College Basketball 2025: Around the ACC with Mike Barber

By: Jonathan Howard, Staff Writer
October 28, 2025

A veteran sports writer with more than 20 years of experience covering college athletics in the state of Virginia, Mike Barber has seen his fair share of clutch baskets and touchdowns. Barber covered JMU athletics at the Daily News-Record in Harrisonburg and spent more than a decade covering Virginia and Virginia Tech for the Richmond Times-Dispatch. He is currently the Editor-in-Chief of Cville Right Now, which covers the city of Charlottesville across multiple media platforms. With college basketball season rapidly approaching, he took the time to talk to us about some key focus points this season in the ACC.

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Jonathan: Before we get into players and teams, let me ask a question about your process. We’ve barely set foot into conference play for football, and basketball practice is now beginning earlier than ever before. And, of course, we can’t forget about the transfer portal and NIL related player movement. How have you had to adjust the way you cover teams and manage your time during this era?

Mike: More than ever, covering college sports has become a 12-month undertaking. The entire calendar has shifted. You can’t assume anything about returning players from one season to the next and, in football, the way a team looks at the end of spring may or may not resemble the team that takes the field when the season opens in the fall. I know coaches are clamoring to limit transfer portal windows and bring a little more stability to the enterprise. Sports writers also would appreciate it. I’m looking at Virginia and Virginia Tech teams that are almost entirely new to me. It’s a challenge for the coaches, the players, the fans and the sports writers. But, to use the parlance of our times, it is what it is.

Jonathan: You’re based in Charlottesville, so let’s start there. It’s truly a new era with Ryan Odom at the helm of UVA basketball after two successful seasons at VCU. First, does it feel like a full circle moment with Odom ending up at UVA after coaching UMBC to the upset over UVA seven years ago? Second, as you can expect with a coaching change these days, there are only three players left from last year’s roster – and none of them played significant minutes. What is the sense about expectations surrounding the team this year at this stage?

Mike: It’s funny. When Ryan’s UMBC team upset UVA there were plenty of people joking about dumping Tony Bennett and hiring Ryan. Of course, Bennett delivered a national title the next year so things worked out okay for UVA. The full-circle aspect goes back even deeper, to Ryan growing up in Charlottesville while his dad was a Virginia assistant coach. The hire was very much billed as a homecoming. Odom has been very successful at his previous stops rebuilding rosters through transfers and he appears to have what could be his best team yet in year one at UVA. Not sure the Cavaliers have a 20-point scorer, but they may have five to seven 12-point scorers, making them versatile and hard to defend. Odom will have them playing his aggressive, pressing style of defense and people have high hopes for what his debut year in Charlottesville will look like.

Jonathan: Brent Pry was just let go as Virginia Tech’s football coach, and we know that’s where a lot of the school’s eyeballs gravitate. But the basketball team has missed the NCAA Tournament three years in a row, with last season being Mike Young’s first losing campaign since he arrived in Blacksburg. Particularly with the changing environment of college athletics and Virginia Tech’s commitment to increase the athletic budget, do you see Young as a prime hot seat candidate? If so, is a tournament appearance the only way to quench the flames?

Mike: Mike’s position is fascinating. Especially with Pry’s dismissal – and buyout – I don’t think Tech is eager to make a change. And Mike Young is an outstanding basketball coach. They have ramped up their financial support and he scored big in the transfer portal and with international import Neo Avdalas. I think missing the NCAAs this coming season would put Young on the hot seat for next year.

Jonathan: I think it’s safe to say there is the usual intrigue and expectations in the Triangle with Duke and North Carolina … but am I the only one that is most intrigued by N.C. State? I don’t know if the Wolfpack necessarily have a roster that screams ACC champion, but I feel like Will Wade is easily the best coaching tactician on Tobacco Road.

Mike: Wade is no stranger to us here in Virginia, having coached at VCU. His NCAA issues are the only reason anyone wouldn’t want him. He’s a proven winner and a great recruiter. He has a swagger I think the State fans will appreciate and embrace, especially if he wins. Some coaches might chafe at being third-fiddle in the Triangle behind Duke and Carolina. I think Wade will embrace it. And the guy can coach, so the Wolfpack will definitely be a program to watch. Adding Darrion Williams might be the biggest transfer portal addition of the offseason in the conference. The question will be, did Wade pick right on the rest of his transfer pickups?

Jonathan: It feels like Jeff Capel has Pittsburgh right on the cusp of being a conference contender every year, and the Panthers end up falling flat. Is this the year that they finally make a leap? If not, is there a team that you like to potentially make the leap?

Mike: I really like Capel and he’s had Pittsburgh right there a few times, but I don’t think he’s got the horses to do it this year. A more likely candidate to take a big jump this year is Notre Dame. Markus Burton is a legit player of the year candidate and the Irish are going to be able to score. Northern Arizona transfer Carson Towt could be a front-court force. If he is, I like Notre Dame to surprise people this season.

Jonathan: When Jai Lucas left the Duke bench to become the head coach at Miami, it was well known the Hurricanes were getting a great recruiter. What do we know about him as a game planner and motivator?

Mike: Shelton Henderson bailed on Duke to follow Lucas to Miami. That tells you all you need to know about Lucas as a recruiter. That’s his strength. Jon Scheyer showed how a Duke coaching education can translate to a pretty high level x and o’s acumen for a first-time coach. I got to spend some time getting to know Jai this offseason for a feature I wrote for Hoops HQ. He told me leaving such a stacked Duke team was the hardest thing he’d ever done and that he couldn’t bring himself to watch their games on television (until the Final Four). One of the smart things he’s done, already, at Miami is hiring two assistant coaches (C.Y. Young and Russ Springmann) who have previously been head coaches. That experience will help Lucas in his first year wearing the big whistle around his neck.

Jonathan: One final personal question on the way out. You’re a foodie. You make a habit of finding the best local eats everywhere you travel. Is there a restaurant or dish that sticks out to you from your travels that is a must-visit anytime you’re in town?

Mike: Oh man, it used to be the peanut butter and jelly foie gras at Bazaar in South Beach, but that location closed its doors. The Korean chicken and spicy ramen at M Kokko in Durham was really good, too. Boston College games always call for a visit to Neptune Oyster (and a lobster roll and some chowda in Quincy Market).