CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - The Latest from Atlantic Coast Conference men’s basketball media day on Wednesday (all times local):
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6:25 p.m.
Josh Pastner says Georgia Tech athletic director Mike Bobinski tried to prepare him for the worst when he agreed to become the Yellow Jackets coach.
Pastner, who spent the past seven years as Memphis’ coach, said his AD warned him there was a “good chance” the Yellow Jackets could go winless in league play during a rebuilding project.
“This year will be new to me,” Pastner said. “And listen, my athletic director when he hired me, he told me we might not win a game in ACC play. … It’s going to take some time. The great thing is in basketball, you sign a couple of guys, you get a little lucky here and there, next thing you know you start moving up the league standings.
“But in this league, there’s no gimmes, that’s for sure.”
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6:05 p.m.
North Carolina State coach Mark Gottfried is sporting a noticeably slimmer physique.
The Wolfpack’s sixth-year coach said he’s down about 40 pounds since May after dealing with some health issues.
“This was kind of one of those times for me to get serious about getting my health in order,” Gottfried said. “I feel a lot better. I feel good and hopefully I can maintain it.
“It’s usually hard during the year because every time we turned around there’s a meal sitting there somewhere.”
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5:10 p.m.
Duke has been picked to win the ACC ahead of North Carolina, Virginia and Louisville.
Blue Devils guard Grayson Allen was selected the preseason player of the year by a wide margin over Clemson forward Jaron Blossomgame, and North Carolina State point guard Dennis Smith Jr. was voted rookie of the year.
Mike Krzyzewski’s Blue Devils picked up 85 first-place votes and 1,359 points in voting by league media. Defending champion UNC had the other six first-place votes.
Syracuse was fifth followed by N.C. State, Notre Dame, Florida State, Miami, Virginia Tech, Clemson, Pittsburgh, Wake Forest, Georgia Tech and Boston College.
UNC’s Joel Berry II and Virginia’s London Perrantes joined Allen, Blossomgame and Smith on the preseason all-ACC first team. The second team consisted of UNC’s Justin Jackson, Duke’s Jayson Tatum, Syracuse’s Tyler Lydon, FSU’s Dwayne Bacon and Pitt’s Michael Young.
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4:10 p.m.
North Carolina coach Roy Williams says junior swingman Theo Pinson had foot surgery Wednesday.
The school announced last week that Pinson was out indefinitely after suffering a broken bone in his right foot in practice. Williams said Wednesday afternoon that he had gotten word Pinson was out of surgery, but he didn’t have a timetable for Pinson’s return.
Pinson is a top defender, good passer and versatile wing for the Tar Heels, who won the league regular-season and tournament titles before losing in the NCAA championship game. UNC opens the season Nov. 11 at Tulane.
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2:45 p.m.
Duke says freshman Jayson Tatum will miss the Blue Devils’ two exhibition games with a sprained left foot.
Coach Mike Krzyzewski announced the extent of Tatum’s injury Wednesday, one day after he was hurt during practice.
The school says the anticipated recovery time is two weeks and Krzyzewski said it was “the best possible news” because it’s “a manageable injury that will not impact Jayson long-term.”
Tatum will not play in exhibition games against Virginia State on Friday night or Augustana on Nov. 4.
Tatum is a 6-foot-8 forward and key member of a six-man freshman class that has the Blue Devils voted No. 1 in the coaches’ preseason Top 25. The Associated Press poll will be released Monday.
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2:25 p.m.
ACC Commissioner John Swofford won’t rule out holding future neutral-site championship events in the state of North Carolina, assuming things change with a law limiting protections for LGBT people.
The ACC last month followed the NCAA’s lead in removing 10 events - including the football championship game and the women’s basketball tournament - from the state for the 2016-17 sports year. That came in response to a law signed earlier this year restricting the rights of LGBT people.
Speaking during his annual commissioner’s forum, Swofford said “the door is open if things change for us to come back” in future years. Swofford also said the league heard “a lot of support, a lot of disappointment” from fans after pulling the events.
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1:55 p.m.
Duke forward Amile Jefferson is glad he’s healthy - and that the frustrations of last season are behind him.
The 6-foot-9 forward recalled how it bothered him to sit out with a foot injury that cost him all but nine non-conference games in 2015-16. He often saw himself as a missing piece that could’ve helped the Blue Devils defend better or be a stronger rebounding team in a game. Duke went 25-11 last season, finishing fifth in the ACC.
Now Jefferson is ready to pick up where he left off in 2014-15 in helping Duke to the national championship.
“My body’s been healthy for months now,” he said. “I’m back in the swing of things.”
Jefferson will be a critical voice on a team with seven freshmen, including highly regarded newcomers like Harry Giles and Jayson Tatum.
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12:40 p.m.
Pitt forward Sheldon Jeter believes it is an athlete’s responsibility to speak up when there’s an issue they care about and he has considered following San Francisco quarterback Colin Kaepernick’s lead in demonstrating during the national anthem.
Jeter said Wednesday at the ACC men’s basketball media day that he has talked with teammates about the entire team participating in a gesture. Jeter said if it’s just one person, people can incorrectly classify the action as attention-grabbing and miss the reason behind the demonstration.
The senior forward said he would seek approval from coach Kevin Stallings before taking any action.
In August, Kaepernick began kneeling during the anthem. He cited racial injustice and police brutality among the reasons for his protest, and athletes from various sports and levels - from youth teams to professional ranks - have followed his lead in various ways.
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11 a.m.
Louisville guard Donovan Mitchell says the players are not concerned about the NCAA investigation of the sex scandal at the school and will use it and last year’s postseason ban as motivation to achieve big things this season.
The NCAA last week said the program committed four major violations and the governing body criticized coach Rick Pitino for failing to monitor former Cardinals staffer Andre McGee, whom the NCAA says provided improper benefits to recruits and players by hiring escorts and strippers.
Mitchell said Wednesday at the ACC’s men’s basketball media day in Charlotte that it hurt watching other teams and players he knew play in the NCAA Tournament while Louisville, which went 23-8 and finished fourth in the ACC, sat home.
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