North Carolina Beats Duke: Championships and Refutations

A lot of things were said about this Carolina team before the season and during their rocky 4-3 start, but things don't always follow literary formulas and end where they began.

UNC Routs NC State: Mr. Barnes, Your Arrival Time Is Approaching

How does one judge the moment of an individual's arrival? The term arrival is thrown around like it is some cumulative moment, that everything in life has added up to. We say a player has arrived as if that settles all debate on an athlete's legacy and there is nothing else to add, but rarely, are moments in sports so final, or even satisfying, or distressful, as we would like to make them. Brett Favre is less than his touchdowns, but more than his interceptions. Michael Jordan is less cool than his highlight reel, and LeBron James is more sinister than a triple double, but better than The Decision. These people we call athletes are more of a twisted, mutated bird species than they are pure hawks and doves. Take Jay Cutler, for example, and it is impossible to paint him as a total quitter and wimp because he went out of a championship game with a knee sprain, when one considers that the man gets pummeled weekly and has battled diabetes for most of his life. These moments of definition are never the entire story. They are never all-encompassing. Humanity is too complicated for that.

North Carolina freshman Harrison Barnes, the preseason All-American and one-time projected overall pick in this year's NBA draft, waited eighteen games this college basketball season before crossing into the stratosphere of twenty points. He dropped twenty-five on NC State yesterday, and it would be easy to say that he has now arrived on the college stage as a force to be reckoned with, especially since he also scored a last second, game-winning shot on Miami earlier in the week, but it's not that simple. Harrison Barnes was a legit college player prior to this week, already a vital cog in turning around Carolina's pedestrian 4-3 start to the season to a surging 14-5 record that features a 5-1 start in the ACC, giving a strong defensive effort every night and demonstrating an ability to hit clutch threes on the road or at home. Harrison Barnes may have smiled wide enough to say finally yesterday and let out a sigh of relief at how easily and often the ball went in the basket for him, against the Wolfpack, but that twenty-five points was not his biggest contribution to Carolina basketball in these early stages of his career.

The goodwill was there for all to see. John Henson was cracking jokes, dunking like Walt Disney's Goofy used to ski off cliffs. Tyler Zeller was grinning like some old church Deacon remembering the first time he got drunk at a barn dance, and even Old Roy couldn't help but be happy for a moment. The focus seemed to orbit around Harrison Barnes' stat line, but the thing was, that wasn't it at all. This team was happy because the real gravity of the moment was that this young team is finally starting to realize its identiy, something that didn't seem possible when it got blown out three games ago by Georgia Tech. At that moment, this team seemed as lost as it had last year when it was depending on Deon Thompson, Ed Davis, and Will Graves for leadership, which was like relying on cannibals to perform CPR. 

The negative vibes from last year's teams had infiltrated the Tar Heel fanbase to such an extent that Roy Williams, winner of two national championships in the last six years and coach of five Final Four teams in the last nine years, was no longer seen as a viable source of leadership by his own basketball family. People were not only questioning his coaching abilities, but his recruiting strategies as well, and the blood in the water was blinding them to the fact that this team was not last year's team, that this year's team fights back from double digit margins on the road and bounces back from twenty-point blowouts with three consecutive conference wins, that the much maligned Larry Drew II is embracing a role off the bench, that slow-footed Kendall Marshall can run Roy's roadrunner offense, that Reggie Bullock can carry a team offensively in spurts, that Leslie McDonald is for real, that John Henson may actually be a basketball player, that Tyler Zeller is a serviceable big man, and that, yes, Harrison Barnes can score over twenty points in a game. This team will not win a conference championship or a national title this year, and it may even get swept by Duke, but after two consecutive years of losing at least its top three scorers and having to rebuild its rotations and talent base, this team is displaying signs not only that it will get what Roy is preaching but that it wants to hear the sermon. This team is hungry for success, not draft status or personal stats, and that in and of itself is the most telling sign of how Roy Williams is shaping this team.

Harrison Barnes' twenty-five points is something to smile at, but only in the way that a kid smiles at a passing plane, unsure of where it's going to land. Enjoy the flight; hopefully, it's just beginning.

Dissecting North Carolina's 4-3 Start

 

Before I begin, Teach, I know you'll disagree with half of this, but you know I'm right; after all, you're already dealing with this in your talk of John Henson's unique fear of the rim.

