There were 12 of them -- one from each ACC school -- but it was the 77-year-old man with the silver hair, light blue jacket and slow walk who owned the place.

When the 2008 class of ACC legends was introduced at halftime of the first ACC Tournament semifinal Saturday at Bobcats Arena, former Duke player Mike Gminski got a nice ovation and it was even louder for former Maryland coach Lefty Driesell.

When it was former North Carolina coach Dean Smith's turn to walk to midcourt, the feeling seemed to change in the building.

He looks older now, still recovering from a difficult surgery in December.

He was, officials said, initially reluctant to be part of the ceremony, but when he made his way to midcourt, the ovation became emotional. And it wasn't just from North Carolina fans. It was from everyone in the building.

Smith seemed embarrassed by the attention as he shook hands with Driesell.

As it went on for a moment, Smith smiled, nodded and waved. Finally, he motioned with his hands to stop. But it continued for another moment more.

On a dynamic day, it was touching moment.

BEEN THERE, DONE THAT: Jim Brennan has waited and watched for 46 years to see the Clemson Tigers play in the ACC Tournament final again.

It has only happened once before today -- in 1962 -- and Brennan, who lives now in Charlotte, helped carry the Tigers as close to the ACC Tournament championship as they've ever come.

The Tigers upset Duke in the '62 semifinals when Brennan scored 34 points, but the Tigers were beaten in the finals by Wake Forest 77-66 the next day.

In all the years since, the Tigers had not reached the finals again until the Tigers took down Duke again Saturday.

"They've had some good teams," Brennan said Saturday morning. "It's quirky because they've had players like Elden Campbell, Horace Grant and Larry Nance. Rick Barnes coached some good teams.

"It's quite unbelievable to me that they haven't won it in 50-some years. I guess it's like the North Carolina thing up there in Chapel Hill."

Brennan still smiles at the memory of his 34-point day against the Blue Devils.

"It was just one of those days when I got hot, hit a couple of them early and the confidence kept going," Brennan said.

In the finals, though, it was a different story.

"We were just exhausted," Brennan said.

DR. GREENBERG IN THE HOUSE: In the gut-wrenching moments after Virginia Tech's last-second loss to North Carolina on Saturday, Hokies' coach Seth Greenberg wasn't in the mood to hear any suggestions that perhaps his 19-13 team might be left out of the NCAA Tournament field.

The biggest rap against the Hokies is the fact they have only one victory over a team ranked among the top 50 in the RPI (Miami on Friday).

"If you don't think this is one of the top 65 teams in the country, you are certifiably insane," Greenberg said.

WATCH OUT BELOW: North Carolina's Danny Green knows he'll hear from his teammates about what happened when he tried to defend Virginia Tech's Deron Washington on an in-bounds play Saturday.

Washington caught a sideline in-bounds pass directly above the rim and flushed it through the basket while Green tried unsuccessfully to stop it.

If you missed seeing it when it happened, you can probably catch several hundred times on video replays the next few days.

"He kinda grabbed me and threw me out the way he went up and got it," Green said. "But it happens.

"If it had been my freshman year, I'd have been so rattled I wouldn't have been able to go on. It happens ... but it was only two points."

ANOTHER HEARTBREAKER: On Friday, Dave Odom coached his last game at South Carolina, losing to top-seeded Tennessee on a late 3-pointer in the SEC Tournament that spoiled what would have been the finest moment of the Gamecocks' disappointing season.

"It was like a mother who gives you candy as a kid but then doesn't let you eat it," Odom said of the feeling after losing to the Volunteers.

Odom was in Charlotte Saturday to watch Virginia Tech play North Carolina because his son, Riley, is an assistant on Seth Greenberg's staff. It, too, ended harshly from the Odom perspective.

Though the Gamecocks' season is over, Odom said he will stay with the team until a successor is found. After that, Odom said he and his wife, Lynn, will spend several months at their beach house while deciding what's next.

"I want to know what it feels like not to be responsible to and for a basketball team," Odom said.