Well, at Least They Tried Hard

Imagine what our record could be if we had the same kind of intensity all season, as we did against Duke. I don't think it would be 13-11 and 2-7 in the ACC. But what the game came down to in my mind was a lack of a go-to scorer/leader in the last few minutes. It was an ugly game throughout, with both teams putting their noses close to the grindstone and digging in on defense, but Duke stopped being ugly with around 5 minutes left, when Jon Scheyer, Kyler Singler, and Nolan Smith took over the game. UNC does not have that luxury. Even if they did, they would probably be injured on the bench because that's how the season has gone.

The last few minutes were chaos for North Carolina, as they would dribble down the court, down by 8 and jack up a 3 pointer. Yes, they needed to score, but they could at least work the ball around for an open shot. And we should have tried to go with our go-to scorer, who is still MIA because we don't have one. We probably won't until next season, and even then, I'm not totally sure who is is going to be.

In reading postgame comments, it's obvious the players felt focused, but they all said the same thing: that it dropped in the last 8 minutes of the game. A few of the players also brought up the fact that if they played like this all season, they wouldn't be sitting close to the cellar of the ACC standings.

I thought John Henson played well and is giving up glimpses of what he will be like in the future. When he first showed up on campus, I thought he would be a one-and-done player, but I see that as highly unlikely. The defense was there and the effort was there, just not the execution tonight.

So where do we go from here? Well, we might be 3 or 4 more victories in the ACC, but I'm starting to look ahead to next year. I still support the team and will continue to watch and blog, but the NIT is calling and UNC is looking like they are on the guest list, which I never thought would happen under Roy Williams. Next year's class will help with depth on the wings and in the backcourt and should be special (but a lot of people said that about this year's class).

On a side note, Tyler Hansbrough had his #50 retired last night. I almost felt like the awe of Psycho-T would bring us to victory and perhaps Coach K would die of a heart attack when he saw him, but not last night. Anyway, Hansbrough certainly deserved the honor and I can't wait to go see his jersey up in the rafters someday.

Decade Dominance

Boom! Decade of Dominance is over. Sports Illustrated is doing their decade recap of different sports and in the process, they named Tyler Hansbrough player of the decade and Coach Williams coach of the decade.

I can't say this is a huge surprise as no other player put together quite a storied career or stay in school for four years, or won a national player of the year, or set the ACC scoring record, or won a national championship. Hansbrough is absolutely deserving and I can think of no other player in the running, let alone deserving to win.

Williams is a bit of different story because it depends on how you want to base this on; whether it is on national titles, final four appearances, NCAA tournament appearances, program success. I do think Williams is deserving because he did go to 5 final fours, won 2 national titles, and has been a recruiting genius. Sure, Billy Donavon won 2 titles with Florida, but fell on the national stage for a year or two after the titles. I'm not in anyway saying that Williams is not deserving, but I can see critics arguing this more than the player of the decade.

Interesting enough, Michigan State was voted team of the decade because they made the tournament every year and won a national title as well as a number of Final Fours.

And another piece of information from this is biggest bust of the decade and it goes to Shavlik Randolph, shocking that we have another Duke failure.

Slow week again, but it should pick up again soon. Go Heels!

It's Been A While

Since we had a Tyler Hansbrough post and thankfully, Seth Davis decided he would write a nice piece about the great Heel ever and nominate him for Sportsman of the Year that SI does every year. So check it out. It's basically a recount of his career - mostly highlights and it's about the Legend known as Tyler Hansbrough.

Just for an NBA update on the man, he's doing quite well despite the fact that he's not supposed to be that good at that level. He's averaging 8.8 points per game and 4.5 rebounds in 17 minutes a night. He's not shooting the ball that well from the field or the line, but I can't think of any rookie in the association that does well shooting his first year. I think he could make a run at an all Rookie Team as the season progresses, but we'll see.

Overrated

Maybe. A little bit. That's what North Carolina is.

That is not to say they don't have the potential to be a top 5 team, but the panel was wrong giving it to them this early in the season. I was wrong for getting to caught up in the hype. This team will have some learning experiences and I know the Syracuse game will be one of them.

I live in the Syracuse area and have never truly liked the Orange, even a little bit. I was cheering for Kansas in the 2003 championship game and I was about the only one in my school, church, and probably in New York. I have been dreaming of playing Syracuse for years now and it almost happened last year, until the 'Cuse ran into a good Oklahoma team in the Sweet Sixteen. Well, the SU-UNC matchup finally happened and I didn't like the result. I only watched the second half and that was the wrong half to watch. This game brought up bad memories of the Kansas game because the collapse at the beginning of the second half was really, really bad.