I refuse to go through another season like last year. I'm not unreasonable to the point that I expect a championship each year, but if you have the University of North Carolina jersey on, you should be, at a minimum, in the top 25 each year. You shouldn't carelessly turn the ball over time after time. You shouldn't play scared. You shouldn't decide when you're down by 12 with 4 minutes left that now it's time to start playing D. What makes it worse is that Duke looks unstoppable. They have no holes, as the team I thought would beat them, and still might, got beat up last night in Durham. I'm not here to talk about Duke right now. I don't want to vomit on my keyboard. I need to vent and illustrate what I see, and what can be done about it before it's too late, before I'm watching NIT games sometime in mid-March with lukewarm interest, hoping that next year my team will be back in the Dance.

Breakfast with Berndon: Capping off the Weekend

 

Author’s note: I’m making B.B.E. two parts this week. I wrote way too much about Duke-UNC to fit in my usual stuff, so I’m going to just put in the recaps and a much smaller version of “Around the Power 6.” Tomorrow, I’m going to take a stab at breaking down the Conference tourneys, and at picking my All-League teams for these conferences.

Duke 82, UNC 50: Just typing that score would have been unfathomable last year, two months ago, hell even two days ago. I brilliantly predicted that UNC would pull off the upset, but they weren’t remotely in the game from the opening tip. These two teams aren’t even in the same stratosphere anymore. The matchup was about as one-sided as if my Chancellor team played against Oak Hill Academy.

The only thing I kept thinking of was when I was playing 8th grade AAU ball. We lost to Prince William like 96-20, and the game was called after 3 quarters, making this the first and only time I’ve ever seen the slaughter rule applied to a basketball game. Honestly, they could and probably should have called this one at halftime. It wasn’t just a talent discrepancy because Carolina arguably isn’t that far away from Duke in this area. But in terms of heart and other intangibles, it wasn’t even close. Carolina didn’t fight. They were the pacifist who just kept getting punched in the mouth repeatedly.  They had worse body language after turnovers than the 6th grade girls team my father coaches. By the time you hit college and have a D1 scholarship, you should have learned to run back on defense without pouting or sulking.          

So where does Carolina go from here? I mean aside from the NIT, which they might not even get into. Honestly, and this might be a little bit of a knee-jerk reaction here, but I feel like Roy should do what Calipari did when he took over at Kentucky and just clean house. Scholarships are renewable, and from the way that these players “competed” this season, it might be wise for Roy to basically tell some of them they should try out another program. Kentucky brought in John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, Daniel Orton, Eric Bledsoe, and Darnell Dodson, keeping Patrick Patterson, Darius Miller, and DeAndre Liggins as the only holdovers from the Billy Gillespe regime. Why couldn’t Roy do the same with Harrison Barnes, Reggie Bullock, and Kendall Marshall? Rebuild everything around these 3, keep John Henson, Dexter Strickland, Tyler Zeller, and maybe the Wear brothers, see if Ed Davis comes back, shorten the rotation, and go from there.

From what I saw this season, I don’t want Larry Drew running the offense, and I don’t want Will Graves erratically launching airballs from the perimeter. You could argue that UNC has won two national titles in 5 years, and that they shouldn’t necessarily go drastic with changing everything and panic. But it’s not just the 16-15 record, it’s the way they underachieved. This wasn’t the only time this season that they were simply outworked in route to losing. It happened repeatedly, and inexperience played a role; but, in the one-and-done climate that is college basketball today, you can’t sit around and wait for freshman and sophomores to figure things out. Injuries played a role, but they shouldn't have to the extent they did. They still had plenty of depth and should have been able to play through everything.

