Many were surprised (including me) about Buzz Williams' decision to leave Marquette and take over Virginia Tech's recently stuttering basketball program. At Marquette, he was enormously successful, leading the Golden Eagles to tournament appearances in each of his first five seasons -- including the Sweet Sixteen in 2011 and 2012 and the Elite Eight last year. This season was the first in which they didn't make the dance.

Though Williams never made the Final Four like former head coach and current Indiana head man Tom Crean, he arguably had a better tenure in Milwaukee. Crean, however, moved on to one of the most prestigious positions in the country. Could Williams have done better?

Maybe not this year -- with no marquee positions available -- but then, maybe Williams saw something else in Virginia Tech, or, more accurately, something of which the school was a part: the ACC.

For the time being, the Big East is no longer the place to play now that many of its headlining teams left and the ones remaining haven't improved in their absence (besides Villanova). The ACC has gone in the opposite direction. Not only does it have strongholds in Duke and North Carolina, but it now also has Louisville (coming in next year) and Syracuse. Let's also not forget about rising Virginia, the only ACC team left in the dance. The league will get even more interesting if Wake Forest lures VCU's Shaka Smart (one of my favorite coaches in the country). Other reports have linked Smart to Marquette's opening. Most likely, he stays in Virginia based on the big contract he signed a few years ago.

Is the ACC at least a part of the "sleeping giant" Williams mentioned when he referred to the position? It must be. Otherwise, the school would seem like a tough sell. Former coach James Johnson couldn't do it after back-to-back losing seasons. Current ESPN analyst Seth Greenberg did an admirable job at the univesrity, but never landed the big time recruits necessary for conference dominance.

"I think it's a sleeping giant. There's a lot of work to be done," Williams told ESPN. "... What I can tell you without promising anything other than you'll have my heart, you'll have my soul. I'll work at it every single day and I'll do right by the institution, I'll do right by this department, I'll do right by our program and I'll also do right by alumni and those that are in the community that support Virginia Tech."