The 60th edition of the ACC Men鈥檚 Basketball Tournament starts Thursday at the Greensboro Coliseum. The city, which is nicknamed 鈥淭ournament Town,鈥� is hosting the event for the 24th time, more than any other venue.
ACC icons like North Carolina State鈥檚 David Thompson, UNCs Michael Jordan and Maryland鈥檚 Len Bias all played in conference championships that took place in Greensboro. Longtime scorekeeper Gary Strickland witnessed those men play and many other memorable moments.
鈥淵ou really can smell the sweat as they say and you can hear the exchange between the coaches and the official and you really feel like you鈥檙e part of the action,鈥� Strickland said earlier this month.
Strickland was feet away from a verbal altercation between then Clemson coach Rick Barnes and UNC legend Dean Smith. He considers Randolph Childress leading Wake Forest to the 1995 Championship as the greatest performance he has ever seen.
Fans attending this year鈥檚 event will enjoy some new upgrades to the Coliseum, including cushioned seats in the lower bowl of the arena, a high definition scoreboard and additional concession stands. For the first time ever the Miami Hurricanes are the top seed in the tournament. Florida State won the tourney last year.
The games begin Thursday at noon when when Georgia Tech and Boston College tip it off. The championship game is slated for Sunday at 1 p.m.
