Greensboro lifeless for ACC Tournament

Published March 15, 2010 4:00am ET



Is North Carolina a great basketball state? Check out this list of products: Michael Jordan, Walter Davis, Phil Ford, David Thompson, Lou Hudson, John Lucas, John Wall — and those are just the guards.

So with that kind of tradition and with four ACC schools less than two hours away, why can’t Greensboro stage a better tournament?

Empty seats. Lifeless crowds. The only upside? You can hear the coaches loud and clear.

On Friday afternoon during the Virginia Tech-Miami game, Hokies radio announcers Bill Roth and Mike Burnop were aghast at the tomblike atmosphere.

“This place is absolutely dead,” Burnop said.

Contrast that with the intensity of Madison Square Garden for the Big East Tournament. New York City: a true basketball mecca.