HeelsBlog.Com: Read. Recap. React.

Danny Green declares without an agent

jtw3 — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 15:54:09 -0400

UNC Sports Information issued a press release this afternoon stating that junior Danny Green is will "test the waters" and enter the NBA Draft without an agent.

Is his situation different from Ellington and Lawson? A little bit. He's a junior, and can only test said waters and pull out of the draft once.

The sky is falling!

jtw3 — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 09:45:56 -0400

Well, no it's not, but I thought I'd get your attention.

Disclaimer: This post is being written by a Carolina fan, someone who places team wins and championships above all else (save player safety).

Now that that is out of the way, let me continue. First, the good news: Tyler Hansbrough is returning for his senior season of Carolina basketball. Fantastic. Tyler has been a pleasure to watch for three seasons, and we'll get to see him for one more. He's been "A joy to have in class," as it used to read on other kids' report cards. Tyler is one that we will tell future generations about. He's good.

Wayne Ellington and Ty Lawson have decided to go through the NBA Draft process without an agent.

I hate the phrase 'test the waters.' It's cliche, like 'golf-ball-sized hail.'

This is what I think the process must be like for Carolina players thinking of leaving school early to play professionally:

Coach advises me to stay + I want to stay = Stay in school (Hansbrough)

Coach advises me to stay + I want to go = Declare without agent (Lawson, Ellington)

Coach advises me to go + I want to go = Declare with agent (Brandan Wright)

Coach advises me to go + I want to stay = Declare (Michael Jordan, James Worthy)

I can't envision a scenario in which Roy Williams advised these two players (particularly Ellington) that they would set themselves up best by leaving after the 2007-08 season. I have not seen a mock draft that projected Ellington as anything about the second round. Every day, as we waited for Hansbrough, Ellington and Lawson to make their decisions, it seemed another player declared for the draft that could be picked before them.

Take a look at some of the guards that have declared for the NBA draft, and probably would go ahead of Lawson and Ellington: Derrick Rose, Eric Gordon, D.J. Augustin*, Jerryd Bayless, O.J. Mayo, Mario Chalmers*, Brandon Rush, Chris Douglas-Roberts.

* - has not hired agent

That's just at the guard position. Other players like Michael Beasley, Kevin Love, Brook and Robin Lopez and Chase Budinger could go ahead of the two Heels. So what are they listening to? Do they love playing basketball at Carolina but wish to do without everything that goes along with it? I'm curious, because another season (with a sweeter ending) could do wonders to their 2009 draft stock.

I still think a team without Lawson and Ellington could be in the mix for a Final Four run, but they certainly make the team the prohibitive favorite in 2009.

What else can you say?

jtw3 — Sat, 05 Apr 2008 22:59:39 -0400

We just got our asses kicked.

An hour or two from now, in a Louisville airport . . .

jtw3 — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 23:52:03 -0400

Louisville men's basketball coach Rick Pitino bumps into Louisville women's basketball coach Jeff Walz. "Why the long face, Jeff?"

"Oh, we just lost to North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament, and our season is over."

"That's too, bad."

"You don't look so happy yourself, Rick."

"Yeah, well, we just lost to North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament, and now our season is over."

"Sorry to hear that, Coach."

"You too."

Heels topple Cardinals to advance & Heels topple Cardinals to advance

jtw3 — Sat, 29 Mar 2008 23:22:39 -0400

The ink hasn't yet dried on the Tar Heels' victory over Louisville, but the men's basketball team is headed to the Final Four in San Antonio next weekend. And the Tar Heel women's basketball, thanks to LaToya Pringle, came back from an 18-point deficit to get past Louisville and into the Elite Eight.

"The big fella" has a very nice jumper. I love the fact that Tyler Hansbrough can hit from 18 feet now. Twenty-eight and 13 for the national player of the year, when the Tar Heels needed him. Didn't get a lot of scoring help in the second half from the backcourt (save a big three from Lawson), so Hansbrough took the game into his own hands, and the Tar Heels move on to face the Davidson/Kansas winner. Funny that all of us that cheered for Davidson in Raleigh could see them on Saturday night. Funny thing: I just saw Jonas Sahratian blow kisses to the crowd from the podium and saying, "We love you!"

