Zeller Doin' Work

Sean May had a Twitter post before the alumni game about how the ACC better watch out for Tyler Zeller this year and here's why: he's put on 30 pounds of muscle since arriving in 2008. Imagine if he didn't break his wrist last year and was able to lift for the whole season. Adam Lucas does his pre-season player preview and fills us in on what Zeller has been up to this off season.

Zeller could be a huge wild card this season because we never really saw any of his potential during the year. Yes, we had some flashes but nothing straight-up, jaw-dropping like we did with Ed Davis. But that's what happens when you miss half the season. When Big Z came back, he was a step slow and had to fight for minutes behind Hansbrough, Thompson, and Ed Davis. Minutes were few and far between. It reminded me of the 06-07 season when it was Hansbrough, Brandon Wright, Thompson, and Stepheson. Stepheson usually was the odd man out and this year it was Zeller. Things would have been different if he had not been injured, but such is sports, so we move on.

Lucas also talks about how Zeller has improved his shot, which is splendid because if I remember correctly, he was supposed to extend the defense to take pressure off the low-post guys and maybe even shoot the three ball. If he can do that and make some room for Ed Davis and Deon Thompson, we're looking at possibly the best front court in the country. Then throw in John Henson and then I start getting giddy with thoughts of domination. Then throw in the fact that Zeller is a running big-man and then goosebumps overtake me.

Like I said, wild card. Zeller could come in and give 13 and 8 and we would think he's amazing, but he could come in and put up 6 and 5 and we think, "Well, at least Ed Davis is doing his thing." My guess is we'll see the first Zeller. Maybe not those exact numbers, but Zeller has obviously put some time in this off season and has done and will continue to do work.

Health Update for Marcus Ginyard

In case you didn't know, Marcus Ginyard has been pain free since April, but Adam Lucas gives us a health update anyway. But it seems in the article that it is more of a shot update for the defensive-minded wingman than anything else.

Now if you follow Marcus Ginyard on Twitter, you might know his health is not the greatest because he just had his wisdom teeth removed last week and now has dry socket. But all signs point that he'll be ok for the start of the season and possibly even Late Night. I have included a picture of him post-operation from his Twitter account below:

Yeah, I remember that feeling. But, back to the article where Ginyard had this quote about his shot (probably before the drugs kicked in).

"My shot feels great right now. I spent a lot of time working on it. In previous summers I've spent time working on it, but there's no question that I've been after it harder this summer than in the past. I've been in the gym every day, and tried to put in enough work that I feel comfortable with it. I don't want to think about it, I just want to let it go. That's what the best shooters do. I want to get confident in it and let it fly."

That sounds good to Heel's fans that have wanted him to improve his outside shot. We all know he was good for layups an putbacks, but an outside shot will certainly take the pressure of Ed Davis, Deon Thompson and Tyler Zeller.

Now considering where Ginyard will play this year, he had this to say:

"I'm just a player. Wing guard, forward, whatever. I just have to play and perform. I know I'm going to guard a tough perimeter player and I'm going to play on the wing. That's my job."

Again, typically the answer we would expect from the new David Noel. He's just going to play and play hard, wherever that is. He's going to be big-time for us this year, I just know it. Go Heels!

Tyler Hansbrough is Superman

Yes, most of us all knew it, but now he proves it in the new AT & T commercial. I've already watched it like four times already, and I'm sure I'll watch it before the day is over. Here's some background information from the Herald-Sun about the commercial. The article points out an interesting fact that Tyler Hansbrough does not say a word during the commercial, neither is he identified, but he is Psycho-T and does not need to be identified for most people to recognize him. Enjoy the commercial!

On another note, while searching for an intimidating picture of the aforementioned man, it turns out this picture was in Men's Health with the title "The Tar Heel Workout." So I Googled the article and found it. It's a bit old since it talks about the title chances, but it does give a bit more insight into Tar Heel training and how hard Jonas Sahratian works them. It's funny how the article talks about Ed Davis and Tyler Zeller's struggles with the workout.

Job Security

Remember when North Carolina visited the White House and Jack Wooten has yah close to getting a job in the White House? Well, it seems that ship has sailed as Wooten has now been named Director of Basketball Operations for the Elon Phoenix.

Now, I know what you're thinking. Elon Univserity sounds familiar; who went there? What association is there with Elon University. Well, I can tell you because it sounded familiar to me too. Turns out it was where Wes Miller was an assistant coach last year. I said was as in the past tense because Miller is no longer with the Elon Phoenix, but was hired on to be an assistant coach at High Point University. Wes Miller is getting that coaching experience that will one day land him back at North Carolina. At least, that's what this blogger thinks.

