I am going to post video of the foul for posterity’s sake. One thing I did notice. Danny Green takes two steps onto the court after the foul then thinks better of it. Not sure of his intentions but I do wonder if Dewey Burke had been there is he could have stopped Mike Copeland?
Exit question: Anyone ready for the return game in Chapel Hill?
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Dead link, I think.
Ah..did not realize it did not embed.
The more I watch it, the less I have a problem with it. To put that in the same category as the Henderson foul, or the foul on Zeller is not looking at it rationally. I understand that, as a non-native of NC, I can’t understand the vitriol that is shared between the two schools, but that foul did not warrant Cope’s reaction.
And to be fair, McCauley should have just shut up and walked away.
I’m ready. I’m not sure if I should be, but I am.
The funny thing is that if Ben had been standing over Cope after the foul and Cope stood up and got in Ben’s face, then Cope would not have got in trouble with Roy. It was the walking over. Such a fine line.
Why is Youtube video so often terrible in quality. I think I still have it on Tivo where you can actually see it.
Once again, State has all their guys in the game. State refuses to run the clock out when they start their final position with 22 seconds, but instead work hard for a shot and then take a three. McCauley commits a pointless foul which could have resulted in injury and then Fells shoves Copeland, without provocation. I wonder what the line and the over/under were?
While Cope was wrong to go after McCauley…. a LOT of this is Sidney Lowe’s fault. Why? Because he leaves MULTIPLE starters in the game with less than 30 seconds left of a 15 point game!! Roy had pulled his regular rotation guys out (hey, maybe time to throw in the towel Sid?) and was giving the reserves some run. As he (and the Carolina players) talk about all the time – just because you are at the end of the bench, that does not mean you don’t run the offense when you’re in the game.
Roy’s talked about this before – what is he supposed to do, keep running up the score because the other coaches won’t concede? So he tries to do the right thing by putting in guys from the end of the bench, give them some action. And what are those players supposed to do – stand around in a four corners situation? Hell no, let them run the offense and try to get some points.
meanwhile, the other coach stubbornly refuses to take his regulars out of the game, who by this point have to be frustrated as hell with the score, the way they’ve played, etc. So they are going to take it out on a perceived “scrub”. Just a classless act by Lowe and McCauley. Yeah, Cope was wrong for getting up and going after McCauley, but it was way more bush league on State than on Carolina.
Very well put Robuck!
After seeing it again, I really hate to see Roy rush to apologize, and rush to charge at Copeland. After all, he did get hit hard and have to endure the trash-talk thereafter. Roy over-reacted in my opinion. This should have been done without being under the telescope of the media. Humble to a fault in this situation.
I like the way Robuck lays this out.
Just don’t forget, no one disrespects them in their house.
Well, maybe every once in awhile………
I see you were referenced in TheBlog about this topic..nice THF.
Point 1: State needs to quit worrying about about this macho “respect” thing and start earning some authentic respect by playing better basketball.
Point 2: It wasn’t about respect anyway, not really. It was about bad temper, McCauley’s bad temper in particular. He was ticked off about the lopsided result of the game and even more ticked off that, because of his inattention to defense, the “bench warmer” Copeland beat him to the basket. So he belted him. Whether he was going for the ball or Copeland’s head is a bit off the point. What is more important is that he manifestly DIDN’T CARE whether he hit the ball or the head. There is a phrase for that in law, i.e., “reckless indifference.” There is also a phrase for it in sports, i.e., “bush league.”
Point 3: Copeland’s response was understandable; I can’t say that when I was 20 I would have acted differently in the heat of the moment. But understandable isn’t good enough for a Carolina player. Our players are rightly held to a higher standard because they are the heirs to a higher tradition. So minor discipline is warranted, and Roy should be given a pass on what I agree with JBowling was overeagerness to apologize.
My take is that both players were justified. Copeland trying to score when he’s been on the bench all day, McCauley in not giving up a layup even though he’d been beaten on the play. I have no problem with McCauley giving a foul. The only action that was over the line was when Copeland escalated the situation after the play, basically threatening to hit McCauley if he could. That was embarrassing, to him and to Roy. He’s supposed to just go to the line and make his shots. I understand that his chance for a big dunk got ruined, but that happens.
At the time I thought Copeland might get in the doghouse for a while with Coach, but that would be too bad.
So, a player who is beaten badly on a meaningless play is justified to commit an aggressive intentional foul, from behind, even though it might result in injury, with no apparent benefit to either the player or the outcome, just because?
Did anyone see the State players rushing after Cope after he went after McCauley? I did. They would have done the same thing if they were in Cope’s shoes. Why get all offended? Oh right, respect. Respect that no one has for them. The non-exsitent respect.
They just wanted to make sure Copeland was all right?
nice one, william.
this whole respect thing is hilarious. also, somebody already mentioned: what did “this is for kay yow” mean anyways? i thought she was about wins, not embarassing beat downs.
This video from the N&O is interesting since it not only shows Fells pushing Copeland but watch as Costner runs across court to run his mouth at Copeland only to be tugged back by a teammate. All this well after the referee had stepped in and pushed Copeland back.
http://blogs.newsobserver.com/accnow/video-unc-state-double-technical
The video also shows Bobby practically trying to tackle Cope when he goes after McCauley. Its a great effort by Bobby to try to avoid a fight. I also find it quite funny.
I like it when McCauley raises his arms to the side AFTER Copeland is restrained by the refs, then says something like “not in our house.”
Again, I wish Copeland didn’t do what he did, but I’ve had it happen to me so I can understand. Even though I’m sure all the ABC blogs are out there protraying Copeland has a thug, I would have to wonder what the reaction would have been from the media had it been Kyle Singler or any other Duke player that was fouled like that.
Yes, I thought it was in bad taste if the t-shirts were meant to imply that State was supposed to win in honor of Yow. If the game was merely to be dedicated to her, I am not sure a hard foul at the end was the way to do it.
Andy, you KNOW what the reaction would be. Heck, they play the “victim” card when they ARE the ones doing the fouling, imagine if they were the ones fouled.
Actually, what Costner did was not much different than what Copeland did. Except Costner had to come all the way across the floor to do it (and didn’t just have his head taken off either).
Everyone needs to check out the latest entry on StateFans Nation. It chronicles the domination we’ve had over the Pack over the past 50 years. I knew that we pretty much owned them, but didn’t realize how much, even during their “storied” years.
I am humored that the individual wrote that piece at SFN and could not refrain from saying Tarholes or Chapel Hell while writing about how dominant UNC has been over NC State.
Especially when he writes, “the fact remains that I respect the hell out of their program.”
I am curious…how does one respect “the hell” out of something.
Since I am not given to using profanity I always find the insertion of certain profane words at times to be hilarious if you take it literally.
Wrong guy to ask… the f-bomb is not a word, but a comma to me…
C. Michael,
I hear ya. I can’t watch games in front of certain members of my family because I’m afraid they’d banish me to hell because of my language. If you’re ever in the Dean Dome (or Kenan) and hear someone cussing like a sailor, there’s a good chance it’s me. I do at least look around to make sure there are no kiddies present (usually).