March to Detroit

This game seemed to be everything that we do not expect in a North Carolina game: slow-paced, half-court, defense, getting the short end of the fouls. But it was a good game. I like the strategy that Roy put into place about doubling Griffin and letting the other guys beat us, because it worked to perfection. Now I heard some Syracuse fans ranting about how cold Oklahoma was after torching them, but I really believe the Heels played solid defense. I’m not always sold on good defense vs poor shooting – is it because there was a hand in their face or because the shooter is off? – But I think this game was a good defensive game. You don’t force back-to-back shot clock violations because the shooters are off. You do it with good defense.

Things I didn't like:
1. Refs. Let's be honest, if UNC breathed on Blake Griffin, they were called for a foul and that's just the honest truth. I could hardly watch the 2nd half because there were some ridiculous fouls. If they had been calling it on the other end, I wouldn't have minded as much, but you can't tell me that Blake Griffin never fouled Ed Davis or Deon Thompson. Yes, the fouls were even at the end, but only because OK needed to foul at the end of the game (which I'm surprised they called). If you look at Ed Davis's 4th foul, he was called for a block...I'm pretty sure that's solid defense to cut someone off at the baseline.

Things I liked:
1. The fact we can have a half-court game and win. I think that since Ty Lawson has been hurt, UNC is a better half-court team. He's not playing as fast, but he can still get to the basket pretty easily, which makes him the most dangerous person on the court. You say what he did when he drove and dumped off to Zeller. He probably could do that every play.

2. Bigs played hard. I thought Hansbrough did a good job on Griffin to begin with, but it may have been because he wasn't looking to score yet (you're the best player on your team - you should be looking to score), but then came the fouls and Griffin spent the rest of the game hitting layups. I really thought UNC did a good job though. Davis, Thompson, and Zeller, even though they are not physically, did a good job and making his work and that's one of the things that made a difference.

3. Danny and Deon playing well. Around here, Lawson, Ellington, and Hansbrough get a lot of the credit, but that doesn't mean that I don't appreciate these guys any less. Despite the fact that Griffin is an outstanding offensive player, he really isn't that good on defense, as Deon Thompson scored 8 in the 2nd half. When you think of Deon, please don't get too down on him. Remember that hot start he got off to? I think he's capable of doing the same thing next year. As far as Green, good time to carry the team. Sure Lawson played as Lawson does, but Green was the man out there.



I think North Carolina is the best team in the nation. I also think that everyone agrees that they are the best team in the nation when they defend decently and when Ty Lawson does amazing things. I think they are capable of both in the Final Four.

Detroit What!

Well done Heels! I'm going to enjoy this one and you should too. But please be careful when you pump your arms in the air, you might nudge Blake Griffin and get whistled for a foul. Please NCAA, don't fine me. Aye-yi-yi!

Photo Credit to J.D. Lyon

Revenge on Gonzaga

Sorry it took me so long to post. I've had a busy day. I thought North Carolina looked great. I was expecting the game to be a lot closer, but every time the Bulldogs made a run, UNC answered. Hansbrough looked like he wanted revenge, Lawson came out smoking, Green had an awesome stat line, and Wayne Ellington did his damage. Then throw in what everyone else did and you had the score you had.

Things I didn't like
1. Free throw shooting. This game could have been over way before it was over it we hit our free throws at our season average. Thompson and Davis were the big culprits.

2. Not putting them away. Gonzaga had me worried a few times, by going on runs, but ultimately they didn't have enough. I thought we had some lapses in the game, but that happens, so it's almost a mute point.

Things I liked
1. Basically everything else. Defense was pretty good. Rebounds were there. Everyone did their role and didn't try and didn't try to do it all by themselves.


As for the Oklahoma game, this match-up is very appealing to the eyes. Griffin is an amazing basketball player and I'm not sure if we should just let him score his points and shut down everyone else, or try and frustrate him. I do not think that Oklahoma has enough answers on defense for Ty Lawson (who has though?).

GO HEELS

Elite!

That was a really good display of pretty much everything, except free throw shooting. Very impressive! I will blog more about it later. Onward Heels!

Hard Foul

I read somewhere (I can’t find the link) about how teams are roughing up Blake Griffin and his parents are sick of it. This is something I have harped on in my extensive time in the blogging world about how players are getting hit a lot more than they have in the past, which I don’t like and probably no one does, so I sympathize with the Griffins’ situation.

But at the same time, I also say, suck it up. Has Gene Hansbrough ever gone to the media and said “My son is getting hit too much and it needs to stop”? No, which is a credit to him and the rest of the Hansbrough family. There have been times, where I just can’t stand to watch officials because they are letting these shots to the head go as just a foul and not a flagrant or intentional foul. I’m not saying that everyone needs to be like that, but how many times have we seen Hansbrough fall flat on his back because some thug laid him out or someone came around and broke his nose (yes, I know he was suspended, but still).

I understand where the Terminator’s parents are coming from, but he’s only had 2 years of it, and probably just excessively this year alone. Hansbrough has gotten it for at least the past 3 years. Think about how many soaks in the hot tub that amounts to.

So...How's It Going?

So Friday, 10:00 seems like forever away right? I'm so ready to watch. I would hate to be a player and know that they are only 4 games between me and the National Championship. And with the layoff, comes the media hype. Boo media hype. I'll be honest, I read it. That's one of the first things I do now: walk the dog, turn on the computer, check the sports sites, check the blog sites, think about if I'm going to post and what about, and then either I do it or I don't.

Anyway, enough about me and more about the media. See, I understand, it's their job to write about this stuff, but today as I was thinking about the Gonzaga game, I felt we had a really good chance and I normally don't feel like that. Usually I get nervous (remember our region is always the toughest in my mind), but I have been feeling pretty good. After reading some articles, I'm back to being a little nervous, but that's normal. So here are some stories:

Story Number 1 is by . . . you guessed it . . . Sportsline! Their writer is picking North Carolina, but is cheering for Gonzaga (Remember, this is Sportsline, so they can do this) because he is tired of Gonzaga not getting to the Final Four. Here's my opinion - Who Cares? I'm not a huge fan of the small conferences. Do I mind that Davidson made an Elite 8 run last year? No, it was an amazing show, but I will never like Gonzaga and this doesn't stem from the NIT loss in 06-07. Adam Morrison - and that's all I have to say about that. I don't understand why they are still labeled a Cinderella. If I was a good basketball player and was offered a scholarship to play basketball for Gonzaga or some team like Washington, I'm probably going to go with Gonzaga because I know that they will most likely win their conference tournament once during the 4 years I'm there, so that means I'm going to the NCAA tournament. Mark Few is a good coach and pretty good recruiter and Gonzaga has been competitive for the last decade, so stop the Cinderella talk.

