The Miami Hurricanes and Maryland Terrapins are both trying to refocus the attention for this game onto the actual football being played and not the Nevin Shapiro scandal.  As you are abundantly aware by now, Miami will be without eight of its best players including Jacory Harris, Sean Spence and Ray-Ray Armstrong.

Both teams will be showcasing their new head coaches in this Labor Day battle, Randy Edsall for Maryland and Al Golden for Miami.  Running back Lamar Miller looks to establish himself as one of the best in the ACC and will be a leader for the Hurricanes in this game.  Quarterback Danny O’Brien won the ACC Rookie of the Year award last season and hopes to continue that success in 2011.

The game will be broadcast on ESPN tonight at 8 p.m. and promises to be a closely contested match between two underrated teams that could sneak into the Top 25 with a dominating performance.  Danny O’Brien was the ACC’s best kept secret last season. As a freshman, he led the Terps to a 9-4 record and over 32 points per game while throwing for just under 2500 yards.  His top receiver, Torrey Smith, is gone to the NFL but four of five offensive linemen return and they averaged 1.69 sacks allowed per game in 2010.

Randy Edsall employs a pro-based offense that, much like Michigan, could damper O’Brien’s results. But don’t count on it. “We’re passing the ball a lot more,” said senior wide receiver Quintin McCree.  There may not be a receiver quite like Smith but the Terrapins are now apparently three-deep at that position which is even better.  And if it isn’t, Danny is always up for a challenge. He had to battle a severe case of poison ivy and mono before winning the starting job and without Da’Rel Scott, the pressure will be squarely on his shoulders to guide his team to victory at home.

His job will be easier without Ray-Ray Armstrong in the secondary but may not matter much considering how much he impressed in the offseason.  The ACC is debuting more quarterbacks than any other BCS league this year. The offense may look different but don’t expect Danny O’Brien’s results to change much from his Rookie of the Year campaign last season.  Forget Jacory Harris. The biggest losses Miami has to overcome are on defense.

Ray-Ray Armstrong and Sean Spence were both voted first team All-ACC this preseason at safety and linebacker, respectively. Add to that a defensive line that will only be returning one starter from last season against a veteran offensive line and you have a very serious problem.  Before the suspensions, Miami’s defense figured to be one of the best in the conference but now they are squarely the underdogs against Maryland.  Once all of the players come back, expect the Hurricanes to dominate opponents defensively but for this game, Maryland has the definite advantage.

That’s not to say the players replacing them don’t have experience but they simply aren’t as talented, especially when talking about Spence and Armstrong who are projected as early-round draft picks. They also haven’t had as much time to practice with the rest of the defense.

Expect Miami to have a couple of blown assignments this game based on a lack of communication.  Al Golden worked a lot of magic while he was at Temple but he will need a lot more in order for his defense to keep up with Danny O’Brien and the Maryland offense.

How The Scandal Was Exposed

It’s very simple a man running a Ponzi scheme that bilked people out of almost a billion dollars, who used that money to buy access to young football players between the ages of 18 – 23 years old was finally caught.  When he did get caught his assets were frozen by the government, and he reached out to those same players he tried to buy friendships with and they told him they would not give him money for his legal defense.  So, as a result he decides to blow the whistle to “take down” the Miami Hurricanes football program purely for the purpose of revenge.  He stated all of this as much that this quest has nothing to do with “doing the right thing”, but a vindictive play designed to punish the people he sucked into his dealings using stolen money.

The Allegations and or Facts

This article could go on all day talking about his allegations, but here is a quote from Shapiro taken from the Yahoo article written by Charles Robinson:

“Hell yeah, I recruited a lot of kids for Miami,” Shapiro said. “With access to the clubs, access to the strip joints. My house. My boat. We’re talking about high school football players. Not anybody can just get into the clubs or strip joints. Who is going to pay for it and make it happen? That was me.”

