It appears so.
Dan Wiederer of the Fayetteville Observer is writing a book entitled Blue Streak about UNC’s 2009 national championship team due for release early this year. Wiederer was interviewed this morning by Adam Gold and Joe Ovies on 620 the Buzz. Basically the book will be a combination of Fayetteville Observer articles and extensive interviews done this past summer. Wiederer has excerpts from the book at his website here which also includes multiple quotes such as these:
“It’s hard to explain. But it’s like those guys always carried themselves with this swagger. They were cocky. The way they handled themselves didn’t quite fit with how they played. Maybe if you’re winning and successful, you can have that edge and act like you’re something. But they were struggling to make the NIT. Every year before the season you’d hear them talking about how good they’re going to be. And every year it’s the same thing. They’re not that good. They win a couple games early. And then they get into the ACC and they can’t buy a win.”
— Bobby Frasor, a guard on the 2008-09 team, on why the Tar Heels reveled in beating N.C. State almost as much as they enjoyed beating chief rival Duke
“Their mission the whole postseason was to go out and hit people right between the eyes and end the game within 5-7 minutes. Put them in shock. Put them in total shock. The other team, no matter what they did and no matter how much preparation they had done, they had no idea how fast Ty really was or how athletic Tyler Hansbrough really was or how many big 3s Wayne could hit or all the things Danny could do. They had no idea how deadly it was until they actually saw it. Michigan State may have thought, ‘Well, we’ve seen this before and we’re used to it.’ No. They hadn’t seen us in four months.”
— Joe Holladay, UNC assistant coach, discussing the Heels’ NCAA tournament mindset
Except for the LSU game it was exactly like that and so much fun to watch. Ah the memories. Also, Frasor cutting the Pack deep there which seems a tad out of character there but spot on.
I am going to go out on a limb and say this book might be a far more interesting read than the standard Adam Lucas fare. Books like One Fantastic Ride are almost like official press releases from the school. Yes, it is behind the scenes but it is controlled to a point. Of course no one is saying this is not. All interviews and material would have been on the record and I am sure some vetting of the stories went on. However, based on the tone of the excerpts I think this book might be a little more raw in its presentation. In other words you might see some things which may cast some negative light on UNC players whereas the Lucas books rein that kind of material in. For example, Tyler Hansbrough’s competitive nature is discussed and shown how far it went, even to video games. There are also excerpts on Danny Green’s father and his verbal diarrhea during the summer of 2008.
The other interesting part of this is the fact Wiederer has been working on this book while at the same time seemingly going out of his way to provoke UNC and Steve Krischner during FanGate. If you recall, Wiederer kicked off the media coverage of Roy Williams’ having a Presybterian fan removed with this blog post. In that post Wiederer called Roy’s reaction a “freak out” and out of the blue characterizes Kirschner’s response as “predictable Tar Heel spin.” That line in particular drew Kirschner’s ire who emailed Wiederer. An apology of sorts was subsequently posted. At the time I joked that Kirschner threatened to pull Wiederer’s media credentials over it to the point Wiederer felt the need to dial it back. I had no idea at the time this book was in the works and you have to wonder if it came up in the conversation. Mind you not with Kirschner threatening the book in any way but rather reminding Wiederer how much cooperation UNC gave as it related to the book. Whatever the case, it seems odd that a writer who is working on a book in which he has interviewed multiple members of the school basketball program would be this brazen over one incident. That is unless Wiederer simply felt comfortable he thought he could get away with it.
At any rate, after reading the excerpts and hearing Wiederer’s interview this morning the book promises to have plenty of interesting stories. Wiederer told Gold that one reason there are so many great tales is these guys were really close, together for three years(some of them four) and off the court they were just like any group of guys in college doing what college kids do. The difference between them and everyone else is they were the #1 basketball team in the nation.
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Lucas is a very good writer, and I enjoy reading his work nearly all of the time, but lately he’s been approaching Jones Angell in competing for the Sunshine Blowing Trophy in the sycophancy department…
They write it, I buy it. If it’s about UNC, it is so mine! This should be pretty entertaining.
It may not be very glowing of #50, I’ve heard he wasn’t the most warm and fuzzy guy while in Fayetteville for the Barn Stormin event.
Sounds interesting. I still haven’t bought One Fantastic Ride, but I’m getting it soon, as well as the season review dvd.
