Last year was a banner year for the ACC by all accounts, as the conference led the nation by sending a league-record seven teams to the NCAA Tournament. This year, however, could be the best ever for the now 12-team ACC, which welcomes a Boston College team that spent all of last year in the AP Top 25.
The conference lost little star power, as an astounding 13 of 15 All-ACC performers from last season return, including the top four candidates for Player of the Year-Duke's Monique Currie, Miami's Tamara James, North Carolina's Ivory Latta and Maryland's Shay Doron.
The returning standouts will be further complemented by an influx of new talent. In addition to five McDonald's High School All-Americans entering the conference as freshmen this season-tied for the most of any conference-the ACC also sees the return of Duke junior Lindsay Harding, who was mentioned as a potential All-American last year before her season-long suspension.
"It's the best our league has ever been," Duke head coach Gail Goestenkors said. "Last year was the best the league had ever been, so we continue to grow and improve and the addition of Boston College makes us even better. I think most teams are better than they were a year ago."
The large number of second-tier ACC teams could result in a log jam in the middle of the ACC standings but could also result in even more NCAA Tournament bids for the conference. North Carolina coach Sylvia Hatchell said she thinks the parity of the ACC reflects a larger trend in the sport as more talent pours in to the college ranks.
"If you look at the top 20 teams in the country, I think any of those could win the national championship," Hatchell said. "It used to be that you felt like the Final Four was going to be these few teams and the national champion would be one of three or four teams, but not anymore."
North Carolina and Maryland are expected to challenge Duke at the top of the ACC. The Tar Heels were the only conference team to defeat the Blue Devils last season and did so three times, including a 88-67 drubbing in the finals of the ACC Tournament. Point guard Latta and three other returning starters will continue to run North Carolina's fast-paced offense, which was second in the nation in scoring last season.
Maryland also returns four of its starters from an extremely young team that went 22-10 a year ago. Doron and sophomore forward Crystal Langhorne, who was named ACC Rookie of the year after averaging a double-double last season, lead the Terrapins-the duo combined for more than 34 points per game last year.
Sophomore 6-foot-4 center Laura Harper, who averaged more than 13 points per game in nine contests before rupturing her Achilles tendon last December, will join Langhorne in the frontcourt.
Despite their talent, the Terps will still be relatively inexperienced-head coach Brenda Frese said she expects to start two freshmen, two sophomores and one junior during the season.
Boston College enters the stacked ACC also lacking experience, having lost their top two guards to graduation. The Eagles do have some familiarity with the ACC teams, having faced Virginia Tech and Miami in the Big East and having lost to Duke 70-65 in the second round of last year's NCAA tournament. Still, head coach Cathy Inglese said there would be some adjustment to the difference in style of play.
"I think there is a little bit more athleticism," Inglese said. "It is a little more up and down, running style than what you see in the Big East."
The expected improvement of both Miami and Virginia Tech in their second year in the ACC will bolster the depth of the conference. The two programs went a combined 13-15 in conference play last year while adjusting to the move from the Big East, but should have the talent to pose real threats in their sophomore ACC campaigns. James led the league last season with 22.3 points per game, and Virginia Tech returns 75 percent of its scoring from a year ago.
"There is a comfort level they now have that they didn't have a year ago," Goestenkors said. "The first year for them was difficult because they had to learn so many new teams."
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