The truth is Miami Football players already get into a lot of clubs and parties for free, just because they play at a big time college football program.  Any player over 21 can get into a strip club, and if you are known around town generally for free.  High school football players are always wooed by players from the schools they visit.  At an unnamed school that plays in a major conference I remember a quarterback recruit coming in and his host on the team took him to the strip club and got him a few lap dances.  It happens all over the place, so what Shapiro did is not anything new.

If you look at the body of what Shapiro is claiming, he does not have many hard facts to backup his sensational claims.

• Reported Abortion – Does not name player, and said he did it on his own without player’s knowledge.  (No Proof)

• Various Lunches & Dinners – Only has credit card statements and witness testimony, but no pictures or a paper trail proving who was at these lunches and dinners with him.  (No hard proof)

• Hotel Floors Full Of Hookers – If a guy rented the entire floor of a hotel and stocked it with prostitutes someone would notice, and from the players perspective if you go to a party and a young woman offers herself, is there knowledge that someone paid for her services?  The players probably did not even know the women were hookers (if it even happened), there are a lot of women who throw themselves at football players all the time.  If the players did not pay the hookers and had no knowledge that they were “working girls” how can this be considered a violation?  Most football players don’t have to go out and give prostitutes money to have sex, they live on a college campus and the reality is playing college sports yields certain benefits in that environment. (No hard proof, and if that were the case how do you even begin to asses the value of what was given?)

• $50,000 payment to Vince Wilfork – No hard evidence of this has yet to be produced, as in no bank statements or transactions showing Wilfork spending large amounts of cash.

Most of Shapiro’s claims consist of players hanging out at his mansion and on his Yacht playing pool, and swimming.  If Shapiro provided lunch and drinks for the players then yes that is a violation, but nowhere near the blatant abuse tales he is spinning from jail.  How much is a game of pool at a persons house worth as an actual extra benefit?

Current Events

The NCAA came out with a ruling on the status of 12 Miami football players as the first game of the season against Maryland approaches.  Miami ruled those 12 player ineligible, and asked the NCAA to begin the process of reinstating the players.  The NCAA came out with their ruling, and eight of those players will miss games.

• Jacory Harris – One Game Suspension, $140 In restitution
• Olivier Vernon – Six Game Suspension, $1200 in restitution
• Ray Ray Armstrong – Four Game Suspension, $788 in restitution
• Dyron Dye – Four Game Suspension, $738 in restitution
• Travis Benjamin – One Game Suspension, $150 In restitution
• Sean Spence – One Game Suspension, $275 In restitution
• Marcus Forston – One Game Suspension, $400 In restitution
• Adewale Ojomo – One Game Suspension, $240 In restitution

These amounts are a far cry from what Shapiro is claiming, and the reason people need to stop jumping to conclusions.  A few hundred bucks for most players, with one getting over $1000 is nowhere near justification for the death penalty people are talking about.  These are the real numbers that can be proven, and for all we know these players only hung out with Shapiro a few times.

If you remember Miami graduates over 85% of it’s football players, and all of the players listed are in good academic standing with the school.  Between practice, games, school, and film study it would have been difficult to roll around town with Shapiro as often as he claims they did.

The Reality Going Forward

People are making a bigger deal out of this than it really is because everyone loves to hate Miami Hurricanes football.  People still can’t get over the fact that the Hurricanes revolutionized how college football was played, and has had one of the quickest ascensions to the elite status in college football as any school in recent memory.  The Hurricanes will not get the death penalty, but they will get sanctions which will cripple the program for several years.

If Al Golden stays in place then the Hurricanes will bounce back quickly assuming the scholarship losses will only last for about three years.  The odd thing is the message the NCAA is sending basically says it’s okay to commit real crimes and have players arrested, but taking a few hundred dollars is one of the worst things you can do.  We are referencing the University of Florida arrest situations over the past few years.  This is all about Shapiro trying to buy 20 year old friends, and when he needed help they turned their back on him.  It’s all sour grapes and a man who is in prison for 20 years after tricking people out of $930 million dollars, he has an axe to grind and the NCAA will have to make sure they take that into account.

