Okay, I am going to be offline for the next week as the Tar Heel Family heads to Disney World. I was instructed by Tar Heel Wife that I would not be bringing my laptop to Disney and am currently in negotiations to hold on to my Blackberry for the week.
In the meantime, the Tar Heels hit the court twice in my absence.
UNC vs UNC-Asheville, Sunday, November 30th, 6:30 PM, FSN
After winning the Maui Invitational and lending assistance to a man in diabetic shock, the Heels earn a much deserved cupcake snack. In this case it is UNC Asheville which was a more compelling matchup before 7-7 Kenny George had his career tragically ended with the partial amputation of his foot. Everyone enjoyed watching Tyler Hansbrough matchup with the gigantic George. Now it is just you run of the mill drubbing of a Big South team by UNC. This is a good game at a good time. The Heels seemed to finally get it clicking in Maui but there is always an inevitable hangover from such a trip. It is advantageous for UNC that they get this game at home to shake out cobwebs and get tuned up for the trip to Detroit to play Michigan State
UNC 105 UNC-A 77
UNC vs Michigan State, Wednesday, December 3rd, 9:15 PM, ESPN
The annual trouncing of the Big Ten by the ACC has really already started. Maryland played Michigan State at the Old Spice Classic in Orlando and the Terps whipped the Spartans by 18. That makes figuring out this game and Michigan State a little more difficult. Are they overrated? Are the Terps underrated? Probably neither since MSU bounced back to beat Oklahoma State and Maryland promptly lost to Gonzaga by 22. I do know MSU will show up ready to play and this game will be in front of a hostile crowd as far as the Heels are concerned. Michigan State is a deep team playing at least ten players 10 minutes or more. In this respect UNC’s pace will not bother them the way it did Notre Dame. I also do not envision Ty Lawson running wild on the Spartan defense as he did against the Irish. UNC is still the more talented team and with Tyler Hansbrough showing great versatility with his ability to score from anywhere the balance in this game favors the Heels. I also fully expect Wayne Ellington and Danny Green to not be as quiet as they were during the Maui final. Toss in a healthy dose of Deon Thompson and Ty Lawson doing what he does, UNC should win but anything can happen on the road.
UNC 81 MSU 75
Consider this an open thread for all your commenting purposes this week. I will be back Saturday night at which point I will sort out the week that was. Also note any new accounts will stay moderation until I return. Enjoy the week.
GO HEELS!
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Enjoy! I still need to get back there to settle a score with Goofy… he smashed a cupcake in my face when I was 11 (with my parents encouragement) and I have vowed to get him back!!
Hope you have a great time, loved it down there.
No Hansbrough tonight?
i’m in philly w/no FSN. any idea how i can watch the game?!?!? thanks!
Try MSG.
D.G. = Danny Green…
D.G. = Dear God!
Maybe McAlarney rubbed off on this team!!
It’s official. It’s a blowout.
Danny Freaking Green
Anyone want to complain about the Heels not winning by 70???
anyone know why no tyler or bobby?
Sorry, I see that bobby played 19 minutes, and just read that they held out Hansbrough for precautionary reasons.
Holy crap, hate I missed that impressive display.
Wonder if Disney will give me free biscuits?
I am curious to hear why TH was held out and wondering if this will be the pattern until ACC play.
If I understand correctly, after the Mich State game is a 10-day exam layoff. My guess is that Hansbrough will play at MSU, take one last 10-day break, then be back full-time as his leg allows.
During Roy’s postgame comments, he said Tyler’s ankle stiffened up on the long plane ride home. Roy mentioned something about him not even being able to reach the rim during yesterday’s practice (although Old Roy is prone to exaggeration). I guess the ankle was still stiff today. I was disappointed in the low turnout for tonight’s game but then saw video of State’s game earlier in the day. Boy, were there a lot of empty seats in the lower level of the RBC Center.
Man. That is some scary news. I had no idea that the ankle was in this bad of a situation. Wonder why not news-worthy. I am not sure this 10 day break will be suffice. I say for sure sit him out Michigan State whether it looks as if we win or lose. Sit him out next returning game as well. Just the natural motions of life should be enough to keep it warmed up. That is all he should have to endure right now if his previous game did this to him.
