It was one year ago this day that I, pretty much on a whim, decided to launch a blog based on my love of North Carolina basketball. I had been blogging for almost a year prior to starting THF most of that was either personal or politcally oriented. Since I had a passion for UNC basketball and I had been commenting on the 850 the Buzz blog, I thought I would stake out on my own. My first post was a lengthy discussion of perceived favortism in officiating during Duke games. Since then it has been a full slate of my opinion on UNC basketball and football as well as the ACC in general. The blog started at http://ncheelsfan.blogspot.com and after I was linked by Deadspin I decided to begin blogging as much as I could beginning with full coverage of UNC football. At that point I moved the blog over to Wordpress which not only was a major aesthetic improvement but also gave me a cacophony of options to manage the blog. The hit counter read 6200 at that point and in the last six months due in part to extensive linking by various other sites including 620 the Bull and the N&O’s ACC Now the counter is now well over 50,000. And though this not much compared to other sites but it has become my little slice of the blogosphere and I have only my readers to thank. Looking at my stats and the comments, I know I have developed a small but loyal base of readers who I am extremely grateful for and whom I enjoy interacting with on regular basis.
So a huge THANK YOU to my readers and to Joe Ovies at 620 the Bull for giving me some exposure on their blog and via a radio interview back in October. This blog has become a huge part of my life and has really made watching UNC basketball and football even more enjoyable. Now, let’s enjoy some cake like Tar Heel Daughter #2:
NC State has wowed the world with two games where they shot such an unbelievable clip you almost thought something was rigged. Against UNC on February 3rd, the Pack shot 76% in the second half making 13 of 17 shots. Against Virginia Tech on Sunday, NC State shot 66% for the game and 73% from behind the arc.
My theory(insert tongue in cheek) is that Sidney Lowe is in possession of some sort of magic elixir which Jim Valvano used in 1983 when NC State went on their run to the national title. There was not much of it to begin with and Valvano had to use it in copious amounts to get through that season. In the following years he used it one or twice more, the most notable instance was the 1987 ACC Championship game which saw a Wolfpack team with a losing ACC record knock off a Tar Heel team that had not lost in the ACC that year. Apparently what was left of the elixir was either lost over the next 20 years or only Sidney Lowe knew where Valvano kept it.
The question is whether he plans on using it again Wednesday night and if Roy’s Coke is enough to overcome it?
Results
Wake Forest 74 Miami 69
Virginia 73 Florida State 70
North Carolina 77 Boston College 72
Duke 71 Georgia Tech 62
NC State 81 Virginia Tech 56
Maryland 82 Clemson 66
Analysis
- A few days ago we had a log jam at the top and lot’s of questions. As it stands now the lead pack has been cut in half.
- How many times can NC State come out and shoot has hot as they did versus Virginia Tech? Makes me feel a little better about Feb. 3rd to see the Pack come out and shred the Hokies the same way they did UNC. I can only hope they shot their alottment on Sunday so UNC does not have to deal with it come Wednesday.
- Did I mention I think BC is a bunch of whining thugs? I honestly think the Eagles may be worse than Duke on he foul issue.
- Maryland is positioning itself for an NCAA Tournament bid while Clemson is pretty much toast.
- Virginia kept pace with UNC but since the Heels own the tiebreaker it really does not matter what the Cavs do as long as North Carolina wins out.
- Duke is back above .500 in the ACC and Bob Harris is still certifiable.
- NCAA Tournament Prospects:
- Locks: UNC, UVa, Boston College, Virginia Tech, Duke
- Should Be In: Maryland
- Hard Bubble: Georgia Tech, Florida State
- Brain dead and on life support: Clemson
North Carolina State for doing what UNC apparently could not do and giving the Heels control of their own destiny back.
See you on Wednesday night…
(Source: Gopack.com)
Let it be said that despite the failure to close Tuesday night at home and the general apathy displayed against VT and NC State on the road, this team does bounce back well. For the fourth time this season UNC lost a game and followed it up with a huge pressure win, three of those times in an extremely difficult ACC road environment. UNC came out in this game and shot the ball well playing, in my opinion, their best game of the season. They really answered the bell for this one and took advantage of Boston College’s general lack of defensive presence in the paint with a huge game from Hansbrough in the first half. Wayne Ellington played a much smarter game tonight, seemed to pick his shot more carefully, and showed us how good he could be.