North Carolina couldn't hit a shot, turned the ball over carelessly, and SU hit everything like they were throwing rocks in the ocean, which led to a 20 point lead for the Orange. I wasn't panicing at this point because there was still a lot of time left and I really thought we had it after one of the Wear's hit a three pointer to bring it within 8, but SU answered with Wesley Johnson, who played really well, and North Carolina had no answer for him.

Is all lost? No, but we will probably drop to #8 in the polls, which is fine because we should be ranked somewhere in the 10-20 range right now because we are not a top 5 team. The pollsters looked at the success that the 05-06 team had and judged them on that and that's not fair to these current edition of the Heels because John Henson, the high profile freshman who has been less than impressive to me, who is our high recruit, is not Tyler Hansbrough, who was the high recruit that could compare to him.

Things I didn't like:
1. To start the first half, we shot 2 airball three pointers, which really summarized how the next 10 minutes went - south. SU will sit in their 2-3 zone until Jim Boeheim dies. UNC needed to work the ball around more and take better shots because we can't outshoot teams.

2. John Henson has been a big disappointment to me. Maybe he's just getting used to playing on the perimeter, but he has not had that "wow" factor that Marcus Ginyard talked about. He's had some nice dunks, but I think that's where all of his points have come from. If I was 6'10" I could dunk too.

Things I liked:
1. Tough early season loss. I don't like losing, but with the way the schedule is set-up. I would rather lose the first game of the ranked set of opponents and then fix the mistakes and play better against Michigan State, Kentucky, and Texas. Earlier this week, I read that Roy said he might have over-scheduled his young team and I agree wholeheartedly now. It looked good on paper, but so did the Heels.

2. Wear Twins. They are easily my favorites on this year's team. Maybe it's because of the Tyler Hansbrough-like work ethic, or maybe it's because they are smart players. I really doubted these guys coming into the season because all the experts said they would be lucky if they saw any court time, so I took that as a possibility of a red shirt for them, but I am ever so thankful that didn't happen because it wouldn't be good. They provide a nice shot in the arm off the bench and it's a treat watching them play. Hopefully, I'll be able to tell them apart before the season is over.

What If: Upperclassman returning

I have been wanting to do this “what if” post for awhile, but just haven’t found or made the time, but now here we go. I remember instantly after North Carolina won the 05 title, I was thinking repeat with all those players coming back and then the incoming freshman class – it was almost guaranteed. But then I remember reading the recap of the championship game on ESPN and there was a link that said “McCants declares for draft.” My world shattered a little bit there, but there was hope because Sean May had said he was coming back and he wanted to repeat, but then he saw his stock go up. But there was Raymond Felton still, who had wanted to leave for awhile, and then he was gone, and then Marvin Williams, but his mom had some medical problems and he was gone. So we were left with a bare cupboard, but it turns out it was ok, but my question is this: what if one or more of the upperclassman had stayed?




It would have been my dream to watch some of these players crush the competition with Tyler Hansbrough and I often imagine that they somehow did, but it will still never become a reality and that’s ok too.

First, we have to think that if one or some of these players stayed, Hansbrough might not have become the force he became. To me, that is reason enough for these players to have left really because Tyler Hansbrough is the model now for being amazing. Those records probably wouldn’t be broken and JJ Redick would still have his ugly mug atop the ACC scoring record and that just wouldn’t be cool with me. Plus, we have won another national title, so that’s perfectly fine with me. I could gladly win a championship every 5 years.

Secondly, if someone had stayed, would it have really mattered? We probably would have been first or second in the ACC, maybe played for the ACC championship and then gotten into at least the Sweet 16, if not farther. What does that matter in the long run? It would be another banner or two, but if it meant that Hansbrough’s numbers have to suffer, then I wouldn’t want it. Plus if you think about team chemistry, I can’t see Rashad McCants getting along with Hansbrough too much. David Noel was the leader of this team and I just can’t see it any other way.

But hypothetically, if someone would have stayed, who would you have wanted? We could have had the potent scorer in McCants; the maestro in Felton; the big man down low with May; or the 6th man, turned superstar with Williams. Oh the possibilities!

If I could have had my pick at the time, I would have wanted Felton because I enjoyed watching him as a point guard, but in all honesty, we needed a big man. The three man rotation that UNC after that year was ok, but it would have been nice to have either May or Williams down low too. Noel, Byron Sanders, and Hansbrough probably doesn’t scare a lot of frontcourts. Ok, Hansbrough probably does, but throw in May or Williams and BOOM! I thought May would have been the most likely to stay and to see him and Hansbrough bump heads in the paint would have gotten old after awhile. Williams would have been interesting to see because we would become the Ed Davis we expect and hope to see. The potential for Marvin during his sophomore year would have been amazing.

So there you have if. Your “what if” scenario that will never happen, but it could have and it would have been ridiculously awesome. But the story still has a happy ending – hoisting another trophy.

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.

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.

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.

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!

