Dancing Danny Continues . . .

. . . his career in the NBA. Danny Green signed a 2 year deal with the Cavs this week. I'm pretty pumped for Danny Green. I felt bad for him because I think he thought of himself as a first round pick, and just happened to fall into the 2nd round of the NBA Draft. I don't think that's the way it meant for most GM's, but Green has a guaranteed contract and that probably makes him pretty happy. I do think Green can contribute on the next level and that he was a safe 2nd round pick. I am curious to see what sideline antics he can provide, combined with LeBron and Shaq. Stay tuned.

Great Scott

Mike Copeland is hooping it up in Scotland. He had been playing in the Eurobasket Summer League in Las Vegas.

He ended up signed a one year deal with the Glasgow Rocks and will get to use a car in addition to his salary. He will also be living with another American player that plays on the team.

I'm happy for Copeland as he is able to pursue something that he wants to do. Mike's optimism comes out in a quote from the article: I'm trying to take a step into the door here," Copeland said. "If I can go to Scotland and play real well, maybe I can get a chance to play in the NBA or someplace else."

While I don't think Copeland will be in the NBA anytime soon, I can see him excelling overseas and moving up in the world of international basketball. I hope he likes Haggis.

High Honors

Some Carolina basketball players were honor by being named on the ACC Academic Honor Roll. Tyler Hansbrough, Jack Wooten, J.B. Tanner, and Tyler Zeller were all named on the ACC Honor Roll. This I like. I like this party because it is a testament to Roy Williams and his ability to coach high character players. I also like this because too often, the sports world gets caught up in the fact that these are student-athletes. Student comes before the athlete. Now granted, not all of these players are going to school for a college degree perhaps. I believe all these players did or will, but a lot of time, college is just seen as the hurdle that needs to be cleared in order for them to get to the NBA. I'm not saying that every player is like that, or that some North Carolina players are. I'm just talking about players in general. Anyway, congratulations to these players and they deserved to be praised for being able to balance the pressures of the academic world and the the basketball court.

Another note: Today is Tyler Hansbrough Day in Poplar Bluff Missouri. Cool!

Tar Heel Tid-Bits

Just some random articles and my thoughts on them.

*Dick Vitale put out his top 40 for the 09-10 season. UNC comes in at #8 and Vitale says that they will reload. Yes, UNC will most likely only have to reload now because they are in good shape. I know people have always said that Roy Williams is a great recruiter and a good coach, but I think he is an excellent recruiter and an excellent coach.

*Andy Katz put out his top 25 and has North Carolina at #5. He says this might be too high, but that a Roy Williams coached team doesn't often disappoint. I agree and think that this will be a good year.

*NBA Draft.net is an interesting website. I read it because it does a lot of scouting for me, but I find some of their material ridiculous. Nevertheless, they also produced a top 25 list and they included a projected starting line-up for next year's team. Interesting to note that they do not have Larry Drew II in the starting line-up, but rather, Leslie McDonald and Dexter Strickland, at SG and PG respectively. The only way I see that happening is if Drew gets injured or gets suspended for some very odd reason. I know Williams started Ty Lawson as a freshman for most of that season, but Lawson was a speed demon and I think Ol' Roy was looking at the big picture that Lawson would be better than Bobby Frasor in the future.

This time though, I think Roy will go with experience. I'm not saying that Strickland won't see some time at point, but I do not see him starting unless something crazy happens.

*That NBA Draft.net article got me thinking more about the starting lineup for the upcoming season. I have thought about this before, but I'm just not sure what is going to happen. Maybe there won't be a solid 34 game lineup all the time; maybe Coach Williams will mix it up somewhat. Maybe the 6 starters makes a comeback? I'm not really sure, but here is the lineup that I think will happen:

C - Ed Davis

PF - Deon Thompson

SF - Marcus Ginyard

SG - Leslie McDonald

PG - Larry Drew II

Here's a line-up that I would like to see at some point in the season:

C - Ed Davis

PF - Deon Thompson

SF - John Henson

SG - Marcus Ginyard

PG - Larry Drew II

Not a huge change, but it definitely makes the Heels talllllllll, with 3 players at 6'8" or taller. I'm really excited about Henson's potential this year. Rumor on the streets is that he is one of the three best players Williams has every recruited. That just sounds amazing for fans and awful for foes! Henson was a shooting guard as a junior because he was only 6'4" and then he grew 6 more inches, so he's got the height of a big man and the handles of a guard. I've heard people compare him to Kevin Durant. If he is anything like Kevin Durant was as a freshman then that would be stupendous! I'm going to like Henson; I just hope he sticks around for a while.

You Stay Classy

There is something my wife noticed this season about North Carolina. She’s somewhat of a sports fan, but not huge, but she will always faithfully watch games with me, even when the games are boring because North Carolina is up by 20. And she does care about North Carolina, so don’t think she watches just to be with me.

But one thing that drives her insane is when coaches or players yell at the refs and don’t stop. Now Roy has yelled at refs, but he does not go off and get a technical just to prove him point (or at least I can’t recall him doing that). But some coaches and players just don’t shut it when it comes to officiating. I have some gripes with officials too, but I can drop it because they can’t hear me yelling through the TV.

The point of this article is class. North Carolina has it; other schools do not. A lot of the classiness has come from Dean Smith, which I appreciate. I didn’t follow North Carolina during the Dean Smith years because I was young, but anyone who is a fan knows that Dean Smith was classy.

North Carolina beams classiness to me. Pointing to the passer is classy because it shows players to recognize that they couldn’t have done anything without the passer. The jerseys are classy because we have two kinds and that’s it, while a team like Oregon has one for every week.

Another classy area that I like is the attire. Players wear coats and ties to and from games. Not all universities do that. Roy Williams always has a suit and tie, except in Maui or when he gets mad and throws his jacket on the ground. I like that. I don’t like Mike Brey, the Notre Dame coach, who wears the jacket, but just a shirt underneath it, and I especially hate the polo with the jacket (Al Skinner). UGLY. I’m glad Coach Williams dresses and has his players dress professionally because North Carolina is a professional institution.

Another reason I appreciate the classiness of North Carolina is that when students or fans start making a chant, like to Clemson “you can’t win here” – yes it brings a smile to my face, but Coach Williams is always quick to get on the mic and tell students to stow it because he won’t put up with it. Also, you won’t see anything like Speedo Man in the stands of the Smith Center making obscene gestures towards players.

You can go to school, but you can’t buy class. That statement is so true and North Carolina has built up its legacy and maintained classiness all around. You don’t hear of academic problems, recruiting violations, or anything like that at North Carolina and I know you won’t as long as Roy Williams is around. So, you stay classy North Carolina.