Is there value in beating Virginia?
Outside the win? Maybe. The win in itself was the most important thing. UNC needed to get that conference win so everyone would stop talking about that. It also feels good to win and it helps get a team back on track to win a road game in the ACC even if it did come against a weaker team. I also thought UNC played extremely well at times. There was a higher energy level and they seemed more focus. On the flip side there were stretches where UVa chipped away at the lead. In short it was not perfect but you got the impression this team was closer to playing basketball they were capable of playing. The value of that as it pertains to the present circumstances is it give them some confidence back heading into a three game stretch where they face Miami, Clemson and FSU on the road.
I am going refrain from dissecting this one too much. UNC got the win. Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson play at the level we have come to expect. Danny Green did a little bit of everything with a line that looked like this:
13 points, six rebs, four assists, three blocks, two steals
Wayne Ellington ended up with 13 but did not hit a three. Deon Thompson did not really have an impact.
As I said it was nice to secure the win and I think the Tar Heels did some things, execution wise, that were according to their style of play. Playing Miami and Clemson will most certainly be tougher test and if the Heels show up for those games it will go a long way towards righting the ship for the long term.
![[Bloglines]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/bloglines.png)
![[del.icio.us]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/delicious.png)
![[Digg]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/digg.png)
![[Facebook]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/facebook.png)
![[MySpace]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/myspace.png)
![[Technorati]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/technorati.png)
![[Windows Live]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/windowslive.png)
![[Yahoo!]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/yahoo.png)
![[Email]](http://www.tarheelfanblog.com/wp-content/plugins/bookmarkify/email.png)
Lawson was on tonight, and I think Ellington is doing the right thing by showing maturity and putting the ball on the floor to create points. He’s one of the best free throw shooters in the conference, so having him being able to get to the line along with Hansbrough, Lawson, and Green would be a huge plus.
My thoughts are that Ed Davis should be starting in place of Deon Thompson. Davis just seems to put more into defense and rebounding in my opinion, and Deon just seems to be playing with a frown on his face lately. Maybe sitting him will get him to buck up.
The thing that worries me the most is the sloppy play during that five minute patch in the second half. The Cavaliers let it be known that they weren’t dead yet, and it showed. UNC can’t allow something like that to happen against Clemson or Duke; even Miami.
One thing that accounts for tonight’s favorable result is that the starters played more minutes. With the exception of Ed Davis, the bench is weak. Frasor just isn’t there; his injury might have created permanent damage. Graves ranges from mediocre to dreadful. Drew has potential, but he’s not there yet.
The way I figure it, Hansbrough is on target to break Redick’s record in the semi-final game of the ACC tournament (assuming no injuries).
Were going to have to beat somebody good for me to have the warm fuzzy felling back again, but that is the way they should put lesser talented teams away.
“UNC can’t allow something like that to happen against Clemson or Duke; even Miami.”
Depends… if they are up 26 when it happens, probably not a big deal.
As they say, a win is a win, and the Heels definitely played much more like they did earlier in the season. However, I’m still a little bothered by the couple of stretches we had where UVA got it closer. We also didn’t shoot particularly well, which is going to have to change. And finally, I believe we were significantly out rebounded in the 2nd half, after having a nice advantage in the 1st.
All in all a good road win in the ACC, but let’s face it, UVA is not that good. Miami and Clemson will be the tests that will show what we are capable of.
Remember when Wayne was a three point threat?
Tyler and Ty were awesome, and Danny keeps going strong. Nice game and great effort.
Wayne has definitely been an enigma this year. The first 6 games of the year he shot 41.1% (14 – 34) from three, which is right where UNC needs him. The next 6, he was dreadful, hitting 22.7% (5 – 22). The last 5, he is at 33% (8 – 24), which isn’t good, but is at lest trending upward. Notice, there seems to be a direct correlation between shots per game, and FG%, which makes sense.
I do feel that his play, outside of scoring, has been better this year than last, and the last 2 games have been his best of the season.