Story Number 2 comes from Adam Lucas. Usually after reading his articles, I feel better, especially after a loss, but this one did not make me feel all warm and tingly. He throws a lot of numbers out, which is fine, sometimes I do too, but what stood out to me is FG%. Gonzaga shoots 49% from the field, while only allowing 37%. UNC shoots 48%, but allows 41%. Another point that Lucas brings up is the Bulldogs running the flex, and we all know how we did about Boston College's flex offense. This is my opinion. In the 3 regular season losses, we have shot poorly and played average defense. In every other game, we have shot pretty good and had average to below-average defense. I believe that if we can shoot in the 45% range, hit the open shots, get to the free-throw line, work the boards, and play average defense, we should win this game.

Story Number 3 comes from the videos of ESPN. I don't have a link, but it was Jay Bilas talking about how UNC is the most vulnerable of the #1 seeds. You're on your own if you want to watch it. Now, I don't mind Jay Bilas, as I have said before and he has been high on North Carolina all year, so I'm not sure why. The only reason I can speculate is that it is a tough draw, which it is, but I think it will be a good game.

I was going to talk about something else, but I will mention that tomorrow, but it's another Blake Griffin issue that is bothering me about how he gets hit so much. Until then...

Lots of Goodies Today

Ok, a lot to get to today, so let's get into it.

Tuesday Talking Points
Here's the link and I'm only going to comment on 2 of the points.

1. "Danny Green has shot better than 50 percent from the field in just two of his career 13 NCAA tournament games."
Well, that's not good. Sure, I could speculate about what the reason is - Seasons is wearing on him, pressure to succeed, the ball is a little flat. I realize this stat is true, but don't buy into too much. Green is a shooter and shooters always bounce back, especially the good ones.

2. "Wayne Ellington has played 138 minutes of a possible 160 over the last four games; the next-closest Tar Heel, Tyler Hansbrough, has 121 minutes. In that stretch, Ellington is shooting 57.6% from the field, 51.9% from three-point range, and has an A:TO ratio of nearly 3:1."
They should have just said that Wayne Ellington is on fire because he is. Go to this article that Scout wrote about him because it is exactly what I've been thinking and most of what I've been posting. The rebounding has impressed me quite a bit, but look at his scoring as well:

"Ellington averaged just 12.8 points on 43.2 percent shooting (34.6 from 3-point range) through UNC’s first 17 games of the season. Over the last 17, his numbers have soared as he’s averaging 18.7 points on 52.0 percent shooting (115-of-221), including knocking down 44.8 percent (47-of-105) of his attempts from beyond the arc. He has also increased his rebounding totals from 4.1 to 5.5 during this stretch run."

I love the fact that he has just been dominate in the second half of the season because that's where I want him to dominate. I also like the fact that he has been attacking the basket more over the second half the of year. Keep it up Wayne!

Roy Williams Radio Show Quotes
I like the radio show because it gives me something else Tar Heel related to read and blog about. This particular segment was does by Joe Holladay and he was asked this question:

On preparing a scouting report: “Eric Hoots is our video coordinator. Since the first day of the basketball season back in November, every night he’s had four or five recorders going [with the help] of DirecTV and satellites. So we have recorded every basketball game on television this year. So when the brackets are announced, we’ve got 10-15 games of Syracuse, 15 games of Oklahoma and 15 games of Gonzaga. We’re prepared. So the first thing you do is you start watching tape, and that’s what C.B. [McGrath] is doing right now on this Gonzaga team, and then we’re seeing what we can do against them and what weaknesses they may have or what strengths that we have that might affect them.”

Having Holladay do this radio show and McGrath watching tape made me think of something: I love the assistant coaches. I think they do a good job. If you watched the senior night speeches, all of them mentioned the different coaches and how thankful they were for them. I don't know a lot about them, but I know they do a great job. I hope they never leave, but at the same time, wish them the best, so if they do move on - good luck - unless you go to Duke.

Other Notes
1. Ty Lawson looks to be a go this weekend, which I think everyone knew anyway. He will not be 100% the rest of the season, but if Saturday taught us anything, it's that an 80% Ty Lawson is better than a 0% Ty Lawson.

2. The debate all year was who was better - Big East or ACC. Well I think the Big East answered that one, but does that mean they will stay the dominate conference? No. The ACC has easily been the top conference different years and even the Big 10 and SEC (that hurts to say). The point is that each of the major conferences has been the best at sometime since college basketball started and this year, it happens to be the Big East, so congratulations. But also keep in mind that if UNC follows my bracket picks, going through Syracuse, Pittsburgh, and then Louisville, then I'm going to tout the ACC and ask Louisville to give us the Big East trophies (Kinda like in 05 when we won the Big 10 conference - Wisconsin, Michigan State, and Illinois). One thing I would like to see is a ACC-Big East challenge. Let's face it the Big 10-ACC challenge or whatever they are calling it now does not have the luster it did in year 1 when it was any one's challenge to win and it's been like 10 years or so.

3. That's it for today. Thanks for reading and feel free to leave comments.

No, Sportsline No!

Oh Sportsline, you did it again. Just when we start thinking about national title with Lawson back, you have to go and do this. In case you don’t read the article, this is the Triumphant Tar Heel summary. Freeman questions Ty’s toughness. Now it’s not the “oh, it’s just a toe” toughness. No, it’s the injury prone toughness, specifically how it will affect his draft stock. He says that it is admirable to play through the pain, but it could hurt him in the draft if he does not heal properly or quickly. Also this is another issue about his long-term injury history with his ankle last year and now his toe.

See this is what I don’t like. I have seen several sites talking about the draft now that the NCAA tournament is here. Now players are put under more pressure to perform because if not, they don’t get a big paycheck. Seriously, why do you bring this up? I’m sure some of the players know who are scouts and who are fans and I am a fan. I do not care about where players like Ty Lawson and Blake Griffin are going to be drafted. Right now, I care about the tournament. If Ty Lawson is hurting his draft status, I don’t think he cares right now or he would be sitting on the bench. Actually, he would be playing pick-up games or watching Sponge Bob now because UNC’s season would be over.

I actually do care about where North Carolina players go, because I check up on them, but this is not the time. I’m glad the players don’t pay much attention to the media because I’m sure it would really do some damage.

So as Freeman is writing about how it could negatively affect his draft status, I think the opposite and how it could affect his draft decision. Maybe at the end of the year, this requires surgery and because it's a long recovery or something, teams won't draft him or draft him as high and he could return. Yes, it's a bit wishful thinking, but anything is possible.

Random Blog Notes
1. After the season is over, I will be doing a season in review post and a player-by-player season review, starting with the freshman and working my way up.