All in all I am happy with the win. It clears a major hurdle and while the next four games will by no means be a picnic, if this win can serve as a confidence booster, then running the table through the rest of the regular season should not be a huge issue. This also takes care of one of the first place contenders. Since UNC owns the tiebreaker on Virginia, it does not much matter if they lose again or not. Virginia Tech is the key team to watch and they face a host of tough games starting with NC State on the road Sunday followed by a very angry BC team who cleaned their clocks at Chestnut Hill in the earlier matchup this season. Since UNC has tiebreaker issues with the Hokies I would rather they go ahead and lose, twice if possible to get them out of the way.
The challenge now is to steer clear of a letdown and take care of business down the stretch starting on Wednesday night with NC State.
If I am not mistaken and I could be but I think UNC has a three game losing streak versus Boston College. They lost in 1994 to BC in the East Regional 2nd Round when UNC was the defending champions and #1 seed. They lost twice to them last season and I am not certain they played in between 1994 and 2006. At any rate this game is huge and UNC has bounced back very well from every loss this season.
Continue reading ‘UNC at Boston College: Live Blog’
Where: Conte Forum, Chestnut Hill, MA
When: February 17th, 9:00 PM
TV: ESPN
Records: UNC 22-4, 8-3 ACC; Boston College 18-7, 9-3 ACC
It does not get any bigger than this.
UNC and BC both are coming off disappointing losses and also sitting at three losses in the ACC at the top of the standings. The last time UNC lost to Virginia Tech they had to travel to Clemson and face a 17-1 team also coming off a disappointing loss. UNC won that game by 22 as we found out Clemson was exactly who we thought they were. Needless to say BC is not Clemson and despite the loss of Sean Williams who would have been crucial in this matchup, they have acquitted themselves well after an early slate of bad losses in their out of conference schedule.
The primary questions tonight center on the play of Jared Dudley who is the favorite for conference player of the year. Dudley had a rough game against Duke and did more talking about the referees than anything else. How he bounces back will be crucial for BC’s offense. One matchup that could be key for both offenses is that between BC’s Tyrese Rice and Ty Lawson at point guard(which will undoubtedly lend itself to some stupid key to the game from ESPN about the “Battle of the Tys” but I digress.) Both guards are quick with Rice being more experienced. To what extent these two guards contain one another will impact how the half court offense is ultimately executed.
As for the interior game UNC should be prepared to face a physical and methodical team that will bang, grab, and generally frustrate the heck of you during he course of the game. Brandan Wright was deemed questionable for today’s game with a bad shoulder. If Deon Thompson and Alex Stepheson come in and play like they did versus Arizona then this will be no big deal. That being said, I am not sure how well Wright does against a physical team so this could be a blessing in disguise. BC’s defense sans Sean Williams is not as good as it once was so UNC would be wise to pound the ball inside. And not that I ever believe referees can cost you a game, I would be a fool I if I did not think that the substandard officiating that the ACC is so famous for at this point will not somehow rear it’s ugly head in this game.
I can only hope UNC makes it so the foul calling or lack thereof is inconsuquential.
UNC 84 BC 75
Let it be said that I think Roy know what he is doing. I also am not privy to goes on in practice but based on what I am seeing in the games I think Marcus Ginyard should be starting at the two-guard instead of Wayne Ellington. This is not a slight on Ellington, I think he will eventually be one of the great shooting guards in UNC basketball history. However at this point his shot is not falling, his shot selection is suspect and his defense is a liability. Ginyard on the other hand is obviously not the shooter Ellington is but he is the team’s best on-the-ball defender. He is also more experienced albeit only by one year. I am also wondering if perhaps such a lineup change might be the thing to getting Ellington going. If he comes into the game off the bench and steps into the flow of the game it could be a catalyst to getting his jump shot on track and motivating him to play better defense.
