N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe tapped familiar territory for his second commitment from a top-100 basketball recruit in two days.

Richard Howell, a 6-foot-8, 215-pound rising senior forward at Wheeler High in Marietta, Ga., committed to the Wolfpack on Monday. J.J. Hickson, who was N.C. State’s leading scorer and rebounder as a freshman last season before leaving for the NBA, also played at Wheeler.

Lorenzo Brown's high school coach, Allen Whitehart, said Brown committed to N.C. State on Sunday morning because the Wolfpack felt like "family."

If that family were putting together a photo album, Brown would belong on the cover. It's impossible to overstate his importance to N.C. State.

DURHAM – First-year football coach David Cutcliffe scored a big hometown recruiting coup for Duke late this week with a commitment from Desmond Scott, a Durham Hillside running back.

Scott, who is rated the fourth-best prospect overall in the
Class of 2009 in North Carolina by rivals.com, previously had committed to Rutgers.

But his father, Tony Scott, said Desmond was excited about the direction of Duke’s program under Cutcliffe.

For most of the summer, experts including N&O columnist Caulton Tudor have been explaining that the ACC’s Atlantic Division is superior to the Coastal Division.

The release of the media’s preseason All-ACC team reinforces the idea that the Atlantic will reign in 2008.

GREENSBORO, Ga. - Before hiring football coach David Cutcliffe, then-Duke athletics director Joe Alleva said the school would not compromise its academic standards in order to get recruits.

The high admissions standards often have been used as a reason for Duke's football struggles because some top recruits who get into other schools can't gain admission to Duke.

"I really embrace who we are," Cutcliffe said Monday.

GREENSBORO, Ga. - The most hotly debated subject at the ACC preseason media kickoff has been whether first-year coach Paul Johnson's option game can work at Georgia Tech.

Opposing coaches seem concerned about the offense that helped Navy average 39.9 points per game last season. But the option has seldom been used in BCS conferences over the past 10 years to the extent that Georgia Tech will use it.

GREENSBORO, Ga. - The media's preseason prediction may be right. This may be the year Clemson wins the ACC. Its skill players and speed are magnificent. But after all the anguish I’ve witnessed at Clemson, I will have to see the trophy hoisted to believe it.

GREENSBORO, Ga. — Freshman quarterback Mike Glennon should be well prepared when he reports to N.C. State after spending time working out with his brother this summer.

Sean Glennon, who helped quarterback Virginia Tech to an ACC championship last season, said he supported highly-recruited younger brother Mike’s decision to attend N.C. State.

CHAPEL HILL — One of the few apparent obstacles to North Carolina’s NCAA title hopes could be what Wayne Ellington, Danny Green and Ty Lawson learned this summer.

They explored their NBA draft possibilities by attending pre-draft workouts in Orlando and working out for NBA teams as underclassmen.

Then they returned to North Carolina, joining Tyler Hansbrough to make the Tar Heels the overwhelming favorite to win the NCAA title.

The ACC has lost eight straight BCS bowl games and no ACC team is considered a serious national championship contender.

But the conference always is entertaining, even when it doesn’t make a splash nationally.

Here are some reasons to watch as the conference’s annual media kickoff (starting July 20) approaches: