post players in the ACC that can grab rebounds and hit high-percentage shots at a regular pace. The Heels need to find answers, and soon.
Duke—Toughness and grit
The Blue Devils have more natural skill on their roster than anyone else in the country, but like all programs that rely on exceptional recruiting, the lack of experience and coaching on how to leverage that skill is often what hinders these programs early on—especially when it comes to executing with toughness down the stretch.
Cooper Flagg most likely will be the top pick in the 2025 NBA draft, but he has yet to find that grit and determination that will mold him into the clutch “go-to” guy NBA teams want. The same could be said with some of the other young Duke players, and it was obvious in Duke’s end-of-game execution in losses to Kentucky and Kansas.
It will take time and coaching to bring that close-out toughness into form, but until then the Blue Devils will need to rely on the experience and grit of transfers Mason Gillis, Maliq Brown and Sion James to help them along.
NC State—Perimeter consistency
If there was one element that consistently plagued the Wolfpack prior to their miraculous run last season, it was perimeter shooting. D.J. Horne and Casey Morsell were streaky from beyond the arc, and they got hot when the Pack needed them most, but the rest of the team was lacking in outside consistency.
The same can be said of this year’s team, although there is no Horne or Morsell on the roster. Mike O’Connell and Breon Pass are the only players shooting better than 30% from long range, and they’ve had their moments, but the lack of consistency across the board is allowing teams to take State out of their game and force them into more halfcourt sets.
Until O’Connell or Pass become more consistent, or one of the newcomers like Trey Parker or Mike James (when he comes back from injury) steps up, this will be the Pack’s Achillies heel.
Wake Forest—Midrange game
Expectations for this year’s Demon Deacons squad were sky-high from the get-go, but they have been demonstrating one glaring spot of trouble–a lack of offense from inside the arc. With the perimeter arsenal that Steve Forbes has at his disposal (Hunter Sallis, Cameron Hildreth, Parker Friedrichsen, Davin Cosby) it’s no wonder the offense is reliant on interior players like Efton Reid and Tre’Von Spillers to rebound and kick out to one of the shooters at the three-point line. But even with Sallis becoming more of a “do-everything” scorer, they really don’t have anyone that can consistently step inside and hit the mid-range jumper.
It’s not an uncommon problem for perimeter-oriented teams, but for the Deacs, it makes them more one-dimensional and an easy target for opposing defenses. Sallis will need to take that next step if Wake is going to go far this season.