Roy said the same thing about Deon, too. This is no big deal, IMO. Tyler dressed, and obviously could have played if he was needed. Having the ankle stiffen up on the flight home was completely foreseeable and sitting him was the cautious, and probably prudent move. I’d be shocked if he doesn’t play on Wednesday.
While I still maintain that I would be shocked if TH doesn’t play on Wednesday, with Goran Suton out for MSU (knee sprain; 15-20% chance of playing) UNC has a big advantage in the front court, even w/o Tyler, so it may be the safest move to rest Tyler one more game. Safest, that is, for the the team… Roy may be putting his life in jeopardy if he tries to sit Tyler another game!
Tyler was dressed, yes, but I don’t think there was ever any intention to let him play. He didn’t participate in stretching or the warm ups; I was surprised when he showed up dressed, because I can’t imagine he would try to play without stretching–he’s a fanatic about that. Marcus, on the other hand, did take part in the shoot around. He was not wearing his uniform, but was dressed in all blue and looked like he’d been working out pretty hard. Looked to me like he is moving pretty well, but he was taking it easy–no serious jumping, no hard cuts. He came out with the team, dressed in a suit.
I hope we get both those guys back soon, because they’re fun to watch and because they are both such good kids. Tyler looked like he was really frustrated sitting on the bench last night.
As much as we miss Tyler and Marcus, the game changer is Ty Lawson. Even last night, against a woefully outmanned opponent, the Heels just looked like a different team altogether when Lawson was pushing the tempo. If he continues to play like this, his return to school will wind up making him millions.
It should also wind up making him an All-America.
If Hansbrough can play against Notre Dame, he can play against Michigan State. Having a stiff ankle after the zillion mile flight from Hawaii does not strike me as either unusual or worrisome.
Did anyone else notice that Notre Dame actually went up a spot in the ESPN/USAT poll from 8th to 7th despite the UNC loss? Can’t be too common of an occurrence.
I guess it’s indicative of the level the Tar Heels are playing at that a 15 point loss to them is some kind of victory?
Agreed, but given the L’ville and MSU losses, and the fact that they beat Texas, I think they are ranked about right.
I liked McAlarney’s line after beating Furman…
“Coming off a great tournament in Maui, it’s very easy to fall back into getting a little lax and using excuses like you’re tired from jet lag and whatnot, but we knew that we had to play for something tonight.”
A shellacking at the hands of the Heels and they still call it a great tournament (though I suppose he had a great tournament personally).
I’m still trying to wrap my head around the fact that a team who was missing a potential defensive POY AND the reigning NPOY could win a game, any game, by 68 points… I’m beginning to think that the only team that can beat UNC, is UNC.
That is right. The only team that can beat UNC is the Tarheels. I cannot tell you how much I think we are ahead of the pack this year. When you look at the teams in the top 5, Louisville we beat last year, Duke we beat last year, that really only leaves UCONN. They do look great, but so do we!!!
I actually think Pitt is a better team than UConn. I haven’t been real impressed with UConn.
This is from Gary Parrish’s column and is quite funny…
“Tyler Hansbrough was held out against UNC-Asheville on Sunday for what was described as a “precautionary” reason, and I can only imagine the precautionary reason was because Roy Williams was scared if he played his All-American that North Carolina might beat the Bulldogs by 700 points and make their coach, Eddie Biedenbach, quit at halftime. As it was, UNC only beat UNC-Asheville 116-48, and everybody remained employed. So it was a good day.”
I think Michigan State will give a good understanding of where were at.
As great as Duke was in 1999 and UNLV in 1991, they each had at least one team that could play with them and both ultimately went down in the Final Four.
I think Notre Dame realizes that it was only a series of extremely lucky three pointers, including one in the last couple of seconds in garbage time, that prevented them from losing by 30. Otherwise, why weren’t they jacking them up like that the whole game?
Is this season more like those of Duke and UNLV mentioned above, or is it more like UCLA in 1972 and 1973, where basically no one could compete with the Bruins of Keith Wilkes and Bill Walton. and where their back-up center, Swen Nater, who rarely played while in college, would one day go on to be the ABA Rookie of the Year and a credentialed NBA player.
And to reinforced this, while obviously all of us are homers, can anyone remember another season where all five of the preseason experts at ESPN chose the same team to win the National Championship?