I honestly think that if Bobby Frasor would have been granted a 5th year, things might have been different. Frasor might have been able to do what Ginyard and Thompson obviously could not: lead this young team and get them to go all out and represent Carolina basketball the right way. Hometown biases aside, Frasor was a tremendous leader last season, never bitching about playing time, and stepping in for Lawson when he was injured, providing quality minutes and not making the mistakes that were made this season, always scrapping and hustling along the way. Ginyard and Thompson were always supporting actors, not leads that can carry a picture. Their lack of leadership had this team doomed from the jump. I just don’t even feel remotely comfortable with what is coming back, and again, it would be different if they lost a bunch of close games where they fought like heck and gave it all they had. But they laid down in way too many games and I don’t know if Roy can fix this stuff in practices. To go from having probably one of the hardest working teams in the country to the one that underachieved the most means that it’s not going to be just a matter of the team magically getting it next year and taking back their spot in the top 25. Roy needs to change things up, cut the dead weight, and start over. I don’t want to see Duke 82, UNC 50 ever again. Carolina’s the only consistently good team that I cheer for, I’d hate to see this change, with Roy’s legacy fading into the background in the process.
Man of the Match: Duke’s Program in general

 Maryland 79, Duke 72: I went through a lot to watch this game. I had to go somewhere during the first half, so I decided to DVR it and watch the whole thing after its completion. I was about 5 minutes in, when my ex-girlfriend called, which resulted in us fighting and talking for a good hour. I then proceeded to watch everything up until 1:27 left in the second half, where the DVR shut if off. I’m new to having a DVR, and didn’t realize that everything would shut off right at 11. I didn’t know what to do, but luckily ESPN 2 was showing a replay of the game from 1:30-3 in the morning. So I jumped right back in at the 1:27 mark, trying my absolute hardest to watch without looking at the bottom line updates. Long story short, it was Duke-Maryland, and with the Terps getting the win, it was well worth my struggles to bring my loyal readers, all 5 of them, my thoughts. Both of these teams will be around until at least the second week of the NCAA’s. Begrudgingly, I give Duke credit for coming back from an early 11 point deficit. Scheyer and Smith seemingly hit shot after shot, which bodes well for the Dookies because guard play is always a factor in the dance. Brian Zoubek has turned into a rebounding machine, and although he seemingly always shoots about 5-14, Kyle Singler is usually good for a couple of clutch 3’s and big rebounds each time out. As for Maryland, Grevis Vazquez is simply one of the best guards in all the land. I think the last, or second to last shot he hit, where he dribbled into 3 people and seemingly just threw the ball at the rim, is a microcosm for who he is as a player. It is one of those shots where coaches scream “No, no, no, Yes!!!” You question his methods sometimes, but he gets the job done. Jordan Williams bears an uncanny resemblance to a young Sean May, and he had a very Sean May-like output of 15 points, 11 boards, and 3 blocks. Vazquez led the Terps with 20, while Nolan Smith also had 20 for Duke. Now, the clash in Durham between Duke and the Tarheels takes on added importance, with UNC now getting a chance to spoil Duke’s chances at winning the league. (As you read above, you saw how that turned out).
Man of the Match: Vazquez 20 pts, 4 rbs, 5 assts

Tennesee 75, Mississippi St. 59: I watched UT play for the first time this season, so I could argue more effectively with Langston about their merits or lack of them. I also wanted to check them out because they have beaten arguably the two best teams going in Kansas and Kentucky. I don’t really think this game was a case of the Vols playing great, but simply Miss. St. playing terribly. They got down 17-0, then pretty much ignored Jarvis Varnado and just shot threes. What Tennessee does have going for them, aside from “Rocky Top” being a pretty sweet song, is that they are deep and athletic. Scotty Hopson relies on shooting triples a little too much, but when he’s on, he’s tough to stop. J.P. Prince led the Vols with 16, while Brian Williams had 10 points and 13 rebounds. UT could go anywhere from the Final Four to out in the first round, but either way they’ll make it interesting.
Man of the Match: Prince 16 pts, 6 rbs, 3 assts, 2 stls

"Around the Power 6"

ACC

Ascending: Maryland
Descending: Georgia Tech
Player of the Week: Greivis Vazquez (21.5 pts, 5 assts, 2.5 stls)

Big East
Ascending: West Virginia
Descending: Cincinnati
Player of the Week: Deshaun Butler (21.5 pts, 8 rbs, 4 assts)

Big 12
Ascending: Texas A&M
Descending: Oklahoma
Player of the Week: Cory Higgins (24.5 pts, 4.5 rbs, 3 stls)

Big 10
Ascending: Wisconsin
Descending: Illinois
Player of the Week: Raymar Morgan (19 pts, 9 rbs, 2 stls)

SEC
Ascending: Tennessee
Descending: Mississippi St.
Player of the Week: Mikhail Torrance (15 pts, 9 rbs, 7 assts)

