ACC 2021

So the coaches All ACC teams are out.

The coaches continue to cover themselves in glory. The first team has two defenders and a keeper. And then way too many attackers.

Sigh.

I keep wanted coaches to be better at this, but they're just not.

 

too many attackers? Forget the composition. How many games did Bell play? I’ve said it from jump, these awards are so random. Making all tournament teams counts fir nothing. Political power is more important

 

Man, two key injuries already for top freshman (Duke and UNC)...

 

Well, this is just preseason, so we have no idea how many games Bell will play this year.

And yeah, these awards are beauty pageants for the most part, which is why I keep hoping that coaches, you know, who actually have to gameplan against these guys, would know better.

I disagree with the notion that these kind of awards are meaningless. Or rather, that they haven't been meaningless in the past, in that they can show, through the mists of time, just how well someone is regarded. Easiest example that comes to mind is Yogi Berra, who even most serious baseball fans undervalue. He won 3 MVPs, but his stats don't seem to reflect his dominance. And he was on fairly loaded Yankees teams, so it's hard to understand all the fuss. And then there was his wackiness. But if you look closer, he also had 3 MVP runner up finishes, and a third and a fourth place finish as well. That's roughly Ted Williams territory. It helps to put Berra's career in perspective.

This is, of course, college, and all we're going to get out of these awards is that coaches really, really love, or are too stupid to look deeper, Zhao and Spaanstra. Who both struck me as relatively pedestrian last year.

What political power is being exercised here?

 

Cant compare MLB to this. SOme players seem to get a lifetime pass to ACC awards, others have to earn them by the end of the year and then start all over again every year no matter how well they play. In my opinion, if you dont play a full ish season prior, you cant qualify. If you dont start, you have to play at a ridiculously high level to qualify. My feeling is every coach seems to get 1 or 2 based on prior year finish. When UVA have the whip hand to demand more, Swanson wont do it. Some other coaches will. UVA conceded one goal in the NCAA tournament. Not one defender is preseason all ACC.

I feel witht he ability to make some money now, these awards will eventually come under more scrutiny. For now, it is what it is

 

You think defenders will get all the NIL money and that will be reason to rank them?


Huh?

 

Naming a preseason all-conference team is stupid and meaningless, and I have no idea why it's done by any league in any sport.

 

It's cheap, easy publicity.

 

Huge disparity on the ACC TV schedule. Can any one explain the logic here? Pittsburgh is on ACC TV for about 4/5ths of their regular season games while 5 ACC teams have only one game scheduled for ACC TV (and this includes ACC big dogs FSU and Virginia.)

[As noted on the ACC network schedule as of 8/17/21:]

School - ACC TV Appearances

Pittsburgh - 16
NCSU -11 (plus one game on B10 Sports TV)
Wake - 5 (plus one game on ESPN)
VA Tech - 5
UNC - 5
Syracuse - 3
BC - 2
Duke - 2
Clemson - 2
ND - 1
VA - 1
FSU - 1
MIA - 1
LVL - 1

 

Went to the ND vs Bowling Green game last night.

ND looks better than any time I have seen them in the last 5 years. Freshman Korbin Albert will be someone to watch in the years to come.

 

Chris Henderson's ACC predictions (more commentary in his thread on twitter):

Chris' 2021 ACC Women's Soccer Relative Power Rankings/Projections

In a (slight) upset, Virginia tops the projections! This is generally what happens when you bring all your starters back and add Haley Hopkins!

UVA could have 4 future NWSL Draft first rounders in the attack. pic.twitter.com/TDJhpdbLkp

— Chris Henderson (@chris_awk) August 19, 2021

 

Nice to see many ACC schools finally realizing the power of social media in recruiting. Feels like we're getting more highlight reels than ever before. Best goals from opening night?...

UNC's second goal vs Washington (Ruby Grant):

Opened the season with a home win 😎

Highlights from tonight’s 4-1 win vs Washington ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/HtUlUw9hEw

— UNC Women's Soccer (@uncwomenssoccer) August 20, 2021

Notre Dame's first goal vs Bowling Green (Wingate):

Shook down the thunder ⚡️ in victory No. 1.

Highlights from our 3-1 win over Bowling Green. #GoIrish ☘️ pic.twitter.com/H2dzBhSeh5

— Notre Dame Women's Soccer (@NDSoccer) August 20, 2021

Wake Forest's goal vs UIC (Smart):

1429163898670747649 is not a valid tweet id

Pitt vs Tulsa (West):

The @amanda_westt goal that set the record was of course a 🚀#H2P pic.twitter.com/OPfrypJoqo

— Pitt Women's Soccer (@Pitt_WSOC) August 20, 2021

Both NC State goals vs Georgetown (Joseph and Butler):

LOVE to see it! pic.twitter.com/2oNTDjh87G

— NC State Women's Soccer ⚽️ (@PackWSoccer) August 19, 2021

https://twitter.com/PackWSoccer/status/1428474340086095874?s=20

Virginia's 4th and 5th goals vs Richmond (Guidry and Constant):
https://twitter.com/UVAWomenSoccer/status/1428538187308314633?s=20

 

Well, we'll find out in about an hour. Traveling to Morgantown to take on West Virginia, a team that beat us and drew us last spring in the run up to the tourney.

 

ACC goes 22-0-2 opening weekend.

 

Winning those titles requires playing well at the right time. No one cares about early season wins/form when tournaments start, seeding aside. If UVA make those tournaments and are rounding into form, they will be in the mix. UVA are well down on the social media interaction tables and it feels like the talent they have is underrated. I think they have potentially 6 or 7 players who could be drafted in the first two rounds. Which teams have more?

 

Zhao, Robbins,Pavlisko, Lynch I doubt for various reasons. Time will tell.