Players at the University of Miami did break the NCAA rules as crazy as those rules might  be, and they will pay the price for breaking those rules.  The amount of scandals the NCAA has dealt with over the past two season, shows that there is a problem with the system and punishing the schools and players does not really solve anything.  Harsher penalties will not solve the issue as the dealings will just go further underground, and for the NCAA to expect a school to control what a kid is doing 24 hours a day speaks to a new age form of indentured servitude.

For the second time this season, a top quarterback has spurned the Crimson Tide and gone with another school after having narrowed their choices to Alabama and another school.

Today Jameis Winston the nation’s number one dual threat quarterback, chose Florida State over Alabama and last month Gunner Keil, the nation’s number one pro style quarterback, chose Indiana over Alabama.

Alabama however, mainly uses a pro style quarterback in their system, and after Keil’s decision, may have turned up the heat more on Greyson Lambert, a pro style quarterback from Georgia than pursuing Winston as was cited in another article.

Many fans were worried that Winston will end up taking the millions of dollars soon to be thrown at him by Major League Baseball rather than pursing a college football career.

Still however, with this being the second top rated quarterback to turn down the Tide, it may appear that this would be bad news for the Tide, but with so many other quarterbacks out there that fit the mold of the Crimson Tide Team, there is no panic among the staff in Tuscaloosa.

Alabama is expecting to hear from their quarterback within a week or so, but even if they signed no quarterback this year, Nick Saban isn’t worried and will just go back to work next year.

For the foreseeable future, the Tide is set, but the future three years or more down the road could be interesting.

Harrison Barnes’ decision Monday morning to return to Chapel Hill next season, combined with last week’s news of the return of dynamic interior duo Tyler Zeller and John Henson, should have the Tar Heels poised to do just that.  the Tar Heels are also ready to claim the top spot in the ACC with the usual competition from the Duke Blue Devils, but the Blue Devils are losing a lot of key players on their team.

The Tar Heels return every player from their 2010 roster with the exception of forward Justin Knox.  The Tar Heels 2011 recruiting class boasts two McDonald’s All-American’s in James McAdoo and P.J. Hairston, and the Tar Heels are a team no one in the ACC will want to butt heads with.  While the Tar Heels at times in 2010 lacked depth and firepower from the perimeter, those issues should be alleviated in 2011.

P.J. Hairston is a dynamic yet streaky shooter, and will be able to score in bunches off the bench. The same goes for Leslie McDonald, and a healthy Reggie Bullock. The ability to bring instant offense off the bench, should go miles for the Tar Heels in conference play.  Also coming off the bench will be highly-touted James McAdoo, who would probably start for any other team in the country.

McAdoo, the nephew of former Tar Heel Bob McAdoo, is a consistent face-up scorer and a hard-working interior presence who will make himself known to Tar Heel faithful from the get-go.  Adding brawn off the bench for the Tar Heels will also be Justin Watts, along with freshman Desmond Hubert and preferred walk-on freshman Jackson Simmons.

The Tar Heels main competition will, as usual, be the Duke Blue Devils.  The Blue Devils lost senior leaders Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler, and likely will lose electric point guard Kyrie Irving to the NBA draft, the Blue Devils have a very deep recruiting class.  Headlined by Austin Rivers, but also boasting Quinn Cook, Michael Gbinje, and also the youngest of the Plumlee’s, Marshall, the Blue Devils will have their share of talent to spread the floor with in Cameron.

However, with the celebrated return of Harrison Barnes, North Carolina should have an edge in the storied rivalry.  Barnes gives the Tar Heels a dynamic, do-it-all presence and a legitimate superstar-caliber talent.  The extra year of experience should allow Barnes to round out his game and give him the ability to carry this team down the stretch as we saw him do at times during his freshman season.

Combine skilled players such as Barnes, Henson, and Zeller in the frontcourt, with the continued development of a savvy, past-first point guard in Kendall Marshall and the Tar Heels appear to be the early favorites to win it all next season.  As for Barnes individually, he could be a pre-season All-American heading into the 2011-12 season, and this time it will be well deserved.