2. I am a "what if" kind of guy and I will be throwing hypothetical posts out here (like the Lawson-doesn't-go-pro scenario). Just for example, what if Jamison and Carter had stayed? Or what if any of the 3 juniors stayed after the 05 season? What if Wayne Ellington hits the 3 against Georgetown? Those are just to wet the appetite for awhile. These are gonna be sweet!

3. No news on Lawson's toe, but apparently, after the Duke game, he did some home remedy and that was why it swelled up so much. So Lawson, don't do that again.

Round 2 - Fight!

Dear Ty Lawson,

Thank you for playing today and putting on a wonderful show. I hope you are able to walk tomorrow and can rest up for the Gonzaga game.

Sincerely,

Triumphant Tar Heel

Wow! Did you see him? I think I heard his toe pop a few times too. Insane game. How tough is Ty? Too tough. That killer crossover? AMAZING! The 3 pointers? CLUTCH! The and-ones? HOLY! Magical, extraordinary, jaw-dropping. And that was just the 2nd half.

But were you worried? I was for awhile. You really never knew when the toe would suddenly break off and then it's just Bobby. Apparently Larry Drew hurt his back in practice, so we again, had very little for a back court (Remember when we were so deep at the beginning of the season?). LSU came swinging out of the gate in the 2nd half and Marcus Thornton was playing like a man possessed, hitting shots everywhere. Ellington had another solid game in a row. Clark Kellogg mentioned that no guard is playing better then Ellington right now and he may be correct. Again, I see the fire in his eyes, not so much this game, but overall. He had 4 assists and I thought played good defense and had the big tap out to Danny Green for 3.

Things I didn't like:
1. Larry Drew not playing much. He hurt his back during practice. That again limits our depth, which we seemingly don't have a lot of. He will probably be fine for the Zag's, but you would have liked to have seen him get some more minutes tonight to face some pressure because LSU is not Radford.

2. Danny Green not shooting well. He was 3-10 from the field, 1-4 from 3 land. His shot might be stuck in Chapel Hill the way he has been playing, but he did have 6 boards, 2 steals, and 2 blocks. Like I've said before, Danny Green is the stat-stuffer and glue guy.

3. Ty Lawson playing. I know, you're thinking "What? Why? We wouldn't have won without him?" Well, like Roy said, we will never know, but this was kinda of a win-lose situation. If he doesn't play, you can't guarantee that UNC advances, but if he does play, you wonder what the effects will be on his toe come Sunday morning. Ty even said himself that the pain on a scale of 1-10, was at a 6 or 7. Not very encouraging. Sure, the game would have been different in the fact that Hansbrough would have gotten the ball more, and so would have Deon Thompson, Green, and Ellington, but we will never know.

4. Deon Thompson not playing much. Thompson didn't do much in the game and didn't play much. He was 3-3 and the jumpers looked silky smooth, but I think he didn't play much because of his defense and the athletic ability of LSU's bigs. Ed Davis seemed to match up a little better, but of the 4 bigs in the rotation, I think Hansbrough is the best to guard someone on the perimeter (like a Kyle Singler-type player). Now I haven't watched much of LSU at all (just this game actually), but it seems that Mitchell is an inside-outside player, so Hansbrough would be better suited to guard him and let Davis roam the paint (nice blocks by the way Eddy).

Things I liked:
1. Ty Lawson playing. Win-lose situation. He looked sluggish out there, easily not at 100%. He didn't look to push the ball in transition very much. He was passing the ball up past half-court. He went out and looked to be done for the game. He was a step slow, and couldn't hit anything. Then came the 2nd half and wow did he carry them. Very similarly to the Duke game at Cameron, he put the Heels on his 5'11" body and carried them. On ESPN, Steve Lavin was saying that he thought North Carolina could get to the Final 4 without Lawson. I beg to differ. He's a game-changer and I have no idea what would have happened without him, but I sure know what happened with him.

2. Defense. I believe from the 7 minute mark on, UNC went on a 21-7 run to close out the game. And they did it with defense, which led to scoring on the break. A few steals, some good rebounding, and Ty Lawson cruising. You could see Roy Williams pleading for a stop on the sideline. They forced 15 turnovers and had 11 steals, but they were out-rebounding, but they battled back on the boards because they were getting crushed for awhile. I think I saw a stat that UNC had out-rebounded LSU 10-1 the first 4 minutes of that final run. Well done Heels.

3. Advancing to the Sweet 16. I was watching the end of the Purdue-Washington game (I picked Washington, and I'm still not sure why) and when Purdue won, they were celebrating like they had just won the National Championship. We at UNC expect so much: Winning the ACC conference, beating Duke twice, winning whatever pre-season tournament we are playing in, going undefeated in our non-conference schedule, thinking we can go undefeated during the whole season. We should consider ourselves fortunate to cheer for a program like North Carolina. Roy Williams has done a great job of making our team competitive year in and year out. Are we satisfied with a Sweet 16 berth? No, absolutely not. But seeming a team like Purdue, who will not win the National Title, be super excited about advancing. This is a dream for all college basketball players and I think it's unfair that we are unhappy with things. Take last year for example, some people were calling for William's job after the loss to KU (the sticker may have had something to do with that), but he led us to the most wins in the school history, the ACC regular season, the conference tournament, and the Final 4. That's a really great season. Don't get me wrong, I want to win the National Championship and will be disappointed otherwise, but I'm just saying we should be thankful that our team is this good. Sweet 16 for the 4th time in 5 years.

Ok, LSU was a good team. They did win the SEC regular season and were probably more deserving of a higher seed, despite how bad the SEC really was, but they did give North Carolina a run for the money. But one of the biggest downfalls of LSU may have been the fact that they hadn't beaten a ranked team this season and now they still haven't. Onward Heels.

Other tournament notes
1. Wake Forest - Thanks for showing up.

2. Texas - Thank you for blowing the game against Duke. You should have won that game because Duke played poorly

3. ACC - Thanks for being a disaster in the tournament so far, except North Carolina

4. Western Kentucky - Thanks for not being able to play defense for 7 seconds at the end of your game and then failing to call a time-out.

5. UCONN has looked really good their first 2 games.

Steady Eddy

Ed Davis. I like this kid so much and Scout wrote a nice article on him. Everything they say is so true. He has been a great inside defender and rebounder and that was fine earlier in the year, but as he has adjusted to college basketball, his offensive game has expanded as well. This article compares him and his shot-blocking ability to that of Brandon Wright. It’s hard to believe that Wright has more blocks than Davis, but B-Wright also started almost every game (I know he was sick for the Arizona game, along with Ginyard) and played a bigger role for that Tar Heel squad. So let’s compare these Heels’ stats from their freshman year.

Wright: Averaged 14.7 pts, 6.2 boards, 1.0 steals, and 1.8 blocks, while playing 27.6 minutes per game. He was mostly the second option as he was the 2nd leading scorer behind Hansbrough

Davis: Has averaged 6.6 pts, 6.7 boards, and 1.8 blocks while playing only 18.8 minutes per game.

