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!

The Carolina Blue House

So the Heels visited the President today, a day after graduation (talk about a lot of emotions this weekend). President Obama had a lot of nice words for players, Coach Williams, and the program. His words have reminded me of one word about North Carolina and that word is class. I saw a quote the other day that said "You can pay for school, but you can't buy class." How true is that saying? Carolina is classy and I will be writing more on that subject later on. I wonder if President Obama will still be in office when the Heels win their next championship. GO HEELS!

Season in Review: Mike Copeland

I wonder how the general public views Mike Copeland. I wonder if they think he’s annoying (personally, I thought Greg Little was annoying last year). I wonder if they even noticed him. Truth is that Mike Copeland contributed during the year, the stats just don’t show it. He fired the Heels up against Duke at halftime; he provided the comedy during tense moments; and he occasionally did some nice plays during the games.

Things I didn’t like:
1. Missing some time. Not much he can do about this. It’s not like he meant to go out and tear his ACL. But when we only had two big men (remember Zeller and Hansbrough both missed a few games) for awhile, it would have been nice to know he was there so in case something happened. Also, the non-conference schedule was way too easy and he could have gotten some easy points to pad the stats.

2. The whole NC State issue. It was a hard foul and I’m pretty sure that it was just Roy who ejected Copeland. But there’s no reason to do that. If #50 doesn’t go kill Gerald Henderson for breaking his nose, you shouldn’t charge someone who fouls you hard. That’s anti-Carolina.

Things I liked:
1. Attitude. One of the best qualities about Copeland is the fact that he is happy to be on the team. He is a Tar Heel fan, who happens to play on the basketball team. He is very appreciative of his opportunity to play for UNC and I appreciate that. He’s also not the kind of guy who is upset over playing time and holds a grudge but knew his role and sought to fulfill that role.

2. Doing whatever needed to be done. Whether it was cracking a joke or firing up the team, he did what he could to help, even if he wasn’t the best player. He was a good leader.

Copeland will probably not be remembered in 10-15 years, but that’s probably ok with him because he got to live a dream. He probably considers himself to be one of the luckiest people in the world because of that dream.

Season in Review: Danny Green

I remember when Danny Green was a freshman and it was a game against Duke at North Carolina. He did this one thing that made me so mad (I think he was dribbling around with the clock winding down and the Heels were down by a few points and he ended up turning it over.) and I was thinking he was the dumbest player in the world. Well since then, he still does some dumb things, but has matured quite a bit. Green has gone through a lot in his career with his father, but he has handled himself well.

Things I didn’t like:
1. Dumb plays. Sometimes, Green would go for the homerun, when all we needed was a single. Sometimes it was shooting a 3 early in the shot clock late in the game or a stupid pass when trying to break the press. You could throw some bad fouls in there as well as Danny was in foul trouble quite a bit late in the year.

2. Didn’t go to the hole enough. Green is a good free throw shooter, but he rarely goes to the line. I’m not sure if he’s just more comfortable on the perimeter, or doesn’t like to bang with the post players, but I think he should have gone to the bucket more and hopefully gotten some easy lay ups or gone to the free throw line.

Things I liked:
1. Confidence. Thankfully, this year wasn’t the Danny Green of old, who when he would be in a shooting slump would often stop shooting, but his year he kept on shooting and hit some big shots.

2. Shot blocking. For a guard or small forward, Danny Green is an excellent shot blocker. Remember that game against Miami when Green had 2 huge blocks within a 2 minute span? Remember his 7 block game against Duke? He was an excellent help defender and it was appreciated, not only to the fans, but also to the highlight guys.

Green declaring for the draft last year was shocking, but he needed to come back and he did. He was the stat-stuffer and I enjoyed watching him play and mature as a basketball player. His dancing will be missed and I don’t think he’ll do that at the next level, but I do wish him the best. Four years after me reeling him despising him for doing some dumb things I feel that Danny Green was the glue guy on this year’s team. Then we have this picture, which is just amazing.

What If? J.R. Smith and JamesOn Curry

This will be my first choice for the what-if segments of my blog. I know I hinted at some possible topic choices, mostly positive ones, but this one got me thinking the other day. What if these two guys came to North Carolina?

I don’t watch a lot of NBA games. I will follow the season vaguely because when you play 82 games, one game doesn’t mean very much to me. I do tend to keep tabs on former North Carolina players, just to see how they are doing. I was watching the Nuggets and Mavericks duke it out the other day and I was watching J.R. Smith. Do you remember him? He was a 2004 McDonald’s All-America on his way to North Carolina, along with Marvin Williams, JamesOn Curry, and Quentin Thomas.

J.R. Smith was an incredibly talented guard and I couldn’t wait to see him play. He was a bit short, but athletic and limitless range and could dunk. Well, he had a good showing at the McDonald’s game and his draft stock went up (remember the rule for at least one year of college was not in place yet) and he entered the draft and was taken with a middle draft pick. He has done pretty well for himself, establishing himself as a 6th man. But he has had a few run ins with authority figures as well. When I watch him play, he seems like such a head case. He’s arrogant and proud and quick tempered (Remember he was suspended for a few games because of fighting), but he is athletic and has limitless range.

