In one of the many IM conversations I've had with North Carolinian (and, therefore, basketball connoisseur) and Washington Times copy editor Kevin Brewer, he suggested coming up with the best teams of each era in the ACC's histories.

(The genesis of the idea probably came from a breakdown of the merits of Juan Dixon and J.J. Redick. There is not much about my alma mater I'm willing to defend, but the superlative nature of Dixon's career is one of them. The superiority of watching a game in Cole Field House over Comcast Center is the other. But I digress).

After haggling briefly, five eras were chosen: 1954-64 (the entirety of the Everett Case-in-the-ACC era); 1965-1974 (pretty much covers all the great Maryland and N.C. State players of that time); 1975-1986 (the fourth team in this stretch would be amazing); 1987-1995; and 1996-2004.

Brewer argued the death of the double round robin signaled a new era for the league. I would not presume to debate him, especially after sitting through two long sets first-round games the last few years. And we also agreed to come up with a first and second team from the era, with the caveat it must be a team that could plausibly take the floor. His definition is a bit more strict than mine, but that's OK.

Anyway, we start with the opening era of the league, which I will admit is difficult to assess. It was, as the saying goes, before my time. The rest of the teams will be unveiled as the ACC tournament (March 13-16 in Charlotte, N.C.) approaches.

So here's my 1954-64 team (all stats are career numbers from the ACC era). My guess is my most controversial choice is Vic Bubas as coach over Everett Case. But Bubas' first five years at Duke were amazing (and included a pair of Final Fours), while Case's career wound down unremarkably during that same time. There's also Len Chappell vs. Len Rosenbluth for a forward spot, which I might well be on the wrong side of in this exercise:

1st team

G Jeff Mullins, Duke (21.9 ppg, 9.0 rpg)
G Art Heyman, Duke (24.5 ppg, 10.7 rpg)
F Len Rosenbluth, North Carolina (26.9 ppg, 10.4 rpg)
F Billy Cunningham, North Carolina (24.8 ppg, 15.4 rpg)
C Dickie Hemric, Wake Forest (25.9 ppg, 17.1 rpg)

2nd team

G Buzzy Wilkinson, Virginia (31.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg)
G Gene Shue, Maryland (21.8 ppg)
F Pete Brennan, North Carolina (16.4 ppg, 10.5 rpg)
F Len Chappell, Wake Forest (24.9 ppg, 13.9 rpg)
C Ronnie Shavlik, N.C. State (18.5 ppg, 16.8 rpg)

Coach: Vic Bubas

And Brewer's:

First team

G Jeff Mullins, Duke (21.9 ppg, 9.0 rpg)
G York Larese, North Carolina (17.9 ppg, 5.7 rpg)
F Len Chappell, Wake Forest (24.9 ppg, 13.9 rpg)
F Billy Cunningham, North Carolina (24.8 ppg, 15.4 rpg)
C Dickie Hemric, Wake Forest (25.9 ppg, 17.1 rpg)

Second team

G Jack Murdock, Wake Forest (14.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg)
G Buzzy Wilkinson, Virginia (31.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg)
F Len Rosenbluth (26.9 ppg, 10.4 rpg)
F Art Heyman, Duke (24.5 ppg, 10.7 rpg)
C Ronnie Shavlik, N.C. State (18.5 ppg, 16.8 rpg)

Coach: Everett Case

Kevin's insight is as follows:

First, I constructed my teams strictly by position.

The best six players of the era are the forwards and centers on my teams. But I was interested in finding out who the best guards of the era were.

The reason there was such a disparity between inside players and guards back then is because there were so many missed shots. That means there was little chance to accumulate assists, which weren't even kept, and there was an abundance of rebounds to be had. Hemric, for example, averaged 17.3 for his career.

I went with Chappell and Cunningham at forward on my first team instead of Heyman and Rosenbluth, even though the latter were consensus national players of the year. But that was mostly because they played on better teams. In the end, I obeyed my statistical analysis.

Shavlik is the grandfather of Duke bust Shavlik Randolph.

It's a close call between Case and Bubas for coach. Case helped put N.C. State on probation for some of the era, but his overall impact as the "Father of ACC basketball" gave him the edge.

--- Patrick Stevens