GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The preseason media poll that predicted North Carolina would share the Atlantic Coast Conference championship with Duke was still hours from being released. The national polls that picked the Tar Heels sixth (by the media) and fourth (by the coaches) were more than a week away.But Roy Williams didn't feel a need to wait to issue a disclaimer about the early exuberance over his defending national champions.
"The expectations of our young kids, and the way they were evaluated or ranked as a recruiting class, puts a lot of expectations on kids who have never done it,'' Williams said last month at the ACC's media day, on the day his team -- missing the top four players and 74 percent of the points from the group that had waxed Michigan State in the national title game -- split the voting for the conference title.
BOSTON -- He looks like a chew toy, or something out of a puppet show. His dreads flop over a headband that would stand out more prominently if not for a midsection best described as doughy. His name is 
If you've ever seen a man get a five-figure bill from the IRS while an elephant simultaneously steps on his foot, you might have a general frame of reference for the level of rancor 
Virginia Tech needed a crucial win at home to solidify its NCAA tournament status with only two games remaining on its regular-season ACC schedule. But a Nolan Smith-less Blue Devil squad likely had a few points to prove as well.
