The 2002-03 season marks the 50th anniversary of the Atlantic Coast Conference, and in its half-century of existence, the ACC has risen to prominence as the nation's premier college basketball league.
Early in its existence, football appeared to be the ACC's strong suit, but as time passed, basketball proved to be the ACC's bread and butter. Initially, Everett Case's N.C. State Wolfpack dominated the conference, winning the first three ACC tournaments. In the ACC's fourth year, however, UNC won the conference championship and went on to win the ACC's first national championship.
It was 16 years before an ACC team claimed another national championship. That team, the 1974 N.C. State squad, was led by two-time National Player of the Year David Thompson, who is considered by many to be the one of the greatest, if not the greatest, college basketball players ever.
"David Thompson was something special," former Clemson great Tree Rollins said. "I remember one time I went up to block David's shot, and he jumped again while he was in the air. I had no clue what to do after that."
Before winning the national title, the Wolfpack outlasted favored Maryland 103-100 in overtime in the ACC championship game, a game many college basketball fans call the greatest ever.
"It was an emotional letdown losing that game," Maryland great Len Elmore said. "We thought we were worthy. But that's the beauty of the game that both teams cared so much and it was so competitive."
While the N.C. State-Maryland thriller put the ACC on the national radar, the national championship teams, amazing athletes and dynamic personalities of the 1980s established the ACC as one of the top conferences in the country.
"I was fortunate enough to play in one of the ACC's heyday, in the 80s, when every single team was loaded coming in," Former Georgia Tech great Mark Price said. "It seems like every point guard I played against played in the NBA eventually. That's the kind of talent level you were facing every single night."
Virginia's Ralph Sampson earned first-team All-American honors four times and was named national player of the year three times in his career from 1980-83. Along with Sampson, The Cavaliers boast another player on the 50th Anniversary All-ACC team, from that era, former forward Jeff Lamp.
"For me it's a huge honor being named to this team," Lamp said. "Playing in the ACC was one of my highlights as a basketball player, so it's a big deal."
During his four years with Virginia, Lamp was a frst team All-ACC selection in 1979 and 1981 as well as a first-team All-america selection in 1980 and 1981. He helped lead the Cavaliers to the 1980 NIT Championship and the 1981 NCAA Final Four.
As the ACC emerged as a power conference in the 1980s, the league's coaches began to shine as stars in their own right. UNC's Dean Smith led the Tar Heels to top 10 finishes every season from 1981 to 1989.
"Dean Smith is the greatest coach in history," current North Carolina coach Mat Dougherty said without hesitation. "Have you ever heard anyone ever say anything bad about Dean Smith?"
"He treats all of his players with great respect and with great care, it's unbelievable how much he cared for his players. No one has won like coach Smith, no one has graduated players like coach Smith and no one has cared for his players like coach Smith."
"Hopefully one day I can sit my grandkids on my lap and tell them that I played for coach Smith," Former Tar Heel point guard Phil Ford said.
In 1980, Duke hired a young coach from Army to lead a struggling program. By the end of the 1980s, Mike Krzyzewski had led his Duke teams to three straight and four of the last five Final Fours.
He did not claim his first national title, however, until the 1990s, when in 1991 his Blue Devils upset a heavily favored UNLV squad in the semifinals and then held on to beat Kansas in the final.
Duke's national championship in 1991, the conference's fifth, served as a harbinger for the ACC's dominance in the decade to come. While the 80s were successful for the ACC, the ACC emerged as the nation's premier basketball conference in the 90s and start of the new century. Since both Duke and Georgia Tech reached the Final Four in 1990, at least one ACC team has advanced to the national semifinals every year except 1996. In that time, the ACC has put 15 teams in the Final Four, sending more than the SEC and Pac-10 combined. The ACC also won more national titles (five) since the beginning of the 90s than any other conference.
The history of the ACC shows that as the conference celebrates its 50th year of existence, there is indeed much to celebrate. The statistics
24 National Players of the Year, 19 Coaches of the Year, 102 First-Team All-Americans -- are astounding, but most amazingly, there's even more to come.
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