AP Photo/John BazemoreNC State brings back C.J. Leslie and welcomes a strong recruiting class, ensuring Mark Gottfried's Wolfpack will have their say in the ACC race this season.

1. Expectations at NC State: The last time the ACC media picked the Wolfpack to finish first in the league standings was 1988-89. But after a run to the Sweet 16 last March, forward C.J. Leslie's decision to return for another season, the arrival of a heralded recruiting class and so many departures from the other top conference teams, expect Mark Gottfried's club to top the ballots come fall. Point guard Lorenzo Brown needed knee surgery late last month, but is expected to practice before NCSU leaves for an August trip to Spain.

2. Departures at North Carolina: Losing so many stars to the NBA in one swipe (this time, Tyler Zeller, John Henson, Harrison Barnes and Kendall Marshall) is nothing new in Chapel Hill. The question is, how will the Tar Heels respond? In 2005-06, after losing seven of its top eight players, a young UNC team exceeded preseason expectations by making it to the second round of the NCAA tournament. But in 2009-10, after losing four of five starters, the Tar Heels didn't make it to the NCAA tournament at all. Returners such as James Michael McAdoo, Reggie Bullock, Leslie McDonald and Dexter Strickland still make UNC a top-15 favorite this time around.

3. Decisions at Duke: The Blue Devils' jaw-dropping defeat to 15th-seeded Lehigh in the NCAA tournament was followed by a couple of other spring surprises: the announcement that guard Andre Dawkins will redshirt his senior season, and that forward Mason Plumlee will return for another year. The latter is particularly key for Duke, which will boast sizeable frontcourt options in Mason and Marshall Plumlee, Ryan Kelly, Alex Murphy and late signee Amile Jefferson. But without Dawkins, how Seth Curry, Quinn Cook, Tyler Thornton and freshman Rasheed Sulaimon perform on the perimeter could determine how far the Blue Devils go.

4. Personnel changes at Virginia Tech: Seth Greenberg is gone. But so, now, are rising sophomore Dorian Finney-Smith and recruit Montrezl Harrell, who opted for new schools after Greenburg was fired. Former Greenberg assistant James Johnson -- who left Blacksburg, Va., for the same position at Clemson, only to return weeks later after he was hired to replace Greenberg in the head-coaching job -- has some talent to build around. But not all he could have hoped for.

5. Don't forget about Florida State: After losing six players in their rotation (including fan favorite forward Bernard James, who went No. 33 overall in the NBA draft), it would be easy to overlook the chances of the Seminoles, who won their first ACC tournament last season. But don't. The Noles return four of their top five scorers, including guards Michael Snaer and Ian Miller, who both buried game winners last season. Plus, coach Leonard Hamilton has proven that defense wins.

Boston College

Bob Donnan/US PresswireSteve Donahue's Boston College team will still be young, but can the Eagles climb out of the ACC's basement in 2012-13?

Best-case scenario: All signs point to another down year for BC, where third-year coach Steve Donahue is attempting to build a young team into a competitor, almost from scratch. Donahue doesn't have a star waiting in the recruiting wings, but eight of the nine most-used players from last year's team were freshmen. A bunch of coalescent improvement -- or at least more efficient offense from a more experienced team -- could give this team an outside shot at the NIT.

Worst-case scenario: More likely, it's another difficult rebuilding year for the Eagles. This team finished No. 259 in Ken Pomeroy's adjusted efficiency rankings last season, and they were the third-worst team in the country (!!) in offensive rebounding percentage. Unless that changes -- and there are few obvious...