Al Golden says this second depth chart is a result of off-season dedication, so apparently Jacory Harris has been putting in work in the off season to recover from an abysmal season.  That should be nothing new if you look at the body of work Jacory Harris always wins the job or impresses in the off season and practices, even after Randy Shannon was fired Jacory won the starting nod for the Sun Bowl.  How did that work out for the Hurricanes?  What this story says is Harris probably has a great grasp of the offense and is confident in practice, but when the game rolls around he looks impatient and confused in the pocket.  The interceptions are somehow being blamed on Randy Shannon’s coaching staff, who openly took the blame for Harri’s interception woes.

From the fan perspective large majorities are ready to see the Jacory Harris era at quarterback come to an end, and were looking to Stephen Morris to mature and take over the reins at quarterback.  The question remains will Jacory Harris start and finish the season as the Miami Hurricanes starting quarterback?  If the 2009 Jacory Harris shows up then that is a strong possibility, people forget that Harris was in the running for the Heisman trophy his first year starting and showed flashes of being the next great Miami quarterback.  The 2010 season he seemed to regress and started to let things distract him from football, everyone should be familiar with the Twitter incident the week of the Ohio State game and subsequent banning of Twitter for all Hurricanes players.  Then the Oakland Raiders overall’s incident among other odd things Harris was known for other than performance on the field.

If you look at Harris’ stats from 2009 (13 Games):

242/406 (59.6 comp %)

3352 Yards

24 Touchdowns

17 Interceptions

140.10 QB Rating

Now if you compare those stats to his 2010 numbers (9 Games):

148/270 (54.8 comp %)

1793 Yards

14 Touchdowns

15 Interceptions

116.60 QB Rating

It is very easy to see that there was a clear decline, but the truth is Stephen Morris’s numbers were not better than Harris even in a down year.  Morris had a lower completion percentage, lower QB rating, and nine interceptions in six games worth of action.  In Morris’s defense he did play against the tougher competition on the schedule than Harris did.

With a clear decline in Harris’s production, fans clamoring for someone other than him to start, and his interception issues it does not seem that this change by Al Golden will be a permanent one.  Even if Harris makes it to the beginning of the season as the starter it just does not seem likely that he is going to be able to shake all of his old issues and keep the starting job for the full season.  All Golden will probably have a very short leash with Harris and will not put up with excessive interceptions if he shows no improvement over last season.

Ohio State Head coach Jim Tressel was suspended by the school for the first two games of next season because he failed to report information he received in an email regarding the sale of Ohio State memorabilia to a drug dealer.  Those players involved were all suspended for the first five games of next season, and this further adds to the limited possibility of Ohio State winning a National Championship next season.  Tressel and the Buckeyes may face more sanctions as the NCAA is going to look into the incident, and they have the ability to add on more games or other punishments however they see fit.

Orlando Magic Head Coach Stan Van Gundy got into a war of words with NBA commissioner David Stern when Van Gundy made comments related to Dwight Howard being suspended for getting his 16^th technical foul.  Stern went personal with his retort saying that Van Gundy was “fraying” because his team was not performing well, and he spoke to the ownership of the Orlando Magic to get Van Gundy silenced.  This is juvenile behavior for David Stern, and highlights one of the main problems with the NBA it’s commissioner, why would he even respond there are more important things than worry about some comments from a coach.  It’s no wonder the product in the NBA has declined in recent years, and they are more than likely headed for a work stoppage as well.

The NCAA tournament field is set and Duke, Pitt, Ohio State, and Kansas all received #1 seeds. As usual the field has teams who were left out that had a good case as to why they should have gotten in, but there is no doubt that Duke deserved it after beating North Carolina in the ACC tournament title game.  All of the other teams that received top seeds deserved it as well, no one can argue with those teams getting top seeds.  After all the controversy BYU ended up with a #3 seed, and North Carolina ended up with a #2 seed after winning the ACC regular season title.  The early money is on Ohio State to win it all, but there are at least 10 teams in the field that have a realistic shot of winning it all.