Some More Hype

I still haven't decided on the most important players for the upcoming year, but I do have more that relates to yesterday's post.

ESPN's Dickie V and Andy Katz put out some hype articles, with Vitales' Rolls Royce team and Katz with his talk of all the returning talent.

First on Dick Vitale's piece, who by the way, I don't think he is pro-Duke or pro-Carolina. I think he gives both equal praise and he's just a really intense person. But he a bazillion players on his teams, with 7 different teams, plus honorable mentions. I see that Kyle Singler is on the first team and Ed Davis is on the sixth team. I also notice that Ed Davis is the only returning player not to average double digits in points, so obviously that's saying something, like believe the hype. I do love how experts always have such varying opinions. Yesterday, Ed Davis was 11th, today he is around the 30th. Hopefully his draft stock doesn't plummet this much. Deon Thompson also made the list, but as an honorable mention, which means he's probably ranked in the 50's on Vitale's system.

Katz, who is probably my favorite analysis, hit the nail right on the head, in my opinion anyway. Here's what he said:

Davis had buzz after his Final Four performance this spring. In this draft, he would have gone in the top five, but how will he handle being the go-to guy in the post? Will he even get that tag with Deon Thompson? Davis needs to show he can deliver for the Tar Heels on a consistent basis. He didn't have the chance this past season because of Tyler Hansbrough. Now he does. Let's see how he handles the pressure.

I think he's right on. He's top five pick because of his projected talent. But it's not like he's going to be handed the post area because Tyler Hansbrough is gone. He has to deal with Deon Thompson, who both have similar offensive games, with Deon extending his range a bit this past season. What if Deon is the man this year? We don't know how it will go down. Also, Davis will be under a lot of pressure. Two mock drafts I have seen for next year have him at #2 and #6. That's a lot of potential money for a 19-20 year old. Hopefully fan, pro scouts, and probably even teammate talk of his game won't weigh him down.

One other note, not related to UNC, but kinda is. Luke Harangody returned for his senior year and it looks like he will have a Tyler Hansbrough-like year in terms of setting all these records for Notre Dame. But I highly doubt he will ride off in the same fashion that Hansbrough did.

Hansbrough Inked

No, not tattoos (at least that I know of). He has signed his rookie deal with the Pacers.

As the 13th overall pick, he's slotted in the NBA's rookie salary scale to receive about $1.5 million this season and nearly $1.7 million next season, with a $1.8 million option for his third year.

As Roy Williams often says, he's going to make a lot of money and it is very true. Hansbourgh has earned it with his four years of hard work, sweat, and blood.

Interview with a Coach

Sporting News recently did an interview with Roy Williams. You can read the full interview here. If you can't tell Roy Williams is a student of Dean Smith, then you need to be pegged on the head with a tac hammer because Dean was humble and Roy also exuberates humbleness in deferring several times about where he ranks among the greatest coaches, his place on the all time wins list, and being the #2 coach behind not only Dean Smith, but also Phog Allen at Kansas. Williams also mentions that his toughest loss is 97 loss to Arizona (I know for me, it's the UNC/Kansas Final Four game), so hopefully that loss remains his toughest loss.

Roy also mentions about how thick-skinned he is, which you probably need in order to coach at any level. I have defended, and will continue to defend Roy Williams unless he does something complete out of character, which is hard to envision that happening. But it's nice to know that he doesn't get swayed by public opinion and he probably does not read as much as the fans do about his coaching and decisions. As Williams has said before, he does not care too much for technology, so he probably does not read most of the articles out there on the internet about him.

Williams goes on to talk about how big an impact that Tyler Hansbrough has left on the program and coaches alike. I believe that very much so and know that there will not be another player like Tyler Hansbrough in the UNC program. He is amazing and so is Roy Williams.

Draft Thoughts

Ok, I realize that my blogging has been poor as of late, but I promise that will change. June was a very crazy month for me and now that it is over, I should be more consistent. I apologize and hope you readers out there do not think any less of me.

But the draft has come and gone and I’m just going to give some thoughts on where each Heel was drafted and what I think about it.

Tyler Hansbrough went #13 to the Pacers. I was sure surprised by the fact that he was a lottery pick. Who would have thought the guy who had been nit-picked at for 4 years would be the first Heel to be drafted, let alone a lottery pick? When I look at the Pacer’s roster, I know that Psycho-T can play on this team and get some significant minutes. The Pacers don’t seem to have a truly skilled big man, so they went with a safe pick on this one, which some experts say wasn’t good, but I’d rather be safe than sorry. There are a lot of North Carolina ties on this roster, like Josh McRoberts from Duke and Roy Hibbert from that fateful Elite 8 game in 07.