There is also precedent for this kind of lineup. In 2005 UNC employed a starting lineup of Raymond Felton, Jawad Williams, Jackie Manuel, Rashad McCants, and Sean May. Manuel was well know as being a defensive specialist with limited offensive skill so the other four players on the court were relied on heavily for their offense while Manuel was basically tasked with guarding the other’s teams best guard/small forward. In this case I also think Ginyard might actually be a better offensive player than Manuel was in 2005. Off the bench UNC brought Melvin Scott, Marvin Williams, and David Noel to augment the starting five which would be a similar trio to Deon Thompson, Wayne Ellington, and Bobby Frasor. In 2005, Williams might have been the most talented player on the team but Roy decided it was best for him to come off the bench and he was extremely effective in that role. From this blogger’s point of view, I think this could work again. I think Ellington would be a better player off the bench since he will be coming in with less pressure and relieving that stress could be the key to unlocking his shooting potential by allowing him to find a rhythmn.
And just quick aside on the issue of lineups, I think the depth UNC has is great and has been extremely effective in many games but I also think UNC could do well to start running certain lineup combination for significant stretches in a game to build some offensive consistency. That is not to say you will not still see all 12 players but I would imagine that shifting most of the minutes to the top eight would help all of the players find a role in the offensive system and develop some consistency.
I think it is a matter of players finding their roles and once that happens everything seems to click. Regardless of whatever lineup takes the floor tonight we can only hope that meshing of talent happens.
I caught some of Chris Clark this morning on 850 the Buzz and he had an interesting exchange with a Duke fan. The Duke fan made one of those completely asinine statements about North Carolina not being a very good team. He asserted that they were essentially overrated and not as good as we all think they are. This is the conversation that followed and this is completely from memory so it is paraphrased to some extent:
Clark(somewhat sarcastically): North Carolina has lost three games in the ACC.
Duke Fan: Exactly my point they are not that good
Clark: So if North Carolina has lost three games and is not that good, since Duke has lost six games they must really suck.
Duke Fan: Well, the jury is still out them.
Nice.
And while I am here let me just ask one question. Why do these people call into sports radio talk show and make such incredibly idiotic statements? And this goes for my fellow Tar Heel fans, Duke fans, NC State fans, and really most anyone else. These people call up these hosts, who in many cases are either way smarter than the people who call or would like nothing better than to simply humiliate someone dumb enough to call and make statements like the one above. Now on 850 the Buzz the volume of these kinds of calls are less because the hosts tend to take the conversation along a more intellectually honest course. On the Primetime with the Packman, there is no such course so you get all sorts of folks calling up saying Roy Williams is a horrible coach or that Duke is not going make the NCAA Tournament. Granted Mark Packer puts a pretty high premium on the stupidity of his listeners but at the same time I sit back and wonder how so many folks can be completely devoid of logic when it comes to the teams the profess to love so much. And what is worse they compound their own stupidity by putting it on full display for the listening audience of these various shows. Of course we are a country of free speech, even if that speech has no connection with facts or reality.
Results
Virginia Tech 81 UNC 80 (OT)
Georgia Tech 63 Florida State 57
Virginia 90 Longwood 49
Duke 78 Boston College 70
Maryland 85 NC State 70
Wake Forest 67 Clemson 65
Analysis
- What is this 1995 all over again? UNC and UVa were part of that four way tie at 12-4 which required a drawing of names to determine the seeding for the ACC Tournament. Based on the remaining schedules a four way tie should not happen this time around.
- Clemson started 17-0. Since then? 2-6 and with the loss at Wake Forest they move onto the bubble.
- Maryland is getting close to being off said bubble with an important win at NC State. Clemson would be a great game to steal considering the way the Tigers are playing. If they can win there and then beat FSU and NC State at home that would make eight wins and should be enough.
- Memo to Virginia: Why not swap this date with the Stanford game? I would think you would want a decent OOC contest to gauge yourself.
- Duke breaks the losing streak by catching BC asleep at the wheel. Duke still has major offensive problems during the final 10 minutes of the game. They end up playing scared when they have a lead that late and had BC been a little more into a few minutes sooner it would have been fifth straight loss.
- Georgia Tech won a road ACC game for the first time since 2005.
- VT became the third new ACC entrant to win in their first trip to Chapel Hill. Florida State, Boston College, and VT all made the inagural trip a winning one. Miami in 2005 is the only one who was not successful.
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