On Facebook
On Flipboard
On Twitter
The ACC is welcoming three new teams. Two Former PAC-12 members are set to join in early August, and one former AAC team joined on July 1st. Cal, SMU, and Stanford are the newest members of the Atlantic Coastal Conference, and their arrival has changed the landscape of college basketball. With that said, how does this affect the rest of the conference? Will these new members rise to the top, or fall to the bottom of the standings? The ACC is one of the toughest college basketball conferences, and none of these newbies will have an easy in-conference schedule.
ACC Welcoming 3 New Teams to League
Stanford Cardinal
Stanford Men’s Basketball is going through a rough patch, as the team has not made the NCAA Tournament since 2014. They recently got rid of Head Coach Jerod Haase, with his departure, a few key players entered the transfer portal. Andrej Stojakovic has transferred to California, Kanaan Carlyle is going to Indiana, and Brandon Angel has committed to Oregon. Thankfully, the team’s leading scorer from last season, Maxime Raynaud, has decided to stay at Stanford. New Head Coach Kyle Martin has done a stellar job filling in the holes in the roster. He’s brought in players such as Derin Saran from UC Irvine, and Chisom Okpara from Harvard. Martin should be able to fix some of the issues the team had last season, like rebounding. His 2023-2024 Washington State squad averaged 37.6 rebounds per game, while Stanford averaged just 34.3 rebounds per game.
California Golden Bears
California had some growing pains in Head Coach Mark Madsen’s first year with a record of 13-19. On the bright side, the entire starting unit from last season has either gone pro or transferred. Now, with plenty of new faces on the roster via the transfer portal, things are looking up. The team is ranked fifth on 247Sports 2024 Transfer ACC Basketball Team Rankings. Players like Andrej Stojakovic, BJ Omot, and Rytis Petraitis will especially give the roster a boost. Last season Cal averaged an abysmal 6 steals per game and 2.6 blocks per game. Petraitis was third in the 2023-2034 Mountain West Conference in steal percentage with 3%, and Omot was ranked fourth in block percentage for the Summit League with 2.7%. With these offseason additions, the team’s future looks bright as they enter a new conference.
Southern Methodist University
In Head Coach Rob Lanier’s second season at the helm, the team played well but failed to meet expectations. They went 20-13, missing the NCAA tournament and losing in the first round of the NIT to Indiana State. SMU had a massive exodus of players, with 10 outgoing transfers in total. However, Lanier responded by bringing in six new transfers. Matt Cross and Kevin Miller headline the 2024 transfer class for the Mustangs. Cross will definitely provide a scoring punch for the offense, as he led the Atlantic 10 conference in effective field goal percentage with 59%. The team suffered greatly at the line last season, shooting just 67%. Miller should be able to help ou in the free throw department, as he was ranked fifth in the ACC last year for free throw percentage with 85%. Hopefully, Lanier’s sophomore year as coach goes a little better as the team prepares for next season.
More must-reads:
- Five takeaways from the first college football Coaches Poll
- Significant concern emerges for Bengals, Joe Burrow
- The 'NBA playoff point-per-game leaders' quiz
Breaking News
Trending News
Customize Your Newsletter
+
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!
TODAY'S BEST
Browns reporter says rookie is 'not an NFL QB'
As of the first Monday of August, there was no indication that 2025 third-round draft pick Dillon Gabriel or 2025 fifth-rounder Shedeur Sanders had any real chance to emerge as the Cleveland Browns' Week 1 starting quarterback. During a Monday morning appearance on Cleveland sports radio station 92.3 The Fan, Browns reporter Daryl Ruiter offered quite a worrisome update regarding how Gabriel has looked during training camp practices. "He's not good," Ruiter said about Gabriel. "He's not an NFL quarterback. Not right now, and the fact that they keep running him out there for first-team reps...they're cramming this guy down our throats, and it's not good." Numerous NFL analysts viewed Gabriel as a third-day selection before the Browns made him the 94th overall pick of this year's draft. The perception up until Sanders was held out of Saturday's practice due to arm soreness was that he has been the team's fourth-choice option at the position behind Gabriel, Kenny Pickett and Joe Flacco. All signs are reportedly pointing to Flacco getting the start for Cleveland's Week 1 game against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sept. 7. Gabriel is listed at 5-foot-11, but some who cover the team have expressed doubts about that measurement. It seems that a lack of desirable size for playing the position in the pros isn't all that's gone against Gabriel this summer. "It's not a height thing," Ruiter continued. "It's not personal. He's rolling out and can't hit guys who are wide open. He's not all that great, at times, in the warmup periods. ...He's just not a good quarterback." Ruiter said that he feels Gabriel "has no business being in contention to start a football game" for the Browns this season. "It's god awful when he's on the field," Ruiter added. Browns general manager Andrew Berry revealed in late July that he could stash all four active quarterbacks on the roster for at least Week 1. For an article published on Sunday night, Tony Grossi of ESPN Cleveland/The Land on Demand wrote that there's "zero chance" either Gabriel or Sanders will be cut this summer. Perhaps Gabriel will look better when he sees some action in Cleveland's preseason opener at the Carolina Panthers on Aug. 8. That said, it sounds like fans should keep their expectations low for Gabriel's unofficial debut this coming Friday.
