1. I think Larry Drew should be examined by UNC doctors to determine if the part of his brain that controls his “sense of urgency” or whatever sense that says “I need to hurry the crap up here because time is slipping away!” actually works. With 24 seconds left and UNC down five, Drew thought it was okay to jog the ball up. It was freaking unbelievable.  How bad was it? You could actually hear the UNC fans in the building collectively screaming some variation of “hurry up” or “go” or “come on!” At this point I think Drew is wholly incapable of playing with urgency. That needs to be resolved.

2. Why the heck do you foul with 13 seconds left on the shot clock down three knowing that if you can force a bad shot or shot clock violation you will have at least 10 seconds to tie the game up? Did that come from the coaches? Did Deon Thompson invent that out of thin air.  I mean against College of Charleston when they should have fouled no one did.  In this case they should keep playing tough defense since the Jackets were completely out of sync offensively and hope you come away with a stop but instead they foul. If the plan is to foul after 22 seconds then just foul from the outset and extend the game.

3. Speaking of the shot clock. I counted seven Georgia Tech points scored with under five seconds left in the possession. I am not sure the defense was entirely to blame but it simply sucked to see them hold it together for 32 seconds then give up a basket.

4. This is the “gang that could not shoot straight.” Literally. My angle was such that I could see Will Graves’ last three as it sailed wide left and missed the rim entirely. There were other shots like that too from various Heels. If these guys do nothing else this summer they should shoot 500 shots a day or whatever it was Tyler Hansbrough did to develop his jumpshot.

5. I am really hoping the NIT shows mercy and decides to take 32 other teams besides UNC. This is clearly a DNR situation. The body is clinically dead, just turn off the machines and let the patient die. It is better for the patient. It is better for us.

Next up: Talk of next season and the hope that the Tyler Zeller seen in this game shows up healthy for the full slate of games next year.

Despite falling behind early, Carolina manned up in the first half, dominated the boards, and got out to a 10-point lead. But as been the case more times than you can count this season, the Heels gave up a 15-4 run and the lead. Then for good measure, after keeping the game even for most of the second half, UNC went without a field goal for the last 5:13 of the game. The last four minutes were marred by missed opportunities, dreadful shooting, back-breaking turnovers, and bone-headed plays that have characterized this team since early January.

Derrick Favors showed why he is a man among the rest of the league’s freshman boys, putting up 17 points (on 7-8 shooting), 9 rebounds, and 5 blocks while scoring pretty much at will against UNC’s front line and swatting away sure layups. Paul Hewitt should be fired on the spot for not getting Favors more than 8 shots. Besides, it is a crime that a team as athletic as Georgia Tech, with Favors, Gani Lawal and Iman Shumpert is on the NCAA bubble.

Meanwhile, Carolina’s season-long shooting woes continue as the Heels shot only 33% for the game. Moreover, the guards and wings shot 6 for 35 – that’s 17%, if you’re scoring at home – and 1 for 15 from three (the other made three was made by a post player, T. Wear). The only bright spot was Tyler Zeller, who matched Favors with a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds.

The stat sheet did show a couple of other positives, such as a 40-34 rebounding advantage, only 10 turnovers (but how crucial these were in the 2nd half!) and a blistering 16 assists on 23 made baskets, which is pretty good offensive involvement.

UNC showed at least some heart and fight in this game against a Tech team that is, quite simply, stronger and better than the Heels, but could not pull it out and in doing so becomes the only lower seed not to win on Thursday. Carolina now awaits its fate as the NIT field is announced Sunday at 9:00.

The best place to follow me will be on Twitter.

As I pointed out before, UNC has never lost a basketball game I have attended so I am risking much here.  I should also point out that the last game I saw UNC play was against Michigan St.  I hope to see the same thing tonight that I saw three months ago.

Comments if you have ‘em.

We have veered(careened?) into “what a difference a year makes” territory. Looking back at last year, UNC was in position to make an NCAA Tournament run but questions abounded about Ty Lawson’s injured toe.  It was the most talked about appendage in the history of college basketball. This season instead of one bad toe, we are looking at one bad team. The season teeters on the brink here and this could very well be the last time we see the Tar Heel play until November.  No doubt that will get a “good” from some of you after all, there is really not much to salvage here unless the Heels find a way to put the pieces together and go on a four game run to get the automatic bid. Yes, this is how life is for most of the conference champions out there except in most cases they are not #10 seeds facing a path through four teams over whom they have yet to record a win unless Virginia Tech or NCSU show up at some point.