Ty Lawson was originally drafted by the Wolves at #18 (and their plethora of picks and point guards), but then traded to the Nuggets. I think Lawson might be in the best situation of all of the draftees because he will be the primary back up. There is no way he is starting over Chauncy Billups, but Billups will be an excellent tutor for Lawson to learn under. Also, the Nuggets play at a fast pace, which should help Lawson make the transition from the Carolina system to the NBA. Hopefully he will do a little better than Raymond Felton did at making the transition.

Wayne Ellington was drafted by the T-Wolves as well at #28, but they kept him. I’m not sure what to expect with the T-Wolves with their coaching situation up in the air. He’s really the only shooting guard on the team, unless you count Ricky Rubio, who is the same height as Ellington, but everyone else on the roster should be a point guard going on by their height. Now that Kevin McHale is gone, there won’t be a doghouse for Ellington to get in like Rashad McCants was, so hopefully he can get some playing time. Ellington was quoted as saying that he had a chip on his shoulder to prove the other 27 teams wrong, so I would think we would see him play well.

Danny Green was the lone second rounder. I really like this pick for the Cavs. They don’t really have a lot of wing players and Green can bring some things to the table that they can use. He joins Jawad Williams on the roster, so I imagine we will see some mentoring there. He also joins LeBron James and it’s hard to imagine that LeBron won’t want Danny Green to do his best and help him out along the way. I think if Green can earn a spot on the roster, he could get some spot minutes on this team.


So those are some thoughts from the draft from my head. I know I’m giving a best case scenario for all of these players, but I truly think that these things can happen. Again, I wish them the best and thank them for their years of service to the UNC, especially that National Championship thing. That’s a pretty big deal.

So that NBA Draft Thing...

I Know it's been awhile. It has been rather busy around this side of the blogosphere, so I apologize.

Here's some info on where the Heels are projected at:

Tyler Hansbrough
Draft Express - #20 to the Jazz
NBA Draft.net - #20 to the Jazz
SI - #24 to the Blazers
Fox Sports - #20 to the Jazz

Ty Lawson
Draft Express - #17 to the 76ers
NBA Draft.net - #25 to the Thunder
SI - #14 to the Suns
Fox Sports -#25 to the Thunder

Wayne Ellington
Draft Express - #28 to the Timberwolves
NBA Draft.net - #19 to the Hawks
SI - #26 to the Bulls
Fox Sports - #19 to the Hawks

That's all I can get because I don't have ESPN Insider. Danny Green was not included because he is a second round pick and most sites don't project that deep. Here are my thoughts on these players and their future careers:

Tyler Hansbrough has been criticized by NBA people since the dawn of time. He is too slow, then not tall enough, not explosive, etc. Well here’s my opinion on him at the next level. At worst, he will be a rotation player. He has a high basketball IQ and can shoot, rebound, and defend. He’s not going to be buried on the bench. Best case scenario is that he becomes a Carlos Boozer. Yes, I did just mention a former Duke player, but when Boozer was drafted, I said adamantly he would amount to nothing because he was too short, not fast enough, etc. Well last time I checked, Boozer played on the Olympic team, makes more money than he should and has been an all-star at least once, if not more. I believe Hansbrough will have a fruitful career and look forward to following him (not watching him though because the NBA is stupid.). Even if he does get picked late in the first round, that would be better for him because he will be playing on a good team and can probably step in right away.

Ty Lawson is who I thought would have been drafted first for the Heels, but I'm not sure anymore. His stock has dropped considerably so I'm not sure what to tell you He has been mentioned as a lottery pick or mid to upper 20’s pick. It’s hard to tell where he will land, but I do see him similar to the last North Carolina point guard drafted – Raymond Felton. Felton has been up and down it seems, but his learning curve is on the better end than it was last year, but Ty Lawson could be very similar in the fact that he is a back up or occasional starter to eventual full-time starter. I think Lawson is better than Felton because it seems Lawson’s shot is more accurate and Lawson can get in the lane any time (at least on the college level). Lawson’s ¾ court sprint time seemed slow, but he is still amazingly fast. I've read articles that say that Johnny Flynn is way better than Lawson, but there’s no way. Flynn is good and I have enjoyed watching him play, but he is no way better than Lawson. Flynn relies on the three too much and has way too many turnovers. I know the critics say they worry about Lawson's shot being released low, so he's easy to block, but it's hard to block shots when you're double teaming someone else.

Wayne Ellington is hard to figure out where he could land. His draft measurements were interesting (who would have known he has a higher vertical that his buddy Gerald Henderson? And where was it during the season? We want to see some slam-a-jamas!), but I don’t know where he is going to go. I’ve heard as high at late lottery and I hear that he may not be drafted until the second round. My guess is that he is a late first rounder – somewhere in the 20’s - which might be the best thing for him because he’s not a superstar, but can be a viable option of the bench or maybe as your fourth or fifth scorer. If he does go the Bulls, that could be a really good fit because Ben Gordon will probably be gone and Ellington can step in and take his place.

