Last night, Carolina lost to Florida State by ten points. If you watched the game, it wasn't really that close, and I felt numb about the entire game, except that the team wore hideously cold, metallic uniforms, as if a team's quality of play could vandalize the sanctity of its argyle, and now every Carolina fan wonders when does the damage to such a young group become irreversible.
Didn't even recognize it. Strolling down the sidewalks where as a child my dreams sprawled out of my head and into the great blue yonder, I didn't even recognize it. Weeds sprung out of the cracks I once leaped over like hurdles; the hopscotch course was now a tangle of jungle, and the handrails, on the front stoops, where we leaned on summer days, licking popsicles and wondering who could jump higher--Stackhouse or Carter--were all rusted and flimsy as shadows. The doors that welcomed us home from school and opened a half hour before dinner with the sound of our mothers' voices were now off their hinges, probably burned, like evidence, in some scrap heap, to keep the city's scavengers warm, drinking our blood as a substitute for warm cocoa. This neighborhood was no longer ours. Our homes are shells for hiding bodies.
Yeah, that's about it. If you want something positive about Carolina at the moment, then feel free to search through Adam Lucas' article--it helped a little.
30 comments:
Dude, pull it together. You guys are going to be fine next season. Just focus on how well the Spurs are playing right no......nevermind.
February 26, 2010 at 12:06 AMTypical North Carolina, relying on Maryland to pick up the slack. It's 2001-2002 all over again. All teams have down years, but when Carolina is down they hit rock bottom. This season makes me view Roy Williams as a great recruit, not so great coach.
February 26, 2010 at 1:18 PMAs in 2001-2002, I think this is the year Maryland wins their 2nd National Championship. In the NCAA tournament it's all about which team has the best player on the court, and that is always Greivis Vasquez. Being a Carolina fan, I'm assuming that you're well aware that Maryland is 4-1 against North Carolina since Vasquez arrived. And have you seen Jordan Williams play? Let's just say that if Jordan Williams would have played against Tyler Hansbrough he would have made Hansbrough look like Shavlik Randolph.
I love this comment Anon... Did you also know that Steve Blake is up for Sainthood by the Catholic Church? Also, Lonny Baxter is, was, and will always be the next Michael Jordan.
February 26, 2010 at 1:56 PMDo we have a Stanley Yeungling sighting?
February 26, 2010 at 3:10 PMAs to Roy being just a recruiter and not a coach, it's funny how everyone saw him as the great coach who could get McCants, Felton, and May to reach their potential and Doh was just a recruiter; and, now, after one bad season, people are trying to reduce the highest winning percentage in college basketball to a guy who can just recruit. What Roy did at Kansas and North Carolina relied on great coaching and recruiting.
February 26, 2010 at 3:12 PMIce: You know I'm just venting. We'll be fine next year. This team is full of talent but lacks leadership, which is why the injuries decimated them so badly. The injuries created a void, and there was no one in the locker room to fill it. The FSU game was evidence that this team has pretty much folded emotionally, and that's what's frustrating. The future depends on how this team handles this year's disappointment, which is basically what the Adam Lucas article says...and I agree with.
February 26, 2010 at 3:18 PMAlso, this isn't rock bottom. 8-20 was rock bottom. This team actually had moments of greatness before it succumbed to injuries and lack of leadership.
Speaking of Coach Doh, have any of you seen this spot that SMU made?
February 26, 2010 at 3:46 PMhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lEnfwJ0LBsY
Whew, Teach, glad to see you come back from the edge of the building. And now I feel no remorse in saying that I am very much looking forward to the Cameron Edition of UNC/Duke this year.
February 26, 2010 at 3:59 PMthat video has to go into Garbage Time next week...absolutely hilarious
February 26, 2010 at 4:22 PMtwo national championships and 3 trips to the final four over the last 4 years is much more than recruiting. I will take Williams over that guy 12 miles away anyday. the chemistry was never there for this team. there will be some soul-searching after the season is over and it will be back next year.
February 26, 2010 at 10:40 PManonymous dharvey
Yeah I would take Roy and his dang-ems and tossing players under the bus over Coach K anyday too.
February 26, 2010 at 11:15 PMAlso, can we add a line in the Coach Doh video along the lines of, "who is that guy with a lot of pent up anger?.....Coach Doh..."
For those of you, yearning for more on Robodoh, read this.