So I believe that if Davis started, he would probably be at 10, 8, and 2 per game, which would have probably made him ACC rookie of the year, but I think he would agree that he has had a great opportunity to not have to shoulder the load, but come in and play solid defense and score a few buckets. Plus Deon Thompson can shoot the ball with a little more range and is an underrated shot-blocker.

With Davis' first game in the tournament, he reminded me of Marvin Williams 1st game. If you remember, Marvin was the 6th man, but I would consider him more versatile than Davis because of his ability to handle the ball and his range, but Davis, like Williams, is playing an important role on this team and I hope that he sticks around to develop into the ultimate player.

Round One - Fight!

I didn’t get to watch all of the game today. I only caught about 5 minutes in the first half, and the last 12 in the second, so I didn’t see much of the game. Anything I really am writing about the game is from the box score and highlights I’ve seen.

First, Congratulations to Hansbrough on the ACC scoring record. I remember when Redick broke it and I didn’t think it would be broken again, but at the time, I didn’t really know about this Hansbrough guy. If this were the regular season, he would probably get another column written about him on espn.com, but the Heels have their minds on bigger things.

Second, Artsiom Parakhouski, the guy who was supposed to give North Carolina fits, didn’t really too much. He struggled to a double-double, but with only 10 pts and 10 boards.

Even though Radford wasn’t the best competition, I think our make-shift point guards did well. If you don’t count the guys who get regular minutes, UNC only had 8 turnovers. One other thing to remember about our point guard situation is that Ellington, Green, and even Hansbrough can push the ball up in transition, but, yes, I would rather have Lawson running around out there.

Things I didn’t like
-It looked like Tyler was forcing it (again, remember I watched less than a half of action) with his shots. In the second half, it seemed like there were 4 or 5 possessions and Tyler shot on all of them. Typically, I don’t mind if Hansbrough takes shots, but he should be in the paint. I know he has improved his shooting, but still, take it to this team, especially in preparation for LSU, who can be hammered on the inside.

-Not much else, I could say the shooting percentage, but when it’s this type of game, it happens. Plus Mike Copeland shooting 2-7 doesn’t do much for it. But I did enjoy watching him play.

Things I liked
-Danny Green bouncing back, which I think everyone thought he would. He didn’t rely on the outside shot so much and took it in and was active on the boards. Nice job.

-Wayne Ellington dominating. He shot 11-16. I don’t care who you are playing against. That’s good. I think I’ve seen the fire in Wayne’s eyes, especially in the ACC tournament. Part of that may be because they are playing without Lawson, hence another chip on the shoulder.

-Defense. Held the Highlanders to 28% shooting (yes, they are a 16 seed, so what?) and had 11 steals and 8 blocks. The commentators said they thought North Carolina set the tone defensively. I do not know if that is true or not.



Up next is LSU and I do not know much about them. They only have 3 guys who score in double figures but from what I can gather, they can be beat on the inside. I mean, if Matt Howard can torch them for 22, then I don’t see why our bigs can’t eat their lunch in the paint. Thorton is a scorer and Wayne most likely draws the assignment from him, so good luck to him. I’m sure Bobby can play against him too. I am preparing for Ty Lawson not to play, but keep in mind; I’m a pessimist when it comes to the tournament.


One other note, I was reading Our Daily Bread this morning and they had a little devotional about Jason Ray, the old mascot, so check that out. And Go Binghamton Bearcats!

Toeing the Line

Ok, seriously, I don't know how many toe puns I can come up with if this continues, so Ty Lawson, feel free to come back when you get a chance. What I've been seeing/hearing/reading is that this toe problem is similar to turf toe.

"Turf toe is a condition of pain at the base of the big toe, located at the ball of the foot. The condition is usually caused from either jamming the toe, or pushing off repeatedly when running or jumping. The most common complaint is pain at the base of the toe, but you may also have symptoms of stiffness and swelling. "

Well, we knew about the swelling, we knew where the big toe was, and if you were to read the article, it can return and the only treatment is icing and elevating. Super.

Ty Lawson will not play against Radford, which should not be a surprise or a concern (Even though I always get worried that when UNC is a 1 seed, they will blow it and then we are in the history books for a not-so-cool fact). Larry Drew would probably be Radford's best player if he played for them. The next game, I worry a bit more, but I also realize that we do have Tyler Hansbrough and he is pretty good and he is a mission and he does have teammates. Remember he went off for 28 and 12 for the 6 games that Lawson was down last year. Easily capable of the same thing.

One other thing about this cursed toe, is that Lawson can get shots for pain, but my concern would be the swelling, so hopefully that is not an issue.

Take comfort in those facts and keep hoping for Ty Lawson's recovery.

Triumphant Bracketology

Well, we have the 1 seed. We all knew that. I've been reading how UNC has an easy trip to the Final 4, but I never believe that because it does take a lot of work to get there and we should feel fortunate that we have gotten there so many times. But anway, people, sports writers, commentators are mostly saying that UNC has the easiest draw, but I don't think so. I usually never think we have the easiest because I get nervous. In 2005, Kansas and UCONN were in our bracket, but they got ousted; they scared me (even though Villanova ended up being the biggest scare). This year, Oklahoma, Syracuse, Gonzaga, and even Clemson scare me. The other teams may be good, but they do not cause me to be conconered. But these match-ups also intrigue me as a college basketball fan. I would love to see this years NPOY go against last years. I would love to beat the 'Cuse and we would probably have to beat another Big East team on the way, so then we can officially say we are the best of both conferences. I would love to the 'Zags because of that stupid loss in the NIT in 06. I would love to beat Clemson because it's Clemson.

Let me talk about the potential match-ups:
Oklahoma - This is easily the most appealing match-up. Terminator vs Psycho-T. Both gritty, hard-working players. At first I was really nervous when I figured out that Oklahoma would be in the South, but now I'm not. I'm not even so sure that they will be able to beat Clemson if that game were to happen (depends on which Clemson team shows up). In all reality, it would be a physical game, but North Carolina has too many weapons. The Sooners only have a cyborg.

Syracuse - This team worries me because you don't know what to expect. Is this the team that has the guts to grind out a 6 OT game and beat the Heels? Or is this the team that finished in the middle of the Big East. This team worries me because Jim Boeheim will sit in his 2-3 zone and let the Heels shoot. I think I have seen Syracuse play man defense once in my life. Typically when teams have stayed in a zone, the Heels have made them pay, but what happens when the shots aren't falling? They do have some big bodies to throw at Hansbrough too. Jonny Flynn is one of those guards who can go for 30

Gonzaga - Always talented, always overrated is what I think of when I think of the Bulldogs. Yes, they still have Josh Heytvelt who "totally dominated" Hansbrough in the pre-season NIT, but this team does not play defense. Sure they are deep and talented, but they are worse than UNC on defense. I remember watching the Gonzaga/UCONN game and Gonzaga had the lead and allowed A.J. Price to lead his team back. Same thing would happen if the Heels were down I'm sure. Bulldogs choke.

