Bobby Frasor had his petition for a fifth year of eligibility denied by the NCAA meaning this season will be the senior guard’s last at UNC:
Q: Have you heard anything on your latest NCAA appeal?
A: “Yes, that’s finally come to a close. That’s over with, which is nice. I finally know that I’m moving on, going to graduate and everything, and go out with these guys.”
Q: When did you find out?
A: “Earlier this week. We had a teleconference with the NCAA – some committee – to find out. We presented our case [and] the NCAA presented their case, and then talked to these five people on teleconference and they made a judgment and they said that they denied the appeal. So I’m finally glad it’s over with and I can move on.”
On the surface it seemed like the fair thing to do would be to grant the fifth year since Frasor missed 27 games in 2007-08 due to a knee injury and ten game the previous season due to a foot problem. The NCAA can be a stickler about these kinds of things and chose to honor the letter of the law. I would have been more surprised had they actually granted the fifth season for Frasor.
It also makes a potential scholarship quandry easier to handle. With Marcus Ginyard returning, UNC needs to drop at least one underclassman to make room for the five freshman. Since it is assumed Ty Lawson will probably go to the NBA after this season, that should not be an issue. If Frasor had returned then it would mean two underclasssmen would need to go. Wayne Ellington is also a possibility to leave for the NBA so it may have worked out anyway.
Frasor would have been a solid leader for a young team next season. In that respect it is a shame he could not come back for one more run with the Heels.
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Technically, Frasor only missed 20 games last year. Only the first game of the conference tournament counts so as to avoid an unfair advantage for players on better teams (i.e. ones that win a lot in the post-season). I actually think this is one of the NCAAs good rules. 30% is a fair number and by being a stickler, the NCAA makes it very easy to make rulings that no one can say are biased.
That okay. The only thing I’m concerned about is who is going to start on senior night. We have (correct me if I’m wrong) seven seniors this season but only five can start. It would be unfair if Tyler didnt start his last game as a Tar Heel, Danny as well. That leaves Cope, Bobby. Patrick(Moody), J.B.(Tanner) and Jack(Wooten0. The last three are members of the blue team who I know would love to start.
Should Roy do a Dean and get a technical by starting all seven. If not, who should he start and what should he do with the guys who dont start.
I am feeling a little better this morning. Here is a completely unfounded and unsubstantiated rumor: Ginyard could make a surprise return to the team. Given that Zeller gave up his redshirt, our obvious defensive problems with star guards, and our relative lack of depth of wing players, I do wonder if this could happen.
Wow!, wb3, you do have a penchant for intrigue. Where in the world did you hear that?
wb3, say what? That gives me a boost for the rest of the day. If it actually happens that would be great. I’m not going to get my hopes up but a girl can dream right?
According to someone at IC, Marcus Ginyard was working out in the Dean Dome last night at 10:15 PM with one of the staff. We know that Ginyard is practicing and back when Tyler Zeller started back at practice Ginyard was doing at least as much as Zeller was. I don’t think they go through the whole deal of announcing a redshirt if there was still hope. Maybe Ginyard thinks he can still help and wants to work as hard as he can to make it possible.
Oh Boy! A new Zeller-type thread.
“Should Roy do a Dean and get a technical by starting all seven. If not, who should he start and what should he do with the guys who dont start.”
Scholarship seniors should absolutely have priority. Start Hansbrough, Green, Frasor, and Copeland. For the 5th spot, I say start Lawson. It’s his last game at the Dean Dome and UNC is going to need the win.
As for Ginyard… the big difference between him and Zeller is the fact that Zeller’s injury was to his off hand, meaning he could keep his conditioning, and even with that, we’ve seen how slow he is compared to game speed. Marcus has had to stay off of his foot, so how came we expect him to be any good on defense???
Rarely do I put the word “rational” in the same phrasing with “NCAA”…and I am not going to start. This organization is just as money-grubbing as any other for-profit business, albeit under the guise of an antitrust-exemption (I think).
Too bad for Frasor, but is what it is.
I don’t think it is within the realm of possibility that Ginyard could come back and help us like the old Ginyard. But what if the pain in Ginyard’s foot were to subside, say, next week. He could probably give us 10 minutes or so. If he could give Bobby, Wayne, and Danny a break from guarding the other team’s best guard for even a short time, that could make the marginal difference between winning and losing. I think it probably would have made the difference last night.
Ginyard is such a great guy, I have no doubt that if he could help (according to Roy of course), that he would. Of course, this is all hypothetical.
{If you want to judge with your own eyes what Ginyard might be up to, look under “Marcus Ginyard getting back in shape (2/18/09)” on youtube}
Does this mean that we would have room for a returning junior?
“Does this mean that we would have room for a returning junior?”
No. Right now, including Ginyard, UNC has committed 14 scholarships for next year. The limit is 13. If Ginyard were to give up his redshirt, then UNC would be okay. Otherwise, UNC would have to lose one of their underclassmen. But the chances of Ty coming back next year are slimmer than the chances of me rooting for Duke against UNC.
The only thing that comes to mind, because I tire of revolving players is one note of wisdom from Moneyball: coaches had very little success teaching players to take bad pitches; it seemed to be almost an innate type of skill that certain players like the Greek god of walks had and that other players lacked.
Playing good defense might be similar. There have been tons of great or athletic team players in the NBA, George Gervin, Larry Bird, and Elgin Baylor, for example, who have been known for lackluster defense. This seems less common for some reason, at the center position where greats like Wilt, Russell, Jabbar, Walton, Thurmond and Duncan have all been known for both offense and defense.
Some might argue that Williams looks for a certain type of ballplayer to play in his running schemes and then should not be surprised when such players are not well suited for defense. There is not much doubt that Bill Self has had equal success at Illinois and now Kansas running more defensively-oriented squads. It all comes down to cost-benefit and it may be naive to expect most players to be like Michael Jordan, who was good at everything he did on the court.