By David Droschak
The Associated Press

Skip Prosser figured out the Atlantic Coast Conference in a hurry. "The team that wins this league has the most NBA players," said Prosser, who came to Wake Forest last season after coaching seven years at Xavier.

Maryland, last year's regular-season and NCAA champion, sent Juan Dixon, Chris Wilcox and Lonny Baxter to the NBA. Duke, which won an ACC-record fourth straight tournament title, produced pros Jay Williams, Mike Dunleavy and Carlos Boozer.

With no sure lottery picks this season and maybe no potential first-rounders, the ACC is a little more difficult to handicap.

There's another variable - inexperience. North Carolina has nine sophomores and freshmen while the Blue Devils have six freshmen. Only 18 of the league's 45 starters return from last season.

"They are going to think we're young and they are really going to want to attack us," Duke point guard Chris Duhon said. "Guys are thinking it's their time to get us back. We know that. So it's just making us work harder."

Duke, the ACC preseason favorite, is 72-8 in conference games the last five seasons. But this year, the league might resemble 1995 when four teams tied for the top spot.

"The ACC has always been able to recruit the best players," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. "To say we're not going to be competitive nationally would be a mistake."

Maryland is the most experienced team, with seniors Steve Blake, Drew Nichols, Tahj Holden and Ryan Randle.

Blake is the best point guard in the league, while the 6-foot-10 Holden and 6-9 Randle should form the ACC's best inside tandem.

"I told them when they walk out on the court there is a reason why teams are coming after us and it's a great reason," the Maryland coach said. "We want to use that to make us a tougher team."

Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski will look to Duhon, a junior.

"Everybody on the team was in Jason's shadow last year," Duhon said. "It was his team and he was just an unbelievable player. We would just go out and let Jason play off his instincts. Now I have a different role and I'm ready to accept that role."

North Carolina State and Georgia Tech could be ready to make a serious move.

Paul Hewitt has 10 freshmen and sophomores in Atlanta, including Ed Nelson, last year's ACC rookie of the year. The Yellow Jackets were 8-3 over the final 11 games.

N.C. State coach Herb Sendek has just one senior and the Wolfpack lost forward Ilian Evtimov for the season with a knee injury last week.

North Carolina (8-20) is coming off its worst record in school history and coach Matt Doherty will turn to freshman Raymond Felton.

The Southeastern Conference has the most teams in the preseason Top 25: No. 7 Florida, No. 8 Alabama, No. 12 Mississippi State, No. 16 Georgia and No. 17 Kentucky.

Florida was ranked as high as second last season before facing problems on and off the court. The Gators were beaten by Creighton in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

The Gators lost Udonis Haslem up front, but coach Billy Donovan will have a roster that could go 10 deep, meaning more 3-pointers and a chance to run and press.

"I think anytime you've got depth, and you've got a situation where you can use a lot of people, that always helps," Donovan said.

Alabama has three seniors, including SEC player of the year Erwin Dudley, back from last year's regular-season SEC champion.

"I like our team's attitude," Crimson Tide coach Mark Gottfried said. "I like their hunger. We are in kind of uncharted territory for us, being in a position where we walked around all spring and summer and people were telling us how great we are. That's not necessarily healthy."

Mario Austin decided to return to Mississippi State instead of entering the NBA draft and that can only help point guard Derrick Zimmerman and the Bulldogs' perimeter game.

Georgia returns five starters, including SEC scoring champ Jarvis Hayes, and welcomes North Carolina State transfer Damien Wilkins. Kentucky coach Tubby Smith dismissed four players from last year's team and has added six newcomers. The Wildcats also hope Keith Bogans will bounce back from a sub-par junior season.

Western Kentucky should dominate the Sun Belt with 7-1 center Chris Marcus. He missed most of his junior year with a broken foot.

The Colonial Athletic Association features one of the best names in college basketball - Brett Blizzard. The league's player of the year returns for North Carolina-Wilmington, which stunned Southern California in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

VMI's Jason Conley was the first freshman to lead the nation in scoring, but the Southern Conference won't look the same since John Kresse retired as coach at the College of Charleston.

Murray State is the favorite in the Ohio Valley Conference with three players back who were in the league's top 20 in scoring and top 10 in rebounding.

The Southland Conference had six teams finish .500 or better in the league last season. But with champion McNeese State losing most of its starters, the race could be tighter this year.

Winthrop is looking for its fifth straight Big South title.

The Atlantic Sun adds Gardner Webb as a member this season and will split into eight-team divisions.

Hampton went 17-1 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference last season and the Pirates' biggest loss from that team could be coach Steve Merfeld, who left for Evansville.

Dave Whitney returns for his 27th season at Alcorn State, which won the Southwestern Athletic Conference regular-season title by four games last season.