Play of guards will determine who finds success in Charlotte

Last weekend in Charlotte, I witnessed something mildly surprising during the ACC women's basketball tournament. Despite the fact that the league's leading scorer (N.C. State center Summer Erb) and probable Player of the Year (Duke's own Michele VanGorp) are post players, it was the guards of the conference that stole the show.

North Carolina sophomores Nikki Teasley and Juana Brown made the All-Tournament first team, Georgia Tech's Niesha Butler almost singlehandedly kept her team in its game with Virginia and Wake Forest sharpshooter Janae Whiteside awed fans by shooting 12-of-15 from three-point range.

In the end, it was Clemson and its All-ACC backcourt of Itoro Umoh and Amy Geren that cut down the nets. Coincidence? Probably not.

What's all this got to do with the men's tournament? Simple-I expect the same thing to happen in Charlotte this weekend.

The setup is pretty much the same. Post player Elton Brand led the conference in scoring. Like the women, the All-ACC men's first team is pretty balanced, with three post players and two guards. Yet it's on the second team, where Georgia Tech seven-footer Jason Collier is joined by four guards, where you'll find the players most likely to make a difference this weekend.

Let's start at the top. Duke's undefeated run through the conference was definitely a team effort, as Brand summed up nicely earlier this week.

"We all contributed for the No. 1 team in the country-one that's 16-0 against everyone else in the league," he said when asked to speak on Duke's entire starting lineup being named to the first, second or third team. "I think it's deserved."

Even so, if the Blue Devils run into any tight situations at the end of a tournament game, the player most likely to end up manufacturing a game-winning shot is point guard Will Avery.

Anyone who watched Wake's overtime thriller with Carolina on Feb. 23 knows just how valuable O'Kelley is to his team. It was more than just the fact that his bomb with defenders in his face and just 3.4 seconds left sent the game into overtime. It was the sense that when he fouled out with 1:09 left in the extra period, the Demon Deacons were finished.

As for the fourth guard on the second team, he's not likely to be sparking any kind of postseason run. But that's only because Terrell McIntyre has been caught up in the train wreck that is Clemson's season. Still, if we can suspend disbelief for just a second and see the Tigers making a heroic run to the ACC final, who's more likely to be lighting up opposing defenses, McIntyre or Harold Jamison?

There's even some guards on the first team with something to prove. Steve Francis, the darling of many a SportsCenter highlight reel during the season, still hasn't had the type of game he'd like against Duke. If the Terrapins get a third shot at the Blue Devils, expect the high-flying Francis to try to step up his game.

And don't forget the Alaskan Assassin. Trajan Langdon may be the ACC's top marksman from beyond the arc, but his numbers tend to diminish once the postseason starts. An ACC tournament MVP award would erase the only blemish-however small it is-on a fantastic career.

Looking for a backcourt sleeper? How about N.C. State's Adam Harrington? You won't find him on any of the All-ACC teams, but he does lead the Wolfpack in scoring. With his team desperately in need of one, and probably two wins to grab an NCAA berth, the freshman could find the ball in his hands come crunch time.

With all this in mind, I've looked into The Chronicle's crystal ball (on loan from Dick Vitale) and I've seen the ACC All-Tournament first team: Avery, Cota, Francis, Langdon and O'Kelley.

Don't say I didn't warn you.

Nick Tylwalk is an associate sports editor for The Chronicle and has been at Duke for a hell of a long time. While writing this column, he fondly reminisced about the guard play in the '95 conference tournament, especially Jay Heaps running the point for the Blue Devils.