Has a Certain Ring to it

Championship ring that is. Last night, amidst the Heels domination on the gridiron, the 09 Championship team was given their rings at halftime. Here's a link to a picture of one of them. Tar Heel Blue also has a nice gallery of the ceremony and Tyler Hansbrough's picture is epic. It almost looks like that is the crowning achievement in his life right there.

UPDATE: Found a nice little story about the ring from the News and Observer. This article gives some background on the design of the ring as well as the cost. I can't believe the NCAA sets up such a small amount of money to be used for the rings, but professional sports get thousands of dollars to spend on theirs. Oh well.

Awesome Alumni Awareness

The 2009 banner dropped last night. I really would have liked to gone to this game. Maybe game should be "game" because it wasn't really a game, but a reunion as ACC Now put it. I guess I just didn't realize the significance and for that I apologize.

I wasn't there; wasn't even in the same state, but thanks to technology, I was pretty close to the action. Big thanks go to Marcus Ginyard and Tar Heel Fan Blog for their Twitter updates. Ginyard was even nice enough to include pictures occasionally (like of MJ's Ferrari - Holy Whoa). Adam Lucas was also giving updates, but I couldn't access them until this afternoon. His are the best, but no offense to the others, but this is what he does for a living is talk about North Carolina basketball. And he also has a pretty good seat at the scorers table.

I'm not going to post all the links to individual articles, but just check out Tar Heel Blue and Scout. Both sites include photo galleries and Tar Heel Blue has highlights of the game and will be posting the tribute videos that were shown before the game next week, so be sure to check them back out.

One thought to close. This is what Roy Williams said after the game ended:

"The reason we have this game tonight is that this is the first part of a yearlong celebration of the 100 years of Carolina Basketball. We're going to do several things, we'll have an old-timers game. We did this because when we have the reunion during the season the NBA players and coaches can't attend. We love the fact that you guys came. This is the best place in the world for college basketball because of these guys right here and you guys up there."

Think about it - this season is going to be special. Yes, we probably all say that every year, but this is going to be 100 years of Carolina basketball. Where else can you have an event like this and draw 21,000 people and get so many great players together? This is Carolina basketball.

So that Alumni Game

Yeah, I really dropped the ball on the Alumni game that is taking place tonight in Chapel Hill. I guess I just wasn't paying attention to the dates and my calender, so I was pretty screwed up. Sorry about that. There were rumors that this would feature most of the 2005 team versus the 2009 team, but with Tyler Hansbrough's shin injury (thankfully, it didn't happen last year), the teams were set up in a draft-type format, which is probably the best way to do it. Otherwise, where are you going to put Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter, Jerry Stackhouse, and others? The rosters are as follows:

Blue Team
Shammond Williams
Ed Cota
Ty Lawson
Vince Carter
Dante Calabria
Jawad Williams
Wayne Ellington
Rashad McCants
Brandan Wright
Sean May

White Team
Brendan Haywood
Raymond Felton
Bobby Frasor
Jackie Manuel
Jeff McInnis
Danny Green
Marvin Williams
Rasheed Wallace
Antawn Jamison
Jerry Stackhouse

Looks like some pretty stacked teams, but I can't call a winner because I have no idea. If Hansbrough was playing, I would choose whichever team he is on, but I'll go with one of my other favorite big men in Antawn Jamison. But with Blue team's shooters on the roster, they may just run a Four Corners-type offense and chuck up the three ball - Who knows?

As already mentioned, Hansbrough will not be playing, but will be there and I know he is there because his Twitter feed said so. Other former Heels, who will be there but not play included Julius Peppers, Eric Montross, Hubert Davis, as well as coaches like Larry Brown and George Karl.

The reason for this game is to kick off the 100th year of Carolina basketball - a tradition unlike any other. Another event that will be taking place tonight is for the 2009 banner to be unveiled. It will be a great treat for most of the players on that team to be there when that happens. Typically, I believe most championship banners are raised on the opening night or the Late Night, but this is pretty special event. Lots of great players playing tonight. Here's a preview of the events taking place at 8 P.M. tonight

As mentioned a few posts ago, lots of pickup games have been taking place in the Smith Center and Adam Lucas writes about some of the events that take place here. Someday, I would like to go just to watch some of these games, but we'll see what happens. There are even pictures of some of the games.

Adam Lucas is going to be at the game, giving updates, so if you're one of the unlucky ones that don't have a ticket, click over to Tar Heel Blue and follow there.

After this game, I will post some of my favorite players since I have been a North Carolina fan because I don't think I have shared that and I just love thinking about these players playing together.

Also, how come Joe Forte wasn't invited to this event? He played so well in the NBA.