The Milwaukee Bucks were embarrassed by the Boston Celtics on Sunday losing 87 – 56, and setting franchise record lows for fewest points scored. They also scored the fifth lowest point total in the shot clock era, it was a dismal performance all around as they only had one player in double figures and that was exactly 10 points.  They Bucks only scored nine points in the first quarter, and never had more than 20 points in a quarter for the entire game, and the team only shot 31.4% from the field and 21.4% from three point land.  Put this in perspective Ray Allen had 17 points for the entire game which was more than the Bucks scored in any one quarter except the fourth where they scored 18.

Quarterback:

The Miami Hurricanes Quarterback play has been one of the weaknesses of this team over the last two years.  In games against average opponents they have played decent football, but the games against the tougher opponents on the Hurricanes schedule their quarterbacks have not played very well.  The Miami Hurricanes new offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch has stated that the slate is wiped clean for Jacory Harris, and that he and Stephen Morris will compete for the starting quarterback spot.  Stephen Morris showed signs of being the quarterback of the future, and played big in a lot of games for the Hurricanes.

The truth is Morris and Harris are remnants from the old regime, and realistically Morris has the best chance to make this team a winner.  Hurricane fans have seen enough of Jacory Harris to make the conclusion that he is not the guy to put Miami back on top.  This recruiting class Miami currently has no quarterbacks committed, but are fiercely going after Kevin Sousa and Jacoby Brissett at the last minute to see if they can land a commitment.  On the second tier they have Marcus McDade and Stephen Weatherford waiting for that phone call that the Hurricanes will offer them scholarships.  If Miami is can land Brissett or Sousa then the Hurricanes will be deep at the quarterback position for the next three or four years.

Departing Players

None

Current Targets

Kevin Sousa

Jacoby Brissett

Marcus McDade

Stephen Weatherford

Offensive Line:

The Offensive line for the Miami Hurricanes started off shaky last season, but the unit started to come together as the season moved along.  They still suffered from too many mental mistakes in big games, as the Hurricanes were the most penalized team in the ACC.  Most of these penalties came from false start or holding which seemed to kill drives all season.

Orlando Franklin and Joel Figueroa were two of the biggest offenders when it came to racking up penalties on the offensive line, and Figueroa was eventually replaced by freshman star Seantrel Henderson.  Those were the only two seniors on the roster at offensive line which showed the Hurricanes had a bit of an issue with leadership on the offensive line.

You can never have too much depth on the offensive line, and the Hurricanes already have 14 offensive linemen on the roster even with Franklin and Figueroa leaving.  This class will be light on offensive lineman, but if they can land another top level commitment then they will have enough depth and versatility to be one of the best offensive lines in the country.

Departing Players

Orlando Franklin

Joel Figueroa

Current Targets

Taylor Gadbois (Committed 1/07/2011)

Antonio Richardson

Cyrus Kouandjio

Wide Receiver:

Coming into the season the wide receiving corps was thought to be the strength of this team coming into the season, but over 60 dropped passes indicated that it was not.  The only consistent player the entire season was Leonard Hankerson, who is going to be moving on to the NFL.  Travis Benjamin, Laron Byrd, Aldarius Johnson, and Tommy Streeter all had relatively subpar seasons, and none look like they are going to be the dominant force that Hankerson was next season.

The wide receiving corps need an upgrade because they will need to get separation from defensive backs in order to reduce the amount of interceptions thrown by Morris or Harris.  Al Golden and staff have picked up where Randy Shannon left off by going after top receiving talent.  The receivers in this class will upgrade the quality of that position especially if the Hurricanes can get Patrick Onwuasor and Devin Lucien to commit to them.  If you add that to the commitments of Phillip Dorsett and Rashawn Scott, and the returning receivers will have competition this year.

Departing Players

Leonard Hankerson

Current Targets

Devin Lucien

Phillip Dorsett (Committed 6/19/1010)

Rashawn Scott (Committed 1/25/2011)

Patrick Onwuasor

Shane Wynn

Defensive End:

Allen Bailey is leaving the University of Miami for the NFL, and that will be a big blow to this Hurricanes football team.  Even with Bailey here the Hurricanes have lacked a consistent pass rush for the last few years, and that needs to be resolved because pressure on the quarterback will take this defense to the next level.

