1. This exercise is purely speculation but one of the talking points from ACC Tip-Off is what will happen to the basketball scheduling once California, Stanford and SMU join.
There never seems a consensus from coaches, but one aspect NC State coach Kevin Keatts brought up was having 18 games in the league, and then having the opportunity of playing other high major programs in the non-conference. Keatts also wants all 18 teams invited to the ACC Tournament.
NC State will be locked in to facing a SEC opponent with the new challenge forming through ESPN. Having some high major opponents at PNC Arena in the non-conference slate has been a bit of consternation for Wolfpack fans.
For instance, this year, maybe an average Saint Louis squad from the Atlantic 10 is the top non-conference opponent. Last year, maybe it was Furman. In other years, when a Big Ten opponent came through in that challenge.
But back to the 18-game conference setup. That led to talk that if there are less ACC games, that also means less protected rivalries. Is it good for the league that NC State could end up playing North Carolina and Duke once a season in the regular season. Or perhaps the legendary Dixie Classic or some form of it would be brought back with NC State playing “the neighborhood.”
Again, pure speculation, but if the ACC wanted just one protected partnership, maybe it would go like this:
• NC State and Wake Forest
• North Carolina and Duke
• California and Stanford
• Miami and Florida State
• Virginia and Virginia Tech
• Clemson and Georgia Tech
• Syracuse and Louisville
• Boston College and Pittsburgh
• Notre Dame and Southern Methodist
SMU has no relationship with anybody, and if Notre Dame is going to always have one foot in and one foot out in the ACC, maybe the Fighting Irish belong with the Mustangs.
Some will joke that Clemson and Florida State belong with each other, leading to Miami and Georgia Tech as partners.
Syracuse and Louisville both have that “we used to be top 15 programs and now we aren’t” vibe going. Even in lean years, the Orange and Cardinals still probably would get ratings.
What was a real talking point is that ACC officials talked about how to revive having good home games in November and December again. It would fight the perception that college basketball only starts in January or after the Super Bowl.
What was specifically mentioned was the fact that NC State is playing Tennessee at 10 p.m. Dec. 17 in San Antonio, Texas. It is a game built to manipulate the NET, but the fan bases in both Knoxville and Raleigh are missing out. Some have said, even play that game in Charlotte or Nashville, but what the ACC officials said is that the NET has to create a way where a school doesn’t get punished as much by hosting a home and home series in the non-conference slate.
If you take out Big Ten/ACC Challenge home games, the last “bigger” home game goes back to playing Auburn on Dec. 19, 2018.
2. One of the fascinating arguments that seemed to rip through NC State circles this October was whether Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner had become the top “#PackPros.”
Some of that perhaps involved recency bias, but Turner hit .347 with three home runs, five runs batted in, five doubles, four stolen bases and a .633 slugging percentage in 13 games (and 49 at-bats) for the Phillies.
It’s crazy to think at 30 years old, he’s already played in 56 postseason games between the Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Dodgers and now the Phillies. He’s a career .261 hitter with a .306 on-base percentage, and has six home runs and 13 runs batted in.
Turner has made the all-star game twice, has one battle title and was named a silver slugger. The crowning achievement was winning the 2019 World Series with Washington.
Picking Turner’s best season could be a coin flip between 2021 and 2022. He played for both he Nationals and Dodgers in 2021 and hit a combined .328 to lead the league, which he also did with 195 hits, 32 stolen bases and 319 total bases. He also had 28 home runs and 77 RBI.
He followed that up with a .298 batting average, .343 on-base percentage and .466 slugging percentage, with 21 homers and 100 RBI, plus 27 stolen bases.
Turner has 1,203 hits in 1,004 games played, which also makes him 1,797 hits shy of the magical number of 3,000. He’d have to average a smidge under 180 hits a season for next 10 years to reach 3,000, and that might be a difficult chore.
Me personally, I’d still go with former star quarterback Philip Rivers as the top professional Wolfpack performer. I’ve seen others bring up wide receiver Torry Holt and shooting guard David Thompson, and maybe when it’s all said and done, quarterback Russell Wilson will have an impressive portfolio.
Rivers’ resume might not have that Super Bowl win, but like Dan Marino of the Miami Dolphins or Dan Fouts of the same Chargers organization, it won’t diminish his legacy in any way.
Rivers currently is sixth-all-time for both passing yards (63,440) and touchdowns (421) and he made the Pro Bowl eight times. He reached the AFC championship game in 2007, falling 21-12 to the New England Patriots. Rivers finished going 5,277-of-8,134 passing for 64.9 percent.
The consistency for Rivers is staggering — he started all 16 games every single season he was a starter (2006-20) — and threw for over 4,000 yards in 12 of 13 years. He backed up Drew Brees his first two years, and then the two ended up putting up staggering numbers for decades.