LaToya Pringle, the quiet one, the one that's always there, but you don't realize it until she's got 27 and 11, willed the Tar Heels into the Elite Eight past Angel McCoughtry (35 and 13) and Louisville. I thought the ride was over for Coach Hatchell's crew, but the Tar Heels regrouped, made a run, and held off a furious rally. They'll play LSU Monday in New Orleans for a Final Four berth. The #1 seed plays the #2 seed 65 miles from LSU's home floor. Right . . .

Heels first to lock up regional final spot

jtw3 — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 21:34:10 -0400

68-47. Good, quality win over a good, quality team. Tyler got off to a slow start but Danny Green provided the offensive spark he'd been missing in the first two games. Also . . . Alex Stepheson did a yeoman's job defensively and had two highlight-reel blocks in two straight possessions. . . Ty's ankle continues to look better - he's getting back that blow-by speed we'd missed. . . Deon had a solid contribution . . . Wayne did a nice job on both ends of the floor, and I love his confidence in his jumper.

Some quick math

jtw3 — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 19:12:22 -0400

Between ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNews, the four-letter network has 96 hours of programming daily. Let's say they have 16 minutes of commercials per hour (I don't know, I'm just estimating). That's about 26 hours. So now we're down to about 70 hours of programming. So let's take those 70 hours and parcel it out thusly for this time of year:

40 percent NCAA Tournament
30 percent Baseball opening day
20 percent NBA
10 percent other stories (football off-season, hockey, etc.)

40 percent of 70 hours is 28 hours of NCAA tournament talk per day. There are now 16 teams remaining in the NCAA Tournament. If all teams are talked about equally (they aren't - when's the last time you heard the talking heads prat on about Western Kentucky), then each team is talked about for an hour and 45 minutes. That's a lot of talk time. If you include Washington State's talk time because that's the matchup, it's 3 and a half hours. If your team is going to be talked about for 105 minutes every day on one of these networks, crap like this is going to happen.

The Tar Heels ran up the score? Really? I don't have the stats on this, but I'd wager that Carolina is the only school still standing that can say every single dressed player has scored in the first two games of the tournament. And it's incumbent upon Arkansas to play defense. Show some pride. To his credit, I don't remember John Pelphrey complaining. It's just people trying to fill their 105 minutes.

If Skip Bayless is talking to himself, is he still wrong?

Tar Heels trounce Mountaineers

jtw3 — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 22:55:11 -0400

Well, that was good, right? The Tar Heels took care of Mount St. Mary's in Raleigh Friday, 113-74. It was a game this team needed, I think. After playing without Ty Lawson for several weeks, and a less-than-100 percent Ty Lawson for the last two, it was nice to see the regular rotation healthy and gunning. Lawson had 21 tonight, to go with Tyler Hansbrough's 21! It was great to see this team get up and down the floor like it did. I'm not going to go crazy about a win over a 16-seed, but the team looked good. Legs were fresh, and shots were falling (save for Danny Green). Some other thoughts:

•It certainly appears that Ty Lawson worked on his jumper during his injury time. It looks great.
•Love Tyler's range extending to 18 feet or so.
•The alley oop to Surry Wood was beautiful, and it felt like one that thousands of suburban North Carolina kids have dreamed about in their driveways for years. I know one that played that out, complete with Woody's call, on Pine Needles road in Goldsboro.
•Danny Green's shot was off, but he'll play through it.
•Ellington's shots were pretty, weren't they?
•Will Graves is expanding his game, from the arc in.

Don't know who's next, but the Tar Heels have hit the dance running.

Gene Wojciechowski on Hansbrough

jtw3 — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 23:24:35 -0400

Recently, Tyler Hansbrough has been (unfairly) maligned by two particular columnists (and I'm sure thousands of ABC fans nationwide). It all stems from this 'Beasley vs. Hansbrough' National Player of the Year debate. Who's the NPOY? Who deserves it? Who's more valuable to his team? And that's about all the relevant questions in that debate. It doesn't matter who plays the game prettier, or who you think is going to be a better pro. It's about who has meant the absolute most to his team in college basketball this season. I think you see where I stand.

But I digress . . .

Rick Morrissey, a guy so cool he spells his name with two 'r's and two 's's, puts Tyler at the top of his "'not-to-like' list." It's a list of one, he assures us. Why? Because he's met Tyler and Tyler was rude to him, right? Because Tyler forwarded him an urban legend email, right? Because Tyler stole his girlfriend, right? Wrong. Because Tyler is on TV too much. Because he's overexposed.