Anthony Chickillo is the prized recruit of this class, and if you watched the Under Armor All-star game you saw him getting constant pressure on the quarterback and making plays.  Chickillo even had a better game than the #1 recruit in the nation Jadeveon Clowney who was playing across from him, and if Ricardo Williams can put some size on him he can be an effective speed rusher for Miami.  Olivier Vernon, Adewale Ojomo, and David Perry will be pushed for time at defensive end by Chickillo.

Departing Players

Allen Bailey

Current Targets

Anthony Chickillo (Committed 09/09/2010)

Ricardo Williams (Committed 1/09/2011)

Jadeveon Clowney

Bryant Dubose

Special Teams:

The Hurricanes need to replace one of the best kickers in their history in Matt Bosher, they have Jake Wieclaw on the roster, but need other options in case Wieclaw is not good at certain aspects of the special teams game.  They Hurricanes have already signed two kickers in this class, so that need should be filled.  The Hurricanes also needed to find someone to return punts and kicks with Travis Benjamin and Lamar Miller, and this class is going to address that need by the signing of Roscoe Parrish clone Kevin Grooms.

Departing Players

Matt Bosher (K & P)

Brandon Harris (KR)

Current Targets

Dalton Botts (Committed 12/29/2010)

Matt Goudis (Committed 01/16/2011)

Linebackers:

One of the biggest weaknesses on this Hurricanes football team has been the linebacker play.  They shuffled linebackers around trying to find a good person to play in the middle, and they settled on Colin McCarthy by moving him from his Outside Linebacker spot.  Sean Spence and McCarthy were the two constants at the linebacker position, but gave up big runs up the middle on several occasions this season.

The University of Miami has always been known for it’s strong linebacker player, and is looking to return to that with the signings in this class.  Gionni Paul, Antonio Kinard, and Denzel Perryman all look like solid prospects, and the type of players that can really solidify this linebacking corps for years to come.  If the Hurricanes are able to land Curtis Grant and/or Tony Steward they would be getting some of the top recruits in the nation, but they are unlikely to sign with Miami.  The current commitments we already have are enough, if any more sign this season they will just be a bonus.

Departing Players

Kylan Robinson

Colin McCarthy

Current Targets

Gionni Paul (Committed 1/28/2011)

Antonio Kinard (Committed 1/17/2011)

Denzel Perryman (Committed 1/21/2011)

Curtis Grant

Tony Steward

Stephone Anthony

Curt Maggitt

The Miami Hurricanes displayed a lot of potential and hope during the conference tournament last year, grabbing two upset wins and getting out to an impressive first half start against Duke before eventually going down to the Blue Devils. Miami only lost two starters from last year, and have quite a few new players that look to be sound contributors for the team this year.

The key for the Canes this season is to win more match ups against ACC opponents, as they finished with an ACC-worst 4-12 record in conference play last season. While the ACC is one of the toughest conferences in college basketball, Miami has the potential to finish high enough in the league to make a trip to the NCAA tournament this season.

Miami only plays one non-ACC game versus a foe that is ranked in the preseason, and that game comes early in the schedule on Nov. 16 at 19th-ranked Memphis. The Hurricanes could definitely use a victory in this game, but the most important thing for them is to not slip up against their other non-conference opponents. The ‘Canes finished last season with a 16-1 record in non-conference play, but most of those wins came against weak teams and led to them getting beat up in conference action.

Coach Frank Haith will look to Durand Scott and Malcolm Grant to help lead his inexperienced team in an effort to improve from last year. While they may not be in contention to win the ACC this season, they should play some fairly exciting basketball, as they have some of the most athletic players in the conference.

Front Court: Julian Gamble and Reggie Johnson will be depended upon pretty heavily this season when it comes to defense and rebounding, as they look to fill the void that was left with the departure of Dewayne Collins when he left for the NBA after last year. At 6’9″ and 6’10″, respectively, the duo is tall enough to match-up favorably against most of their opponents at the five. Both players need to make more of their shots this season, however, as Johnson shot 52% from the field last season, while Gamble only made 48% on his attempts.