Clemson - Only because it's Clemson and they know us and have been competitive over the last few years. I think they got a raw deal at #7 and think they will be playing with a chip on their shoulder. Again, it depends on which Clemson team shows up: the one that crushed Duke by 27 or the team that hasn't won a game in Chapel Hill in a bazillion years.

Some "experts" are picking Gonzaga to go to the Final 4. You know who I'm picking. I know I didn't sound optimistic, but that's because I'm nervous and I don't like to go in all super-confident. I know this team is the best team out there, they just have to play like it.

As for my other picks. Louisville, Pitt, and Memphis for now, but that region may change. I usually don't fill out my bracket till Wednesday night. I would feel pretty good if we played Pitt (I know, I said I didn't want to play them before), but if Blair gets in foul trouble, it would probably be all over and we all know how North Carolina goes to the line. Louisville is my championship game pick, and they are better than last year, but this is essentially the same team that we have that beat them last year. It should be interesting.

Oh, one final thing.....Please Binghamton! PLEASE!

One more final thing. I have a slideshow up and running on the side bar. All credit goes to the Carolina sites, but I usually copy the ones I like and have them as my screen saver. So that's where I got them from.

Oh It's the End of the World...

It's really not, but I did have to convince myself for a while there too. Let's face facts: ACC Player of the Year did not play, Danny Green has not been Danny Green over the last 2 games, Bobby Frasor has not played consistent point guard in almost 2 years, and Larry Drew is just a freshman running the one of the nation's top teams. Those are just North Carolina facts.

Let's face facts about FSU: Toney Douglas was 2nd in the ACC in PPG and in Player of the Year voting. The 'Noles also shot 67% in the second half, which wasn't neccessarily bad defense, it was just an amazing performance.

It's really not the end of the world. Yes, I would have liked to have won the ACC tournament, but as the years have gone by, I tend to agree with Roy: the season represents a whole year's worth of good play. The tournament only merits 3-4 good days of play. And now that Duke is in the final, it makes this loss feel worse because they really have no business being there. But let's look at the positives from this game.

*Our defense did a good job. Yes, FSU shot 67% in the 2nd half, but they were on fire. They forced 14 turnovers and had 11 steals. They were out-rebounded, but only be 1 (34-35), but with Toney Douglas being the main player, we only had a few people to run after him with Ty being out. So Bobby, Larry, and anyone else that covered him did a pretty good job.

*Ed Davis and Larry Drew looked pretty good over the last 2 games. Davis had several sweet dunks and I get so excited thinking about what he's going to do over the next few years. Drew has not been impressing me lately, but over the last two games, I think he has gained more confidence, which will only pay off in the long run. He still has a tendency to go to far in the paint or to force some things and even some of his passes were erratic even though they got to their intended target, but I feel better about him than I did 2 weeks ago.

*We shot 37% and still had a shot to tie it. In three of the four losses this season, this has been the same story. We have shot poorly, but still were in the game enough to at least go to OT. This means that the defense is keeping us in the game, even if the offense is struggling.

*Tyler Hansbrough is still pretty good. Remember when Lawson went down last year? That was when Tyler Hansbrough really went off to claim NPOY because he took over games and I think he averaged 27 and 12, or close to those numbers. I was thinking he could do the same thing and carry us in the tournament, but alas, it was not meant to be.

*Our players tried hard and will still feel this loss. In most of the post game comments, the players were disappointed, but realized that this now means that every game could be their last. But it will also serve as motivation. Here's a few of the comments:

Hansbrough: "We understand we lose now, it's over."

Lawson: “We wanted to win this tournament real bad, because we want to win every game. But they didn’t want my toe to flare up, so he decided to sit me out this game. Our big goal is to win the [NCAA] championship, so that might have played a little bit into it.”

Frasor was asked if he could accept this loss. "Live with as in accept it? No. We didn't play the way we wanted to play. We didn't get contributions from everyone. Danny's had a rough couple of games, and he usually plays better. We'll watch film and learn from it. The ultimate goal starts next weekend, and that’s what we have our eye on.”

Green: "We've got six games left."

Yes, it would have been nice to win the ACC tournament, but I would gladly take a National Championship over the ACC championship. We didn't have a ton to lose, at least from a fan's perspective because we will be a number 1 seed in the tournament. I believe this loss will help over the next few weeks. The Heels have looked committed on defense since the Maryland game and know that it is all business from here on out. Remember we ran the table in 05 after we lost in the semi-finals. We can do this! Believe!

Three side notes from this blogger. 1) Ty Lawson will be playing in the NCAA tournament, which I think everyone and their mother knew. I'm pretty confident we could have won the first game without him and even the second, depending on the draw. 2) One team I do not want to face in the tournament is Pittsburgh. 3) Uche Echefu is a senior from FSU. I remember he was a late signer and he was deciding between UNC and FSU and I was hoping he would sign with UNC because it was just after the mass exodus of 05 and we were looking at Hansbrough, David Noel, Mike Copeland, and Byron Sanders as our big men. Well, he probably would have done well under Coach Williams, but we didn't miss much. A career 7.2 PPG scorer and 4.7 RPG, but to his credit, he hits his free throws and can shoot the three. But I wouldn't say we've missed much.

Tyler Hansbrough=All-American

Tyler Hansbrough is an All-American. At least, according to Sporting News. Maybe it's irony that Sporting News put him as a 1st Teamer his freshman year, when no one else did, and now they put him on in his senior season, when it appears that no one else is willing too. I've ranted and raved enough about this topic, but I would just like to thank Sporting News for realizing the truth and not judging Tyler by last year's performance. So with this news, Tyler Hansbrough is the 1st ever 4 time All-American. Quite impressive and a feat that will probably not be matched for quite a long time, if at all. Congratulations #50

Also, If you click on the Psycho T picture on the sidebar, it will take you to his Wikipedia page, which is quite impressive. Sometimes I just go and read it just because and remind myself of everything he has done.

To Play or Not to Play

That is the question hounding Roy Williams and Ty Lawson at the current moment. Will he? Won't he? Should he? Can he? The answer is that no one knows. My feelings are that I would like to win the ACC Tournament, but if that jeopardizes the NCAA tournament, then I say, shut down Lawson and put him in a padded room for the next week. The injury sounds bigger than I first thought, when I declared that Ty Lawson would play against Duke (which he totally dominated). Something about ligaments and already been broken. Doesn't sound to good and will probably need some off-season surgery (maybe affected his draft decision?).