The only team that comes to mind is the 1996 Kentucky Wildcats. They were certainly the deepest and most talented team I’ve ever seen. I think the difference in situations is this: UK had a phenomenally deep and talented team, but they didn’t have the “best” players… only Delk was a 2nd team AA, and the first team included such superstars as Iverson, Ray Allen, Camby, Duncan and Kerry Kittles.
In this case, UNC is not only the deepest team in the country, but they also have the reining NPOY and another potential first team AA in Lawson. This UNC team is REALLY unique for this day and age… it is unlikely we will see something like this for a long time.
Danny Green and Deon Thompson are playing like, at least, Third Team All Americans.
Agreed. What is amazing to me is the stuff guys like Gary Parrish are writing. Parrish, in the past, has not been one to deal in hyperbole, but today he wrote this:
“So without further hesitation (and pointless words), here are five things we learned in November:
1. North Carolina is awesome
The discussion should no longer be about whether UNC is the best team in the country, but rather if the Tar Heels can go down as one of the best teams in history. And yes, I’m serious. They just beat the mess out of a legitimate top 10 opponent (Notre Dame) and are being as thoroughly dominant as a team with at least five or six future pros on it should be. They are good or great at every position, experienced and being run by a Hall of Fame coach. So the goal should be to get Tyler Hansbrough healthy and shoot for an undefeated season.
Sure, it’ll be difficult with games against Michigan State (in Detroit), Wake Forest (away), Miami (home and away) and Duke (home and away), plus the ACC and NCAA tournaments. If you’re betting, bet against it because the Tar Heels will likely slip up somewhere. But I’ve written it before and I’ll write it again: Anybody who doesn’t believe an undefeated season is possible is silly, because UNC is that good, and when the Tar Heels play well they are unbeatable. To lose, they’ll have to play poorly, and so far they haven’t played anywhere close to poorly enough to manufacture a defeat.”
This is the type of thing that is very rare to see written…
C.Michael — The line that stands out is, “when the Tar Heels play well they are unbeatable.” From what I have seen, this is true.
They seem well-motivated to me. There have been very few moments this season of lassitude or confusion. Everyone seems to be hustling.
And there’s this too: For all his greatness, Hansbrough does not play the most important position. In college basketball that position is the point guard. Lawson is playing it as well as anyone in the country; indeed his mastery of the game now rivals — dare I say it — Phil Ford’s.
We might all come crashing back to earth tomorrow night when we play a motivated Michigan State in Michigan. But if we beat them as soundly as we beat Notre Dame, I really don’t see who out there can take us, including (for all their flailing elbows) the cupcakes at Dook.
You all forget something about Duke. Duke has mastered the art of drawing a foul. Coach K has even said he teaches the art. When players get in foul trouble, they tend to not be as aggressive as they can be. This does hurt us given the fact that intensity and aggression help enable our team to do what it does best. But another thing that has to be mentioned is the fact that foul trouble is only going to get our 2nd string out on the court, and we have seen they are just as capable as our starters. This is great news for us concerning the Duke matchup.
a little early for UN-Coronation, but Thompson and Drew have made a stark difference from last year. I don’t think it’s too much to ask/hope that Marcus show equal improvement to Deon upon his return…IF that be the case, THEN, “Katy bar the door” for sure! Duke is gonna be a tough out-count on it–twill make it all the more sweet!
My concern about Parrish’s lavish praise is he it simply trying to be a frontrunner with all the unbeaten talk. That being said, UNC is awesome. The emergence of Thompson and Drew. Ed Davis is better than Stepheson was and Hansbrough’s game has expanded. With a very.agressive Lawson running the show this is clearly the best team in the nation, by a good margin.
Still a lot of work to do but I am happy with where they are in early December.
Anyone need anything from Disney?
Can you send some of the warmth to western NY??? I swear, if I never hear the term. “Lake Effect Snow,” again, it will be too soon!!
THF, I could sure use one of those big ol’ fried turkey legs they sell. That would serve great to fill the gap between Thanksgiving and Christmas turkey!
I have been seriously considering the turkey leg.
Do my eyes deceive me or is Duke actually playing a ranked team in a true road game? Oh, that’s right the ACC probably forced them to do it.
Don’t get used to seeing Dook do that.
skip the Turkey Leg & do breakfast OR dinner (or both) at Boma (Animal Kingdom Lodge).
also, the 50′s Cafe (at Disney’s Hollywood Studio) is quite the experience–just be sure to wash your hands or you’ll get a scolding from “Mom”!