DeQuan Jones is an extremely explosive forward with remarkable speed and athletic ability. He is best known for his ability to finish and his dunking skills, but he will need to improve on his outside shooting this season. He shot a horrid 23% from beyond the arc last season, making only 6 of his 26 attempts from long range.

Miami has Eric Swoope and Raphael Akpejiori joining their team this season. Swoope is another highly athletic small forward that will be competing with Jones for minutes all season at the three. Akpejiori, at 6’9″, should be a strong contributor when it comes to hitting the glass, and at 230 lbs, should be a fairly sound force down low against smaller interior players.

Donnovan Kirk will also be coming back to the ‘Canes after being receiving a medical red-shirt last year when he only played in four contests. He will need to help pick up some of the slack with rebounding on both sides of the court this season.

Back Court: Miami’s success this year largely depends on their back court, which is headlined by Durand Scott and Malcolm Grant. Both players are coming off brilliant performances in the ACC tournament, and the hopes are fairly high for them this year as they will be looked upon as leaders on the court.

Scott, a very impressive guard who is extremely athletic and very good at finding open shooters, will be the floor leader for Miami. Averaging 10.3 points per game last season, and scoring in double figures in eight of their final nine contests, Scott should raise his scoring average this year. Their success will not only ride on his scoring abilities, but also on how well he distributes the ball and his effectiveness at getting his team involved.

While Grant is smaller and shorter than Scott, he plays most of his minutes at the two. Although he was tops on the team with 3.5 dimes per game last season, he will need to concentrate more on scoring this season after putting up just under 10 points per night last season. If he can be a consistent point producer this season, the ‘Canes definitely could be one of the surprise teams to over-achieve their expectations.

Rion Brown will also play a key role in the Hurricanes back court. The freshman shooting guard from Georgia is a Top 100 prospect and should be extremely productive for the Canes if he can get on the court enough this season.

Predictions: The ‘Canes have some extremely talented players on their roster, but unfortunately for them they play in a very deep conference that features last year’s national champions, the Duke Blue Devils, who they go up against twice this year.

If they can get strong contributions from all of their players, they could move up the standings a position or two. However, I can’t picture Miami being able to make a jump into the top level of the ACC and finishing ahead of any of the four teams currently ranked in the Top 25 . While Miami could potentially be a bubble team late in the year if they have an impressive run during conference play, it is unlikely they will actually land a spot in the tournament when all of the smoke settles.

For your chance to beat the NCAA basketball lines this year be sure to visit our site often for the top college basketball picks from our expert handicappers.

The North Carolina Tar Heels do not fare so well last year, one that saw them go 20-17 overall and 5-11 in ACC play. The Tar Heels bubble burst early and while they did miss the NCAA tournament, UNC did play in the NIT. Roy Williams can’t be happy about having his streak of 20 straight years with at least one NCAA tournament win broken, and he thinks he has to get tougher on his players and slightly mix up his schemes. This squad had a lot of talent inside last year, but top scorer Deon Thompson graduated and top rebounder Ed Davis entered the NBA. Also, twins David Wear and Travis Wear left North Carolina to UCLA. You have to think the Tar Heels will get better this season with the addition of highly touted freshmen Harrison Barnes, Reggie Bullock and Kendall Marshall. They are all very talented on offense, which is vital considering the Tar Heels shot their third-worst field goal percentage since 1960, their worth free throw percentage since 1954 and its worst 3-point percentage all-time last year. Looking at Williams’ history, last season probably left the worst taste in his mouth of any season since he started coaching. So the conference should get ready to face a UNC team that plays with not only a lot more passion, but a lot more talent also.

Frontcourt:

Sophomore John Henson improved quite a bit last year when he made the move from the three spot to the four. He was lanky last season, but he put on 25 pounds this off-season which should enable him to grab more boards. Junior Tyler Zeller has a lot of talent and contributes a lot when healthy, but he has struggled to say on the floor in his first few seasons with the Tar Heels. Adding senior forward Justin Knox, a transfer from Alabama, will also help the depth situation down low. Harrison Barnes was the top recruit in the country, and big things are expected from him right away.

