CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) The Latest on the Atlantic Coast Conference’s preseason media day for men’s basketball (all times local):
12:40 p.m.
Notre Dame’s Bonzie Colson knows he’s wearing a target this season – literally.
He said Wednesday during ACC media day that assistant coach Ryan Humphrey recently gave him a poster featuring Colson sporting a photoshopped bullseye on his chest. It’s a reminder of what awaits the 6-foot-6 senior, who was an Associated Press third-team All-American last year and is a candidate for ACC player of the year.
Colson says there’s also a message on the poster: ”Every game.”
Colson averaged 17.8 points and a league-best 10.1 rebounds, including an ACC-best 19 double-doubles. He says he’s focusing on being a better leader this season, adding: ”I’m always going to be humble and hungry.”
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12:15 p.m.
Clemson senior forward Donte Grantham was about to walk the street at the team’s Barcelona hotel to find his mom a souvenir when he ran into teammate Mark Donnal and never left.
Moments later, the players heard screams and commotion from a fatal attack after a van ran up the curb and crashed into tourists. There were 13 people killed in the incident that took place right in front of the Tigers’ hotel during the team’s preseason trip to Spain.
Grantham said Wednesday at ACC media day that the Tigers ”really didn’t know what was going on. At first we thought it was gunshots, that’s how loud it was. Once we got inside, and heard what happened. It was a bad situation.”
Clemson, Arizona and Oregon State were all staying at the hotel as part of their summer tour. No one from Clemson’s traveling party was hurt. The team cancelled its final game in Spain and returned to campus.
Grantham was not sure what could have happened if he had not run into Donnal, saying, ”Words can’t describe it.”
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10:55 a.m.
North Carolina State forward Lennard Freeman says is eager to play again, even with a 14-inch rod in his right leg.
Freeman said Wednesday at ACC media day that he is pain-free now and has been conscious not to push himself too hard during the opening weeks of practice to ensure he stays healthy.
The Wolfpack’s fifth-year senior redshirted last year after reinjuring a stress fracture in his shin. He needed a second surgery to remove a previously installed rod and replace it with a new one.
The injury had him limping around in limited minutes during the 2015-16 season.
First-year coach Kevin Keatts will need the 6-foot-8 forward to provide rebounding and interior toughness.
As for the rod, Freeman says he has two of them, ”one in my leg and one in my room I’m keeping.”
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2:30 a.m.
The Atlantic Coast Conference is aiming to extend one of the most successful runs in its recent history.
The 15-team league holds its preseason media day Wednesday in Charlotte, North Carolina. League coaches and players will discuss the upcoming 2017-18 season, which follows the ACC claiming a second national championship in three years.
The ACC also posted a record nine NCAA Tournament bids last year, nearing its post-expansion goal of reaching double figures.
Duke is a contender to be the preseason ACC favorite with senior Grayson Allen’s return and the arrival of a heralded recruiting class. Reigning national champion North Carolina will rely on an experienced backcourt, while Notre Dame returns a candidate for player of the year in senior Bonzie Colson.
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