Yeah, that’s 50′s place at MGM was pretty cool. One of my favorite pictures that I have is of me and the missus sitting in one of those mini 57 Chevy’s.
I don’t know about you guys, but I haven’t been real impressed with the ACC’s showing in this year’s challenge. The Big 10 is pretty weak this year, and I’m beginning to think that the ACC may not be much better. Granted, UNC and Wake play tonight and could make up for that, and Miami likely would have beat OSU soundly had McClinton not been ejected, but on the whole, a lot of the ACC has a lot of work to do.
I’m less impressed with the Duke win than the media expects me to be. I kind of thought Purdue was a paper tiger going into this season. MSU should runaway with the Big 10.
Does anyone know if there is an officiating “point of emphasis” on block/charge calls this year? It seems to me that nearly all the close calls (and some that looked like clear charges), particularly those in the lane, have been called blocks. I know it’s early, but if the refs are being told to call blocks to clean up play close to the basket, it can’t be good news for the floppin’ Dookies.
There is indeed. I hadn’t heard about that, but it certainly should be interesting to see how it plays out…
Men’s Basketball Points of Emphasis for the 2008-2009 season:
- Elimination of rough physical play.
- Illegal contact is prevalent in screening situations including the high screen set within the opponents’ field of vision and a screen set outside the opponents’ visual field.
- Coaching box restrictions/ Coaches behavior
- Palming/ ball carrying
- Charge / blocking
Source: WAC Official Blog
I refuse to comment on basketball for the foreseeable future, but I do like WDW.
The 50′s Prime Time Cafe is one of our favorites too. At Epcot, we like the Mexican food outside the Mexican pavillion (not the restaurant inside). I also liked the Canadian steakhouse and the French restaurant. Is the upstairs Bistro still open? I think at one time it was closed, but I don’t know if it reopened. It’s hard to avoid character dining when you take small children, but we had a good experience at Chef Mickey’s at the contemporary resort once. Those darn characters are everywhere.
I was looking for Purdue to give the Dookies a game; on the road in a truly hostile non-conference arena (for a change) with tickets scarce and fan interest at a fever pitch. What happens, Purdue rolled-over and showed Dook their belly! Getting out rebounded by Dook? Paper Tiger doesn’t begin to reflect the lack of b—s they displayed last night. Talk about having your manhood challenged and not responding at all; that was Purdue last night! Does Matt Painter have any clue that Dook looks to shoot the 3 at every opportunity! Jeez!
I always find it interesting that most of the “points of emphasis” for officials remain pretty much the same year after year. You’d think that if they were truly “emphasized” then eventually they’d no longer be an issue. All you have to do is watch any game and see that: 1)palming is almost as bad in college as the NBA 2)rough play inside seems to be getting worse, not better 3)about half of the picks/screens are illegal and or moving 4)charging and blocking calls are about as inconsistent as possible
Usually officials will make a few calls early in the season to show they are doing something, but by conference play everything is back to “normal”.
Duke flat out won that game. Perdue had so many good looks from 8-10 feet and couldn’t hit one. If those shots fall, Perdue wins. But they didn’t!
Wake should beat Indiana by at least 20.
Granted, Dook played well and deserved to win as much as I hate to say that. For a conference whose fans like to point at their physicality and hard play compared to their view of the ACC being a “finesse” league; Dook looked more like the Big 10 team last night. I guess I was singularly unimpressed with Purdue’s degree of toughness and intensity last night. Bo Ryan at Wisconsin is my favorite coach in that league. Michigan St. will try to be physical with us tonight. ESPN is still reporting that Tyler is a gametime decision with his “stress reaction”. I thought we were talking about an ankle issue the last I heard?
“ESPN is still reporting that Tyler is a gametime decision with his “stress reaction””
This is the epitome of lazy journalism…
I just read an article on ESPN about how Dook will give us more than a run for our money. Does this sound legit or ESPN already hyping up the game on their channel??
They beat us one out of three in 1984 is a similar situation in terms of talent disparity, but all three games went down to the wire that year.
So Dook is going to stick it to us??!! Well, sure, they might. They have some excellent athletes, they whacked Purdue right good, and they could get hot from three-point land. If we can lose to Maryland, as we did last year for reasons I still can’t fathom, then I suppose we can lose to Dook.
