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No denying Duke Duke overwhelming favorite in ACC preseaon poll
Updated: Monday November 05, 2001 12:39 AM GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) -- Jason Williams has listened to his mother's advice for years. The Duke All-American point guard isn't about to change now. "A great thing she taught me is that just as hard as you want to be the best there is somebody else out there who is working harder to be the best," Williams said Sunday as the Blue Devils were overwhelmingly picked to win the Atlantic Coast Conference regular season title. One harder-working team may be Maryland, who joined the defending national champions in the Final Four a season ago and has all-ACC players Juan Dixon and Lonny Baxter among its four returning starters. Duke and the Terrapins appear to be evenly matched on paper, but the Blue Devils -- who have won the ACC regular-season title a record five straight seasons -- have fared a little better on the court in big games. "Duke deserves it," Dixon said of the preseason ranking. "They won the national championship. There are a lot of teams coming after those guys, but I'm sure they'll be ready. "I guess we'll see," Dixon added. "We know that we're on their level, but you guys are going to write what you want to write. We're just going to go out there and play ball." Duke received 69 of a possible 74 first-place votes by media members attending the league's annual Operation Basketball outing. The Terrapins garnered the other five for 596 points -- 65 behind the Blue Devils. Duke (35-4) beat Maryland (25-11) three of four meetings last season, including in the national semifinals in Minneapolis. "I don't worry about our focus because we play too many good teams before we play a team as good as Duke," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. "We lost to Duke three times last year and got to the Final Four, so Duke doesn't control our year." Duke is 16-3 in its last 19 NCAA tournament games and returns ACC scoring leader Williams, along with Carlos Boozer, Mike Dunleavy and Chris Duhon. However, coach Mike Krzyzewski said picking the best team in the ACC is often like splitting hairs. "Anytime anybody is excellent in the league in anything it's good for the league," Krzyzewski said. "But I know we're not the only excellent team over the last five years. In that time Carolina has gone to Final Fours, and so has Maryland. "When I think of dominating it means you're the only one who is excellent, and I don't think that's the case. Now, have we done really well? Yeah, we've done really well." Virginia was picked to finish third with 483 points after a 20-9 season. Cavaliers coach Pete Gillen was honest when asked if his club stacked up with Duke or Maryland. He said no. "It's those two and then everybody else is scrambling for third," Gillen said. "Our thing is, 'Let's try to get better and win the games we're supposed to win. and maybe let's steal a couple on the road that we're not favored to win', maybe at Wake or at Carolina." The Tar Heels, who tied Duke for the ACC regular-season title last year in Matt Doherty's first season, were picked to finish fourth with 421 points, just 14 ahead of fifth-place Wake Forest. The Tar Heels lost Joseph Forte and 7-foot center Brendan Haywood. The fourth place prediction is the lowest for North Carolina since 1996, then the Tar Heels were picked fourth in the preseason and ended up third in the league. "Our guys enjoy the fact that people are questioning our team," Doherty said. "If you have any pride or any competitiveness you are going to try to answer the bell." Skip Prosser inherits a solid team from the departed Dave Odom, but the Demon Deacons had a miserable 7-11 close to the season after starting 12-0. Prosser has talent in Josh Howard, Darius Songaila, Craig Dawson, Ervin Murray and Broderick Hicks. He's also trying to create a new running style and a different attitude. "Everybody keeps telling our guys they're experienced, but I want to make them aware that a lot of those experiences haven't been that positive," Prosser said. "And how are they going to deal with that? I am hoping the veteran guys approach the season with a big chip on their shoulders." Georgia Tech (254) was picked to finish sixth, followed by N.C. State (242), Florida State (140) and Clemson (126).
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