by Alex Schwartz

Although the SEC at number one and the Big East at number two were clearly the top two conferences for hoops recruiting this time around, the ACC was the easy choice for the number three spot. Boasting a pair of top 10 classes in the nation, each of which includes a top 10 ranked player, there is no shortage of talented headed to the Atlantic Coast Conference this fall.

Ten of the 12 teams in the ACC will be bringing in a player from the D1 Hoops Report Class of 2011 Top 150. The two conferences ranked above the ACC, the SEC and Big East, are the only conferences with more than 10 teams that signed a ranked player.

The ACC is one of three conferences with multiple players in the top 10 of the D1HR 2011 Top 150. Of the top 25 players on the list, 20% of them are headed to ACC programs, which is more than even the Big East. The top three schools in the ACC rankings are the same as they were in November.

Below is the complete rundown on the players headed to the Atlantic Coast Conference in the class of 2011. Note that player rankings are based off the D1HR 2011 Top 150 and the D1 Hoops Report 2011 Post-Grad Top 40. In addition, note that the top six players in the D1HR PG Top 40 are also considered as top 150 players in all statistics/numbers.

ACC RECRUITING BREAKDOWN
An asterisk indicates that player is a junior college transfer and thus not eligible to be ranked
HM= Honorable Mention; NR= Not Ranked

Number of Top 30 Classes:  4
Class With the Most Commits: Boston College with 9
Class With the Most Ranked Commits: Duke with 5 (including Alex Murphy)

Top Ranked Player: Austin Rivers, Duke
Best Unranked Player: Chase Fischer, Wake Forest
Top Ranked Point Guard: Quinn Cook, Duke
Top Ranked Shooting Guard: Austin Rivers, Duke
Top Ranked Small Forward: Dorian Finney-Smith, Virginia Tech
Top Ranked Power Forward: James Michael McAdoo, North Carolina
Top Ranked Center: Marshall Plumlee, Duke

Number of Top 10 Players: 2
Number of Top 25 Players: 5
Number of Top 50 Players: 8 (including Murphy)
Number of Top 100 Players: 13 (including Murphy)
Number of Top 150 Players: 22 (including Murphy)
Number of Top 40 Post-Grads: 0

Class Rankings
Rank. School (National Rank)

1. Duke (2nd)
Austin Rivers, SG, 6'4, Winter Park (FL), #3
Quinn Cook, PG, 6'1, Oak Hill Academy (VA), #21
Michael Gbinije, SF, 6'6, Benedictine (VA), #22
Alex Murphy, SF, 6'8, St. Mark's (MA), NR (Not ranked in '11 since he was '12 at time of rankings; would have been #34)
Marshall Plumlee, C, 7'0, Christ School (NC), #108

2. NORTH CAROLINA (9th)
James Michael McAdoo, PF, 6'8, Norfolk Christian (VA), #10
PJ Hairston, SG, 6'4, Hargrave Military Academy (VA), #29
Desmond Hubert, C, 6'9, New Egypt (NJ), #120
Jackson Simmons, PF, 6'7, Smoky Mountain (NC), NR
Stilman White, PG, 6'0, Hoggard (NC), NR

3. VIRGINIA TECH (16th)
Dorian Finney-Smith, SF, 6'7, IC Norcom (VA), #17
CJ Barksdale, PF, 6'7, Hargrave Military Academy (VA), #82
Robert Brown, SG, 6'4, Hargrave Military Academy (VA), #83
Marquis Rankin, PG, 6'0, Hargrave Military Academy (VA), #111
Joey van Zegeren, PF, 6'10, Canarias Basketball Academy (ESP), NR

4. FLORIDA STATE (27th)
Antwan Space, SF, 6'7, DeSoto (TX), #75
Aaron Thomas, SG, 6'5, Withrow (OH), #102
Terry Whisnant, SG, 6'3, Cherryville (NC), #119
*Kiel Turpin, C, 6'11, Lincoln CC (IL)

5. VIRGINIA (NR)
Malcolm Brogdon, SG, 6'5, Greater Atlanta Christian Academy (GA), #101
Paul Jesperson, SF, 6'7, Merrill (WI), #129
Darion Atkins, PF, 6'8, Landon School (MD), NR

6. BOSTON COLLEGE (NR)
Ryan Anderson, PF, 6'8, Long Beach Poly (CA), #105
Kyle Caudill, C, 6'11, Brea Olinda (CA), NR
Dennis Clifford, C, 6'10, Milton Academy (MA), NR
Patrick Heckmann, SG, 6'5, unknown (GER), NR
Lonnie Jackson, SG, 6'3, Valencia (CA), NR
Jordan Daniels, PG, 5'9, Etiwanda (CA), NR
Eddie Odio, SF, 6'7, Columbus (FL), NR
John Cain Carney, PF, 6'7, Shipley School (PA), NR
Ryan Kilcullen, PF, 6'7, Exeter (NH), NR (recruited walk-on)

7. Maryland (NR)
Nick Faust, SG, 6'5, Baltimore City College HS (MD), #37

8. Clemson (NR)
Bernard Sullivan, PF, 6'8, Davidson Day (NC), #69
Daniel "TJ" Sapp, PG, 6'3, Northeast (FL), NR
KJ McDaniels, SF, 6'6, Central Park Christian (AL), NR
Devin Coleman, SG, 6'3, Friends Central (PA), NR
Rod Hall, PG, 6'2, Laney (GA), NR

9. Georgia Tech (NR)
Julian Royal, PF, 6'8, Milton (GA), #63

10. Miami (NR)
Bishop Daniels, SG, 6'2, Word of God Christian Academy (NC), #116

11. Wake Forest (NR)
Chase Fischer, SG, 6'3, Ripley (WV), NR
Anthony Fields, PG, 6'0, Quality Education Academy (NC), NR
Daniel Green, PF, 6'9, Grapevine (TX), NR

12. North Carolina State (NR)
Tyler Harris, SF, 6'8, St. Benedict's (NJ), NR
Jaqawn Raymond, SG, 6'4, Statesboro (GA), NR
Thomas de Thaey, PF, 6'8, Canarias Basketball Academy (ESP), NR

Note- photo is of Michael Gbinije and is from http://bluedevilnation.net/