Danny Green is questionable to make a team, which I’m sorry to say. No way is he a first round pick. If we could compare him to a former Tar Heel, he would probably be like David Noel, who was a glue guy, but was drafted in the second round. Noel did play for the Bucks for awhile, but now I think he is in the D-League. Danny Green could follow the same course, but I think he stands a much better chance than Noel because Green is more versatile. Time will tell with Danny Green.


That's the information I have, so thanks for reading. Again, sorry it has been so long, but keep tuning in and I will make up for it.

Video Tour of the White House

Bobby Frasor was given a camera by ESPN to film the Tar Heels recent trip to the White House. It is actually pretty funny, so check it out.

I'll be giving draft updates soon. It helps with the lottery being tonight as we will see more talk of the draft.

Season in Review: Tyler Hansbrough

(In Agent Smith’s creepy voice from the Matrix movies) “Mr. Hansbrough, we’ll miss you.” But it’s so true though. I will greatly miss Tyler Hansbrough. I don’t live in the Chapel Hill area (I don’t even live in North Carolina), but over the last four years, I have not missed many televised games. Some of the games I have missed include the 40 point game against Georgia Tech, the 2007 ACC Championship game, and the Sweet 16 game in 2007 against USC (probably that was a good thing because I would have been pacing and yelling). There may be a few more, but those ones stick out. Other than that, I think I have seen most, I would say 90%, of the nationally televised games (thank you ESPN 360 and ESPNU!), so next year, when I don’t see #50 out there facing his basket on the opening tip ready to pounce on the ball, it’s going to be really sad. I think when people think of North Carolina basketball, Tyler Hansbrough will be at the top of the list.

Hansbrough’s freshman year, during the ACC-Big 10 Challenge, the rematch of the 05 championship game, was the first game I was able to watch, but I was only able to watch part of it because I was working. We were close to winning, but ultimately fell short. I had a friend who was an Illinois fan who was watching the game. Afterwards he told me “Dude, your white guy is going to be really good.” Well after four years, I would have to say he was just a bit off. He was outstandingly amazing!

This past year, when I saw the headline flash: “Tyler Hansbrough out indefinitely with stress reaction in leg,” I couldn’t believe it. All these records that were supposed to be broken this year would not be broken. The championship run was in jeopardy. His draft stock was ruined. But the UNC medical staff, (which I think do a great job) did the right thing and held him out. Without him this season, this year would have been a lot different.

Things I didn’t like:
1. Missing some games. Yes, it was the right choice, similar to Lawson, but his records would be even greater. It would have just added to the legend. Did you know that Hansbrough has more points and rebounds at UNC than he did in high school? That is impressive considering he would have been the main head honcho, whereas at UNC, he was just the head honcho. It also would have been nice to say that our best player never missed a game or a practice, but what can you do.

2. Some inconsistent games. This year Hansbrough didn’t have as many high scoring games. He also had more single-digit point games than any other season before. His rebounds were down as well. I know all of these have different reasons, not that Hansbrough stopped trying. Ed Davis and Wayne Ellington increased their rebounds. Danny Green, Deon Thompson, and Ty Lawson all increased their scoring. The officials were watching the cheerleaders and not the game. These all were different factors and some of the reason was that defenses were gearing up for him. It’s cool; he’s still the best scorer and rebounder in UNC history.

Things I liked:
1. Coming back. This season was awesome because of the history behind it: North Carolina and ACC scoring record, rebounding record, free throw record, the 4 time All American. I’m sure there were a bunch of other ones, but those stick out. If he hadn’t come back, we as fans would have been left with the “what if” questions. That would be terrible to think about.

2. The attitude. The work effort was there all year, even though he could have taken some plays off at any time because he’s Psycho-T. But he gave it all year. When Lawson and Ellington were on fire at the end of the season, he didn’t try and do the same thing. He played in the team concept and was fine being the second or third option. There could have been a lot of problems if he hadn’t.

3. The shooting. Were you sick of hearing commentators talking about how surprised they were that Hansbrough was taking threes? I know I was because he has expanded his range every year. It’s not like they were fluky. With the extended range, I’m guessing that helped his free throw confidence, which resulted in a higher percentage. Also, he added the turn-around jumper and the fade away a bit too. He has the complete package as far as an offensive player.

Tyler Hansbrough is just the best. There’s no other way to put it. He is the best player in North Carolina history and a record setter. I love the above picture of him because it just symbolizes his career - a winner. If I ever met him, I would just hug him and say thank you and I’m sure he would know what for. He truly is a special player and was sooooooo much fun to watch. Thank you Mr. Hansbrough!

Comparing 05 to 09

I have finally done my comparing of the last two title teams. This would be an awesome game. I could throw out a whole bunch of numbers and stuff, but I’m not that motivated right now. So here’s what I’m going to do; I’m going to break down the starters and the bench as a whole and say who has the edge based on my opinion.

