ATLANTIC COAST

In his first year as coach at DUKE, Vic Bubas led the Blue Devils to a fourth-place conference finish. More importantly, Duke won the league's three-day March tournament to earn its way to the NCAA tournament. Eleven players return, and not a single important man is missing. Art Heyman, who scored 30 points a game with the freshmen, looks like the ACC's outstanding sophomore. Doug Kistler, 6 feet 9, was the most improved player in the conference last season and should be even better this year. Center Carroll Youngkin averaged 13.4 points, the same as Guard Howard Hurt. Senior John Frye and junior Jack Mullen give Bubas a strong option for the other guard position. In the five-day period December 13-17 NORTH CAROLINA plays Kentucky, Kansas and Kansas State. On the morning of the 18th, the Tar Heels should be high among the nation's top 20 for the sixth consecutive season. Dapper, affable Coach Frank McGuire has two of the outstanding players in the ACC—Doug Moe (16.8) and York Larese (15.7). Dick Kepley, out most of last year with a broken ankle, will be the starting center. Hugh Donohue and Jim Hudock are 6 feet 8 and 6 feet 7 and supply added rebounding strength. Don Walsh and George Poteet are capable guards. Everett Case did not enjoy his first losing season in 41 years of coaching last year, and you can bet that NORTH CAROLINA STATE will come out fighting this time. Bruce Hoadley and Russ Marvel return up front. Bob DiStefano (12.7) was the club's high scorer and center last year and should continue in both departments. Sophomores Jon Speaks and Ken Rohloff and veteran Anton Muehlbauer give Case an adequate backcourt. WAKE FOREST has 6-foot-8 Len Chappel on the inside and 5-foot-11 Billy Packer on the outside, and Coach Bones McKinney is looking for three good men to go with them. Chappel finished last year with a 17.4 average, but a torn ligament in his right knee will certainly slow him down at the start of the season. Bob Wollard, 6 feet 10, has impressed McKinney, as has Guard Dave Wiedeman. Wollard, however, has an injured wrist. Jerry Steele, 6 feet 8, Bill Fennell, 6 feet 5, and Tom McCoy, 6 feet 3, give the Deacons height, and Alley Hart, together with Packer, will make the ball move quickly. MARYLAND Coach Bud Millikan needs a center if the Terps are to equal their third-place finish of last year. Bruce Kelleher (10.5) and Paul Jelus (12.1) are the high-scoring veterans. Bob Wilson, 6 feet 10, is a center prospect but may give way to 6-foot-6 Jerry Greenspan, who had 20 rebounds a game with a frosh team that was 14-3. Bill Stasiulatis, who scored 18.2 a game with the frosh, and Bob Eicher, 14.9, will be starters. Ted Marshall, Mike Nofsinger, Dave Schroeder and Steve Alpert are all experienced reserves. "Remember," says Coach Bob Stevens of SOUTH CAROLINA, "it isn't always the size of the dog in the fight that counts." Stevens goes into the ACC race with a group of pups, not one of whom is over 6 feet 4. Last year, however, the Gamecocks beat North Carolina and N.C. State on successive nights with a running game, and that is what they will employ this year. Forward Art Whisnant is the tallest player on the team and its best scorer (17 points per game). It's the sophs, however, who will carry South Carolina. Scotti Ward averaged 22 points as a freshman and made 100 of 103 free throws. Bob Haney and Jim Collins move up to the varsity to join Bud Cronin, Adolph Grabenstetter, Ron Johnson, Bob Rebhan and Bob Robinson. Bill McCann has two of his five top scorers returning at VIRGINIA but lacks height. Walt Densmore, the tallest veteran, is 6 feet 5 and averaged 8.3, while Tony Laquintano, the shortest, averaged 11.5. Lou Farina, Ron Miller and Bill Jackey are other holdovers, while Steve Jarvis, Gene Flamm and Gene Engel appear to be the top new prospects. The 3-and-2 give-and-go offense at CLEMSON will be run by nine varsity returnees and four sophomores brought up by Coach Press Maravich. Choppy Patterson, a guard, scored 16.4 points a game last year and is an outstanding dribbler. Ed Krajack plays opposite him, 6-foot-7 Tommy Mahaffey is at center, and Bill Warren, Dave Wallace and Earle Maxwell are used up front. The Tigers, however, need more depth.

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PHOTO

DIRECTING PLAY, Duke's Vic Bubas shows his white-shirted defenders Jack Mullen (20), Carroll Youngkin and Art Heyman (25) how to screen out the opposition.