So what does that leave us? Just win baby.  Seriously.  Who cares how bad it has been. UNC takes the court tonight to try and win one more game.  If they do then there the opportunity exists to shock the ACC world by beating Maryland on Friday. My hope is this team shows up, competes and someone in the bunch finds Randolph Childress’ Secret Bottle of Mojo which I am convinced he hid somewhere in the Greensboro Coliseum 15 years ago. For once I would like to see a UNC team dish out the crap they received from NC State in 1987, that monumental upset run.  Heck, Weber St. got a taste of the medicine they gave UNC in 1999 losing in their conference final after leading by 22 because Montana’s Anthony Johnson scored 34 of his 42 points in the 2nd half. So why not UNC? Wait, don’t answer that, I really do not need one of those threads going on.

John Henson said on Twitter that he did not want fans, he wanted believers.  Well, I am going to choose to believe that somehow this team gets their house in order, for at least tonight anyway. What is there to lose at this point? After all I am attending the game in person and UNC has never lost in basketball when I have been there.

UNC 67 GT 65

ACC Tournament Schedule

Virginia versus Boston College (noon)

Miami versus Wake Forest  (2:00 PM)

UNC versus Georgia Tech (7:00 PM)

NC State versus Clemson (9:00 PM)

Comments if you have them…

The future Tar Heel bagged the prestigious honor for his presence on and off the court. When he’s not electrifying crowds in Iowa gyms, Barnes is involved in DECA (marketing, management, entrepreneurship club) and Students Helping Eliminate Poverty and Hunger (SHEPH). He also participated in the 2009 Mid-Iowa Community Action Agency Food Drive, serves as an algebra tutor and leads a weekly Bible study.

There is still no word yet on how Barnes’ is progressing developing a cure for the swine flu or balancing the US budget…  But seriously, it does sound like Barnes  is a terrific kid, on top of being an elite talent, and it will be a lot of fun watching his tenure as a Tar Heel.  More importantly, one does not become involved with entrepreneurial activities if they are uncomfortable being a leader and unwilling to put in the work, both of which are qualities that the Tar Heel nation will welcome with open arms next season.

Congratulations, Mr. Barnes!!

(in alphabetical order)

Ed Davis

Expectation: The break-out star and potential lottery pick everyone expected.  Voted pre-season All-ACC, Davis was expected to be a scoring and rebounding leader for the Tar Heels, with 17-20 ppg and 9-12 rpg not out of the question.

Reality: Ed reported to fall practice having not met his conditioning goals, but nevertheless started out like he might meet those lofty expectations with a number of 20-point outings and some strong rebounding totals early.  In conference season, injuries and dwindling production slowed him even before being sidelined for the last eight games.  Davis never developed any kind of shot outside of 8 feet and failed to become the game-changer people had expected.  Then later in the season came the agent website snafu that gave some fuel to the rumors that he wasn’t buying into things 100% and was only biding his time until the NBA came calling.

Larry Drew II

Expectation: In a best-case scenario,  develop into a pass-first point guard who could manage the game in the mold of Derrick Phelps.  In a worst-case scenario, it would be Quentin Thomas II.

Reality: On paper, Drew met expectations.  He averaged 8.6 points and 5.9 assists per game.  His assist-to-turnover ratio was nearly 2-to-1 and he shot 42 percent from the floor and 38 percent from three for the season.  But during conference play, Drew’s scoring average went up slightly but his shooting numbers dropped considerably.  He was also a defensive liability for most of the season. More important, he never seemed to be a team leader, and was never someone you wanted to have the ball at the end of a game.  By the end of the season, Drew’s body language was horrible and transfer rumors were surfacing (though quickly denied).

Marcus Ginyard

Expectation: Somehow Ginyard would magically channel David Noel and provide Carolina with key senior leadership while providing 12-15 points per game.  Plus, he would continue to be UNC’s defensive stopper

Reality: Ginyard couldn’t become Noel.  After some solid outings early, the injury bug struck yet again and he was never the same. He became a lightning rod for criticism as the Heels struggled early but was one of the few guys playing better in March than in January.