Rick, Tyler is on TV a lot because he's a damn good basketball player!

And then there's this: Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com contends that Tyler is in the running for National Player of the Year because "America loves a tough white guy." Really? Maybe it's because Tyler is a damn good basketball player! Does anyone remember Greg Oden? Kevin Durant? Michael Beasley, even? J.J. Redick? Adam Morrison? Were these players given media attention because of their race, or because they scored points and played the game well?

Gene Wojciechowski is the voice of reason here. Tyler Hansbrough is simply the latest National Player of the Year, and to bring anything other than his stats and team contributions into the conversation isn't fair to him or any other player.

Heels repeat as ACC Champs

jtw3 — Sun, 16 Mar 2008 17:02:05 -0400

Well, the Tar Heels are the ACC Tournament champions, and will carry an 11-game win streak and the No. 1 ranking into the NCAA Tournament. As of now, the field has not been announced, but look for the Heels to have the #1 overall seed, and a draw that will keep them in-state through the regional finals.

I was very impressed with the play of Wayne Ellington (thought maybe he should have won Tournament MVP) and Ty Lawson flashed his old self today against the Tigers. Ginyard's defense was terrific and Tyler was Tyler. Deon Thompson has not played to his capability for several weeks now, and that concerns me. But the Heels will roll into the big dance knowing that they have work to do.

Join the HeelsBlog Tourney Pick'em at Yahoo! Click here to join! Group ID is 74655 and password is 'tarheel1' if the link doesn't work for you.

Heels, Tigers will meet again in final

jtw3 — Sat, 15 Mar 2008 23:01:12 -0400

I haven't seen much of this year's ACC Tournament (work on Thursday and Friday, visiting my dad's mom at the hospital today), so I can't tell you much about Carolina's performance so far. I did feel like (from listening to Woody and seeing some of the second half) that the Heels got outplayed on Saturday. Luckily for the Heels, Tyler Hansbrough was there to clean up a Ty Lawson miss and hit the game-winning shot. If you watch that replay, look at how far Tyler comes to get that rebound - he's near the free throw line, across the lane from that rebound. But the national player of the year goes and gets it.

I won't say I expect the Heels to lose Sunday, but I wouldn't be at all surprised. The two hardest-playing teams on Saturday were Virginia Tech and Clemson, and Clemson is still alive. The Heels beat Clemson twice this year, but they needed three total overtimes to do it.

Ty Lawson is clearly not 100 percent. He was called for an offensive foul Saturday (I think I'm remembering this correctly) on a play when normally he would simply explode past his man. And, I think a healthy Ty gets all the way to the rim on what ended up being the game-winning possession Saturday.

No matter what, I think the Heels locked up the #1 seed in the Charlotte regional today, with Duke and Tennessee both losing.

ACC Tourney thoughts

jtw3 — Fri, 14 Mar 2008 08:30:20 -0400

Here are some things I've noticed this week (and in the latter part of the season). You may agree or disagree with some of these, but the first one is fact.

•'Laxadaisical' is not a word, Billy Packer, so don't tell me twice in one replay that Brandon Costner is playing 'laxidaisically.' The word is 'lackadaisical.'

•Could we switch Raycom's Steve Martin with the Steve Martin? Just for one game.

•Speaking of Brandon Costner, he's got to transfer, right? He doesn't look like he's playing the game. He's just kind of out there. Costner may have had the most disappointing sophomore season of any player I can remember. Preseason All-ACC?

•How about we do one of two things to spice up the ACC Tournament:

1) Play it in November, and take away the automatic bid. Every school is excited about basketball in November. Get rid of the other preseason invitationals, and, two weeks after Midnight Madness, have your conference tournament. The national eye doesn't look at college basketball till after the Super Bowl. This will get them paying attention.

OR

2) Have the 'opening round' games (5-12, 6-11, 7-10 and 8-9) on the higher seed's floor. That will alleviate the attendance problems on Thursdays. Play those games on Tuesday night on a home floor, and make the tournament three days again.

•Please, UNC, get rid of the Blues Brothers during the second half official timeout. They've been doing the same routine for about 15 years, and they take the crowd out of the game at a crucial time. Let me guess: They're going to bounce around to the music, then one is going to get on all fours, and the other is going to step on his back to try to dunk a mini basketball. What do I win?

