A pre-season look at ACC hoops

A nice overview by team. This on GT:

GETTING INSIDE

After the NCAA title game loss to UConn, there's still a buzz around the Yellow Jackets after their run under coach Paul Hewitt.

Luke Schenscher, the 7-1 senior center who provided such steady low post play during the run, lasted until the final cut for the Australian Olympic basketball team but returned to Atlanta in late June to resume workouts with former Tech standout Malcom Mackey.

With a glut of talented guards in the program, including seniors B.J. Elder and Will Bynum and junior Jarrett Jack, little-used 6-4 junior Jim Nystrom opted to withdraw from school soon after the title game appearance, hoping to latch on with the Swedish national team.

In another move that has more long-term implications, trusted Yellow Jackets assistant Dean Keener parlayed Tech's success into his first head coaching job, moving on to James Madison of the Colonial Athletic Association. Keener was recently recognized as one of the top recruiters in the country.

Peter Zaharis, who spent four years as Tech's director of basketball operations, was promoted to fill Keener's vacancy and John O'Connor, an 11-year coaching veteran with stops at Drexel and most recently, Lafayette, takes Zaharis' old position.

NOTES, QUOTES

PROGRAM OVERVIEW: It took Paul Hewitt just four seasons to catapult Tech into the storied program's first championship game appearance, and he did it in a season the Jackets were picked to finish seventh in the then-9-team ACC. He also did it in the wake of Chris Bosh's early departure to the NBA. Hewitt cobbled together a hard-working, over-achieving squad that defended all over the floor and made the best of disparate parts like the 7-1 Schenscher surrounded by multiple guards. Most of the key pieces return except streak-shooting guard Marvin Lewis and fellow graduates, reserve swing man Clarence Moore and little-used forward Robert Brooks. The Jackets could be poised to be a national player for years to come.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "We may not have one name that people can latch on to, so we're somewhat nondescript. But this has been an excellent basketball team the whole season." -- Coach Paul Hewitt summing up the 2003-04 squad.

STRATEGY AND PERSONNEL

KEY RECRUITS AND TRANSFERS: Forward Ra'Sean Dickey -- The 6-9 forward out of Clio, S.C., is a solid rebounder and consistently rated in the top 60 forwards in the country.

Guard Zam "Buck" Fredrick -A 6-1 combo guard out of St. Matthews, S.C., Fredrick's father starred for the Gamecocks. The younger Fredrick is known for his quick first step and ability to score.

Guard Anthony Morrow -- A highly regarded wing out of Charlotte, N.C., the 6-5 Morrow, like Fredrick, has a chance to eat up some of the minutes lost with the graduation of Lewis. Next year when Elder and Bynum are gone, Morrow and Fredrick may well be key players.

Forward Jeremis Smith -- The 6-7 Fort Worth, Texas product caught Hewitt's eye with his aggressive style. The Tech staff think they got a "sleeper" in the mildly-regarded Smith.

INJURY IMPACT: Hewitt decided to cancel a planned August trip to Australia because of some nagging injuries to his team. Seniors guard B.J. Elder (ankle) and small forward Isma'il Muhammad (knee) and junior forward Theodis Tarver (knee) are all better served with time to heal, according to the coach.