At first, I didn't think we had to win the ACC tournament to win the NCAA tournament, because we didn't in 05. But over the last 5 years, the only National Champion, not to win their own conference tournament is North Carolina (Kansas, Florida twice, UCONN) if we got back to the start of the decade, only Duke and Michigan State are the only other teams to win both their conference tournament and the NCAA tournament (Syracuse and Maryland were the other national champions). So 3 out of 8 teams have done it. But the numbers say that it is better to be hot and stay hot.

I think there are some pros and cons to this whole Lawson situation. I'll start with the pros first:

-Larry Drew would get some experience if Ty can't go. Larry Drew will be needed if the toe bothers Ty in the NCAA tournament or in foul trouble. Drew appears to lack confidence and reminds me quite a bit of Q Thomas his freshman year. Remember in 05 against Villanova? Felton fouled out and we could either go with Thomas or Melvin Scott at the point. HMMM. Same thing could happen this year and Drew would greatly benefit.

-If Ty Lawson can't play and we lose either the quarter finals or semi-finals, the team gets extra rest. They are banged up, I'm sure and an extra day or two can make the difference.

Con:
-Ty Lawson plays, but after the 3rd game, his toe is killing him and he's done for the year. Yeah, that would be real great.

-Ty Lawson doesn't play, UNC loses early and then has no confidence and loses in the Sweet 16 or Elite 8. Ohhh my heart would break/shatter/be crushed/stop beating.

-With Ty Lawson not playing, the bench becomes, Davis, Zeller, and Drew or Frasor, whichever one Roy starts with. So we're left with one guard to sub for our three other guards. Super.

Obviously, some of these are a little extreme, but this is March and anything can happen. My feeling - Let Ty sit and whatever happens, happens. Do I think UNC could win the ACC without Ty Lawson? Sure. They would be reduced to a half-court team because they are missing the V-6 of the V-8 engine, but they can win. But I would rather think of the big picture.

Ty Awesome

I think this is my favorite Ty Lawson picture. It's from his freshman year against Duke and it was after an and-1. He's flexing, showing the guns, how tough he is, whatever you want to call it.

I think Ty Lawson has had a sensational year. I am not disappointed by his play at all. It's been a little up and down, but for the most part up. As previously posted, I picked Tyler and Ty to be ACC-player of the year. I did this partly to build-up the legend that is Tyler Hansbrough, but part of it was the fact that he led the best conference in scoring and was a top-10 in rebounding and was very deserving. I think Roy summed up Tyler's season very well:

“I think that’s a great part of it, that the expectations… It’s sort like a guy that makes a 98 on a test. You can only go to 100. You can only improve by two. The guy that makes a 75 on the test can improve by 25. I think Tyler set such a high standard last year. His high level of play and his consistency that he had was just breathtaking.
“The other part of it is that he’s got a little more help this year. Tywon’s been able to score a little more. Danny’s been able to score a little more. Wayne’s numbers may be the same or have gone down a little bit, but I think that’s been part of it, too. And then my own opinion is that defenses have really been aimed at him, and in my own opinion, I think he should have gone to the free throw line more this year. That’s something that I’ve tried to be very careful about, but I just think that the defenses have been aimed at him more this year than it was last year.”

Bottom line is that Roy is correct; Tyler has had more help and more defenses are gunning for him and forcing other Heels to beat them, which they have. Hansbrough set the bar higher and we are judging him for that. Another factor that may play into this is something those dreaded sportsline columnists wrote about, but he does have a valid point: people are tired of Tyler Hansbrough. People are choosing the likes of Hasheem Thabeet and DeJuan Blair to be All-Americans over #50. They are good players, but this is Tyler Hansbrough. We could compare stats, per minutes, etc, but the fact is that Tyler Hansbrough is arguably the Player of the Year in the ACC and an All-American.

But getting back to Ty Lawson (because that's who this post is supposed to be about). Ty Lawson is a career 50% shooter. Bet you didn't know that. He is knocking down a 46% clip from downtown, which is 10 points better than his career. His assist-to-turnover ratio is 3.32, almost a full assist better than last year. Obviously this has been a career year for Ty Lawson and please understand that I am not disappointed that Tyler Hansbrough didn't receive the award. Here's what Danny Green had to say about it:

“Congratulations to Tywon. I’ve got to go speak to him. But that’s great. I’m sure Tyler is happy for him, because Tyler’s not a selfish guy or anything like that. I’m happy for him. I think it’s great that we have somebody different on our team to be able to achieve something like that."

Danny Green is correct. Hansbrough is not selfish and is probably very excited for Ty Lawson and I am too. I think it clicked in my head that Ty Lawson was a player of the year candidate when he hit the game-winner against FSU. I think I knew that Ty Lawson was player of the year after destroying Duke and carrying UNC over Miami. There were many times this year when I saw Lawson do something in a close game and then ran around the room, beating my chest, yelling that he couldn't be stopped, because when he puts his mind to it, he can't be stopped. He's too fast, to strong, and just has that ability to put the ball up through a crowd.

When UNC started out 0-2 in the ACC, people started criticizing and questioning how tough Ty Lawson was. Well I think he answered them. TOUGH

Hopefully by the middle of April, we can say "TOO TOUGH."

Thanks for the Memories

The story book season has another good part of the book. The seniors went out with a win and clinched the ACC regular season. I think fans put more emphasis on the tournament then the season, but I side with Roy Williams, who often says that the regular season is a sustained effort. The tournament can depend on who gets hot at the right time. But congratulations to the 08-09 regular season champs.

The drama of the game is over and the thrill of victory is still there, just not as strong, so I'm just going to jump right in to what I liked and didn't like.

What I didn't like
-Couldn't put Duke away. This is a credit to Duke as a team though (am I giving them props?). Every time UNC made a run, Duke had an answer, but ultimately, every time Duke made a run Bobby Frasor had an answer.

-Wayne Ellington's free throws. 1-5 is not cool by me, but he will bounce back.

What I liked
-Beating Duke. It is always special. I'm hoping we can return the favor of dominating them, like they dominated us in the earlier part of the decade.

-Everyone contributing. No one Tar Heel carried this team (you can make a case for Ty Lawson, who played amazingly awesome), but it was a team effort, especially on defense. I think we are looking good.

-Big plays. Danny's pull up was like "Oh Danny, no" to "OHHH DANNY, YEAH." Bobby drew a huge charge and a big jump ball towards the end. Ty Lawson's "and-1" and Tyler's two 3's.

Overall, a great win and I'm glad for the seniors. On to Georgia.

Triumphant Awards

So I thought I would post some of my awards for the ACC. It's tough to leave some people off, but here goes.

