Class
of 2015 conference breakdown: ACC
The Atlantic Coast Conference has gone through some changes over the past
couple years, but it's only added to the overall strength of the league on the
hardwood. In the 2015 class, the ACC as a whole is bringing in some very
talented players. Aside from the perennial powerhouses such as Duke and North
Carolina bringing in top talent, newcomers Syracuse and Louisville have top five
classes, and Leonard Hamilton's crew down
in Tallahassee is reeling in a top 10 class.
As a conference, there are 22 prospects ranked in the 2015 Rivals150 heading to the ACC next year. Of that group, three come in with five stars next to their name, two of which are going to Duke in Chase Jeter and Luke Kennard. There are 22 four-star prospects, with Syracuse commit Malachi Richardson being the highest-ranked of the bunch at No. 30 overall. The other five prospects ranked in the Rivals150 heading to the ACC come in the three-star range.
Duke
continues to rake in five-star caliber players year after year. While they have
only two coming in this year, they are players who add to the overall depth in
Durham. Kennard gives Duke more firepower on the perimeter as he's one of the
better overall shooters in the 2015 class. Jeter, an athletic 6-foot-10 prospect
from the West Coast, bolsters the Blue Devils frontcourt next year and is good
insurance should they have some players leave early for the NBA Draft.
Louisville is
adding three players in the 2015 class who seem like perfect fits for Rick Pitino. Donovan Mitchell, the
highest ranked of the trio, is an explosive scoring guard who should flourish in
the uptempo style Pitino likes to play. Likewise, Deng Adel could be next in
the long line of athletic wings to have success playing for Pitino. Raymond Spalding shot up
the rankings after a terrific summer and should only get better at Louisville.
Florida
State had a Friday night to remember earlier this fall. The Seminoles decided to
bring both Malik
Beasley and Dwayne
Bacon on campus for official visits on the same weekend. It's a risky move
bringing two top players who play similar positions on visits at the same time,
but it worked out for Hamilton and his staff because both prospects committed on
the first night of their visits. Look for both to score a lot of points in their
time in Tallahassee.
There are
three new coaches in the ACC this year, and all three did pretty well for
themselves during the early signing period. Chris Clarke, who
initially committed to Tennessee but decided to flip to Virginia Tech last week,
headlines a terrific class for Buzz Williams and the Hokies. Danny Manning has a
track record of doing great work with post players, so it should come as no
surprise that he was able to nail down commitments from two talented post
players in Doral Moore
and John Collins.
Boston College's Jim Christian hasn't had
the same amount of success at the other two, but he did well to land Rivals150
SG A.J. Turner.
It will
be interesting to see how the rest of the 2015 class plays out for North
Carolina. Right now, the only commitment headed to Chapel Hill is three-star
power forward Luke
Maye. North Carolina is involved with a few top prospects who have yet to
commit in Jaylen Brown,
Skal Labissiere and Brandon Ingram.
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| Five-star Chase Jeter is the highest-ranked prospect committed to the ACC. |
By the numbers
It should come as no surprise that the ACC put together one of the better
recruiting hauls of any conference. For the second straight year, Duke enters
the early signing period with the best recruiting class in the conference with
the nation's third-best recruiting class. Coming in right behind the Blue Devils
are two of the newest members of the league and traditional powerhouses
Louisville (No. 4) and Syracuse (No. 5). Hamilton, known as one of the top
recruiters in the country, is on the board with the eighth-best recruiting class
nationally. First-year coaches Danny
Manning (Wake Forest, No. 20) and Buzz
Williams (Virginia Tech, No. 25) wasted no time in putting together strong
recruiting classes. As a conference, there are 22 prospects ranked in the 2015 Rivals150 heading to the ACC next year. Of that group, three come in with five stars next to their name, two of which are going to Duke in Chase Jeter and Luke Kennard. There are 22 four-star prospects, with Syracuse commit Malachi Richardson being the highest-ranked of the bunch at No. 30 overall. The other five prospects ranked in the Rivals150 heading to the ACC come in the three-star range.
Things to keep an
eye on
Duke
continues to rake in five-star caliber players year after year. While they have
only two coming in this year, they are players who add to the overall depth in
Durham. Kennard gives Duke more firepower on the perimeter as he's one of the
better overall shooters in the 2015 class. Jeter, an athletic 6-foot-10 prospect
from the West Coast, bolsters the Blue Devils frontcourt next year and is good
insurance should they have some players leave early for the NBA Draft.
Ranking
the ACC classes
1.
Duke (3)
2. Louisville (4)
3. Syracuse (5)
4. Florida State (8)
5. Wake Forest (20)
6. Virginia Tech (25)
7. Notre Dame
8. Pittsburgh
9. Boston College
10. Clemson
11. Virginia
12. North Carolina
13. Miami
14. Georgia Tech
15. N.C. State
2. Louisville (4)
3. Syracuse (5)
4. Florida State (8)
5. Wake Forest (20)
6. Virginia Tech (25)
7. Notre Dame
8. Pittsburgh
9. Boston College
10. Clemson
11. Virginia
12. North Carolina
13. Miami
14. Georgia Tech
15. N.C. State
Louisville is
adding three players in the 2015 class who seem like perfect fits for Rick Pitino. Donovan Mitchell, the
highest ranked of the trio, is an explosive scoring guard who should flourish in
the uptempo style Pitino likes to play. Likewise, Deng Adel could be next in
the long line of athletic wings to have success playing for Pitino. Raymond Spalding shot up
the rankings after a terrific summer and should only get better at Louisville.
Florida
State had a Friday night to remember earlier this fall. The Seminoles decided to
bring both Malik
Beasley and Dwayne
Bacon on campus for official visits on the same weekend. It's a risky move
bringing two top players who play similar positions on visits at the same time,
but it worked out for Hamilton and his staff because both prospects committed on
the first night of their visits. Look for both to score a lot of points in their
time in Tallahassee. There are
three new coaches in the ACC this year, and all three did pretty well for
themselves during the early signing period. Chris Clarke, who
initially committed to Tennessee but decided to flip to Virginia Tech last week,
headlines a terrific class for Buzz Williams and the Hokies. Danny Manning has a
track record of doing great work with post players, so it should come as no
surprise that he was able to nail down commitments from two talented post
players in Doral Moore
and John Collins.
Boston College's Jim Christian hasn't had
the same amount of success at the other two, but he did well to land Rivals150
SG A.J. Turner. It will
be interesting to see how the rest of the 2015 class plays out for North
Carolina. Right now, the only commitment headed to Chapel Hill is three-star
power forward Luke
Maye. North Carolina is involved with a few top prospects who have yet to
commit in Jaylen Brown,
Skal Labissiere and Brandon Ingram.  |
 |
Updated Team Recruiting Rankings |
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