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Is the ACC disrespected?

ATLANTA — Despite sending just four teams to last spring's NCAA tournament, league coaches have already decided. They maintain that the ACC was disrespected come tournament time because outsiders don't properly weigh the difficulty of playing within the league, which hurts overall records.

"Say a team in our conference plays North Carolina, Maryland and Wake [Forest] in three straight games in seven days," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "Believe me, I'm a big mid-major fan, but that never happens for them. It makes you laugh when they say, '[Teams] did this in Maui.' Come on, man. Do it in Chapel Hill, Durham and College Park."

Said North Carolina's Roy Williams: "The [selection] committee's got to understand that if they truly want the 65 best teams, that some teams shouldn't be in there just because they have a better record than the fifth-place team in the ACC because they're not going to be better in a lot of cases."

Will youth be served?

Georgia Tech, ranked No. 23 despite preparing to open the season with three freshmen in the starting lineup, certainly isn't the only team that will lean on greenhorns.

Four or more ACC squads could start freshmen point guards, including North Carolina's Ty Lawson, Georgia Tech's Javaris Crittenton, Wake Forest's Ishmael Smith, Maryland's Eric Hayes and/or Greivis Vasquez, possibly Virginia Tech's Nigel Munson and Duke's Jon Schreyer until Greg Paulus is healthy.

"[Former Tech point guard] Kenny Anderson came by and talked to Javaris to say, 'Hey, I understand you've got a lot to learn.' [Former Jackets point guard] Jarrett Jack was around all summer, telling him, 'You've got a lot to learn,'" Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said.

It's not just point guards who will be drawing attention as freshman. Of the 24 players named McDonald's All-Americans last spring, eight are in the ACC.

Can anybody beat North Carolina?

The Tar Heels are ranked No. 2 behind defending national champion Florida and have the most imposing player in the league in forward Tyler Hansbrough, who supposedly has improved his perimeter shot to go with an overpowering interior game.

Add perhaps the nation's top recruiting class — especially freshmen Wayne Ellington, Lawson and Brandan Wright — and the Heels sure won't be an easy mark.

Coach Roy Williams is doing his best to convince players to ignore the hype. But, he said, "I've never been one to be afraid of being picked high."

Is Duke really down?

It's all relative in Durham, where until sophomore Greg Paulus returns from a broken foot (which he should by the conference schedule), freshman Jon Schreyer will handle point guard duties. Coach Mike Krzyzewski also will ask sophomore center/forward Josh McRoberts to handle the ball more.

Other than Hansbrough, McRoberts might be the league's best player. The Blue Devils also have a talented group of freshmen in Gerald Henderson, Lance Thomas and 7-foot-1 Brian Zoubek.

"We all believe that every single game we step on the court, we can win," junior guard DeMarcus Nelson said.

Can Sidney Lowe coach?

Does it matter? Taking over at one's alma mater, where you were a member of N.C. State's magical 1983 national championship team, might seem like a storybook start. But how will it end for Sidney Lowe?

It won't help the Wolfpack that sophomore forward Andrew Brackman has decided to sit out this season to concentrate on baseball, but senior guard Engin Atsur and guard/forward Gavin Grant are back. The return to health of talented 6-foot-8 guard Brandon Costner should boost State, too.

"Brandon is playing very well," said Lowe, who plans to play a more up-tempo style than departed coach Herb Sendek. "He's shooting the ball well and playing inside some. We want him to get involved inside."

Matt Winkeljohn writes for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.