Center: Sean May vs. Tyler Hansbrough
Sean May really hit his stride his junior year about half-way through. Tyler Hansbrough hit his stride all the time. May had really good hands and was a good shot-blocker as well. He also had a number of low-post moves in which to fall back on. Those are about the only things he has on Tyler Hansbrough. Hansbrough didn’t have a ton of post moves, but he was ok at putting the ball in the basketball. Also, the ability to draw fouls, make free throws, take charges, and steal the ball all play into his favor. Then throw in the hustle, determination, and the extended range, it’s not much of a contest. May was good, but Hansbrough is much better.
Edge: Hansbrough

Power Forward: Jawad Williams vs. Deon Thompson
Jawad was an undersized power forward, but he played big in my eyes. A few things that were nice about Williams, was the fact that he could shoot the three and open up the post, which Deon cannot do. Deon defends well with his blocks, but he can be such a head case and be streaky. If it was Deon of the first few games of the regular season, Deon would win, but Williams had that senior leadership quality, experience, and know-how.
Edge: Williams

Small Forward: Jackie Manuel vs. Danny Green
We really have opposites in this area. A defensive-minded stopper against an offensive-minded shooter. Manuel was an excellent defender, but defenses could lay off of him because he couldn’t shoot a lick. Green was the stat-stuffer, filling up the box score on a regular basis. He could shoot, pass, rebound, and block. His on ball defense was suspect, but you always had to be aware of him coming on the help-side defense.
Edge: Green

Shooting Guard: Rashad McCants vs. Wayne Ellington
At the beginning of the year, this would have been no contest to McCants. He has the ability to shoot from anywhere. But he could also drive hard, finish hard, and dunk hard. Ellington is a much better all-around player now. His rebounds were up; assists were good; defense was much-improved. I would have liked to see him take it to the hole more and get fouled because he was a good free throw shooter. Because of that, I think McCants was better. McCants was also a decent shot-blocker as well, which Wayne is not.
Edge: McCants – slightly

Point Guard: Raymond Felton vs. Ty Lawson
This would be a great point guard match-up. One for the ages. Felton was the leader of the 05 team. His three pointer against Illinois when the game was tied at 65 was cold blooded. He also had great court vision, and if he had stayed, would probably be close to Ed Cota’s record for assists. Both of these players underwent severe criticism over their play and both handled it very well. Lawson down the stretch was similar to May’s run in 05. No one could stop him. I believe the only things that could stop Lawson this past year was Lawson, Roy Williams, and Lawson’s toe. Lawson 3% and FG% were amazing and though his assist numbers are not as good as Felton’s, he was the man. This match up would be close and Felton never really got to be the man like Lawson did, so he could have been better, but I’m going with Lawson, barely
Edge: Lawson - slightly

Bench
Marvin Williams, David Noel, Quentin Thomas, Melvin Scott, Reyshawn Terry, Wes Miller, and Byron Sanders vs. Ed Davis, Bobby Frasor, Larry Drew II, Tyler Zeller, Will Graves, and Justin Watts. This is close and it’s a little unfair without Marcus Ginyard in there somewhere, but I will give the edge to the 05 bench. Only slightly. Marvin Williams and Ed Davis have been compared, but Williams was more polished on the offensive end, whereas Davis is a much better defender. Drew and Thomas would be even. Noel would have an edge of Frasor in my mind because he was bigger and could go hard to the hole. Frasor’s defense would be key though. Zeller is better than Byron Sanders ever was. Melvin Scott was just a shooter and not much else and I think Will Graves is better than Terry, but Wes Miller was such a little fireball. The 05 team was deeper, hands down, and more experienced, so they get the slight edge. But if Ginyard played this past year and either he or Green came off the bench, I would tip it to the 09 bench.


So there you have it. I would say that the 09 team would beat the 05 team, but it would be a good game. I think the combination of Hansbrough and Lawson would be too much, but it would be intereting to see Manuel crack down on Lawson or Ellington, which could be the key to an 05 victory. I think the 09 team was better defensively and the 05 team was better offensively, just because almost everyone was a threat. Truth of the matter is that this game could happen since a lot of Tar Heels come back for pick-up games in the summer.

Final Four Wrap-Up

Just some thoughts about the Final Four that I was too lazy to post yesterday.

