With basketball season officially under way, most of the attention is on the returning men's stars and highly touted recruits. Some of the Atlantic Coast Conference's impact players, though, are already around.
Here are five players capable of moving from the shadows to the spotlight in new roles this season:
-- 5. Larry Drew II, point guard, North Carolina: Drew showed late last season with Ty Lawson out that he's a competent point guard. There's nothing in his résumé to indicate he'll be a superstar like predecessors Lawson and Raymond Felton. The question is where between those two points the sophomore will fall this season as the starter.
-- 4. C.J. Williams, shooting guard, N.C. State: Teams will try to take away Tracy Smith down low and pressure State's point guard, whomever emerges from the crowd to take that job. That could leave Williams open on the wing, where he's capable of taking the ball to the basket. Also looked good defensively in various auditions last season as a freshman.
-- 3. J.T. Thompson, power forward, Virginia Tech: Burly forward missed time with a hernia and was no better than the fourth scoring option when healthy. Should benefit when Jeff Allen is double-teamed inside, and the Hokies have the guards to get him the ball.
-- 2. Rakim Sanders, shooting guard, Boston College: Has the potential, taking over for Tyrese Rice as Boston College's No. 1 star, to be an All-ACC player and big-time scorer. With Joe Trapani up front and Biko Paris at point guard, he's surrounded by players who can support him.
-- 1. Derwin Kitchen, shooting guard, Florida State: As Toney Douglas' backcourt deputy, Kitchen averaged 7.9 points per game. Someone has to pick up the scoring slack with Douglas gone, and while the scoring balance will shift toward the frontcourt, Kitchen could easily double his average.
(Contact Luke DeCock at luke.decock(at)newsobserver.com.)
(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)
columnMust credit The News and Observer of Raleigh, N.C.
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