Four time, four time, four time, four time ACC Champs

jtw3 — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 23:19:58 -0400

The Tar Heel women's basketball team took care of business yesterday, defeating Duke, 86-73. It was the third time this season that the Heels beat the Devils, and their fourth straight ACC Tournament Championship. Third-seeded Duke surprised Maryland on Saturday. The Tar Heels had beaten Duke 82-51 just last weekend, but the Blue Devils came out energized and ready to go. But Erlana Larkins, LaToya Pringle, Rashanda McCants, Cetera DeGraffenreid and the rest of the Tar Heels spoiled the party.

This has been an awfully fun team to watch, and I will enjoy watching them try for a third straight Final Four.

Game over, Heels win 76-68

jtw3 — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 23:11:40 -0500

When the wife's right, she's right. The run came, alright, and the Blue Devils took the lead. But the Tar Heels withstood it, and had a run of their own. The Tar Heels scored the final ten points of the game and got out of Cameron with a win and the ACC regular season championship. It was beautiful.

Question, though: How does Tyler Hansbrough not get to the foul line? The boy was absolutely mauled tonight. He did keep his composure and made a key putback to help the Heels to the win.

Three stars of the game: Danny Green with 18 points, Wayne Ellington, 16, and Hansbrough, 16.

Another note: Sometime between last season and this, Greg Paulus figured out how to shoot.

Kudos to Duke and the Cameron Crazies for the moment of silence and blue ribbons in memory of Eve Carson. Eve, I hope you enjoyed tonight's game.

Halftime at Cameron: Carolina 42, Duke 31

jtw3 — Sat, 08 Mar 2008 22:05:27 -0500

My wife is terrified of the first few minutes of the second half. She's sure it's coming: that signature Duke run. She is confident that the Blue Devils will come out firing, hit some 3s and maybe even take the lead.

She may be right. I've seen Duke play too many times to be comfortable with an 11-point lead. But if my wife knows it's coming, and I know it's coming, won't Roy Williams know it's coming, too? Of course he will. So he has to get his charges ready for it. They have to play the kind of lockdown D they were playing for that long first-half stretch when the Blue Devils went cold. A few 3s from Paulus (he has four now) gave Duke the confidence they needed and prevented the Heels from pulling away.

The run will probably come, but if the Heels can find whatever it was inside that powered that defense, they can withstand it.

Prayers to the family of Eve Carson

jtw3 — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 12:52:02 -0500

Sometimes these silly things we devote our time and energy to, talk, brag and blog about, are put into perspective. That's true today, too. A shooting victim near the UNC campus was identified as student body president Eve Carson. I didn't know Eve, but in keeping an eye on the happenings around campus, I certainly knew of her. I just wanted to take this little space I have devoted to UNC and send some prayers to her family.

Chancellor's letter

Oh, it's on now

jtw3 — Thu, 06 Mar 2008 11:58:55 -0500

North Carolina is 13-2. Duke is 13-2. Both still have a chance to clinch the outright regular season ACC title, if they just win one more game. And they're playing each other. Saturday night in Cameron, it's on. This is perhaps the most important game in recent series history, due to everything that's on the line. Both teams want the #1 seed in the tournament. More importantly, both teams want to be the #1 seed in the Charlotte regional, assuring that they'll stay in-state all the way to the Final Four. Both teams want it badly, and this game has so much more added to it in addition to the simple gravity of the rivalry. I can't wait.

Catching up . . .

jtw3 — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 07:35:00 -0500

Tennessee beat Memphis, then promptly lost to Vanderbilt. According to ESPN, that puts the North Carolina Tar Heels back on top of the Power 16. Yay.

Actually, that is a good thing, because if Tennessee is ahead of the Heels in the final season polls, they probably get the #1 seed in Charlotte, because it's the regional closest to them, too. So, it's conceivable that both Tennessee and Carolina get #1 seeds. But, if Tennessee is the higher #1, they'll get Charlotte, and the Tar Heels could get Detroit, Houston or Phoenix. The crazy thing is, if Duke is a #2, for example, they could still go to Charlotte as the #2 there. But, for now, the Tar Heels are in the driver's seat. They just need to get the job done these next three games and in the tournament.