Will Graves

Expectation: A streak-shooting role player who would quickly lose his starting spot once John Henson learned the 3 position.

Reality: A streak-shooting role player who actually stepped up to the best of his ability.  Graves quickly became the team’s top 3-point threat and a beast of a rebounder from the 3 position despite being a defensive liability.  Very often he seemed to be the only one of the veterans playing with any sense of urgency, desire, or hustle.

John Henson

Expectation: The second coming of (insert favorite comparison here).  The multi-talented Henson would quickly learn the 3 spot and leave Graves on the bench.

Reality: Tar Heel Nation’s favorite player in February and March, Henson was finally allowed to move down to the post and showed why he was so highly rated.  Revisionists will excuse Henson’s early struggles and how clueless he looked early on as playing out of position and blame Roy for not playing him sooner.

Leslie McDonald

Expectation: Role player.  Spot minutes at the wing.

Reality: McDonald showed flashes of the things he might could do as he develops.  Became a bright spot for the Wake game and always played hard.

Dexter Strickland

Expectation: Develop into a smooth combo guard who can both score and lead the team from the point.

Reality: Up and down.  Never settled into the point guard role (though he didn’t do badly) and was everyone’s favorite Tar Heel about mid-January when he was playing well and Ginyard was struggling.  But given the chance to start, Strickland did not produce and was reduced to spot time by the end of the season.

Deon Thompson

Expectation: A four-year starter with two Final Fours and a national championship who would finally emerge from Tyler Hansbrough’s shadow and contribute 15 points and 8 rebounds every night, with occasional flashes of explosiveness like were witnessed last year during Hansbrough’s injury and during his international play.

Reality: Thompson never became a leader on the floor and was soft in the paint.  He was frequently out-rebounded by guards and often vanished in crucial spots down the stretch of games, unless he was playing against NC State.

David Wear

Expectation: Role player.  Spot minutes at the 3/4 spots.  Decent wing shooter at 6-9.

Reality: Does anyone else see Dave Popson in David Wear?  That’s who I think of when I watch him play.  D Wear collected 10 minutes per game (which some fans think should have been going to other players) and did exactly what was expected of him before his season-ending injury.

Travis Wear

Expectation: Role player.  Spot minutes at the 4/5 spots.  Decent banger for 6-9.

Reality: T Wear was pressed into service due to the deep injuries in the post. His points and rebounding were as expected, but again as the team struggled, Travis played minutes many fans thought should have been going to others. Still he and David both did exactly what was asked of them.

Tyler Zeller

Expectation: Along with Thompson and Davis, would make a trio of posts that would give UNC as much power along the front line as Progress Energy.  A full-speed Zeller could bang at 7 feet as well as run the floor and show everyone why he was considered almost as big of a signing as that other guy named Tyler.

Reality: Injury struck Big Z again, and he never regained the speed, stamina, or power that was expected of him.  Carolina fans are still left wondering what a healthy Zeller would be like for an entire season.

Roy Williams

Expectation: Ol’ Roy would catch lightning in a bottle again, as in 2006, and like most of his teams, this team would get better as the season went on.

Reality: Ol’ Roy is just not that good.  Like his team, Roy suffered with an injury and never seemed to hit his stride this season.  Nothing he tried with this team worked and he was embroiled in his own little dramas this season with the Presbyterian fan and his Haiti comments.

So, as it turns out, a team that was expected to get demonstrably better as the season went along instead came apart at the seams.  While this sometimes happens, it has never really happened at a place like North Carolina with the staff and talent that is here.

1. The national perception is that the ACC is down this year. Duke has been in the top 10 all year, but no one else has come close. Does the conference deserve this reputation? Why or Why not?

In past seasons the ACC has gotten by with some top heaviness and average teams beneath.  Generally is is UNC and Duke ranked in the top ten, a couple of others in the 10-25 spots in the polls and a few more who get into the NCAA Tournament beyond those.  This season that is not the case.  Duke might be top ten and in line for a #1 seed but they also have losses to Wisconsin as well as getting throttled by Georgetown. Maryland has a loss to William & Mary on their schedule. After that you have FSU, Virginia Tech and Clemson as the next most likely candidates to make the NCAA Tournament and even then some folks are balking on the Hokies.  So, yes the league is down but one could argue it has been down for awhile but UNC’s three Final Four runs and two titles alongside Duke still being #1/2 seed material during that span has masked it.