I want to know what the difference is when Hansbrough or Lawson get in the paint and draw a foul, and when they don’t. When Lawson & Hansbrough are in the painted area, they get fouled. It just so happens they were awarded free throws this game and weren’t the last two. Makes a big difference in the way opposing teams handle us. Teams are more inclined to play us physical in the paint when they are not punished via free-throw for it. Just check the last two games and you’ll see, there is no difference in the amount of contact in there, just a difference in whether or not we shoot foul shots for them.
Not true. UNC shot 28 FTs last night, and 38 against Wake. However, Wake shot 39 FTs, while UVA only shot 9.
It was good to see the team executing the game plan and playing smart. Building those habits back is important.
The one play that stood out to me was both good and bad. Tyler got doubled in the post and very quickly kicked it to Wayne for a wide-open three. Usually, Tyler takes it straight at the double-team, so I was impressed. But then Wayne tried to aim his shot instead of letting it flow, and it wasn’t even close. Wayne needs to get in the gym and work on his release point. It just doesn’t look right.
I watched the ESPN Classic replay of the UVa-UNC game from Carmichael back in 1984, which I may have been at but I honestly cannot remember.
It was interesting again to see a hallowed team from the past look basically awful down the stretch. Carolina won 69-66, but UVa missed an easy shot with five seconds that would have put it into overtime, after trailing UNC by 19 points in the second half.
That is right, UVa made up 17 points in one half without a shot clock or three-point shot.
UVa’s best players? Othell Wilson, Rick Carlisle, Jim Miller, Tom Sheehy and Olden Polyniece. UNC’s? Jordan, Perkins, Smith, Daugherty, Hale, Wolf….
Kenny Smith (granted only a freshman) made turnover after turnover down the stretch. Carolina simply could not deal with Virginia’s press. Perkins had five total turnovers and Jordan and Smith three each.
At the time, this was at least as big a rivalry as the Duke rivalry. Although we won much more easily in Charlottesville that year, this mediocre UVa team, (21-12 and 6-8 in conference) would go on to the Final Four, after beating Indiana, and come very close to meeting Georgetown in the finals but lost a heart-breaker to Houston.
C. Michael. I am not talking about the amount of free throws we were granted, I am talking about the ones we didn’t get. Yes, we may have shot more free throws in the Wake game, but we also endured a lot of contact that didn’t get called. I didn’t see that last night. Other than a few bumps in the paint that Davis & Thompson received that were no calls, we went to the stripe on almost all of the contact. The reason we didn’t shoot as many free throws I think is due to the fact that there was much less contact from our opposing team in this game. Nice to see we hit some of those FT’s as well.
I have no clue how someone can look like a beast in some games and non-existent in others. It would be interesting to find out what existed in those games in which Thompson took off compared to the others where he didn’t seem to be in the game. If he is going to get the minutes, he has to be a threat.
““UNC can’t allow something like that to happen against Clemson or Duke; even Miami.”
Depends… if they are up 26 when it happens, probably not a big deal.
This is a valid point. As I pointed out Duke has gone up 25 and allowed teams to draw back to single digits. I don’t hear anyone complaining that Duke is letting up or lack mental toughness or such as that. The Heels had a 27 point lead and UVa got it down to 16 before the Heels won by 22. As Roy says sometimes the other team is a factor in these things, it is not always the level of the Heels’ play.
One thing is clear:
Whenever Ty Lawson is on, this team is the best in the country. When Ty place both ends, he is as good as they come. This was a good win. When you are not playing particularly well, and you play on the road in a conference game (amidst a stretch of bad play) and win by 22, that’s a GOOD THING.
This is still tbe best team in the country and I firmly believe that it is good for us all to get our frustrations out now instead of March or April. Last year, things went slightly better than perhaps many of us had planned (with the exception of the Kansas Debacle), and we were able to relish in a perfect non-conference season, as well as a fairly impressive run through the ACC. This year may be tougher, that is just college basketball. I’m using the 2007 Florida Gators as the model, but teams that are expected to win learn to resurface after stunning defeats. I wouldn’t say that the ‘07 Gators endured stunning defeats, but still, they were able to bounce back. There’s a good Wilco lyric that goes like this:
“you have to learn how to die before you can live.”
