On name recognition alone, the ACC is usually thought of as the top conference in all the land. Like it or not, the East Coast bias is in full effect. As a result, the conference attracts some of the top talent; but some of the players spend one season before departing for riches, while the vast majority of these youngsters stick around to develop personally and professionally. By my count, the final Rivals Top 100 of 2009 had 22 players attend ACC, and only one (Georgia Tech's Derrick Favors) is making loot in the NBA. Three others have transferred (UCF's Tristan Spurlock from UVA, and UCLA's David Wear and Travis Wear from UNC). That leaves us with 18 top talents, which should lend it self to some solid breakout performances in this crop's sophomore season. But so far, that hasn't been the case.
This week, we'll take a look at the sophomore ACC guards who either are budding, or sputtering to carve out roles with their squads.
Budding
Andre Dawkins, Duke - Dawkins has been the biggest beneficiary of the departure of Jon Scheyer. Playing nearly twice the minutes this season (23.1) as he did as a rookie (12.6), the 6-foot-4 wing has seen his scoring boom to 10.6 points compared to the modest 4.4 from a year ago. His rebounding is also up to 2.8 compared with 1.1 from the 2009-10 campaign, and Dawkins is settling in to a sixth man role with the defending national champs. As if Duke doesn't have enough guards, the most impressive number from Dawkins in the early going is his 52.8% shooting from downtown. There certainly isn't a shortage of guards in Durham, and that won't change next season with the addition of mega recruit Austin Rivers and point guard Quinn Cook, but Dawkins freshman to sophomore jump is awfully similar to that of current Duke senior Nolan Smith. And we are all familiar with the leap Smith made in his third and now fourth seasons for the Devils. It's important to remember that Dawkins also graduated from high school a year early, and you have to think his better days are still ahead.
Durand Scott, Miami - I wasn't quite sure where to place Scott, as he hasn't exactly lived up to my preseason expectations. But his numbers are up across the board, all while playing just one minute more per game than a season ago. Scott is putting in 14.1 points, 4.1 boards and 4.3 dimes each time out, and those stats look nice in anyone's lineup. His percentages are also up in all categories, most noteably from the charity stripe, where Scott is hitting 85.4% compared to just 67% from a year ago. He's also averaging two more free throw attempts this year, which is tremendously encouraging, because Scott is also taking fewer three-pointers and hitting more. This should translate into an outstanding sophomore campaign that shouldn't see any prolonged slumps.
Glen Rice, Jr., Georgia Tech - The name should speak for itself, which is ironic because Junior is shooting just 17.6% from downtown, compared to 46.7% from a year ago. That alone makes Rice Jr.'s 11.1 ppg impressive when compared to his 5.4 from 2009-10. He's also contributing nearly a full rebound more (4.0 rpg) and has doubled his assists (3.3, up from 1.7) in just eight minutes of additional run. To be honest, I was surprised when I compared Rice's numbers from a season ago. And you have to think the long balls will fall to some degree, making Rice an ultimate sleeper at this point.
Status Quo
Leslie McDonald, North Carolina - If you've seen McDonald play, you can probably tell he won't be much more than a role player in Chapel Hill, which makes him nearly irrelevant in fantasy leagues. His putting in 6.1 ppg this year, up from 3.4 as a freshman, and to be quite honest, his shot looks remarkably better than it did in 2009-10. Additionally, he isn't bashful about shooting, a trait that is desperately needed on a team that is struggling from the perimeter. I'd expect him to have one or two explosions this season, but don't read into them much.
Mfon Udofia, Georgia Tech - Udofia came out of the gates last season like a bottle rocket, but quickly found a home on the bench and never seemed to recover. After scoring in double-figures in nine of his first 16 collegiate games, Udofia failed to do so in any of his last 19 contests. His scoring is up to 9.1, compared to 5.9 from a year ago, but the rest of his stats show little improvement. That said, this is a talent I'm not ready to write off. With Iman Shumpert moving on after 2010-11, I expect to see Udofia take a leap as a junior. Good news for dynasty leaguers, bad news for anyone else!
Sputtering
Michael Snaer, Florida State - Maybe it's unfair to list Snaer here, as his numbers are virtually identical to what they were in 2009-10. Currently averaging 8.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists, Snaer isn't playing poorly. He simply isn't living up to lofty expecations. When the #7 recruit in all the land arrived in Tallahassee, stardom was expected. And here we are, 40 games into Snaer's career, and the leap hasn't occurred. He's shooting just 40.4% from the field, and has scored just eight points in the last two contests. It's still a relatively small sample size, but Snaer needs the lightbulb to click, or it's bust city.
Dexter Strickland, North Carolina - At the risk of being a homer, I was left with no choice but to put Strickland in this category. On paper, his numbers are mostly improved across the board. But this is a kid from New Jersey who came to the Hill as a scorer, and he's been anything but. The #34 ranked recruit according to Rivals, Strickland is the fastest player the Heels have. But he is appears to be a man without a position. Not poised enough to run the point, and not enough of a shooter to play the two, Strickland just doesn't look comfortable. If your reputation is that of a scorer, and you have only five games with a double-digit output in 44 tries, you are teetering on the brink of bustability!
Not qualifying: Lorenzo Brown, North Carolina State - originally ranked #37 by Rivals in 2009-2010, Brown attended Hargrave Military Academy last year, and is now a freshman at N.C. State. He's averaging a solid 10.3 points, 4.3 rebounds and 4 assists in the early going.
I'll be back next week to break down the front court Sophs, who are offering a little more promise...