February 27, 2010 at 12:05 AMhttp://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/feb/21/on-nights-like-this-its-nice-to-be-right-here/
I believe that Roy Williams was a great coach, but he isn't anymore. Maybe next season he'll prove me wrong, then again maybe not. We'll have to wait and see. I'm a Michigan State fan and I believe Tom Izzo is the best coach in the country. 12 (soon to be 13) consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, 5 final fours, 1 championship, and, as wikipedia has taught me, every Michigan State player who has stayed four years under Coach Izzo has played in the Final Four.
February 27, 2010 at 11:08 AMAnd don't hate on Steve Blake. You know he's a slam dunk championship away from being a future hall of famer. But, like LeBron, he'll never enter the contest.
All I want to say is I love the picture of the boys from "The Wire."
February 27, 2010 at 12:44 PMDoh's ridiculous. I could totally see him in the middle of a brawl that he as the coach started.
February 27, 2010 at 2:44 PMAnon is right about Izzo. Definitely one the top 3 or 4 coaches in the game. Although they've struggled with this a little bit this year, I like watching them play because they always hit the boards and play D, it's like watching a college football team sometimes. If he can get them to play a little tougher like his teams of the past, I wouldn't be shocked if they were in the Final 4 again this year.
February 28, 2010 at 1:51 AMI just don't see how Izzo's five final fours and 1 championship in fifteen years is more impressive than Roys' 3 final fours and 2 national championships in seven years at UNC. Maybe I'm just taking too literal of a viewpoint, but championships mean much more to me.
February 28, 2010 at 9:10 AMAlso, that's not even taking into account his run at Kansas. He went to Final Fours in '91, '93, '02, and '03, which means that a Roy Williams coached team went to the Final Four five out of the ten times this past decade. It's hard to say a coach who went to 50% of the decade's Final Fours and won two of them, one just last year, is no longer a good coach.
February 28, 2010 at 11:19 AMCoach K wins stuff too. So there.
February 28, 2010 at 4:54 PMwho has won the matchups recently between UNC and Mich st? I believe there were two huge blowouts last year. And even in this down year, UNC won. Izzo is a good coach, but Williams can coach with the best of them as well as recruit. Case closed.
February 28, 2010 at 10:53 PManonymous - dharvey
Yeah, i heard coach k won a pink teddy bear out of the claw machine
March 1, 2010 at 8:20 PMlove the line about lonnie baxter---but i thought juan dixon was the next jordan? chris wilcox is always good on NBA Live, but not much else.
March 1, 2010 at 10:06 PMI never said anything questioning Roy's coaching ability. I was just giving props to Izzo. Obviously I think Roy's a great coach. I'm a UNC fan and even if I wasn't, I'd still give him his due.
March 2, 2010 at 12:14 AMBerndon, there is nothing for you to defend. We were all reacting to the following comment made by one of the anon's:
March 2, 2010 at 2:59 PM"I believe that Roy Williams was a great coach, but he isn't anymore..... and I believe Tom Izzo is the best coach in the country."
Right now I'm kind of thinking Tony Bennett might be the best coach in the country, given what he's done with what he has.
March 2, 2010 at 4:30 PMTony Bennett should get the coach of the year award in the ACC, but I'd like to see if he can sustain their progress. Oh, and 7 game losing streaks, I'd like to see less of those.
March 2, 2010 at 5:22 PMOn another note, how much importance should we weigh on a coaches ability to recruit? Obviously it's easier to win when you have a guy better than anyone else in college basketball. But some coaches, have successful careers without ever signing a McDonald's All-American.
Teach: Sorry, I accidentally erased your comment. So here it is.
March 2, 2010 at 8:01 PMLangston: Would an NBA coach be a good coach without a good GM? No one wins with no talent, and an amazing thing about guys who do recruit very well is how fast they have to make the players blend together. It's not easy, and doesn't always happen. I don't think a college coach can be evaluated without taking recruiting into account. (I'm not saying it's the end all either)
Maybe I should reword my question. Do we put too much stock into a coaches recruiting abilities by the amount of All-Americans a guy signs? I agree, if a coach is successful it's a lock that they are a good recruiter. However the coach signing the lesser known players who just so happen to fit his system best, doesn't get any credit for being a good recruiter. Whereas the coach signing All-Americans left and right is seen as a great recruiter/coach.
March 2, 2010 at 8:02 PMLangston: You're dead on there. Sometimes, especially with UNC and Duke, I think guys get named as Mickey D's AA's just because they signed with one of those schools. Also, evaluating a coach as a recruiter must include evaluating how the coach assembles talent that fits together.
March 2, 2010 at 8:24 PMwith all this said, Roy has UNC on a 2 game win-streak...what what
March 3, 2010 at 8:30 PMPost a Comment