I was surprised that UNC allowed this type of access b/c I can assure you that Dan Wiederer has nothing but love for that other program down the road. Yes, all fans claim journalists are biased (to the point that it’s become trite I know) but in this case, it’s true.
I still plan to buy the buy book and will thoroughly enjoy reading the insider stories (mostly self-reported as are all these books). But it’s important to remember that these books are really just entertainment, and a most of it is just a bunch of talk from college kids looking to get quoted in a book. Throw in a creative writer who can spin a narrative and you’ve got a hot tale.
I fully expect a lot of stuff will be misinterpreted — intentionally in some cases. I’m not accusing Wiederer of doing that; just saying that the ABC crowd will have their hands on it in no time, and will certainly use whatever they can against the program — just as UNC fans would if Duke allowed a tell-all book to be written about pillow fights, nude painting, and whatever else they do over there.
I prefer my books by Art Chansky, Barry Jacobs, and on occasion Adam Lucas. Also, DES has a new book coming out later this year. John Feinstein is writing it, of all people.
Deleted.
Lucas’s books about Roy “Coming Home” and the 1957 team were excellent. Obviously, you can’t compare the “championship” books with his real books.
By the way, Roy did freak out and kudos to anyone with the guts to call him out for it. One retired member of the media told me that he thought Roy’s reaction regarding fangate was the stupidest thing Williams had ever done.
I think the characterization of Green’s father is also more than unkind. That family had been through a tramatic situation and almost any neutral observer would agree that Roy Williams appeared to have a bias against Green and in favor of Marcus Ginyard in terms of playing time. I think history has shown that Green was hands down the better player and as one columnist has noted, UNC may have been blessed by the fact that Roy Williams was unable to keep Green on the bench once Ginyard decided to redshirt.
I actually had seen the Bobby Frasor quote on a Pack Pride thread. Of several posters tried to demonize Bobby, but a few realized he was exactly right. In my mind he was referring to Gavin Grant, Ben McCauley and Brandon Costner.
In regard to the Green situation, I do recall Danny used to make a lot of mistakes on defense early in his career. Of course he matured into a VERY important cog in the 2009 machine.
Don’t waste your time with “One Fantastic Ride”, I did not read anyting in the book that was insightful or revealing, all conversations and stories were published, posted, or written about during the season. It was basically a bland summary of a great year in Carolina Basketball, nothing more.
“any neutral observer would agree that Roy Williams appeared to have a bias against Green and in favor of Marcus Ginyard in terms of playing time. I think history has shown that Green was hands down the better player and as one columnist has noted, UNC may have been blessed by the fact that Roy Williams was unable to keep Green on the bench once Ginyard decided to redshirt.”
Good point, just replace Green for Ginyard on this year’s team and imagine the results.
I have to say that I also generally find the “warts and all” accounts of championship seasons much more interesting than the fanboy books. I do have the 2005 book but I rarely look at it. It did have the radio call of the exciting Illinois final by Woody which is worth something but I doubt many people want to listen to the MSU game again.
The great thing about Woody during 1982, 1993 and 2005 is there is this signature winning moment in which he goes nuts. In the 2009 there wasn’t one because the game was over 10 minutes into it. At the end we get this rather nonchalant “how about those Tar Heels, they are National. Champions.” Yeah, not so fabulous. Not like the others.
“I think the characterization of Green’s father is also more than unkind.”
William, what characterization is this? Did Roy or someone else say something about Green Sr?
“Don’t waste your time with “One Fantastic Ride”, I did not read anyting in the book that was insightful or revealing, all conversations and stories were published, posted, or written about during the season. It was basically a bland summary of a great year in Carolina Basketball, nothing more.”
I agree there isn’t anything too revealing in “One Fantastic Ride” especially when compared to “Light Blue Reign” or “Hard Work”. However, that isn’t the purpose of the championship books to begin with; they are coffee table books. You buy them for the images, not for the insight. If you want insight, buy Chansky’s or Roy’s book; but it’s unfair to knock the championships books for something they were never intended for in the first place.
Those books are collector’s items, something for posterity you pick up when you want to relive the moments of that season. Blue Streak appears to be along the lines of an actual journalistic piece that delves into the behind the scenes stuff in more of a raw fashion.