One of Mike Krzyzewski’s favorite sayings was that the journey is more important than the destination.

That was easy for him to say, considering the destination for his Duke teams usually ended up being somewhere deep in March. Or as was the case in Coach K’s farewell season, the Final Four.

But there’s something to be said for the sentiment.

Every team, whether it’s a national contender or one struggling to stay on the NCAA bubble, has its own set of goals to chase. And a new journey is about to begin.

So here, to help get your ready, are 10 storylines to watch as the 2022-23 season progresses:

10. Nowhere to go but up for Louisville

The Kenny Payne era got off to an ominous start last weekend with a stunning loss to NCAA Division II Lenoir-Rhyne in an exhibition at KFC Yum! Center. As if the result itself – a 10-point loss to a team missing its top 2 returning players – wasn’t bad enough, the performance that brought it about only made it worse.

The Cardinals scored only 47 points, shot 29.2% from the floor and committed 16 turnovers against the Bears, who also are coached by a former Louisville player – Everick Sullivan.

It’s no secret that Payne was going to have his work cut out for him in restoring the Cardinals’ program back to respectability, let alone its former elite status. The exhibition loss shows it might be an even bigger job than originally thought. At least this didn’t count on the team’s record.

9. Florida State preseason losses

A roster depleted by injuries helped keep the Seminoles out of the NCAA Tournament for the 1st time since 2016 last season. This season, the attrition didn’t wait for the season to begin rearing its ugly head again.

First they lost key transfer Jaylan Gainey to a season-ending knee injury suffered during practice. A 6-foot-10 rim protector from Brown, Gainey was a 2-time Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year.

Then, in an even bigger blow, the plum of coach Leonard Hamilton’s highly rated 6-man freshman class – 6-11 Spaniard Baba Miller – was ruled ineligible for the first 16 regular-season games by the NCAA for receiving travel to and from the U.S. to participate in a training camp before being recruited by the Seminoles.

So the Seminoles will have to wait at least until Jan. 11 at Wake Forest to see him display his talents and add to their trademark depth.

8. Coaches on the hot seat

The weather around the ACC’s geographic footprint might be getting colder as winter approaches, but for Pittsburgh’s Jeff Capel, Clemson’s Brad Brownell and NC State’s Kevin Keatts, the heat is on. All 3 enter the new season knowing this likely is to be their last chance to turn around their programs.

Of the group, Capel’s situation figures to be the most tenuous. The former Duke point guard and assistant is in his 5th year with the Panthers. He has yet to post a winning season, post more than 6 ACC victories or get his team into the postseason. Last season’s team finished 11-21. He’s under contract through 2026-27, which is why he’s being given at least 1 more chance to turn things around. But he already is off to a bad start with the indefinite suspension of 4-star point guard recruit Dior Johnson, who is awaiting trial on domestic abuse charges.

Brownell’s future with the Tigers very well could rest on the health of star big man P.J. Hall. One of the top players in the ACC last season, the 6-10 junior had knee surgery during July to repair damage suffered while training. Hall is expected back at some point this season. The sooner, the better for Brownell, whose program has stagnated after 3 NCAA Tournament appearances and 4 20-win seasons in his first 9 years at Clemson.

Keatts, meanwhile, knows all about what injuries can do to a coach’s job security. A year ago, he lost his best player, big man Manny Bates, to a season-ending shoulder problem less than a minute into the opening game. With sophomore point guard Cam Hayes also failing to live up to expectations, the Wolfpack slumped to 11-21. It was Keatts’ 1st losing season in 5 years with the Wolfpack. But with no NCAA Tournaments since his 1st year on the job – and neighbors North Carolina and Duke both making it to the Final Four last spring – patience is wearing thin.

7. The Transfer Portal Whisperer

No one in college basketball took better advantage of the NCAA’s relaxed transfer rules than Wake Forest’s Steve Forbes. His addition of 5 veteran free agents, including ACC Player of the Alondes Williams from Oklahoma, 1st-round NBA pick Jake LaRavia from Indiana State, helped the Deacons fashion 1 of the nation’s most dramatic turnarounds in 2021-22.

Wake Forest won 19 more games overall and 10 more in the ACC than the previous season. Even though it was inexplicably left out of the NCAA Tournament field, its 25 wins tied for the 3rd-most in program history. But now, with all those transfers and holdover Isaiah Mucius gone, Forbes’ task is to do it all over again.

His new crop of portal projects includes Florida’s Tyree Appleby, Delaware’s Andrew Carr, Kansas State’s Davion Bradford and Jao Ituka of Marist. Shooting guard Appleby and forward Carr both scored in double figures in the exhibition win against Winston-Salem State. Returning point guard Daivien Williamson – who by the way, came to the Deacons off the transfer portal in 2020, also had a big night by leading the team with 25 points.

6. Next step for Virginia Tech

The difference between a successful team and a successful program is staying power. That’s the challenge facing the Hokies this season.

