With the additions of Syracuse and Notre Dame, we now have even more posters here who follow the ACC than before. So here's a thread about it.

More to come. Lol.

Ironman02, or wildcats or any of the UNC guys, where do you see UNC at this year? There are obviously some talented kids coming in, namely forward Isaiah Hicks, and big-time returners in P.J. Hairston, JMM, Marcus Paige and Leslie McDonald. Is this a team that can cut down the nets?

Also, what -- if any -- amount of games will P.J. Hairston miss?

No official penalty has been established to my knowledge. I have a feeling it will be around 5(?). I'm not even sure what a severe penalty is anymore when it comes to suspensions.

As far as cutting down the nets, no way. I really like this team though, they just won't be all that great. I look forward to seeing what PJ will give them once he does return. I did just read that an announcement will come Friday on PJ though. They are going to need HUGE improvements in the post. Joel James, Kennedy Meeks and Brice Johnson are going to have to really, really play well this year. I am very excited to see what Nate Britt can do though. With Leslie McDonald being the only senior on the roster, it is going to be up to the young guys to provide leadership.

Picked 3rd behind the Dookies and Cuse by the media. I would think that will hold true. Excited to see them extend the streak against Clemson to 57. It's going to be a fun year down in ACC land, can't wait for it to start.

and now you know the rest of the story...

reclegend22;1527043 wrote:Ironman02, or wildcats or any of the UNC guys, where do you see UNC at this year? There are obviously some talented kids coming in, namely forward Isaiah Hicks, and big-time returners in P.J. Hairston, JMM, Marcus Paige and Reggie Bullock. Is this a team that can cut down the nets?

Also, Reggie Bullock is in LA.

wildcats20;1527046 wrote:No official penalty has been established to my knowledge. I have a feeling it will be around 5(?). I'm not even sure what a severe penalty is anymore when it comes to suspensions.

As far as cutting down the nets, no way. I really like this team though, they just won't be all that great. I look forward to seeing what PJ will give them once he does return. I did just read that an announcement will come Friday on PJ though. They are going to need HUGE improvements in the post. Joel James, Kennedy Meeks and Brice Johnson are going to have to really, really play well this year. I am very excited to see what Nate Britt can do though. With Leslie McDonald being the only senior on the roster, it is going to be up to the young guys to provide leadership.

Picked 3rd behind the Dookies and Cuse by the media. I would think that will hold true. Excited to see them extend the streak against Clemson to 57. It's going to be a fun year down in ACC land, can't wait for it to start.

Excellent start to this thread. This is what I was hoping for! Haha.

Seriously, though, thanks for the insight. That's about where I'd have Carolina, but wanted to get a fan's take.

Hopefully we can get the ACC thread as active as it used to be, after not having one last year.

wildcats20;1527048 wrote:Also, Reggie Bullock is in LA.

Haha, yeah, I meant Leslie McDonald.

I wish Reggie was still in Chapel Hill. lol

I agree with everything wildcats said. Carolina should be pretty good once Hairston is back, but I don't see them as title contenders at all. If they can get production out of the post with Hicks, Meeks, Johnson, and James, then they'll be a pretty dangerous team though.

I've been hearing that Hairston will likely miss 5 games or so, and that McDonald may also miss a couple. Like wildcats said, we might know very soon.

As for the ACC as a whole, it's Duke's to lose, in my opinion. And hopefully they do.

Oh and I puposely didn't mention JMM. I literally have no expectations for him.

wildcats20;1527064 wrote:Oh and I puposely didn't mention JMM. I literally have no expectations for him.

Hopefully he finally lives up to the expectations he had when he first arrived in Chapel Hill. Just needs to slow down and stop forcing. He has the skill set to be a very good player. He's just out of control too much.

wildcats20;1527064 wrote:Oh and I puposely didn't mention JMM. I literally have no expectations for him.

Interesting. He was taken in the second round of our college fantasy draft. People definitely seem to be high on his potential.

ironman02;1527069 wrote:Hopefully he finally lives up to the expectations he had when he first arrived in Chapel Hill. Just needs to slow down and stop forcing. He has the skill set to be a very good player. He's just out of control too much.

This reminds me of Alex Murphy. Except Murphy also doesn't have talent, which is more the problem. Well, he does, if you include jumping as an elite skill.

