A year ago, Duke was worried how it would fit all of its freshmen onto the court, North Carolina was worried how it would go on without Marcus Paige and Brice Johnson and N.C. State was ready to turn a corner behind Dennis Smith Jr. and Omer Yurtseven.
The litany of how none of that turned out exactly as planned is a good reminder that basketball season, if nothing else, is as unpredictable as it is anticipated around here.
Duke struggled through the middle of the season but won the ACC title before exiting the NCAA tournament early.