*With the glory of a Championship, usually means the mass exodus of the team. We know that Hansbrough, Frasor, Green, Copeland, Tanner, Moody, and Wooten are gone. Ty Lawson is probably 95-98% gone already. Ed Davis is coming back (Hooray!). I feel that Wayne Ellington might be back. No way am I saying he will be, but I am about 50/50 or this. Probably more like 60/40 that he will go pro, as of right now at least. He had a great tournament and a great second half of the year. Clark Kellogg talked about it in a few games, I’ve talked about it here: he has simply been on fire. I know his draft stock is high now because he has proven he is more than a shooter with his ability to put the ball on the floor, rebound, and even pass the ball. I’m just not sure. NBAdraft.net has him as the #12 overall pick and if that were to actually happen, he would be stupid to not go. Like I said, it’s just a feeling and tomorrow he could declare.

*How did Ty Lawson not win the MOP? Now I love Wayne Ellington, but how did Ty Lawson not win the MOP? Lawson was magical throughout the tournament AND the Final Four. Wayne was great, but not magical. I think you could give it to Lawson based on his Championship game performance. 8 Steals! 8!!

*I think one of my favorite plays of the game was when Bobby Frasor got a steal and could have passed it to Danny Green for a dunk, but he took it all the way. Go Frasor-Flave!

*If MSU won, the economy would not have been saved, like every writer and commentator was saying. I was soooooo sick of that story line.

*Tyler Hansbrough does not look good in a hat. Rather a net looks much better. Also he has cemented his status as the best player in UNC history. If you look at this list, I have no arguments, but it is interesting to note that before Monday night, Hansbrough was only 4th on the list.

*Where are these players going to store all this stuff that they have accumulated over the years? If you think about the senior, junior, and sophomore class, they have won the ACC regular season 3 times, ACC tournament twice, been to 2 Finals Fours, won Maui, and won an NCAA championship. Plus think of all the accolades that Hansbrough and Lawson have won. I know they donate some to the Carolina Museum; some is probably given to their families, but still. Hansbrough will probably have a room set aside someday; at least, I would if I were him.

*I’m excited about next year (I will do a post soon previewing next year, once the draft situation gets cleared up). But this team could be very similar to the 06 team because they are young and only have a few upperclassmen, but they will be exciting to watch. If you think that another Sweet 16 trip is out of the question, you better check your head.

*Don’t get me wrong by the following, but to me, this championship just doesn’t feel the same as the 05 one. But to me, that’s totally weird because I think this team is so much better and I like this team more than the 05 team. (I’m actually going to do a post comparing the 05 to 09 team soon, so hold onto your horses) I have a few theories 1) The 05 game was closer and you didn’t know that UNC had it in the bag until about 30 seconds to go, whereas the 09 game was decided in the first 5 minutes. 2) That 05 team was not anointed champs in June. Most of us knew they had the talent to go all the way and they did start out the year #1 (stupid Santa Clara). But after the three came back, they were picked to win it all. I know some never doubted, which is fine, but I’ve seen enough college basketball where anything can happen. 3) My other theory is probably the correct one. I have not been a fan for as long as many of you have been. I don’t frequently watch any games from the late 80’s and early 90’s. I didn’t start watching closely until 2000-2001, so in 05, that was my first championship and it was special. I still like this 09 team better, no question, but it’s like your first kiss or something – you don’t forget it.

*Also interesting to note how people compare champions to other champions (I do the same thing), but check out these two: One from ESPN.com's Page 2 and the other is from Fox Sports. Notice how they differently they treat the 01 Duke team.

Season reviews for each player will begin soon. I plan on starting with freshman and working my way up numerically, so Larry Drew gets it first. I will only be doing scholarship players too, because who am I to judge the walk-ons who work so hard. I will also review Roy as well. Take the time to read the articles about the UNC from yesterday’s post. I know there are a lot, but just about every major sports site put out 3. It took me a long time to go through them all. Also check out photo galleries if you come across them. Thanks for reading and, again, feel free to comment.

Destiny is Calling

I can’t describe the joy I felt when Hansbrough hugged his coach. That big grin on Roy’s face was priceless and the big man’s excitement was equally priceless. He was running around like a fool out there when the final horn sounded and it was funny. Four years of hard work for this year’s class culminated last night with a National Championship and it was special. Unfortunately, the game wasn’t close, but that may have been a good thing with the anxiety and nervousness I was feeling before tip-off. But when the score was 12-5, I didn’t think we would have a chance to lose. Too much will and determination. That first half was special, I hope you realize: 55 points, 21 point lead. Michigan State was lucky to not be down by 30 with as many turnovers as they had. They did shoot 44% in the 1st half, but those turnovers did pile up.

They piled up to the tune of 9 steals. 8 of them by Lawson – an NCAA championship game record. I don’t know how many points they scored off them, but it was one-sided. The effort was amazing, even if the shots weren’t fall in the second half. The defense was great. I have said on this blog that good offensive and average defense will win us games, but it turned out the last 3 games that good defense and average offense won us the championship.