When you plummet, you know it sucks. I don’t like seeing Duke and Wake ranked above us, but I know that we are nowhere near the end of the road. So our team is playing under par, and we won’t go 40-0 or whatever. Big deal. They’ll rebound. Does that mean that Deon Thompson will re-emerge to early season form? Perhaps not. But we’ve seen this story before. At least Ed Davis can come in and rebound and block. Will Bobby Frasor play as poorly all season? Probably not. Are Larry Drew and Will Graves improving? I think so. Will drifts and Larry has a pretty limited role. Neither have been forced to step up their play to a higher level, and that probably defines their roles (for themselves).
Anyways, this is our team and it is the best team. I am still convinced that this is the team that will be cutting down the nets in April.
It was fairly interesting to see the new rotation plan yesterday. It was quite mathematical: the starters played 30 minutes, and the backups played 10, except for Ed who backs up Tyler and Deon, and he played about 20.
I heard on TV that Marcus was wearing a special shoe to get his foot ligaments working again. If he can get back, we will be 10 deep. Then, if the blue team can play good basketball, we should be tough to beat.
CMichael — I agree that Ellington is playing well recently. He cannot be counted on to be a 40% three-point shooter, which is unfortunate because it looked like it might turn out that way, but his ability to take it to the basket has improved markedly, as has his overall play (in my opinion).
The good news is that we don’t need for him to be a 40% three point shooter. Green and Lawson, when he takes his time, are all we need out there. Graves can also hit a three pointer, but his other liabilities are so significant I just don’t think we can play him (although Roy foolishly persists in doing so).
As I’ve said before, the big thing is turnovers. When we avoid them we win, pretty much regardless of what else is going on in the game.
It is true, as one of our commenters noted, that this was a win against a weak team, and thus can provide only limited comfort, but what were we supposed to do? A weaker team was on the schedule. We beat them by about what we should. This might not provide joy, but it does provide satisfaction, particularly given the way Lawson and TH played, since our fate rests with them. And the most heartening thing, from my point of view, was that we saw a team that played hard and with confidence, which was not a foregone conclusion after the Wake and BC disasters.
mention of Sheehy would make for a good thread–most hated rival player for all ACC opponents:
USC–John Roche
UVa–Tom Sheehy
NCSU–”Dirty” Dan Wells……
?
?
?
Wake: Childress
State: Gavin Grant
Syracuse (I’m a NY’er, so they are my “Rival”): tie, McNamara and Devendorf
Princeton Comm. College: Wojo
[...] nice is it to be a UNC basketball fan? You get write posts like this about a [...]
Oh snap, that’s exactly what I said was wrong with them. They were playing for themselves against Wake….certainly not for the team. They better get right before they meet another tough team. Virginia could’ve been beaten by a locat high school so it’s a win but not one I would say is a great win….At this point, we should be happy to take whatever win we can get.
Wheres the bench? 3 for 12 for 6 points combined. This team is deep, right?
I disliked Laettner the most. Looked like a choirboy, played like a thug.
52bgJ “USC–John Roche”……… seems to me they had a couple of henchman named Riker and Rebock(sp?) that I really hated too.
christian latebus definitely tops my dook list.
ncsu would be tom burleson for me.
wake is delany rudd.
florida state would be otto petty.
maryland… ekezie(sp?)
I guess some of these date me as an old fart….
Dan Meagher
Wilf–true but Roche occupies the pedestal for me, no one else even close. Still waiting to hear about the hit that shoulda been put out for John Tudor (LSU) for ending Kenny Smith (and UNC’s title hopes). On that note, Henderson is my favorite hated dookie. One of these days a UNC player is going to take a stand for himself or a team-mate and jaw-jack one of these cheap-shot artists.