Dave Sez

Finding Barry Jacobs

The ACC Hoops Blog did me a service today. They found Barry Jacobs.

Apparently, he wasn't really missing; I just didn't know he was writing for TarHeelDaily.com, a site I didn't know about. It's kind of odd, because I always thought that Jacobs was a Duke alumnus.

For the younger readers, Barry Jacobs used to put out a yearly publication called the "Barry Jacobs' Fan's Guide To ACC Basketball." It was THE magazine to get about the ACC. Just an incredible publication. He wrote it all himself, and it was thick and filled with glossy photos and arcane statistics. He wrote something about every single player on every team.

It was truly an ACC fan's dream. Back when I was in high school and college (and had WAY too much free time), I read every word in there. As I got a bit older, I was more selective, but kept the guides around as reference. Then, a number of years ago, he stopped making them for some reason. Last I heard, Jacobs was elected to some public office, so I didn't expect to find him writing again regularly. Now that I've found him again, I'll be watching closely for his new pieces.

The article that the ACC Hoops guys linked to is one on the myth that free throw shooting is in decline. He's right of course and I should mention that Ken Pomeroy has made the same point in the past.