2. Does Duke have what it takes to make a run to a National Championship? Why or Why not?

Yes and no.  On one hand, Duke has three prolific scorers, a solid PG and excellent team defense.  Those are most of the ingredients you need.  The lack of an interior scoring threat puts them into a tough position. Duke is too dependent on perimeter scoring which could go cold at the wrong time. Duke also lacks a significant enough post presence to stop a team with a balanced offense. That is not to say Duke cannot get favorable matchups and get to the Final Four where anything could happen but at some point they are going to run across a Kansas or Kentucky who has all the parts and it will be very tough to overcome the Blue Devils’ state deficiencies.

3. We know Duke and Maryland are in, but who else gets in from the ACC? Will we see any surprises on Selection Sunday?

I am thinking six teams from the ACC get in. Georgia Tech’s late season swoon will probably end up costing them a bid unless the Jackets can do some damage at the ACC Tournament.  Georgia Tech is 3-6 since the beginning of February with their only wins being over UNC, NC State and Boston College, all at home.  Wake Forest also lost to UNC and NC State but is 5-4 during the same span with a win over Clemson to close the season. The Deacs other two losses of late have been to Virginia Tech and FSU, hardly bad by any measure. FSU, Virginia Tech and Clemson should all be in which means we are spared Seth Greenberg’s perpetual groveling/whining.

4. What is the biggest surprise of the season (good or bad)?

Bad: UNC. That is all I have to say about that.

Good: The fact Greivis Vasquez turned into an elite player, not just in the ACC but on the national level. Vasquez could be good at times but the fact he has put together a complete season surprised me.

5. A couple of teams have had disappointing seasons. Whose seat is the hottest?

No one appears to be in trouble this season. Paul Hewitt at Georgia Tech should be fired like two years ago but he snagged a sweet rollover contract following the Jackets’ trip to the title game in 2004 which carries an expensive buyout. There is little chance GT moves on that in the current economic conditions. NCSU’s Sidney Lowe is being given more time and rightfully so seeing what he has in the recruiting pipeline. The coach no one really wants to discuss as being on the hot seat is Wake’s Dino Gaudio. Some of that has to do with Skip Prosser’s untimely death which thrust Gaudio into the head coaching position.  However, despite having talented teams over the past two seasons, Gaudio has lost control of the ship to a certain extent as the season wore on. Last season was far worse as Wake went from ranked #1 at one point to losing out of the NCAA Tournament to a #13 seed. This season the Deacs played well enough early on but again there are issues with chemistry and unhappy players leading to a four game losing streak which Wake managed to break versus Clemson. The one saving grace is, Wake probably has played well enough to go to the NCAA Tournament unless they find a way to lose to Miami. For now, everyone is safe but come next season there could be a reckoning.

6. Who is your player and coach of the year? Why?

POY: Greivis Vasquez, MD
COY: Gary Williams, MD

I think Vasquez was the best player in the ACC and I think he meant more to his team as far as elevating the Terps to a regular season co-championship with Duke.  Jon Scheyer was good but he clearly had more help along the way.

Gary Williams did more with less than anyone else in the ACC. Granted having good guard play solves a variety of ills in college basketball but Williams got significant contributions out of freshman Jordan Williams and a slew of role players.  Besides, Maryland was picked for fifth and finished tied for first.

Adam Lucas picked up a few choice quotes from Marcus Ginyard yesterday. I am speculating that Ginyard must have received some blessing from Roy Williams to let it all hang out.  This is where I miss Danny Freakin’ Green since his quotes would have been far more entertaining.  Then again, if this team had Danny Freakin’ Green, they would not be 16-15 and not just because of Green’s on the court awesomeness. Anyway, I am not a big believer in coincidences so you can begin drawing up the conspiracy theories on Ginyard letting it drop that UNC got throttled by 30 in the preseason scrimmage versus Vanderbilt mainly because no one gave a crap while Roy is talking about player’s not being committed to the instruction they received. And for those who have wondered about one of those vaunted “players only meetings”  to cure what ailed them? They had one then and apparently it did not matter. SMH

Two weeks after media day, Williams’s team had a closed scrimmage against an outside opponent. They were clearly outplayed, leading to a players-only meeting when the team returned to Chapel Hill.

