Comments on: THF Countdown #27: 2002

By: TxTarheel

TxTarheel — Sun, 06 Jul 2008 16:11:03 +0000

great post, bad year. In hindsight, very clear how Smith had “spoiled” the fan base to believe a season of top-25, 20 wins, # 1-3 in the ACC were givens. I gained a deeper appreciation for the hard work Smith / his staff put in for 30+ years to not just build, but maintain a top level program with few distractions. Just goes to show these “transitions” are rarely smooth (see: Nebraska football, Indiana basketball, UCLA basketball, etc). Fortunately we got Roy !!

* I watched most games when on TV that year, and most were. Nothing, nothing good could have been said. Too bad Capel/Lang finished a senior season that way

By: Wilson

Wilson — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:28:26 +0000

Yea Matt and THF, that was my one saving grace that year. My parents are Duke fans, and while I couldn’t really talk much crap, I certainly felt a lot better.

Looking back, how did Doh manage to keep the verbals from Felton, May and McCants solid after that?

By: Wilf

Wilf — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 21:34:26 +0000

Oh boy, does the phrase “that is gonna leave a mark” fit here! I now have renewed appreciation for how fantastic our basketball program really is. We have been so very blessed…. I’ll take a few rough years after all the great ones, but I don’t have to be happy about it. I can’t wait for #26; well actually all of these will be fun. Great idea for an off season distraction.

By: Tar Heel Fan

Tar Heel Fan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:37:24 +0000

I enjoyed that game because all I could think about was how Indiana had beaten UNC on a Thursday night in 1984 and here it was, a Thursday night and Duke lost to Indiana.

By: Matt Privett

Matt Privett — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 19:34:24 +0000

I have few memories, thankfully, of the 8-20 campaign. I was in the middle of a big life change and the Tar Heels made it easy not to pay attention. I do recall listening to the ACC quarterfinal against Duke and hearing them try to go all Princeton on the Blue Devils. Just an awful, awful season.

I certainly didn’t pay attention much to recruiting up until then. I assumed because it was Carolina we were getting great players. The Boone and Morrison debacles were truly eye openers for me and I pay much more attention now (that’s not to say I know much).

There was one highlight of that season… Indiana ending another #1 Duke seed in the Sweet 16.

By: robuck

robuck — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 17:26:33 +0000

yeah, 8-20 will always be remembered by Carolina hoops fans, just as 40-12 will be a bad memory for me for the next few years. However, I just hope that folks remember what happened AFTER 8-20. Not so much the return to winning, Doherty’s ouster, and the Championship during Roy’s second year back.

While all those are phenomenal, the real lesson to be learned from 8-20 is how we had to re-learn what it meant to be a fan. Our apparent “right” to be a winning team was brutally taken away, and we learned that it’s important to show up early and cheer loudly for the Heels during all games, not just the Duke game. We definitely lost the sense of entitlement that season.

If anything can be a lasting legacy of 8-20, I feel that rejuvenating the fan base for another 10-15 years, getting Roy to come back home, and adding a few more banners to the rafters is well worth the emotional toll of the 01-02 season.

postscript – I actually started dating my wife in March of 2002, as I had no desire to watch any of the NCAA tournament that year. So, even in a down year, the Heels took care of me!

By: Tar Heel Fan

Tar Heel Fan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 17:03:15 +0000

I think there was a great deal of believing many of these players were better than they were simply because they were going to UNC. No one understood how screwed up the recruiting was under Guthridge which created some misconceptions about the level of talent coming in.

By: heeledsoul

heeledsoul — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:53:26 +0000

Hi everyone.
Long time reader, first time poster. This 2002 season was such an emotional one for me that I had to write. I think YouJustGotHeeled and I were in school exactly the same time as I too just missed coach Smith, Vince Carter and Jamison, and experienced the worst 4 years of UNC athletics (save Peppers’ team beating Auburn in the Peach Bowl) I believe ever existed at Carolina. I was able to get a ticket for the Clemson game, as well. I was filled with confused emotions at the end of the game: the happiness from winning, the relief of at least keeping one streak alive, and the sadness of feeling happy about it all. All of this probably made me a more devout fan that I am today. So in a sense, I’m grateful. And no matter how it happened, this season really helped getting ol’ Roy back to us to lead us to the promised land in 2005.

Also, thanks THF for this website, your insight, and your invaluable input to the fandom.

By: JBowling

JBowling — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:33:59 +0000

Was Orlando Menendez that guy that could jump out of the gymn? Only problem is he never did in game situations.

By: Heels Perspective

Heels Perspective — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:14:58 +0000

Good, I’m slower today than usual…………