Well, it's Looking Really Ugly

The lack of blogging has been because of the lack of heart displayed by the UNC basketball team. I figure, if they don't get hyped to play games, why should I get hyped about blogging? How's that little zinger?


With the ACC tournament close-at-hand and other bubble teams looking to make it in the dance, even if UNC made an amazing run to the ACC title game, it probably wouldn't be enough and the selection committee would probably be doing UNC a favor by not including them because they would just not show any heart and get ousted in the first round.

The tip of the iceberg for me was the Duke game recently. A 32 point beat-down against their arch rival. I stopped watching when the score was 48-21 because we have not scorers, who can score that many points and we have no defense to stop the Duke scoring. This game was a polar opposite teams playing. One hard-nosed team versus a team that is just waiting for someone to pull the plug on them.

To top it all off, when the all ACC teams were announced, there wasn't even a hint of a North Carolina player anywhere. For the first time in the school's history. EVER. And there shouldn't have been because no one played like it.

Then word comes out from Marcus Ginyard, via Adam Lucas that all these problems started in the pre-season and it's a wonder that this team made it to .500 on the season. Players didn't care about each other; didn't listen to their coach. The list goes on and on.

With all that said, it is important to keep in mind that until a winner is crowned in Indianapolis, North Carolina is still the defending. We seem to have forgotten that little fact. Though times are tough in the present, draw from the past and look forward to the future.

Eye of the Tigers

I didn't know if we were up to Clemson this time around. Something felt off to me and low and behold, we have a blow-out loss to Clemson. I didn't get to watch the game and that makes me glad because I think I would have been pretty upset watching the turnover machine that is North Carolina.

I thought of an analogy today about this year's team. I would consider them to be Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde this year. Dr. Jekyll would be the North Carolina team that was present against Michigan State and the second half versus Va Tech. The Mr. Hyde version is the one we have seen a good portion of the season and unfortunately, seems to be taking over Jekyll's play.

Coach Williams blamed the loss on himself in his postgame quotes, saying he did a poor job of coaching. Sure, he could have done things better, but he's not the one out there who can't pass the ball inbounds or throws it over somebody's head. 26 Turnovers. 26! 17 from the starters - the experienced players! I think it's getting inexcusable now and something has to change.

Adam Lucas wrote in his postgame article about the team lacking focus. If you read the post-game comments, the message is similar from the players. I think this statement from a freshman, Dexter Strickland, stood out to me the most:

"It's thinking too much. It's being scared to make a mistake. When you play cautious you're more likely to make a mistake."

I played soccer in college and I remember when I started worrying about making mistakes, that's when I made the most mistakes or played the most cautious. When I didn't think about everything that I could be doing and just tried to make a play is when I had the most success. I'm not saying that Williams should throw caution out the door and let the horses loose, but somebody needs to step up and bit and take some leadership. We have seen a bit of this factor or just going out and making something out of nothing from Dexter Strickland some, but he does still make freshman mistakes and cause turnovers. I think this could be the perfect situation to throw John Henson into so that he can become a better player.

In doing this, North Carolina might establish itself a go-to scorer, someone who gets the last shot because as of right now, the guy who gets the last shot on the team for me is probably Larry Drew II or Strickland, but only because of their ability to break people down off the dribble. I'm not saying this should turn into chaos, but it is something to think about. Make the players stop thinking and start doing. If I had an answer for this situation, I'm sure a lot of coaches would ask me how, but I don't. This season that was filled with potential and hype is suddenly shrinking and becoming a harsh reality. Boo reality, boo!

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!

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.

Is that a Pen Name?

Roy Williams is writing an autobiography? Yes, yes he is. It's release is sometime in November, so we'll have to wait until then to read it. I think this would be a great read, especially if he talks about learning under Dean Smith and winning his last two national championships. That would be really special.

Since we're talking abut books here, here's a book that I have enjoyed throughly. It's written by Wes Miller and Adam Lucas about Wes Miller's senior year at North Carolina. It's called The Road to Blue Heaven and here's a link if you want to check it out. Great book that gives some good insight into what goes on behind the scenes of a North Carolina team. As a fan, I love this book because it brings me that much closer to the action. I would encourage you to at least read it if you are a fan and buy it if you are a huge fan.

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...