Coaching Shakeup at UNC

It's ok; nothing like Roy Williams resigning or being involved in some scandal (Rick Pitino), but I am suprised by this news. As you know, Coach Williams has on his staff Joe Holladay, Steve Robinson, C. B. McGrath, and Jerod Haase, but NCAA rules only allow for 3 assistant coaches. Williams, being the mastermind that he is, had a title of director of basketball operations, which C. B. McGrath and Jerod Haase rotated this position every other year. I also think this position allowed for the director of basketball operations to be involved with coaching the JV team, but not sure.

Well now, Joe Holladay is going to assume this position and will rotate with McGrath and Hasse every year so that one of them is the director of basketball operations every three years. At first, I was shocked by this decision, because I always think of Joe Holladay as a fixture on the bench and has a calming effect on Williams when he gets irate, but there are a few things to consider:


1. Holladay is 61 years old and he probably will not want to coach for too many more years. This leads to the second point, which is


2. Experience. C.B. McGrath has worked with Williams for 10 years, but has only been an assistant coach for 6. Haase has been with Williams for the same amount of time and has only been an assistant for 4 years (best guess - not sure on the exact experience). neither of these assistant coaches have the experience that Holladay has, so why not build them up while Holladay can still be involved with the program.


If you don't think that Holladay won't be involved somehow in the coaching, either offering advice or giving input when Roy asks for it, you're nuts. I think this is a smart move by Williams and will benefit UNC in the long run. Williams said "we have a deeper bench now," so that's probably why the move was made.


As far as what the director of basketball operations does, I think I remember reading a long time ago that it involves planning trips (hotels, meals, travel arrangements, etc) and other things I'm sure.


Not all hope is lost on the bench because Steve Robinson is still there. Remember he was the head coach at Florida State and Tulsa. I hope Robinson never leaves because that will leave a big hole in the bench. At Holladay's current age and his relationship with Roy Williams, it's hard to imagine him ever leaving Williams' staff before retiring. Depending on how McGrath and Haase do in the future, they are possibilities for head coaching positions of their own.

If something does happen in the near future as far as an assistant coach leaving UNC, my best guess (and probably wishful thinking) is that Wes Miller will be in line to eventually replace one of them, but that doesn't look like it will happen for 3 years or so. I'm not worried.

The Information Age

Technology can be a curse for some, but for this Tar Heel fan, it's pretty sweet right now. Facebook, one of the major social networking sights is very popular and especially popular with college students, at least in my experience. It turns out that even Tar Heels use Facebook and some of them, quite a bit. I am "friends" with some of the North Carolina players and I use the term friend loosely, because there is no way that some of these players would be friends with me. Some of my Tar Heel friends include: Surry Wood, JB Tanner Dewey Burke, Quentin Thomas, Tyler Zeller, Marc Campbell, John Henson, Dexter Strickland, and Leslie McDonald. I used to be friends with Danny Green, but he has since figured he was better off without me as his friend. Wes Miller was also one of my buddies, but has since deleted his account. I've sent messages to Marcus Ginyard commending him for his leadership, but he still has not accepted my friend request. Tyler Hansbrough, Deon Thompson, and Alex Stepheson also must not realize who I am, but Cam Sexton has (Carolina QB - gotta give the football team a shoutout once in awhile).

Anyway, I share all this information because this year's current freshman, Henson, Strickland, and McDonald all update their Facebook status quite a bit. Some of it is pretty random, saying their going to movies or their in class, but sometimes they say they are working out and then they curse Jonas for working them too hard in the weight room. But here is Dexter Strickland's last update:

"Leadership is the ability to persuade others to do what you want them to do because they want to do it...i hope to lead my team to another championship this year as a freshmen...sounds hard but its possible!....UNC i love u!..."

That sounds pretty encouraging to me, coming from a freshman, but one could argue that he hasn't even played a game, which he hasn't yet. But I don't think you can argue that the desire isn't there.

Another social network that is quite popular is Twitter. I joined Twitter maybe 2 months ago and don't spend a lot of time there, but you can follow people and don't really have to worry about them rejected you as their friend. There are a lot of current and former Tar Heels on Twitter. I think Rashad McCants lives on Twitter; Sean May also updates a lot about his workouts in the Smith Center. Marcus Ginyard updates when there is pickup games in the Smith Center, when he is in the ice tub, and when he's getting shots in. Ed Davis and John Henson are also on Twitter, but do not update as frequently. Will Graves and Mike Copeland are also common Twitters and even Roy Williams and Tyler Hansbrough are on Twitter.

Technology has some cons, I would be the first to tell you that, but I think this is pretty cool because it brings me closer to the players and to Tar Heel Basketball.