On the other hand…………..what are they planning to use for inside power? Their current “center” is as big as the Great Wall of China, and moves about as well.
And what are they planning to use to keep up with Lawson? George Patton is said to have remarked, “Give me a tank that fires one-tenth of a second faster than the enemy’s and I will clear the battlefield.” Lawson is a good deal more than one-tenth of a second faster than anything Dook can use to guard him.
And what’s the answer to Ed Davis off the bench. Mr. Plumlee??
Right!
Bring it on.
I fully expect the Dook games to be nail biters, they just are no matter who is superior in talent. But I guess I don’t see it looking through my Carolina Blue Hue glasses. So to see a guy write about it that is down the middle as far as caring about the game is kind of well and eye opener.
that pat forde’s espn article was a joke. watch out unc, dook has so much experience?! krat had to convince paulus, thomas and mcclure to come off the bench like he had to with the nba superstars?! come one, you can’t make this stuff up. i know many of you are worried about dook but they’re marginally better than they were last year (if at all) while we’re significantly better. our upperclassmen have played them at least 2 years and know them well enough to play a very composed yet dominating game. whether we end up playing them 2, 3 or 4 times, i say we sweep them this year. they have a lot more to worry about in terms of foul trouble than us. against purdue, they had foul trouble. btw, i’m calling unc 100 – mich st 80. good to hear you’re finally getting some break THF!
The question you have to answer about Duke is whether they will get worn out and go cold from mid-Feb on.
That was a weak foul call on Hansbrough.
i read somewhere that unc will see what it missed out on delvin roe. i think it’s more like roe will see what greatness he passed up on.
53 in a half against MSU… UN-BE-LIEVABLE!!!!
I agree. That is rediculous. I think we could rival that UNLV team of 90-92.
To be fair, Delvin is shadow of his self right now. When (if) he gets fully healthy, he will be tremendous… but I don’t think UNC will miss him much…
The Heels’ transition defense is a bit lacking. Then again MSU’s is far worse. Still, MSU is getting too many good looks. Lawson is doing a little bit of everything and those long threes are ridiculous.
M.St was hot and were tearing them up. The guy Frasor is guarding is killing him. Lets go Heels and kick that hinney in the second half.
I thought Delvin Roe chose MSU over the Heels, not that we stopped recruiting him. If that’s so, then I guess we really didn’t miss out on anything. I expect Roy is pretty satisfied with what he got instead
what a 1st half!
hansbrough – 15 pts, 8 rebs
ellington – 13 pts on 6/10 FGs
lawson – 9 pts, 5 assists, 4 steals
green – 6 pts, 4 rebs, 5 assists, 2 blocks
davis – 4 pts, 2 blocks
sheed in da house!
here’s a comment that most will hate but I believe is true. Lawson will be remembered as a great college player who twice came close to winning a national championship. He never did much in the pros due to his lack of jumping ability, lack of a decent long range shot, and inability to close on the fast break.
If I did not know better I’d say the Heels are trying to 1-up Duke’s performance last night
what?!
1) lawson can definitely finish. he’s shown that all season so far except the last block.
2) he’s showing tonight that he has nba range. if felton is doing things in the pros (he sure is this year), then so can lawson.
2) if unc comes close, then who’s your pick to win it this year?
I know you’re just trying to keep it real dawg but really, Chris, what does UNC need to work on in order to be fit to win a national championship?
steal & finish
one man fast break & finish with all the defenders already back.
and that inbounds slam by will graves showed me some athleticism that i hadnt seen from the guy so far.
this is a clinic.
So, if Duke beating Purdue by 16 got the media lined up kissing K’s rear end, what will they say about UNC absolutely smoking MSU?
“He never did much in the pros due to his lack of jumping ability…”
WHAT??? I’d be willing to bet he has the best vertical on the team. Anyone who remembers his flush at the end of the 2007 ACCT should know that…
Great Game!!! Impressive.
Very impressive. Everytime UNC made a great play I had to hear Vitale mention Duke and there performance last night. Only in the ACC is Duke anywhere near equivalent to UNC.
Does JJ Redick’s points record include post-season points? If that is not the case, then Hansbrough needs to drop 24 points a game to capture the lead. If it does include post-season points, then I imagine it would drop the average he needs to roughly 21-22 a game. I see him coming pretty dang close to that.