JamesOn Curry was another guard who was similar to Smith, but probably not the dunking. Well he had some run-ins with the law (similar to John Wall, eh?), mostly because of a drug bust. UNC decided they were better off without him and released him from his Letter of Intent, where he ended up going to Oklahoma State. He later applied for the draft and was taken in the second round and bounced around the D-League for awhile.

What if these two had shown up to campus? At first, when they both said they weren’t coming, I was very disappointed because I thought we were losing some good players (I was young). Well, I’m glad they didn’t because that could really throw off the whole team concept in the 05 season. Remember this group went from all about me to all about we. Both of these players seem selfish to me and they don’t really have their heads on straight sometimes.

I know Coach Williams recruited them and is a firm believer in character and no-nonsense, so I think he would have made an impact on these young men’s lives, but still, you never know. What if J.R. Smith was a shoot-a-holic? What if JamesOn Curry is handing out drugs to Sean May and Marvin Williams? I think both of these guards would have been immensely talented and would have greatly helped out after the mass exodus in 05, but if they had played on that team, it probably wouldn’t be one of the all-time favorite Tar Heel teams. And they would have cut in on #50’s stats, which I’m glad didn’t happen.

Again, I know that Roy would have been laying down the law on these kids, but we were much better off without them. We did win the championship that year and the next year, we brought in the best player to ever play at North Carolina, so I will gladly take it.

Season in Review: Bobby Frasor

Oh Bobby. I secretly cheer for Bobby Frasor to make every shot he takes because I feel bad for him. Think about his career: Starts every game his freshman year, starts the first five or six games of his sophomore year and then is benched and injured off and on for the rest of the year. Junior year is playing great in his role and tears his ACL – out for the year. Senior year comes along and he can’t hit the broad side of a barn. Interesting career, but if you have read about him and watched him, you know he’s pretty optimistic about his situation and he has something that not a lot of others have: a national championship.

Things I didn’t like:
1. Shooting. Obviously, the shots did not go down for this young man, and sometimes you wonder why he kept shooting. This was the same guy who would sit on the bench his junior year and shoot 3’s from his chair. When he did get some shots to do go down, you couldn’t help but be happy for the guy.

2. Stupid fouls. How many times did Frasor foul a guy shooting a three pointer? Lots of times. He fouled so many jump shooters that it’s no wonder Coach Williams suffers from vertigo and has grey hair. Bobby Frasor, you are 6’3” and you will not block a lot of shots.

Things I like:
1. Defense. Frasor was the team’s best individual defender, winning the defense player of the game award numerous times as well as the team’s defensive player of the year award. Frasor did his best to keep up with people who were faster, stronger, quicker, and had a few picks set for them and he did a great job.

2. Hustle. The little gym rat did every little thing he could. Rebound, take charges, and just overall hustle. He’s a smart player for the most part and obviously unselfish because he knew what his role was and didn’t try and do more than he was able or capable of.

It would have been nice if Frasor had gotten a medical redshirt (another Final Four run would not be out of the question with him holding down the guard spots), but the NCAA must not like him. He would have provided good experience and leadership for next year’s team and I’ve heard that it takes over a full year to return to normal following ACL surgery, so it would have been nice if he could have gotten back to form. But, as I said earlier, Frasor is going out a National Champion, and I don’t think he would have it any other way. And he gets to throw out the first pitch at a Chi Sox game soon. The perks of being #1!

Season in Review: Marcus Ginyard

I know, if I thought it was unfair to judge Tyler Zeller who missed half the year, how can I judge a guy who played in 3 games? Well, this is my blog, so I can do what I want. This is more of what I hope to see from Marcus Ginyard next year. When he was shut down for the season, everyone (myself included) thought of the David Noel comparisons (Has he really been cemented in people’s minds or what?). Senior leader on a young team, incoming freshman and on and on. Yes, he is very much in the position that David Noel was in, but let’s not crown him the second coming just yet.

Things I’d like to see:
1. Consistent jump shot. We all know we can defend, rebound, and make lay-ups. If he could get some consistency on his shot and even bag a couple of 3’s per game, I would be very pleased with Ginyard. We should have enough front court depth to have enough offensive fire power, but my concern is the backcourt (which is where I think Ginyard will be at next year: Davis – C, Thompson – PF, Henson – SF, Ginyard – SG, Drew –PG. Or Ginyard could come off the bench and I’m sure he would do fine and accept his role.) If he can get a jumper, teams won’t be able to sit in a zone or sag off on him in man-to-man defenses, meaning that they can’t just clog the paint. I know he can, and hopefully he will.

2. Defense, leadership, and hustle. All of these are pretty much given, but that doesn’t mean I don't want to see them go away. We know he’s the best individual defender on the team, so it will be nice not to have opposing guards go for 30 on UNC every other night. I have considered Marcus to be the leader of this team since he was a sophomore because he was vocal and would lead by example, whereas some of the others led primarily by example. He will fit right into the mold of the leader with the young team. The hustle should be there as well, especially since He is the elder statesman of the team, being a 5th year senior. He needs to put in the effort and work to make an impression on this young team, so that they can continue the excellence that is North Carolina basketball. I have no doubts about any of these.

I do feel bad that Marcus didn’t get to play in the championship run, but I realize and I think he does to, that this is a blessing in disguise with the team that is in place for next year. He has a great situation to take part of here and I hope he relishes it.