ACC 1st Team
-Tyler Hansbrough
-Ty Lawson
-Gerald Henderson
-Jack McClinton
-Toney Douglas

ACC 2nd Team
-Tyrese Rice
-Trevor Booker
-Kyle Singler
-Wayne Ellington
-Jeff Teague

ACC 3rd Team
-Danny Green
-Gani Lewal
-Greivis Vasquez
-James Johnson
-Malcolm Delaney

*If I went with a traditional C, PF, SF, SG, PG lineup, I would have moved Booker in and probably pumped Toney Douglas down, but then that would throw everything off. These are open to debate, but this is just my opinion.

All Freshman Team

Al-Farouq Aminu, Wake Forest
Sylven Landesberg, Virginia
Solomon Alabi, Florida State
Ed Davis, North Carolina
Iman Shumpert, Georgia Tech

*Not a lot of huge names as far as freshman, but if they stick around, I'm sure they will become more familiar. Especially that Ed Davis guy.

As for the big stuff:

Player of the Year: Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson
Rookie of the Year: Al-Farouq Aminu
Coach of the Year: Dino Gaudio and Leonard Hamilton
Defensive Player of the Year: Trevor Booker

*Yes, I gave Player of the Year to 2 guys on the same team. My feeling is that Ty Lawson will win this award. He had has a great year, probably a masterful year, but Tyler Hansbrough is being measured by last year's success and that is unfair to him. His scoring and rebounding are down, but that's because his teammates have all gotten better in other areas. And it's not like Hansbrough has just laid back this year. He still takes charges, he improved his outside shot, free throw shooting, and 3 point shooting. I can make a case for either one of these. ROY is a given. I gave COY to two coaches because Dino has made Wake competitive again, especially after Skip's passing. As far as Leonard Hamilton, name 3 players from Florida State. Exactly. Booker has been solid and is active on the blocks, boards, and steals.

*I will be blogging about the Duke/UNC game later.

This Little Piggy Went Wee, Wee, Wee, All the Way Home

So Ty Lawson jammed his toe and might not play today against Duke. I think the chances of Ty Lawson not playing today are about as good as seeing action from Marcus Ginyard and Will Graves: It's not going to happen. He will play. He may be limited, but he will play. He will probably get a shot or take some pills and will be able to stomach the pain. I am not calling Ty Lawson soft, don't think that. But he will play.

And I'd rather have an 80% Ty Lawson, then a 100% Duke player anyday.

"Is that a Tear in Me Eye?"

Yes, Irish accent included. Tomorrow will be an emotional day. Emotional because it is our arch-rival. Emotional because it is senior day and we will never see some of these players play in the Dean Dome again. But it will be emotional because of the people in this class. They are all unique and will be remembered in different ways.

Jack Wooten - The Brainiac of the group, will probably we ultimately remembered by his stauche that he grew during the NCAA tournament. Announcers made fun of him, but he kept it. Unfortunately, no comeback. At least not yet.

J. B. Tanner - The Shooter of the group. Adam Lucas wrote an article about him earlier this season about how good of a shooter he was. He shot 12 3's last year. Same this year, but he can shoot. He reminds me of Dewey Burke.

Patrick Moody - I'll be honest, Moody is probably the player I know the least on the whole roster, but I appreciate his effort, just like the rest of the walk-ons. They have all worked hard to get to where they are and they are often quoted as living the dream. What a dream.

Mike Copeland - Oh Mike. Some people might remember Copeland for his outburst at N.C. State, but that's not what I'm going to remember him for. I will remember Copeland always providing some energy when he was in the game, especially if it was tight. I will also always remember him joking around. I guess he balances out the Psycho-T character.

Bobby Frasor - Dang it, Bobby. I remember saying that when I found out he tore his ACL. I have always looked for big things from Bobby. He was solid as a freshman and even when he was replaced by Lawson, I knew he could be counted on for anything. Well, injuries seem to have robbed us of the Bobby Frasor of his freshman year, but I will remember Bobby for his ability to play. He does whatever and sacrifices to help the team. He's not an ego-maniac and will be a great coach someday. I will particular remember Frasor for his defense this past year and for his 9 points against Duke in the first half.

Danny Green - His first two years, I was hard on Green. He seemed so lost out there and when he was out there, he was inconsistent. After the first game of the 07-08 season, Green had a solid game and I thought to myself, if he can do this consistently, we can be a good team. Lo and behold, he delivered. During that year, I thought to myself, we need a huge dunk on someone (think Stackhouse) and lo and behold, Green came through again (with an assist from Greg Paulus). This year, I have looked to Green as a leader, the stat-stuffer, the glue-guy. I feel that he really held this team together, by being able to do it all. I thought Green would be the next Tar Heel to have a triple-double, with his ability to pass, score, rebound, steal, and block. He hasn't done so yet, but there's still time. Green will probably be remembered for his dunk and for his dancing, but to the true fan, there's so much more.

Tyler Hansbrough - What won't be remembered about him? NPOY, 40 points, .8 seconds against VA Tech, dunking on George, destroying Michigan State (twice), holding our breath while he was injured, broken nose, broken teeth, face mask, balcony hopping, fishing, crazy workouts, Psycho-T, Texas ping-pong, saving people's lives in planes, bloody jersey, 3's against Duke, 4-0 at Cameron, free-throw record, school scoring record, probably the school record for rebounds and ACC scoring record, 4 time All-American. We all know the stories about him. He's going to go down as one of the greatest college players in history. What else can I say about #50?

I hope this group goes out with a bang, both tomorrow and over the next month. And seriously, who is Roy going to start tomorrow?

Get Outta Here!

Good win last night. I was getting a little nervous there at the end, but they pulled it off by picking up the slack and playing defense. I thought the defense played well most of the game. The perimeter defense was active again and Ed Davis played human fly-swatter all game long. I'm not going to comment much about the game but here are my likes and dislikes.

What I didn't like

1. Late game mistakes. Mostly this is the Tyler Hansbrough goal tending incident. I know this won't happen again, but why do it? Also why did Ty Lawson have to keep fouling at the end of the game. I think he picked up 4 in the last few minutes. Not all of those I agreed with, but don't stop the clock and put them on the line.

2. Bench production. I praised the bench on Tuesday; today I tear the bench down. Other than Ed Davis, it looked sloppy. I will cut Zeller some slack because it's only his 2nd true road game and might have been rattled. I hold my breath every time Bobby shoots, hoping it goes in. Generally, I'm disappointed, but he's a defender now, not a shooter. Larry Drew I think just needs more experience (I'm sure he'll get plenty next year).

3. Ty's missed free throws. This is nit-picking a bit, but he was at 81% and then shot 8-12. I know he'll bounce back, but I had to include this in my didn't like section because I just didn't like it.