“That scrimmage was terrible,” Marcus Ginyard said. “That was the whole season right there in that scrimmage. It was exactly the way this whole year has gone down. We were playing a good team and we weren’t ready to play when we got there. We got our butt kicked the very first time we stepped on the court together.”

–

“We were like, `There is no way we can get beat by 30 points the very first time we’re playing,’” he said. “How are we not super-pumped to be playing? As soon as we got back we had a meeting in the locker room. We said, `This is how it’s supposed to go down. We have to play better than this and more together than this.’ Even more indicative of the year, nothing really changed after that.”

On one hand, Roy says the players are not committed to doing the things they are instructed to do during games.  Ginyard is saying they lacked fire, never changed attitudes following an embarrassing scrimmage loss and lacked any cohesion as a team.

With that kind of crap going on, it makes you wonder how they made it to 16-15.

“I haven’t talked to them since the game. I’m not saying they’ve got to grow to 6-11 from 6-1 or that they’ve got to start shooting left-handed instead of right-handed, but if I’m screaming at a guy to get back in defensive balance and I said that on Oct. 15, that’s long enough. You need to change. You need to do it. If I’m saying, ‘Get to the board,’ and you’re a 3-4-5 – on Oct. 15 we said that 3-4-5 need to go the board every time – I don’t need to yell that anymore. You need to change.

“It’s like as a kid when you’re starting to put your finger into a [light] socket and Mom or Dad says, ‘No,’ and slaps your hand, at some point you’ve got to decide to stop putting your finger into the socket. Mommy and Daddy don’t need to say no anymore. You need to decide to stop doing it yourself. That’s exactly what I was talking about. If I’m over there yelling, ‘Get a hand up!’ and I was saying that Oct. 15, then I’m the dumb one because I’m still yelling the same thing.”

–

” It’s frustrating, there’s no question about that, but that’s also laying the blame. And the blame’s on all of us; it’s not just the kids. But I am tired. I’m tired of saying the same thing over and over and over. If you get into this University, you’re fairly intelligent, because I got a degree from here. At some point you’ve got to change. That’s education. You have got to change your behavior.”

Jackie Manuel’s Posse

I don’t think Roy has done a fantastic job with this team but I’ll happily support the kind of mistakes he has made this season. To me, Roy saw an 8-8 ACC season coming from the very beginning of practice. He pushed this team to be better than that and instead things spiraled out of control. The buttons he pushed were all wrong. He kept trying to put someone else in…someone who was very good at basketball in…and that player was not on the bench. Suddenly, this was a team that could not create good shots. This is a team full of players trying to do things they had never done before. Every single player who got minutes was being asked do take a huge step up from last season and most of them were unable to make that step. We see this team at times look like they have never ever played the game of basketball before. The rotation probably should have been set by December. John Henson and Leslie McDonald should have played more than they did. They both make tons of errors but who on this team doesn’t? The Wear twins got way too many minutes. I’m sure this could go on all day but it is easy to see that Roy kept tinkering because he was trying to make this team excellent. That is all he has known and he was not about to stop trying.  Unfortunately even Roy Williams, savior of North Carolina basketball, can not turn water into wine. “But he brought in the water” says Dook asshat. Fair enough, I suppose. Pardon me if I give Roy Williams a pass, considering 4 of last years starting 5 are making money playing basketball this season. He signed those guys too. Maybe I’d rather have John Wall than David Wear but maybe I wouldn’t.

I’m going to stop here but my point to all this rambling is simple. Taking a longer view of things helps me see that things could be a whole lot worse. In fact, things are pretty rad.  In some ways this is just like any other season. We play a game on a Thursday in March that we must win to keep playing (competitive basketball). If we lose ‘will he stay or go’ questions will begin. Dook will flame out in the first few rounds. Jon Scheyer will cry. Some team will upset Kentucky. It will get warm. Harrison Barnes will show up.

I’m going to smile and try to enjoy whatever we have left of the defending champs. Join me?