College Basketball: Power Ranking the ACC Teams by Hoops Reputations

The Atlantic Coast Conference is widely considered one of the best basketball conferences in the country. And more times than not that is an earned status. The ACC really is that good.

You can almost always count on at least one national title favorite emerging from the conference, and often multiple teams capable of cutting down the nets enter the tournament along with them.  Truth be told though, at times the ACC is a very top heavy league with a couple of dominant teams at the top and a lot of average or bad basketball played by the rest of the conference.

Still, the ACC is thrilling to watch even for an outsider such as myself. If I'm not watching my favorite team, then I'm probably watching an ACC game to get my basketball fix.

There is a great amount of tradition among most of these schools and most of the teams play a fairly fun style of basketball to watch. And the atmospheres at a lot of the arenas are tough to beat. And all of that is taken into account in these rankings.

So does Duke or North Carolina take the top spot? And which school is the biggest dog in the ACC? You are about to find out.

12. Miami

Sure the last few years have been mediocre, but let's look at the bright side.

Multiple national titles, great recruiting class after great recruiting class, and......

Oh crap. That's the football team.

11. Virginia

Has Virginia really been relevant since the Ralph Sampson era? I mean, I know they have had a couple of pretty decent teams over the last 30 years or so, but really nothing memorable.

I honestly cannot think of the last time Virginia mattered. I've always liked their uniforms and I love the campus, but as far as basketball goes Virginia has pretty much been a complete non-factor in basketball.

10. Boston College

I can remember a couple of teams that the Eagles had that were very good, but it seems like those teams were extremely few and far between. And even those good BC teams didn't really perform when it mattered at the end of the year.

Again, this is all just an outsiders perception. But I think I have BC pegged pretty much right on their national perception among ACC schools. Even though Jared Dudley is a stud.

9. Clemson

Clemson is like the Clemson of college football. They seem to always be fooling people into thinking they are close to making the leap, and then they come crashing down and flaming out at the end of the year.

I think it's something like 15 times in the last 10 years that Clemson has started a season 20-0 and then either missed the tournament altogether or lost in the first round. Seriously, tell me if I'm wrong.

Clemson does get points for usually playing an appealing style. Unfortunately it is all too appealing to opponents as well.

8. Florida State

Shouldn't they have the same issues that Miami has? You would think so, but you would be wrong.

Florida State has actually had a pretty good run over the years. And while they are never a serious threat to go too far in the big dance, it seems like the Seminoles annually knock off a No. 1 team and give other top teams fits.

From the Bob Sura and Sam Cassell days up to last year with Chris Singleton, Florida State has had no shortage of stars over the years. Florida State is consistently a good and solid club.

7. Virginia Tech

Maybe this is too good of a ranking, but I just can't shake how many times Virginia Tech has beaten, and played well against, Duke over the years. Love the Dukies or hate them, that is impressive and really sticks with you.

Of course, they often follow up those games with horrible losses and I think they are permanently going to be on the wrong side of the tournament bubble, but they are always very athletic and get after you on both ends of the floor.

And I love Seth Greenberg. Seems like a really good dude.

6. Wake Forest

Their reputation may keep sliding if they don't start to turn things around once again, but Wake Forest has been too good over the last 15 years or so to be any lower than sixth on the list. From great coaches such as Skip Prosser to players like Tim Duncan and Chris Paul, Wake continually battled for ACC crowns for a number of years.

Lately, though, things have been shaky. And I'm not sure that a fix is coming anytime soon.

5. NC State

If I was only considering the last 20 years, NC State would be much further down on the list. But I just can't ignore their history.

The Wolfpack have won two national titles and have had some of the better teams in NCAA history back in their heyday. David Thompson's memory alone is enough to give their reputation a boost to this day. If only they could get some of their glory back...

I know they have had a rough go of it lately, but again the Sendek years weren't really that bad either.

4. Georgia Tech

Georgia Tech just seems to always be good. And while I know that isn't true, that is the perception that I think most people across the country have of the Yellow Jackets.

And it's not like they haven't had some really bright spots over the years. The Kenny Anderson years were phenomenal, and it was a few years ago that Georgia Tech was in the national championship game...so they have some legitimacy.

And they have also had a lot of really good players, even when the team wasn't that great. I shudder to think about how good they could be if they ever got a really good coach. The talent will come and you can win big at Georgia Tech, but for some reason they just haven't put it all together very often.

3. Maryland

We'll see how long this lasts, because the guy in the photo is gone and I don't know if Maryland will keep up what Gary Williams was able to accomplish. And without him, Maryland may not have been this high on the list.

Even with Williams, considering Maryland this high was becoming more of a stretch from year to year. They were a scrappy team and could pull an upset here or there, but nobody really took Maryland that seriously anymore. And while their attempted rivalry with Duke was cute and fun for a while, the insistence on it actually being a rivalry was starting to wear really thin.

2. Duke

I don't say this to be mean, but Duke, you just aren't North Carolina. Factually, over the last 20 years or so you can probably claim being the best program in the country and being better than North Carolina. And you very well might be right.

But again, from a perception standpoint you are still behind the guys in baby blue. Fairly or unfairly, Duke players get a bad rap from a lot of fans for both their style of play (and I'll admit to hating the constant flopping myself) and the fact that when these guys leave college they aren't as good as people were told they were.

Again, fair or not that is the perception. And combine that with the fact that North Carolina has a much longer history of being near the top of the sport...reputation wise it's a no-brainer.

1. North Carolina

Duke is coming on fast, but North Carolina still has the best reputation among the ACC schools. While Duke is probably the best program of the last 20 years, nobody credible thinks Duke is the best program of all-time.

People often say that about UNC. And that is all of the difference.

By almost any calculation North Carolina is either first, second or third in the greatest program of all-time debate, and that is without question true. Therefore, they have to be considered to have the best reputation in the ACC. Five titles and 18 Final Fours don't hurt either, but it's the overall strength and longevity of the program that give the Tar Heels the top spot.

Disagree? Sorry, you are just flat out wrong.

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