ACC: Can Virginia Repeat As Conference Champions?

ACC basketball has long been controlled by teams wearing blue. The Duke-North Carolina rivalry dominates national conversation about the conference and for good reason. The Blue Devils and Tar Heels have won a combined 48 regular season championships and a combined 36 tournament championships.

In the 2012-13 season, a senior laden Miami Hurricanes squad surprised the conference by sweeping the regular season and tournament titles. This was supposed to be a minor blip on the radar, rarely do the non-elite programs in the ACC win championships consistently.

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Last year the status quo was expected to return to form. Duke was loaded with talent including the eventual No. 2 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft,

Jabari Parker

. North Carolina was young but featured several McDonald’s All-Americans on the roster and one of the best players in the country in point guard

Marcus Paige

If any team was going to stop the bluebloods it was supposed to be new ACC entrant Syracuse, who hoped to make a statement during their first year in the league. These three teams got most of the press, while the Virginia Cavaliers played the best basketball.

Instead of an elite name brand program taking home the title Virginia shocked everyone by winning both the ACC regular season and tournament titles. For Virginia it was their first regular season title since 2007 and their first tournament title since 1976.

Led by fifth-year head coach Tony Bennett, the Cavaliers finished the season 30-7 and 16-2 in the ACC. Bennett’s famous “pack line” defense caused fits for opponents and he was blessed with the best offensive team of his tenure. The fantastic season culminated in a Sweet Sixteen appearance and a heart breaking loss to Michigan State.

Even with the breakthrough season the team just had you will be hard pressed to find anyone picking Virginia to repeat as champions. Now entering his sixth season, Bennett will have to replace now Cleveland Cavalier Joe Harris’ 12 points a game and center Akil Mitchell’s rim protection, but there is still much to like about this Virginia team.

They return leading scorer and junior Malcom Brogdon at shooting guard, who averaged 12.7 points a game last season on 37 percent shooting from 3-point range. Brogdon can score in a variety of ways. He is a good shooter but also can drive and finish at the rim.

With Harris gone he will become the leader of this team and should make a run at ACC Player of the Year.

Mar 23, 2014; Raleigh, NC, USA; Virginia Cavaliers guard London Perrantes (23) reacts after a three pointer against the Memphis Tigers during the first half of a men /

Also in the backcourt is returning starting point guard London Perrantes who ran the offense nicely as a freshman last season, averaging 5.5 points and 3.8 assists per game. He is a decent shooter, a very good passer, and a good decision maker at the point.

Perrrantes will likely see an uptick in minutes and should see his scoring load increase. If he can handle the increased role expect big things from him this year.

At the forward spot they return junior Justin Anderson, who averaged 7.8 points and 3.2 rebounds per game, and also junior Anthony Gill, who impressed last season averaging 8.6 points and four rebounds per game on 58.7 percent shooting. Anderson is more of a slash and kick player who is also capable of knocking down 3-point shots, though his shooting percentage from 3 last seasons was only 29.4 percent.

Gill does most of his work in the paint. He is an athletic high motor guy who always seems to be in the right place at the right time for loose balls, and put backs. With the absence of Harris, Gill will likely become the second or third scoring option behind Brogdon.

In the post, the Cavs return one of their most underrated pieces from last season in junior center Mike Tobey. Tobey is an old school big man who uses finesse in the paint to get his points. Last season the 6-foot-11 inch Tobey averaged 6.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks per game.

With Akil Mitchell gone, the paint now belongs to Tobey. He will likely be relied on as the primary rim protector and become a more prominent scoring option. Tobey is not as imposing or as talented defensively as Mitchell but he should be a solid replacement.

Role players who may see an increase in minutes include sharpshooter Evan Nolte, who shot 38.9 percent from three his freshman year of 2012-2013. Also post player Darion Atkins, who is a very good defensive player, and will get minutes in the big man rotation.

Highly regarded freshmen guards Devon Hall (who red-shirted last season) and B.J. Stith (the son of Cavalier all-time leading scorer Bryant Stith) will crack the rotation as backups to Malcom Brogdon and London Perrantes, and could even get significant minutes.

In fact, Hall and Stith were both top 100 recruits. That kind of talent coming off the bench is something Virginia has not had in a long time.

The production and leadership of Joe Harris and Akil Mitchell will be difficult to replace, but this team is still loaded with veteran players and talented newcomers who are not ready to take a step back.

For all they have lost in the offseason this Virginia team could still make a run towards an ACC championship in 2014-15.

In an era of “one and dones” and relying on new crops of players every year, Tony Bennett is doing it the old fashioned way. Bennett is building a program by recruiting players who will be there all four years and develop chemistry with one another as their careers progress.

Duke, North Carolina, Syracuse, and new ACC member Louisville will be the preseason favorites, but take a glance at the standings when March rolls around.

Do not be surprised to see Virginia back near the top.