Knee operation: Kirby Dach not yet back on his feet
Two years ago to the day, Canadiens fans were optimistic about Kirby Dach’s future in Montreal: the 6’4 forward had just collected 38 points in 58 games – in his first campaign in Quebec – and many wondered whether Dach had a better chance of establishing himself as a first NHL center than captain Nick Suzuki. The past 730 days have proven otherwise, but that’s not the point this morning. Since joining the Canadiens, Dach has earned a reputation as a fragile player. Virus, shoulder, upper body (concussion?), lower body, knee(ACL and MCL), knee again… Let’s just say that injuries haven’t spared Dach since he arrived in Montreal. In fact, injuries haven’t spared Dach since he started playing hockey. He has never played more than 70 games in a single season, and has only broken the 60-game barrier three times in nine junior or pro seasons. Last February, Dach underwent a second operation on his right knee in the space of 18 months. Jeff Gorton and Kent Hughes may tell us that Kirby Dach is fine,but we still have our doubts. Especially whenyou consider that, with the Canadiens’ recent additions and departures, Kirby Dach is still the team’s second center on the organizational chart. content-ads]Last week, I wondered where Kirby was ? We’ve seen plenty of Habs players skating at the CN Complex this summer, but not Kirby Dach. And I had to work like a monk to catch a glimpse of him in a video filmed at Nick Suzuki’s wedding! Yesterday, I was told that Kirby Dach was spending the summer in Edmonton with Kaiden Guhle – Dach is from Saskatchewan and Guhle is from Alberta – and that Dach was still in rehab. I repeat: five months after his most recent knee operation and some 40 days before the start of practice camp, Kirby Dach is still not recovered and ready to play. Good informants spotted him in an Edmonton gym doing squats with loads that look like the ones I used to take when I went to Econofitness, not the ones an NHL player uses [content-ads]This explains it: when he came to Montreal for his captain’s wedding, Kirby Dach couldn’t – or wouldn’t – skate with his teammates in Brossard. It’s worth noting that Dach is also very quiet on social networks – his last post was in November 2024 – probably in an effort to be forgotten… to go unnoticed. Spending the summer in Alberta, rather than in Montreal (with his chums at Osheaga), makes sense, when you think about it…Let’s just say that the chances of Dach starting his season at the same time as everyone else in two months’ time are pretty slim, which is cause for concern for those hoping to see the Canadiens in the playoffs in 2026. Yes, the Kirby Dach problem would be solved if a guy like Mason MacTavish-good offensively, defensively, physically and in the face-off circle-came to Montreal, but let’s just say that the odds of that happening this summer are very low. And you can’t make plans with very improbable things![spacer title=’Prolongation’]Matthew Tkachuk, who was injured last winter while throwing down the gloves at the 4 Nations tournament, underwent surgery last month (hernia and adductor). According to the latest information from Elliotte Friedman, Tkachuk could return to action just before the Olympic Games. Let’s hope Kirby Dach doesn’t have to wait as long as Tkachuk.
Saints quarterback has 'convincing lead' in training camp battle
The New Orleans Saints' three-way quarterback competition is narrowing before the team's first preseason contest against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday. Per Ross Jackson of Louisiana Sports, second-year quarterback Spencer Rattler has looked the best at training camp this summer, going 83-of-114 passing (72.8 percent) for eight touchdowns, two rushing touchdowns and four interceptions. Rattler is beating out rookie Tyler Shough. The second-round pick has completed just 62 percent of his passes for five touchdowns and three interceptions. 2023 fourth-round pick Jake Haener has completed 69.6 percent of his passes for five touchdowns and one Interception. Jackson believes first-year head coach Kellen Moore is priming Rattler as the favorite to start in Week 1 against the Arizona Cardinals. "Over the team’s 10 practices, these three young passers have seen their chance to earn the starting role to begin the season in a rotation of first-team reps," Jackson wrote. "But there are decisions the Saints have made in the process that indicate a favorite. "After looking over individual performance stats, practice rep distribution and the team’s treatment of each quarterback throughout the important and highly-productive scrimmages on camp day 10, it’s become clear that Rattler is comfortably in the lead, for now." Jackson thinks Rattler can fend off his "convincing lead" for the starting job if he plays competently against the Chargers on Sunday. Rattler feels like the safe choice for Moore over Shough and Haener, at least to start the regular season. He appeared in seven games and started in six in 2024. Rattler played inconsistently as a rookie, throwing four touchdowns to five interceptions. However, he's had time to develop. Given his numbers in training camp, Rattler appears to be the most polished quarterback before the regular season. Shough could eventually develop into the Saints' best option, but the rookie's completion percentage against friendly competition at camp is low before he even faces live action in the preseason.
Best MLB trades from the last decade: National League
With MLB's trade deadline now behind us, Yardbarker's MLB writers got together this week to identify the best trade each club has made in the last decade (more or less). (Records and stats are entering play on Monday.)
PRIVACY POLICY EDITORIAL POLICY CONTACT US
ABOUT YARDBARKER TERMS OF SERVICE
Use of this website (including any and all parts and
components) constitutes your acceptance of these
Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
This site is for entertainment purposes only.
There is no gambling offered on this site.
Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.