What I liked

1. Defense. Like the GA Tech game, I thought this was pretty good. I especially applaud Wayne Ellington's effort on Malcolm Delaney, as he was matched up against him most of the game. Wayne did a great job of fighting through screens and even though Delaney got over his average of 18 (he had 19), but this was one of those players who could go off for 30 like every other guard has in ACC play. Sure Vassallo had 25, but he was a senior who was fighting to win his last home game. Nice adjustments at halftime to shut down Jeff Allen. I think he had 14 at half and ended up with 18 (plus it helped that he was shooting long jumpers). Ed Davis was a monster with his block party. 6 Blocks (just check out that picture)!! This kid is gonna be a force in the future.

2. Everybody pitched in. Danny had a bad 1st half and a decent 2nd half. Deon had a quiet 8 points, but we needed all of his points. Wayne got off to a hot start and help get a lead in the first half. Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson (soon to be known as Batman and Robin) were great. #50 was big in the first half and #5 was big in the second.

3. Commentary. Lately we've had some real idiots behind the mike (are we sure Billy Packer retired?), but I don't mind Jay Bilas at all, despite the fact that he went to Duke. I like him because he doesn't praise Duke needlessly and actually tells some of their flaws, which is another reason why I like him: he tells it like it is. He doesn't sugarcoat any team and actually gives good insight to games. For the record, I don't really mind Dick Vitale either. Sometimes he overdoes it, but I think his praise for Duke and Carolina are equal.

4. At least a share of the ACC. This is probably the least of things I want to accomplish in my own team goals, but this is still an achievement. I would love to in it outright, but I would much rather win the NCAA tournament.

So, let the buildup begin...

NPOY

Ever go to Sportsline.com? I usually don't like their articles and I don't particularly like this one. It seems to me that sportsline doesn't have anything else to do, but they have to meet a deadline, so they print some very poorly-thought out article and this seems to be the case here. Read it and here are my thoughts:

If you read some of the comments on this article, you would see that some people are using the race arguement. I'm not even going to touch that because there are more important issues for me to comment on.

The first is the age difference. Blake Griffin is a sophomore. Tyler Hansbrough is a senior. Sure, Hansbrough can be considered the media's darling, but did he ever ask for all this attention. I bet he loathes it. Also, when Hansbrough receieved all this attention for his work ethic and drive, it was his junior year when North Carolina was in the middle of a title run. Now sure, OK looks like a contender, but I'm not expecting them to win the title. Elite 8 is a possiblility, even Final 4, but not a title. Griffin is a sophomore and when you think of elite teams in college basketball, Oklahoma is not on the list (Write that down!). My feelings are that Tyler Hansbrough had over 2 years to be exposed to him and Griffin only has had over 1 year.

Also, let us look at the conferences in which each player plays in. Blake is in the Big 12. What's the first thing that comes to your mind? Football, right? Tyler is in the ACC. First thing to come to your mind? Basketball? Me too.

My point is that Hansbrough will get more media attention because he plays in the ACC, for one of the most decorating schools in college basketball, and will most likely go down as one of the top college players of all time. I am not discrediting Blake Griffin at all. If the season were to end today, I would declare him the Player of the Year. He's good, but let's not pull the whole race card out or say that it is because people love #50. He plays in a basketball conference for the most popular team in the land and has been in the spotlight since he scored his first bucket more than 4 years ago. Blake will most likely be a top pick in the draft, plays in a football conference, and has been on a college campus for almost 2 years. The difference is in those statements, not race.

Let's admire these players for who they are, what they've accomplished and the type of players they will be. I support Tyler Hansbrough and consider him one of the best players in the country and this article made me want to support him even more.

Oh, one more thing. Seriously Sportsline, get some good writers who you can actually pay to write something intelligent. Golly!

Secret Handshake

Mike Copeland. Seriously, have you seen him on the bench or during pre-game introductions? Well if not, check this out.

It's nice to see Mike get some love out there. I have always enjoyed the energy he brings to the court, especially if he got time the team revved up against Duke in the 2nd half. I think having a different handshake for every person would be way to confusing; I don't care how simple they are.

Tuesday Talking Points

If you look on the sidebar, there is a link to Tar Heel Blue, the official site for all things North Carolina. Every Tuesday during the season they publish a mailbag full of questions and this tid bit. So check it out; I did and I want to comment on it:

1. The 29 points scored by Carolina's bench against Georgia Tech were the most by the unit in league play. Tar Heel reserves had averaged a combined 9.7 points per game in Carolina's previous 13 ACC contests.

-Well, if we didn't have the bench, we would have only won by one (something like that). This season the bench(which does not include Ginyard or Graves and does include the walk-ons) is averaging 21.9 of the 91.9 points per game, for a whopping 24% of the team's points. Last year (including walk-ons) only averaged 28.6, with Danny Green popping in 11.5 per game. So even though I've harped on the bench some for not producing, it's really not been too bad. I would imagine part of the fact is that all starters are averaging in double figures, whereas last year there were only 3 starters in double figures.

2. Including this season, the final Carolina-Duke game of the year has had a direct bearing on the ACC regular season championship in five of the past six years.

-Little scary, isn't it? With the Duke game looming, this is obviously on my mind. Assuming we take care of VA Tech first, we will automatically clinch a share of it. Meaning if we lost to Duke on Sunday, we would share it with them and we might as well be kissing our sister.

3. This year's team free throw percentage of .765 would rank second in school history, which would mean that two of the five highest marks in program history have come during the six-year Williams era.

-This I like. Not sure when the other year was, but I'm glad we can hit free throws. This is one area of the game that I do not worry about very much, though occasionally there are lapses. Deon and Ed have really been doing well from the line lately, which is encouraging.

4. Since Carolina's last ACC perfect season in 1987, the Tar Heels have gone through an ACC regular season without a double-digit defeat just once: the 2006-07 season. This season's biggest league defeat is the 7-point home loss to Boston College.

-This stat really surprised me, especially with the way this team was. I thought this was a very frustrating team to watch because of the lack of consistency. Yes, I realize they were young with only 2 seniors, 1 juniors and a bunch of freshman and sophomores. But looking back on the 06-07 season, they were competitive; they just lacked experience in the late game situations. Almost all of those losses, the Heels had the lead in in the 2nd half and choked it away.

One other thought to leave you with. Tyler Hansbrough for his FT shooting career is 907-1105. That's a lot of fouls drawn! Imagine that 85% of those foul shots are 2 shot fouls, so 85% of 1105 is 939, divided by 2 is 470 fouls. So, we'll say 166 of the remaining shots are and-ones. Plus, let's throw in 35 charges drawn and the infamous Henderson elbow (because he didn't shot free throws after that). Add it all up and that is 672 fouls! Now, there is no way that I can back up any of the statistics except for the free throws, but even if I'm close, that is a ton of fouls that Psycho T has drawn. If they kept a stat on fouls drawn, I would imagine he's in the top 5, if not number 1. Crazy! Another record.