Just got back from the game at Ford Field. Very impressive win, despite the fact that I didn’t feel they put everything together. There were spurts of greatness, but still not a complete game as they are capable of. Maybe I am being too perfectionistic, but it was GREAT to see the Heels in my backyard. Hopefully I can say the same thing in April.
Like an NBA team playing a college team.
We humiliated the best team in the Big Ten on their turf. There’s no use in asking our guys for perfection, because they aren’t going to produce it, just as no team has produced it. What they will produce, and have produced, is better basketball in every phase of the game than the opposition.
One other thought: It’s time that Lswson get some mention for Player of the Year, and I see that Jeff Goodman has done just that (ranking him at No. 5).
He has to be considered as a top 5. As of right now, why not number ONE! Oh wait, I know, TYLER!
rathskellar, nba vs college was exactly how i was thinking. it may not be as evident in person, but when you’re switching back and forth between games, it’s pretty clear that unc is just playing at another level compared to anybody else out there. as far as humiliating the best B10 team, it reminds me of our 2005 march madness run when we knocked off one B10 team after another.
i agree about lawson, too. no matter how great hansbrough is, lawson has been the mvp of the team so far and will be the key if we’re to go all the way. there was another news article (fayetteville news or something?) about how tar heel fans need to thank ryan reid for injuring lawson which prevented him from jumping to the nba, therefore leading to such a great start this season. but i honestly believe that if lawson never got injured that badly last year, we would’ve gotten our national championship last year.
1. THF on Vacation: I need to know in advance if THF is going to go on vacation again before bb season is over, need more posts, can’t keep going, other sites lack depth, send help, come back soon…
2. Big11 Challenge: FSU and Miami continue to hold down the thug title in the ACC, not wanting injuries this year makes me nervous about playing against them later in the year.
3. Big11 Challenge: VT & Seth Greenberg seems to be on the rise, spurts over the last few seasons but they looked good against the Badgers this week. Hard to tell if that’s a ranking fluke as it is early in the season but it was closer than it should have been.
4. Heels: Complete domination over MSU underscored by 4:00 minutes of Tanner and company against a ranked opponent. Wow, that was just great.
5. Media Bias: Listening to the local sports radio (much better than our local content sadly) with great bias to SEC it was great to hear them try to explain why a top offensive line recruit was visiting UNC but stil favoring either TN or FL. “Maybe he likes the cue, he’s pretty much set on FL or TN though he is visiting UNC…” I forgot the players name but he was 6’8″ and some 300 lbs.
JBowling,
Tourney games do count for the scoring record. As of last night’s performance, Tyler would have to average 23.4 PPG from here on out to break the record on Senior night. If makes it to the ACCT Final and the NCAAT final (9 more games), he would have to average 16.6 PPG.
UNC starts 5 future NBA players, and has a 6th (Ed) coming off the bench. I’d say that qualifies them as a NBA team!!
Last night was an “expectation-redefining” win…
MSU shot 7 – 35 in the second half last night. UNC scored more points in the second half from the free-throw line (16) then the Spartans did from the field (15)!!
The scariest thing of all here is that the Heels could have played even better, especially on the defensive end. Am I starting to sound like Roy?
I am frightened and confused. That was a shock and awe game.
HeelYeah,
A little.
I agree, though. The first half was a great example of where Marcus will make this team truly elite. MSU had only one guy who was doing anything of consequence (Allen), and while he was a bit of a tough match up for Bobby 1 on 1, I have to feel a healthy Ginyard would have locked him down.
Actually, I think that Danny Green switched to “D” him up in the second half, and played him well.
In looking at this team play so far this year, I am most impressed with the defensive intensity overall. I’m seeing many more blocked shots and agressive plays than last year. Green, Thompson, Davis and even Hansbrough are challenging all shots and owning the paint on BOTH ends of the floor. And Lawson is proving that Defense IS his strong suit.
There is nothing I enjoy more than watching a UNC team play with fire, hunger and intensity. Usually I have to wait until the Dook game, or in spurts, but so far they seem to be playing angry, and I love every minute of it.
C.Michael — How much do you suppose a Senior Night ticket would go for? Whatever the price was 24 hours ago, I think it just went up.
Not that I’d be able to go anyway. I’ll be in Hawaii at the time. Life is rough I tell you.
