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Burning Questions: Who is the best team in The Triangle?

Lorenzo Brown

Real, live college basketball games start on Friday, and with all of our glorious preseason content finally finished, this week we will be providing you with water cooler fodder as we roll through a series of Burning Question. You can read them all right here.

Who is the best team in The Triangle?

NC State:

  • (Raphielle Johnson): They have the best point guard of the three and it’s not even that close, as Lorenzo Brown is one of the best in the country. Richard Howell and C.J. Leslie will lead the way inside while Scott Wood is a very good shooter on the wing. Add in those three freshmen and the Wolfpack are poised to grab some attention for themselves.
  • (Eric Angevine): Again, here are three teams that are legit contenders for a league crown as well as a lengthy post-season run. Again I’ll choose the team that I feel has the best leadership at the point. That’s Lorenzo Brown and the N.C. State Wolfpack. He’s surrounded with talent, which means his ability to score is a luxury to be exploited at crucial points in the game, rather than his primary responsibility. He’s got loads of guys to pass it to, and that is what gives his team the edge – he can do it himself, or dish to someone else who can.
  • (Daniel Martin): Rodney Purvis being cleared by the NCAA was a major boost to the 2012-13 team. As a slasher, he will work well with point guard Lorenzo Brown in the backcourt. The Wolfpack added to their front line by nabbing T.J. Warren and it can only help to retain C.J. Leslie and Richard Howell.

Duke:

  • (Rob Dauster): Three things need to happen for Duke to become the best team in the ACC: 1) Quinn Cook needs to be great as a leader and as a creator off the dribble. 2) Rasheed Sulaimon has to develop into a lock-down defender on the perimeter and a guy that can put the ball on the floor and score at the rim. 3) Mason Plumlee needs to be more than just a good big man with loads of potential; he needs to be the best center in the ACC. If all three of those things happen, Duke has enough talent and experience to make a run this year.

North Carolina:

  • (David Harten): Forgive me if I don’t give-in to North Carolina State, the team with the second-year head coach that had the good fortune to surprise everyone last season because no one thought they were a contender in the ACC. I just trust Roy Williams more than them. Dexter Strickland returns from injury and guys like Reggie Bullock and James Michael McAdoo were groomed behind NBA Lottery picks like John Henson and Harrison Barnes. I have more faith in development than I do in one-year wonders. N.C. State has the talent. But not the proven talent. Not yet, at least.