Mike Young’s team won 19 regular-season games and finished above .500 in the ACC in 2021-22 before catching fire at just the right time in the conference tournament. Tech won 4 games in as many days in New York, taking down the top 3 seeds on the way to the school’s 1st title.

The question now is what does it do for an encore?

The Hokies will miss star big man Keve Aluma, along with several other departures. But with Justyn Mutts’ withdrawal from the NBA draft and the return of ACC tournament MVP Hunter Cattoor, Young has a strong core around which to build. Add in 3 veteran transfers and the 3rd-year coach’s best recruiting class to date and Tech has the makings of a team capable of making a 2nd straight NCAA Tournament appearance.

5. Last hurrah for Jimmy B?

Despite considerable speculation that he might call it quits after his sons ran out of eligibility last season, Jim Boheim is back for his 47th season at Syracuse.

Will it be his last?

The ACC’s resident curmudgeon hasn’t made any public statements about how long he plans to continue coaching. But at age 77, coming off 8 straight seasons of finishing 6th or lower in the conference, it’s inevitable the end is coming sooner rather than later.

Boeheim is 2 wins from reaching the 1,000-career victory mark for the 2nd time after having 101 earlier wins vacated by the NCAA. Maybe that’s why he decided to return. If it’s that he’s trying to go out on top – or at least close to it – the way his friend and fellow Hall of Famer Mike Krzyzewski did last season, the Orange’s current roster suggests he might have to wait at least another season before riding off into the sunset.

4. Look Hoos back

Even in an era of 1-and-done freshmen, experience still matters come tournament time. And no one in the ACC this side of UNC has more of it this season than Virginia. The Cavaliers’ roster features 4 5th-year players – point guard Kihei Clark, forward Jayden Gardner, center Francisco Caffaro and Ohio University transfer Ben Vander Plas.

“This probably is the oldest team, maybe, that I’ve had,” coach Tony Bennett said at the ACC’s preseason media event last month in Charlotte. “I think we’re fortunate this year that these guys decided to come back and then we’ve got some valuable experienced players from last year as well.”

Experience is especially important in a system as disciplined as Bennett’s. It takes time and patience to learn and perfect the principles of the pack line defense. Last season’s team struggled with it, as well as a lack of depth, and missed out on the NCAA Tournament for the 1st time since 2013. This group of Cavaliers, with so many veteran players returning, should be in a position to make a quick return.

3. Return to glory

Listen to any college basketball pundit and they’ll tell you with conviction that 2021-22 was a historically down season for the ACC. The perception was perpetuated by an NCAA Tournament selection committee that snubbed 25-win Wake Forest and placed only 5 conference teams in its 68-team bracket.

When all was said and done, however, the ACC put 3 teams in the Elite Eight, 2 more than any other conference. UNC, Duke and Miami all advanced to their respective region finals. And with both the Tar Heels and Blue Devils making it all the way to New Orleans, the league made up half of the Final Four.

So was it a down season or a spectacularly successful one? The answer is a little of both.
That shouldn’t be a matter for debate this season, thanks to the number of top players who have returned to school rather than turning pro. Love Name, Image and Likeness or hate it, there’s no way UNC’s Armando Bacot and Caleb Love, Miami’s Isaiah Wong, NC State’s Terquavion Smith and a handful of others are back without the money available to players these days.

Because they’re back, the ACC is a deeper, more-talented, more-experienced league from top to bottom than it was a season ago.

2 UNC: Great team or great month?

The Tar Heels are the consensus pick to win the national championship for a reason. With 4 starters returning, including preseason ACC Player of the Year Bacot, they’re virtually the same team that led Kansas by 15 points with 20 minutes to go in last season’s title game.

But they’re also the same team that was teetering precariously on the NCAA Tournament bubble at 18-8 (10-5 ACC) after a double-digit loss to lowly Pittsburgh during mid-February.

While Hubert Davis’ team passes the eye test, the book still is out on whether it’s really as good as it looked over the final 3 weeks of the regular season and March or if it simply got hot at just the right time.

One key element that will help determine the answer is the addition of prized transfer Pete Nance. The son of former NBA star Larry Nance is an athletic 6-11 stretch 4 who shot better than 45% from 3-point range a season ago at Northwestern. From a talent standpoint, he’s even better than the player he’s replacing, fellow transfer Brady Manek. Only time will tell if he can provide the kind of intangible impact Manek had in bringing last season’s team together.

1. Life after the GOAT

Former Virginia coach Pete Gillen is famous for uttering the immortal words “Duke is Duke” and there’s every reason to believe that will continue to be the case now that Coach K has retired. His successor Jon Scheyer already has proven himself to be an effective recruiter and after 8 seasons on the bench as an assistant – including 1 as heir apparent – the transition appears to be smooth.

Still, you just never know how things will go until the games begin.

Remember Pete Gaudet?

It’s inevitable that Scheyer will undergo some on-the-job training as a rookie head coach in much the same way Davis did at UNC last season. But the former Blue Devils point guard has been groomed for this moment. And he has a roster full of 5-star talent to help get him through and ensure that Duke continues to be Duke for the foreseeable future.