Backcourt:

Junior point guard Larry Drew II has a lot of critics and has been trying to fill the shoes of many great point guards before him. Even if he’s not in the same class as Ty Lawson, he is a pretty good player. Don’t be surprised if he really shines this year after looking so good late in the season, including a remarkable performance in the postseason. Reggie Bullock will give this team the 3-point shooting it needs as a perimeter scorer. Kendall Marshall is a solid backup to Drew at the point. Dexter Strickland and Leslie McDonald were not good last season but have been working hard this summer to improve.

Jack’s Prediction: 2nd Place in the ACC – Things couldn’t get much worse for the Tar Heels on offense last year, so improving will not be difficult. Improvement on offense along with the return to health of a few players and also looking to rebound off an embarrassing year will have UNC primed to put together a big year. The trouble is that they may still be another year away from reaching their full potential, and expectations for Tar Heel fans are for the team to compete for not only conference titles, but national championships. I believe both of those goals will be achievable this season.

If you want a chance to beat the college basketball betting odds this season, be sure to check out the NCAA basketball picks offered by our expert handicappers!

The University of Miami fired their head coach Randy Shannon after a 23 – 20 overtime loss to in state upstart USF. Miami’s athletic director said that the firing had nothing to do with the USF game, and the decision would have been made regardless of the outcome.  It was a decision that shocked many in the program and took the players by surprise, but now the search for a head coach begins.  Jon Gruden has been heavily rumored to be the Hurricanes top target and rumors of a $3.4 million dollar deal were swirling on Sunday night.  Gruden released a statement and said he is committed to Monday night football, and Miami has retained a coach placement firm for $50,000 stay tuned.

The Chicago Bears cooled Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles 26 – 31 on Sunday, and with that win erased any doubt that they were for real. Jay Cutler threw four touchdown passes and was relatively mistake free, and looked like the Pro Bowl quarterback that they traded for.  The Bears defense seems like it’s back to form, and with the new found efficiency on offense they may be the team to beat in the NFC.  The Atlanta Falcons may have something to say about that, but people can’t deny how good the Bears look.  The NFC race will be interesting down the stretch.

The Yankees and the face of their franchise Derek Jeter are still in a dispute over his new contract after the Yankees initial 3 year $45 million dollar offer. Jeter’s camp says they are seeking Alex Rodriguez type of money, and scoffed at the initial offering as the Yankees want Jeter to take a pay cut.  The Yankees appear willing to enhance their latest $45 million, three-year offer to retain the iconic Yankee, but are said to be unwilling to match his previous salary on a deal of at least three years. Jeter just completed a 10-year, $189-million deal that paid him about $21 million in 2010.  The Yankees may be willing to go higher, but it looks like not much higher than what they have already offered.

The Miami Heat are 9 – 8 so far this season, and coming off of a loss to the Dallas Mavericks. There is a lot of discussion about friction between the head coach and members of the big three.  This is something that was predicted by several people, and it comes down to the fact that Lebron James and Dwayne Wade may be too similar to play together.  Chris Bosh has not looked like a full member of the big three at times, and the team overall does not seem to have that much chemistry.  With the injury to Udonis Haslem, and signing of Eric Dampier things do not seem to be getting much better in South Beach.  The heat held a players only meeting after their loss to the Mavericks, who knows if the team is actually going to play better.  It has to be Bosh, Wade, and James as that is how the team was built.

Boise State made the BCS’s job easier by losing to Nevada in overtime after their kicker missed the game winning field goal at the end of regulation, then missed the field goal in overtime.  Now the three front runners for the two national title spots are TCU, Auburn, and Oregon who all have games next week.  These games next weekend are one game playoff games for Auburn and Oregon because if they win they are in the national championship game.  TCU has to hop that either South Carolina or Oregon State find a way to win which would punch their ticket to the game.  I know some fans find this exciting, but a playoff is needed badly in college football.