The Blue Devil fell off his surfboard and sprained his knee. In my best Nelson Muntz, "Ha ha!"

Rashad McCants has a web site. Yikes.

ESPN has hired Bob Knight as a studio analyst. Fantastic.

The Tar Heel women close out the regular season at home Sunday against Duke. The game's at 5:30 on FSN.

This story is interesting. It's an editorial from the Duke Chronicle about sneaking into Cameron for the 2006 Carolina game. This guy goes to great lengths to get into the game, and, well, Duke lost. He left that part out. Ha!

What a game: Heels rally to beat Clemson in 2 OTs

jtw3 — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 08:35:25 -0500

Box score

Wow. Just wow. I thought the streak was over. I thought it was something we'd remember years from now, but something that was done. I was wrong.

Carolina started out very lackadaisically, like they didn't know what they were doing on offense. In fact, there were five Tar Heel turnovers before they had a single shot attempt! By the time the Heels got on the board with Hansbrough, it was 8-2.

Clemson led 68-53 with 8:55 to play in regulation. Then, the Tar Heels' defense arrived (even with Marcus Ginyard out for the last four minutes and both extra periods) enough to let them crawl back into the game.

A lot of gutsy plays by both teams made this one an instant classic. Quentin Thomas' layup with 26 seconds left tied the score for the first time since it was 0-0. The decision to foul and send Demontez Stitt to the free throw line right before that was pretty bold. Thomas hit two free throws after an amazing Terrence Oglesby 3 put the Tigers up 2 toward the end of the first OT. Hansbrough cemented himself as the National Player of the Year, not only for his 39 points and 13 rebounds, but a tremendous steal from David Potter and midcourt in the second overtime. Wayne Ellington was tremendous and Danny Green hit some big, big 3s toward the end of regulation. Both came back from poor performances on Wednesday.

I don't think we can say yet what this victory means for this team right now. Maybe we'll know later in the season, perhaps in tournament play. To win this game without Ty Lawson, coming back from down 15, is going to pay dividends. I don't think anyone would say they liked the way this team played for the first 31-32 minutes. But the game is 40 (or more) minutes, and the Tar Heels 'hearted up' and found something in themselves, reached down and pulled out a victory.

Wow. Just wow.

Well, the Tar Heels lost

jtw3 — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 10:50:38 -0500

And, as it turns, out, the sun rose this morning. Other thoughts . . .

The worst thing that could happen from this game is for the players to think, 'Well, we didn't have Ty, so we lost. Next time we'll have Ty, and we'll win,' because that could not be further from the truth. The truth is, you can't have four bench points. You can't have Ellington and Green shoot 4-24. You can't have the two of them not going to the rim. You can't have three offensive fouls, you have to adjust to how the game is being called. You can't have 20 turnovers to 17 assists.

Ty Lawson's ability to finish was missing. The Tar Heels got the ball down the court, but then weren't able to take it in like Ty can. Marcus Ginyard, though effect offensively, was thrust in a different role as a ball handler, and I'm sure wasn't quite as effective on the other end of the floor. This team has got to commit to defense. If you aren't great defensively, you have to try hard, and they looked casual when Duke had the ball. You can't do that.

What you can do, however, is learn from it. Here's hoping they do.

Podcast #4: February 5, 2008

jtw3 — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 21:30:38 -0500

I recap the women's game at Duke, preview the men's contest against the Blue Devils, and give you a special treat - a dramatic reading of a Cameron Crazies Cheer Sheet. It's all on the podcast for February 5, 2008.

Podcast postponed until Tuesday

jtw3 — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 13:28:38 -0500

Hey Gang -
I set the next HeelsBlog podcast for today, but I'm pushing it back to Tuesday, so we can have a more complete show for you. We'll have recaps from the men's game against BC and at Florida State, and talk about the women's games at home against Maryland, at Wake Forest, and Monday night's game at Duke. Plus, we'll preview football signing day, which is Wednesday. And, we'll have a special guest. So thanks for your patience.

Nice win over Boston College last night. Ty Lawson's line for the last two games is amazing - 20 assists and one turnover. Deon Thompson played perhaps his best game as a Tar Heel, and Tyler Hansbrough was Tyler Hansbrough.

Will the team look past Florida State on Sunday? I don't think so. They might have if they had not lost to Maryland, but I think that game woke the team up. Toney Douglas will be tough to guard, but the guys can get it done.