Didn't Louisville join the conference? If so, when is it official?

Next year.

reclegend22;1527078 wrote:Interesting. He was taken in the second round of our college fantasy draft. People definitely seem to be high on his potential.

It's not that I dislike him, I basically just echo I02's thoughts. He has yet to live up to his potential and I just have been disappointed with his play. Last year was supposed to be a big year for him. It was very lackluster.

If he plays like I know he can, Carolina will be scary to match up with in the paint.

Hearing some really bad news for Carolina regarding the Hairston/McDonald situation. Hope it isn't true, but PJ might be done in Chapel Hill and McDonald might be out for close to 10 games. Unbelievable.

I read somewhere earlier tonight that Hairston was being held out of the exhibition games, but that's all the article said. Did something else happen?

reclegend22;1530164 wrote:I read somewhere earlier tonight that Hairston was being held out of the exhibition games, but that's all the article said. Did something else happen?

Nothing definitive right now since I'm not that connected. Just a lot of talk about the NCAA's investigation and them possibly thinking that PJ wasn't completely forthright with them. No idea if it's legit or not, but a lot of people close to the program are not optimistic.

This is gonna come across as me being a dick (well, I admit I am sort of being one, but strictly because of the rivalry), but here's a report from the USA Today this week regarding the P.J. Hairston saga. (Keep in mind that, after the whole Lance Thomas situation, even though nothing was proven, I've been understandably quiet about all of this. I don't for a second associate Roy with any of this, other than maybe believing he should have kicked Hairston off the team by now.)

Trudy Faulcon, the mother of North Carolina leading scorer P.J. Hairston's close friend Miykael Faulcon, says she conducted a two-hour interview with two NCAA officials at an Atlanta hotel on Sept. 21, during which she said she witnessed Hairston driving a Chevy Camaro SS several times last spring. Faulcon said Hairston visited her home on several occasions in May while driving the rented orange Camaro with Virginia plates. Hairston came to her home to visit her son Miykael.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaab/2013/11/06/trudy-faulcon-details-north-carolina-guard-pj-hairstons-rental-car-use-to-ncaa/3458063/

As ironman said above, I cannot read what is in these latest reports and not think that is very bad for P.J. Hairston's career at North Carolina. It appears as if it might be over. The reports indicate that the Hairston's possession of the pimped-out Camaro was not an isolated incident, and that he had been driving around in the car throughout the summer.

If P.J. is off the team, how big of an impact do you guys think that will have on UNC's overall outlook this season? He's obviously a great player, a possible All-American for sure. Can the Heels withstand his absence and still compete for a spot in the top three of the ACC?

reclegend22;1530869 wrote:If P.J. is off the team, how big of an impact do you guys think that will have on UNC's overall outlook this season? He's obviously a great player, a possible All-American for sure. Can the Heels withstand his absence and still compete for a spot in the top three of the ACC?

Simple answer, no.

Full disclosure, I hope the NCAA finds nothing additional and that PJ is suspended a certain amount of games and eventually plays. I sincerely like it when UNC and Duke are both good when they meet at the end of the year. But I also won't lose sleep if things work out differently (as I'm sure you guys wouldn't vice versa).

When Duke and North Carolina are at the top of their games, the ACC is just on a different level than any other conference. Moreso now even with Syracuse added to the mix.

The stuff in that article is nothing new, and Faulcon's Mom isn't exactly reliable anyway. I don't know what will happen since I keep hearing conflicting reports. Should know soon though.

By the way, who documents the dates and times that their son's friend shows up driving a rental car? That lady is full of shit. PJ definitely drove rental cars on several occasions, but I can't see how the NCAA is gonna take the word of some nutjob who is just trying to protect her son without any real proof.

Upon deeper reading, it does sound like this woman is simply trying to cut some sort of deal for her son, who was the only person arrested and charged for his part in the night P.J. Hairston's vehicle was pulled over with weed in the car. All charges against Hairston and another man were dropped by the DA.

Who knows what will happen. While the rumors around ACC country seem to point to a more serious outcome -- fans, especially of opposing schools, always make a bigger deal out of things than they might in reality be -- as of now they are just rumors and I fully expect Hairston to be back at some point.