And that Championship takes the monkey of the back of so many people:
1. Roy Williams for winning a championship with his own recruits and being a "game" coach instead of a recruiting coach (a lot was made of Izzo being a great coach on strategy and quick turn arounds)
2. Tyler Hansbrough for going down as the greatest player in UNC history and one of the top 10 in college basketball history and a National Champion.
3. Wayne Ellington, silencing his tournament critics, when they related the past tournament failures to his own shooting woes.
4. Ty Lawson, proving again how tough he is and how important he is.
5. Bobby Frasor for being able to survive the whole year and win.
6. Deon Thompson proving he can produce in games that matter.
7. The North Carolina team, saying that talent doesn’t win championships, and that a good offense beats a good defense.

Destiny was in the house, but it was on UNC’s side. If I could pick a theme for the year, and I think Roy Williams would agree with me, mostly because we're golfing buddies (I wish), would be overcoming adversity It's unfortunate that we never saw this team at full strength. Ginyard missed most of the season; same for Zeller, Graves was suspended. Bobby was never really Bobby. Ty Lawson was hurt towards the end of the year. Hansbrough missed some time. Ellington struggled early on. But as Wayne Ellington said at his post game interview, they all came back for this moment and all the hard work has paid off.

UNC 83 - Nova 69

You should go check out the box score right now, because it's pretty ugly. Probably the only 3 good stats in the box score are the 3 point percentage, the free throw attempts, and the final score. Everything else is very non-North Carolina-like numbers. This was a very ugly game, mostly the second half because we were playing very well in the first, except that lapse there at the end of the half to let Nova be within 9. Oh well. You have to be happy with the results.

Things I didn't like:

1. Rebounds. I think we forgot how to box out as Nova had 19 offensive boards, but you must understand that, despite the lack of size that Villanova has, they play tough and actually out-rebound their opponents by 4 or 5 per game. Case in point is this game 50-46.

2. Shots. Yes, we did shoot 50% from 3 land, but we did shoot 22 times. I don't like it when we fall in love with the longball. I feel we should have taken the game in the paint, but they might not have gotten a lot of the calls because they weren't getting them to begin with (there should have been a few loose ball fouls or away from the ball fouls. This went both ways). I think there was a lot of excessive hitting going on, which may have attributed to the low shooting percentage, but some of the shots were forced. I also hope we don't fall in love with the 3 on Monday.

3. Free Throws. Mostly Hansbrough and Lawson, but as I have said before, they will bounce back.

4. Turnovers. We looked pretty careless out there, especially at the beginning. Lawson had 4 turnovers, which was very shocking. We need to do a better job protecting the ball on Monday.

Things I liked:

1. Defense. Last 2 opponents have attempted a bazillion 3's and only made 7 of them. UNC is playing great defense and as I have said, average defense and good shooting (45-50% area) should win us most of our games. Even though North Carolina did give up way to many offensive rebounds, I though Hansbrough, Thompson, Ellington, Lawson, Davis, and Frasor all had strong rebounds throughout the game. Villanova is a scrappy team, and UNC was able to hold them off.

2. Ty Lawson. You probably saw the sign during halftime - "He laid down the LAW, SON" or something close to that. Well, we had another excellent game, minus the 4 turnovers and poor free throw shooting. He's pretty special to watch and I love watching his emotion and him beating his chest. Thankfully he did get his number 5 back as well. I was worried #25 would doom us for awhile.

3. Hustle. Bobby Frasor had 5 offensive rebounds. Only Dante Cunningham had more with 7, but he is a long and active big man. I think on just about all of his offensive rebounds, Bobby was running the ball down and then pulled it back out. How about the play where Ty Lawson somehow picked up the ball near half court, without going out of bounds, and raced down court, dumping off to Hansbrough who was fouled. Or with Ed Davis shooting some free throws, he missed them both, but Danny Green tipped the ball up, it hit the rim, and then he pinned it against the cushion on the bottom of the backboard until he could grab it, and kick it back out. All of these were big plays and shows that this team is competitive, determined, and focused. They have the fire in their eyes. Just look at Lawson when he makes a big shot or gets an and 1. Look at Ellington when he is stroking it. Look at the bench, cheering on the team.

This game was not pretty and there are several fundamental things that can be fixed. I can't find the link (there has only been a 100 UNC stories to read since last night's game), but Danny Green, when he looked at the box score said that these things can be fixed and I have no doubt that they will be fixed by Monday.

Monday's game is the rematch of a brutal slaughter earlier in the year, but both teams have changed since then. Yes, MSU has a home court advantage, but remember in 05, Illinois was playing in their backyard in St. Louis. UNC is a very good road team, case in point the earlier game against MSU. No, MSU was not at full strength, but neither was Hansbrough (still playing through shin and ankle problems), Ellington (wasn't really the Ellington we knew until the ACC season), Davis was still learning, Zeller was out, and Lawson was still playing second fiddle to Hansbrough. I know the game will be a lot closer; we will see who wants to more.