Women hang on in a thriller

jtw3 — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 13:49:30 -0500

Carmichael Auditorium was LOUD on Saturday afternoon. The North Carolina Tar Heels hosted Maryland. Both teams were ranked, 3 or 4, depending on which poll you looked at. Sylvia Hatchell's Tar Heels were up big in the first half before falling behind by 7 late in the game. A fortuitous Erlana Larkins steal and LaToya Pringle layup plus 1 tied the game, and the Heels dominated the second overtime to pull out the victory.

Check out the excellent article by Lauren Brownlow here.

The Tar Heels travel to Wake Forest on Tuesday before heading to Cameron Indoor Stadium next Monday. It's a great time for the seniors to step up and lead this team.

A look at the museum

jtw3 — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 07:30:52 -0500

I had a chance to stop by the Carolina Basketball Museum on Tuesday. My article about the museum is posted over at TarHeelBlue.Com.

Now, you're in the huddle. At the Carolina Basketball Museum, you'll be
immersed in the Tar Heel experience. Your first stop is the theater,
where you're taken inside the Smith Center as it fills on game day. The
band is warming up. The cheerleaders are ready. And you're in the
huddle with the Tar Heels. Here Comes Carolina . . . and you with them. . .

Check out the rest of the article here

The HeelsBlog Podcast is back!

jtw3 — Thu, 24 Jan 2008 17:51:47 -0500

After nearly two years, the HeelsBlog podcast is back! Join me as I recap the Maryland and Miami games, look ahead to Maryland for the women's team, and pick the next ten ACC games.

Subscribe in iTunes by clicking here.

Sometimes you have to just walk

jtw3 — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 10:10:14 -0500

Ever been on a long walk, and been walking a while, and realize that walking's just too easy? So, you start a light jog. And that's easy, too. So, you start skipping. And that's easy, too, at first. But then your foot starts to slip a bit. You catch yourself, but you keep skipping along. But then you trip and fall. You're still on your walk, but you get up, dust yourself off, and realize you need to just walk for a while, and look out for things that might trip you up.

Conference Road Trip for Tar Heel Women

jtw3 — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 12:54:19 -0500

Traveled with the Tar Heel women to Blacksburg on Thursday. You can read my notebook on the game here. Erlana Larkins is still playing brilliantly, even with a cast on her left hand, and Rashanda McCants continues to fill up the box score.

The Tar Heels do miss Rebecca Gray, out a few games with a stress fracture in her right foot. She fills a valuable role with her outside shooting and minutes at the off-guard spot. The Tar Heels trailed heading into the break until McCants' three with seven seconds to go tied the score. A quick start to the second half took the crowd out of the game and left the Hokies behind.

Another big test on the road Sunday at N.C. State. The Pack aren't great, but they always get up to play the Tar Heels, and Reynolds Coliseum will be rocking. At 15-1, the Tar Heels need to get some wins in tough environments and gain some confidence before they head to undefeated #1 UConn on January 21.

Wayne. Freaking. Ellington

jtw3 — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 07:44:48 -0500

B ox score from ESPN

The media guide will tell you that his middle name is 'Robert,' but for our purposes, Wayne Ellington has earned a new one: Freaking. As in Wayne Freaking Ellington. Ellington's career-making performance at Clemson might have been a footnote had it not been for the final, icewater-in-his-veins dagger in overtime. With the Heels trailing by one point, Ty Lawson found Ellington on the wing - the Tigers' David Potter overplayed looking for a steal - and #22 had an open look. All net. Wayne Freaking Ellington.

Have to give a lot of credit to Clemson. They are a great team, and came in to that game believing they could win it. And they could have. I think that's the first game of the season since Davidson that the Tar Heels' opponent actually believed they could win. And that makes teams dangerous. Clemson will win a lot of games in conference, and Carolina ought not look past them when they come to the Smith Center looking to end that streak of futility in Chapel Hill.

Need Alex Stepheson back - Clemson's big bodies had their way with Tyler Hansbrough for most of the game. Of course, Tyler's big rebounds late in the game were key in pulling the win out.