However, I’ll be back on the mainland in time for the National Championship. Now all I need to do is find some bigwig in Michigan who can get me a ticket.
We have overwhelming talent and, as DanG notes, we have the killer instinct this year. It won’t always be like this, so I’m going to thank God for the next 31 games.
I believe the term is, “an arm and a leg!”
I have tix to all the ACCT games, so I’m selfishly hoping Tyler doesn’t break JJ’s record until then… or even better, perhaps against Duke in the Finals!
I am sure glad I got my hotel reservation for the final four done and got my ticket. Looks like I may be needing them come April.
Of course, I remember all that talk about Carolina’s 2005 squad being an “NBA team” as well. It’s not true. No college team could win over five games in the NBA and that could be pushing it. Not only are the rules, style of play and talent levels different, a lot of these guys are not even physically mature until age 23 or 24.
Let’s look at the 2005 squad, which is near and dear to my heart.
Only Marvin Williams is playing anywhere close to an elite level in the NBA and some observers feel that he is a slight disappointment.
Felton had a good rookie year and then disappeared and this is a guy who was every bit the player Chris Paul and Deron Williams were in college.
Sean May has barely played at all in the bigs.
Rashad McCants has also missed huge chunks of time due to injuries, although, currently, he is probably the second highest achieving player from that squad, after Marvin. Jawad must be playing in Europe because I never hear about him.
UNC’s 1984 team had Michael Jordan, Brad Daugherty, Kenny Smith and Sam Perkins, all of whom went on to either All Pro or solid, solid NBA player credentials and except for Daugherty whose career was cut short by injuries, played long careers in the NBA at the highest levels. Jordan and Smith won multiple titles.
We shall see, and obviously, I am rooting for all of these guys when they get to the NBA, but the odds are long against any four members of the current squad equaling the career of the 1984 quartet or even that of the 1982 trio of Worthy, Perkins and Jordan.
What has obviously changed is that the 1982 and 1984 teams or more generally, the Heels teams of that era, had to confront Ralph Sampson, Patrick Ewing, Chris Mullins, Hakeem Olajuwon and others, of a caliber that would not stick around these days. Thus, even though the current squad may not be better than the 1984 squad in absolute terms, it almost certainly is in relative terms vis-a-vis its competition.
Carolina lost 3 games last year, although according to stats theory, they probably should have lost a couple more, so let’s say that given the somewhat lucky wins against Clemson, they were a five loss team last year.
They have lost two significant players in Q. Thomas and Alex Stepheson, who have been replaced by players seemingly much better, even at this stage of the season, in Davis for Stepheson and in Drew and Frasor for Thomas.
Davis is a better free throw shooter than Stepheson and seems much better on offense and as good on defense. He is leading the Heels in rebounding and is second in blocked shots, while averaging almost ten points per game.
Drew II seems to have the complete package and the confidence that Q.T. never had. Frasor doesn’t seem to be the player he was before his injury but is still an experienced hand and hopefully is just rusty.
You then figure in the improvement of a squad that was mostly sophs and juniors last year and compare that to the quality of the league and who the Heels play twice and you might have an opportunity for this team to go undefeated in ACC and ACC tournament play, which has been done by Duke, at least as recently as 1999. Free throw shooting is so-so right now, at 71.4% but that stat generally goes up as the season progresses. Thompson is still hindered by his Shaq-like free throw percentage, which could be critical in any close games.
Hansbrough is shooting a mind-boggling .932 from the free throw line, however, at 41 out of 44.
Yes, Duke looks good early on this year, but when have they ever not looked good in December? Anybody remember that December thrashing of Texas a couple of years ago before Duke went out meekly in March? Wake and Clemson have played incredibly weak schedules thus far. Is Miami for real? Can Maryland get back on track, having had decent success against Carolina the past few years?
Although Evansville or BC might provide a scare, I think it is pretty clear that Carolina will be 15-0 when it goes to Winston-Salem on January 11th. Wake, if it can get by BYU, would be 13-0 and that could be the game that really shows just how close back Duke, Wake and the others are to the Heels.
good points william. I think Duke is real good this year, but as good as UNC has played so far, I think Duke will receive the full Monty, and some long-overdue karmic payback when the teams meet up. the coaching value of the KU beat-down (and the NBA toe-dipping reality-check)can’t be overestimated for this year’s version of the Tarheels. the healthy, and more mature version of last season’s team, combined with some talented and hungry rooks makes this a potentially better team than the 05 team imo.
