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What was the tea from two days of coaches and players at ACC Tip-Off? We've got you covered. Also: Rick Pitino makes a point guard announcement, Horizon, MEAC and SWAC drop preseason polls, NCAA may change a gambling rule, and much more.
Mike Miller
October 09, 2025
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Good morning! Let’s get right to two days’ worth of notes from ACC Tip Off, the league’s annual media event.
Today’s Field of 68 Daily is written by Mike Miller. Follow him on X.com/Twitter @mikemillerf68.
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1. What to know from ACC media day(s)
When your conference covers three time zones and 12 states, it’ll take a couple days for a media event to preview the season. Was it optimistic to try and squeeze all the news into one newsletter? Maybe. But I tried anyway.
If you’re a die-hard who hasn’t already watched Day 1 coverage of ACC media day — that includes Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Pitt, Stanford, Syracuse and Virginia Tech — try the video below. (If you’re a true sicko, you could always scroll through every transcript.)
Some Day 1 notes:
ACC Commissioner Jim Phillips is pro NCAA Tournament expansion — to a point. “It can't devalue what we currently have, You can’t put too many teams into it,” he said. “I'm into a modest adjustment, maybe four teams, no more than 76. at best.”
Also: Expect the ACC to have 18 league games going forward.
North Carolina’s got five players listed at 6-9 or taller. That isn’t an accident after last season’s dearth of size. “We needed to add more size to our roster,” coach Hubert Davis said. “Rebounding will always be a priority. We don’t just have size; we have great positional size.”
Virginia Tech freshman Neoklis Avdalas earned raves from his teammates (unselfish, doesn’t force plays, no weaknesses), but there was clear, unequivocal praise from coach Mike Young. “Sheer basketball talent, the best I’ve ever coached, And I’ve coached a bunch of great ones,” he said. “He’s got great vision of the floor. We will play a lot faster in transition and tinkering with some things. It’ll be a fun team to experiment with.”
Pitt big man Dishon Jackson is out indefinitely for a medical situation. Coach Jeff Capel doesn’t “know what’s going to happen as far as playing” and didn’t put a timeline on his return.
Day 2 was everyone else: Boston College, Cal, Clemson, Duke, Florida State, Louisville, Miami, NC State, Notre Dame, SMU, Wake Forest and Virginia. The full 7-hour+ video is below.
Some Day 2 notes:
Can the ACC regain the mantle of the best hoops league? Virginia coach Ryan Odom said that’ll start this season. “The investment has been there from all the programs,” he said. “ACC basketball still has the best tradition of any basketball conference that existed. We can’t forget that.”
Since NC State hired him last spring, coach Will Wade’s maintained that the Wolfpack need to stop talking about in-state rivals Duke and UNC so much. If the goal is a national title, think bigger. “Part of our problem at NC State? We focus too much on Duke and Carolina. We need to focus on ourselves. We've gotta get our shit in order first. And when we do, we’re as good as anybody in the area, state, country.” Also, he expects to make the NCAA tourney and win a game.
It seems Louisville isn’t taking that approach when it comes to rivals. "We don't like Kentucky at all. It's just how it goes,” guard J’Vonne Hadley said. “You need that hatred for them if you wanna play for Louisville. It's expected."
Maliq Brown missed 13 games last season due to a shoulder injury and hasn’t practiced this fall due to a “minor” knee procedure. Duke coach Jon Scheyer said the 6-9 do-it-all defender is close to a return, but didn’t give a date. “We need him back.”
Wake Forest brought in five transfers and three freshmen to pair with its three primary returners. Coach Steve Forbes said that’s a good thing. “I think our team as of today, the strength is in our numbers. Ten or 11 deep,” he said. “Strength in numbers will allow us to play a more attacking style on offense.”
New Florida State coach Luke Loucks said FSU legend Leonard Hamilton has been hands off, except for a recent stint where he offered guidance and spoke to the team.
2. Who is the St. John’s point guard?
Rick Pitino knows who’s running point for St. John’s. And it isn’t Ian Jackson.