Heels gear up for ACC play

jtw3 — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 14:28:22 -0500

The Tar Heels beat Kent State last night, 90-61 to move to 14-0. Looking pretty good so far. Every team in the country would love to be 14-0. Every team in the country would love to be #1 in both polls.
But a rash of injuries and illnesses has tested this team. Losing Bobby Frasor hurt. Missing Alex Stepheson to a family illness hurts. Missing Quentin Thomas hurts.

Ty Lawson played 32 minutes last night against Kent State, nearly seven more than his average. With his first two backups out, Roy Williams runs into a quandary with Lawson: He's got to be protected because he's the only point guard on the roster, but he's got to play more, again because he's the only point guard on the roster. Williams has been using Marcus Ginyard some at the point, but employing some creative substitution patterns to keep Lawson from wearing out. This has worked in two games without Frasor so far, but the rigors of ACC play (a once-beaten Clemson team hosts Carolina Sunday) will test Lawson even more. Ty doesn't play half-speed - and he's a great player because of it. So having a capable backup behind him is that much more important.

Deon Thompson's recent improved play is a good sign, but losing Alex Stepheson indefinitely places even more pressure on his mercurial classmate. . . Mike Copeland looked solid playing above-average minutes against the Golden Flashes . . . Losing Frasor on the perimeter has given opportunity to redshirt freshman Will Graves. If Graves would defend with the same intensity with which he approaches the offensive end of the floor, he will see the court more as the season progresses. . . Williams said he expects Quentin Thomas to play Sunday at Clemson.

Through 11 games - UNC Women's Basketball

jtw3 — Tue, 11 Dec 2007 11:58:54 -0500

The UNC Women's basketball team is 10-1 through its first 11 games, and I thought I'd take a look at how they've gotten here and to #3 in the AP poll.

At the risk of alienating the greatest player to wear a Tar Heel uniform, I think this team may be a product of addition by subtraction. Ivory Latta was a great player, but she dominated the offense. Everything had to go through her. That was great when it was working, and against an opponent that couldn't stop her. But the Tar Heels lost to Tennesee last year when Latta went 4-13. When teams took a lead and stopped the Tar Heels from running, Carolina fell into shooting 3s to try to get back in games. They stopped running their offense. Erlana Larkins had but four(!) field goal attempts in last year's national semifinal. They quit going to the well, and they lost. This year's team has much more chemistry than 2006-07, and I think they'll be better for it.

MVP to this point: Has to be Rashanda McCants. Rashanda has finally found her place in the Tar Heel offense. Maybe she was hesitant in her first two years. Maybe she didn't have to take the shots she's taking now. But she's shooting 48 percent from the field, scoring 16.5 ppg, and playing less than 25 minutes a game. Rashanda is not afraid to take the game in her hands.

Disappointment: Losing Alex Miller hurt. A lot. Granted, she wasn't the most efficient offensive player, but Alex was supposed to be the stop-gap between Latta and this year's crop of freshmen. Her season-ending knee injury made the learning curve that much sharper for CeTera DeGraffenreid, Italee Lucas and Rebecca Gray. And that leads into . . .

Pleasant Surprise: The play of those very same freshmen. Though Lucas was touted as Latta's heir apparent, she struggled with those expectations early. Her adjustment to the college game took a few games, but she's getting it, controlling herself and starting to play solidly. Lucas got her first start on Sunday, and rewarded Sylvia Hatchell with 10 points, 4 assists and 4 rebounds.

DeGraffenreid emerged and started six games after Miller went down. She is incredibly aggressive and knows how to take the ball to the basket. She wasn't finishing as much as she should in her first few games, but she's maintaining her focus and getting lots of plus-one opportunities. CeTera is second behind McCants with 12.5 ppg.

Gray is Carolina's deadliest threat from the outside, and when she's open, she's hitting her shots. She too can handle the ball when needed.

One of my favorite lineups has been the three freshmen on the perimeter, with Jess Breland inside with McCants or Larkins. Just a sophomore herself, Breland is a lot of fun to watch. She can handle the ball, and she's loooong.

Outlook: The Tar Heels have to be considered a top-two team in conference (with Maryland), and should challenge for a deep NCAA tournament run. The loss to Tennessee was disappointing, sure, but it was encouraging with what we saw. The Heels won the game in every category except at the free throw line. A tweak here or there and the Tar Heels are sitting at #1. Carolina and Tennessee might just meet again this spring.

Check back later for a look at the men's team.