Not surprising to anyone last season, the ACC landed three teams in the Final Four. And if pre-season predictions hold true, Duke, North Carolina and Maryland could be making return trips to the national semifinals again this year.
"I think that anything is possible," Duke guard Abby Waner said. "If you look at Maryland, they are stacked like they were last year. UNC is always going to be a great team, and we're going to be up there as well. So I think there is a good chance that one of the three or all three can make it there as well. But you never know what can happen."
With a many returning starters on all three squads, the ACC's elite teams all are ranked in the preseason top 10.
Maryland is not only the early-season favorite to capture the ACC crown but the national championship, as well. The Terrapins will hardly look different from the team that captured the title last April. Returning all five starters and their eight top scorers, Maryland will be led by junior forward Crystal Langhorne who was tops in the nation in field goal shooting with a Terrapin-record 67 percent last season.
Maryland garnered the majority of the first-place votes in the preseason ACC poll, and the only other team to receive any was the Tar Heels. With last season's top point guard in the nation, Ivory Latta, still commanding the offense, UNC could make the title run that evaded them last April when the Tar Heels fell to Maryland in the national semifinals.
Although the Blue Devils suffered the most departures with Monique Currie, Mistie Williams and Jessica Foley all graduating from the squad that lost to Maryland in the 2006 finals, Duke is still anchored by a number of players who started last season. The Blue Devils will be led by Waner and Alison Bales, who broke out during the 2006 NCAA Tournament.
"We've said for several years now that we thought the ACC was the best conference," Duke head coach Gail Goestenkors said. "Last year we really broke through as a conference to prove to the nation what we believed was true. And we will be better as a conference from top to bottom this year."
With all the attention on Maryland, North Carolina and Duke, the second tier of ACC squads will be looking to make a dark-horse run to win the conference.
Among those teams, N.C. State and Virginia return plenty of talent from last season. The Wolfpack is full of experience with six seniors and one junior that will be led by senior guard Ashley Key, who averaged 9.8 points and 2.9 assists per game last season.
After struggling with a young team last season, Virginia head coach Debbie Ryan will benefit from four returning starters this year. The offense will be guided by junior point guard Sharneé Zoll, who led the ACC with 201 assists last season.
"Both those teams are dark horses," Goestenkors said. "They were both young last year. Especially Virginia-they had a very young team, and most of them are back. They are very, very dangerous. They've got a great point guard as well. N.C. State-they are always great defensively. They've added some excellent shooters and some more great athletes."
Even though the top three may receive all the national attention, the rest of the pack-in which six of the nine teams finished with winning records a season ago-return numerous starters. These opponents will compete night in and night out as they attempt to knock off the top three.
"The benefit playing in the ACC has for us is it gets us to work hard and focus in practice every day," Duke guard Wanisha Smith said. "When you have those other teams out there in the ACC, just looking at them, you want to beat them even more. It's just gives us the incentive to work even harder against each other in practice and make each other better."
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