There never seems a consensus from coaches, but one aspect NC State coach Kevin Keatts brought up was having 18 games in the league, and then having the opportunity of playing other high major programs in the non-conference. Keatts also wants all 18 teams invited to the ACC Tournament.
NC State will be locked in to facing a SEC opponent with the new challenge forming through ESPN. Having some high major opponents at PNC Arena in the non-conference slate has been a bit of consternation for Wolfpack fans.
For instance, this year, maybe an average Saint Louis squad from the Atlantic 10 is the top non-conference opponent. Last year, maybe it was Furman. In other years, when a Big Ten opponent came through in that challenge.
But back to the 18-game conference setup. That led to talk that if there are less ACC games, that also means less protected rivalries. Is it good for the league that NC State could end up playing North Carolina and Duke once a season in the regular season. Or perhaps the legendary Dixie Classic or some form of it would be brought back with NC State playing “the neighborhood.”
Again, pure speculation, but if the ACC wanted just one protected partnership, maybe it would go like this:
• NC State and Wake Forest
• North Carolina and Duke
• California and Stanford
• Miami and Florida State
• Virginia and Virginia Tech
• Clemson and Georgia Tech
• Syracuse and Louisville
• Boston College and Pittsburgh
• Notre Dame and Southern Methodist
SMU has no relationship with anybody, and if Notre Dame is going to always have one foot in and one foot out in the ACC, maybe the Fighting Irish belong with the Mustangs.
Some will joke that Clemson and Florida State belong with each other, leading to Miami and Georgia Tech as partners.
Syracuse and Louisville both have that “we used to be top 15 programs and now we aren’t” vibe going. Even in lean years, the Orange and Cardinals still probably would get ratings.
What was a real talking point is that ACC officials talked about how to revive having good home games in November and December again. It would fight the perception that college basketball only starts in January or after the Super Bowl.
What was specifically mentioned was the fact that NC State is playing Tennessee at 10 p.m. Dec. 17 in San Antonio, Texas. It is a game built to manipulate the NET, but the fan bases in both Knoxville and Raleigh are missing out. Some have said, even play that game in Charlotte or Nashville, but what the ACC officials said is that the NET has to create a way where a school doesn’t get punished as much by hosting a home and home series in the non-conference slate.
If you take out Big Ten/ACC Challenge home games, the last “bigger” home game goes back to playing Auburn on Dec. 19, 2018.
2. One of the fascinating arguments that seemed to rip through NC State circles this October was whether Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner had become the top “#PackPros.”
Some of that perhaps involved recency bias, but Turner hit .347 with three home runs, five runs batted in, five doubles, four stolen bases and a .633 slugging percentage in 13 games (and 49 at-bats) for the Phillies.
It’s crazy to think at 30 years old, he’s already played in 56 postseason games between the Washington Nationals, Los Angeles Dodgers and now the Phillies. He’s a career .261 hitter with a .306 on-base percentage, and has six home runs and 13 runs batted in.
Turner has made the all-star game twice, has one battle title and was named a silver slugger. The crowning achievement was winning the 2019 World Series with Washington.
Picking Turner’s best season could be a coin flip between 2021 and 2022. He played for both he Nationals and Dodgers in 2021 and hit a combined .328 to lead the league, which he also did with 195 hits, 32 stolen bases and 319 total bases. He also had 28 home runs and 77 RBI.
He followed that up with a .298 batting average, .343 on-base percentage and .466 slugging percentage, with 21 homers and 100 RBI, plus 27 stolen bases.
Turner has 1,203 hits in 1,004 games played, which also makes him 1,797 hits shy of the magical number of 3,000. He’d have to average a smidge under 180 hits a season for next 10 years to reach 3,000, and that might be a difficult chore.
Me personally, I’d still go with former star quarterback Philip Rivers as the top professional Wolfpack performer. I’ve seen others bring up wide receiver Torry Holt and shooting guard David Thompson, and maybe when it’s all said and done, quarterback Russell Wilson will have an impressive portfolio.
Rivers’ resume might not have that Super Bowl win, but like Dan Marino of the Miami Dolphins or Dan Fouts of the same Chargers organization, it won’t diminish his legacy in any way.
Rivers currently is sixth-all-time for both passing yards (63,440) and touchdowns (421) and he made the Pro Bowl eight times. He reached the AFC championship game in 2007, falling 21-12 to the New England Patriots. Rivers finished going 5,277-of-8,134 passing for 64.9 percent.
The consistency for Rivers is staggering — he started all 16 games every single season he was a starter (2006-20) — and threw for over 4,000 yards in 12 of 13 years. He backed up Drew Brees his first two years, and then the two ended up putting up staggering numbers for decades.
