CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Georgia Tech redshirt sophomore guard Corey Heyward is focused on the season, but for about three hours Sunday night, he will be, like many other Pittsburgh natives, focused on the Steelers game.
That's because his older brother Cameron Heyward is a Steelers starting defensive end. But Corey has always loved the city because his late father, Craig "Ironhead" Heyward, played at Pitt.
"Yeah, I'm a big Steelers fan," Corey said Wednesday at the ACC's media day. "I bleed that black and gold.
"It is hard to get to see them play with my schedule right now, but one of my coaches is a big Steelers fan, too, and he showed me a website I can go to where you can watch the Steelers even if they aren't on your local TV.
"I talk to my brother often, and I give him advice and he gives me advice, but right now, hopefully we can get this game against the Ravens Sunday."
Heyward, who is 6 feet 1, 214 pounds, said he chose basketball over the family business because his "basketball heart" is bigger than his football body.
"You have to love football to play it," Heyward said. "I bring the football mentality to the basketball court.
"But my parents have done a good job of making sure I understood that I need to do what I love."
Panthers pegged at No. 6
Pitt was picked to finish sixth in the conference in the ACC media preseason poll.
Duke received 41 of 65 first-place votes and were selected as the favorite, followed by North Carolina, Louisville, Virginia and Syracuse.
Players picked for the preseason All-ACC team were North Carolina guard Marcus Paige, Louisville forward Montrezl Harrell, Duke center Jahlil Okafor, Virginia guard Malcolm Brogdon and Notre Dame forward Jerian Grant.
Paige, a junior, was selected as the conference's preseason player of the year and Okafor was voted the preseason rookie of the year.
Coaches corner
Danny Manning led Kansas to the 1988 national championship as a player and enjoyed a 15-year NBA career, but now he has taken perhaps the greatest challenge of his basketball career -- to make Wake Forest relevant and competitive in the ACC again.
Manning, who is starting his first season as Demon Deacons coach, said he is working to instill intensity, discipline and toughness in his players, which sometimes means he has to get angry.
"They have been very receptive," Manning said. "I don't mind off the court if you are having a good time, as long as when you get on the court and you get your chance, you know what you are doing. But if you can't maintain the focus, then we're not going to joke around and laugh and all that stuff."
Manning, Boston College's Jim Christian and Virginia Tech's Buzz Williams are the three new coaches in the ACC, while the league also added Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino, who leads the Cardinals in their first season in the ACC.
Paul Zeise: pzeise@post-gazette.com and Twitter @paulzeise.