I am not as sold on Duke.
Compare this Duke roster with any Duke roster that you wish, from the period between 1998 and 2006 and tell me if there is any comparison whatsoever? With the exception of Gerald Henderson, who might be a so-so NBA player, there just isn’t that kind of talent on Duke. Paulus, their five-star point guard, no longer even starts. Demarcus Nelson was probably their top player last year and he has graduated. They have no Shane Battiers, or Luol Dengs or Jason Williams. They don’t even have a Shelden Williams.
Here’s a letter that I wrote to one “expert” touting the current Duke team:
You guys say the same thing about Duke every single December. Remember when they thrashed Texas three years ago and then went out meekly in March. If Duke were a stock, since they last won the title in 2001, you would want to sell on the news that some reporter somewhere, was impressed with them in December….
Duke may be deeper and bigger this year, but with the exception of Henderson, Scheyer and Smith, I don’t think any of these guys could even play for UNC. Zoubek, McClure, Lance Thomas? Come on. Didn’t Duke almost lose to Rhode Island at home?
Duke may beat UNC this year, that is what great rivalries are all about, but in terms of talent, this team is far inferior to every single Duke team from the 1998 to 2006 era, and arguably not as good as the 2007 or 2008 Duke teams.
http://www.sportingnews.com/yourturn/viewtopic.php?t=493520
Duke always starts out strong. Every year people go crazy because Duke wins its first 15 games and then they fade.
If Duke is as good as they think they are, we should look forward to beating them 4 times this year, twice in the regualar season, the ACC championship, and the Final Four.
The Dook game is almost always going to be close. Just like the State game in football (except this year, yuck). That’s what rivalry games are all about. The one thing about Dook is that they tend to play hard for 40 minutes, and usually their defense is solid. That is going to always present a problem, especially if the Heels are cold shooting the ball.
I have no doubt that we can go undefeated, but that requires an 80% effort on most nights and 100% during the Dook games and Final Four. Can they do that? Certainly. Will they? Who knows. These are still kids, and we may have to depend on freshman to give 100% too, which is tough.
I hate to remind you, HeelYeah, but there have been several Duke-UNC games since 1999 that have not been close at all. Unfortunately, Duke has won almost all of them.
In 1998, Carolina ripped Duke twice by double digits and was leading by double digits in the middle game at Durham before collapsing, leading to the famous Coack K kiss with that dopey Polish kid.
In 1999, Duke swept UNC, by 20, 12, and 20 points.
In 2000, they swept UNC by four points and then 14 points the second time.
In 2001, they beat UNC by 14 and 26 points, although we did manage to win in Durham. The 26 point loss in the ACC final was one of Carolina’s most humiliating defeats of all time.
In 2002, Duke beat UNC by 29, 25 and then 12 points in the tourney when UNC stalled.
By 2003, Matt Doherty’s last year, the series seemed to revert back to its nature of closeness and unpredictability, although Duke continued to have the upperhand until 2005, when things appeared to switch with the advantage among the programs going back to UNC.
william, I have a convenient memory that only remembers big wins over the Dookies, not big losses
Also, part of that memory allows me to forget anything that happened in the 2002 season. Didn’t we take that year off to help end world hunger or something?
William,
I should clarify my statement about this being a “NBA team.” Obviously, they would get slaughtered by even the worst NBA team, as would any college team. All I meant was that they have more NBA players on the roster (6, 7 if you count Zeller) then anyone else. I read one columnist call them a legit NBDL team, which I found oddly complementary!!
As for the 2005 team, I’m pretty convinced that this team is better, and it may not be close:
PG: Before the season, I’d say edge Felton. Right now, I say push, and if Ty keeps playing like this, it will be edge 2009. Also, the overall position strength on this team (Lawson/Frasor/Drew) is much stronger than the 2005 team.
SG: Edge McCants, but I think WE is a better teammate and adds more to the chmeistry.
SF: Edge Green. This is not even close.
PF: Edge Deon.
C: Hansbrough in a slaughter.
Bench: Williams was a beast, but in terms of over all strength, I will take Ed, Marcus, LDII, Bobby and Will Graves, over Marvin, Noel, and Scott.
Lastly, this team is far more motivated b/c of last years end, and they seem to get along better, too.