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The 2008-09 regular season was a strong one for the ACC, with seven teams making the NCAA tournament. However, the postseason didn't go so well. Wake Forest, Clemson, Boston College and Florida State were all upset in the first round, and Maryland was finished by the end of the second round. Duke was crushed by Villanova in the Sweet 16. The only thing that saved the conference in the postseason was UNC winning the National Championship.

After last year's mixed bag of success, the ACC will be looking to rebuild this season. The conference lost 14 of their top 20 scorers after this past season ended, assuming all of the early entries stay in the NBA Draft.

Think about all of these names: Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, James Johnson, Jack McClinton, A.D. Vassallo, Tyrese Rice, Gerald Henderson, Jeff Teague and Greivis Vasquez. All of those players, and more, will not be back next year, assuming Teague and Vasquez keep their names in the NBA Draft. A new wave of stars will have to take over the conference next season.

Here are the leading returning scorers in the ACC.

As far as pure offensive firepower, Duke and Virginia Tech appear to have the early advantage. Each team returns two of the top six returning scorers in the ACC. The Blue Devils bring back outside sharpshooters Kyle Singler and Jon Scheyer, while the Hokies will have a good inside-outside threat with Jeff Allen and Malcolm Delaney.

With so many new players being forced to take on major roles next season, the conference is wide open. Despite the loss of A.D. Vassallo, Virginia Tech returns more offensive firepower in their starting lineup than all but three teams in the ACC.

Only Duke, Virginia and Boston College return more points from their starting lineup than the Hokies, though that could change if a few players change their minds and decide to withdraw from the NBA Draft.

Perhaps the most surprising thing in that table is that Boston College returns 42.2 points per game from their starting lineup. The Eagles lost Tyrese Rice, one of the best players in the conference. However, they return all four starters, and they'll have no seniors in their starting lineup this coming season. This team's best basketball is ahead of them.

Many believe that Georgia Tech will be dangerous this year, but they lost many experienced players. Lewis Clinch and Zachary Peacock are gone, and power forward Gani Lawal has declared for the NBA Draft as well.

Based on players lost, players returning and incoming recruiting class, here's are some early-Summer ACC predictions.

With Coach K returning most of his team, and with UNC bringing in almost a completely new group of players, it's hard not to pick Duke to win the ACC. Boston College is a very underrated program, and Al Skinner is perhaps the most underrated coach in college basketball.

Florida State lost Toney Douglas, but they are an excellent defensive team with good young talent in the program. North Carolina won't be as good, but they will still be near the top of the ACC. Maryland lost Greivis Vasquez, but that could arguably be good for them. The Hokies, Clemson and Wake Forest all look to be about on the same level next season.

Of course, preseason predictions are rarely accurate in ACC basketball. All of the teams have good to excellent talent. Final records generally come down to coaching, toughness in close games, and who draws the better in-conference schedule.