Pac 10
Ascending: Arizona St.
Descending: UCLA
Player of the Week: Matthew Bryan-Amaning (14 pts, 10.5 rbs, 2 blks)

An Angry, Less Sophisticated UNC Rant

To steal from a little Jay-Z diddy entitled "Public Service Announcement," Allow me to reintroduce myself, my name is Brod, B to the Rody. And while i've never moved snowflakes by the oz, I similarly broke the law and paid the price for it. With that sordid chapter now behind me, I can move on with my life and discuss socially relevant topics like college basketball. Namely, the defending champions who are currently defending their championship like a bunch of hyper-active retarded children attempting to play capture the flag. Needless to say, Georgia Tech, Clemson, and fucking UVA, amongst others have taken their turns stealing our sky blue colored flag and are stomping all over it. I had positive aspirations at the beginning of the season, knowing full well that we'd at least make a run at the Sweet 16, but now the NIT seems like a more feasable goal. In closing, I would like to call out, question, or simply wonder what is going on with 5 Tarheels that have let the Carolina nation down.

1. Marcus Ginyard: The glue guy/defensive stopper has been a turnover machine, and has not been anything near the stabilizing force that a 5th year Senior should be on a team loaded with underclassmen. While he is playing hurt, Ginyard has disappointed by allowing countless blown leads and sloppy basketball to continue on his watch. Ginyard and Thompson have been there through the glory years, and one of them needs to draw a line in the sand and say enough is enough. We will get this defensive stop, we will get this loose ball, because that's what winning teams do.

2. Will Graves: Teach gave us an extensive pyschological profile in a previous article about Mr.Graves, so all I can say is that he's the only legitimate perimeter threat, so why isn't he getting more looks? I've been saying since the beginning of the season that he needs to emerge as the main offensive weapon, yet he still disappears for large segments of the game.

3. Dexter and Larry: One supposedly plays too fast, the other doesn't look to run enough. Which means if Roy could somehow magically combine them into one uber-hybrid point guard.....they still wouldn't be as good as Ty Lawson. Drew has great assist numbers, but kills the boys in blue with inopportune turnovers. Neither can consistently shoot, nor run a team efficiently.

4. John Henson: The much ballyhooed McDonald's All-American has been putrid. He's only 30 pounds bigger than me, and I'm a robust 5'10 160!!! He's fucking 6'10 190..... Suffice to say rebounding and banging inside are out of the question against the Lawal's and Aminu's of the world. So he brings about 1 block and 2 points a game into the fold. Way to earn that scholarship John boy.

5. Ed Davis: Yes superstar, I'm even going to call you out. Despite also being injured, Sam Perkins Jr. has also been a disappointment as of late. The boards and blocks are still there, but with all this NBA buzz (slated to go 9th in the first round of the latest mock on nbadraft.net), tell me how he's going to score in the Association if he can't lead a bad Tarheel team in scoring. He has no low-post game to speak of, and with the injury, looks tentative and scared.

Despite these countless flaws, I still predict Roy's boys to make a deep run in the ACC tourney, and will win at least one game in the dance. Bill Simmons talks about there being a 5 year grace period where fans cannot get angry until 5 years after winning a championship, so I probably need to take a deep breath. We're in a rebuilding year, but champions don't rebuild, they reload. Carolina better get a different firearm however, because the trigger is stuck. Only 9 more months until the Harrison Barnes era begins. At this point, the only way we beat Duke is if the Wear brothers challenge the Plumlee brothers to a steal cage match or possibly a pie eating contest. Because on the basketball court, it may not happen this year.

photos via Inside Carolina

#11 North Carolina vs. #9 Michigan St. Preview

First, congratulations to Roy Williams on earning his 600th career victory Sunday night against Nevada.

Second, on Tuesday night, #11 North Carolina will face #9 Michigan St. The last time these two teams met the Heels humiliated the Spartans en route to Roy Williams' second national title. The win marked the second time last season that the Spartans fell to the Heels, and it drove home the point that the Coyote never catches the Road Runner. UNC is 9-4 all time against Michigan St. They're 5-0 against the Big 10 school in NCAA tourney games. Three of Carolina's national championship teams defeated Michigan St. in the Final Four, proving that Tom Izzo clearly needs more than what's currently available in the ACME catalogue to defeat the Looney Tune quick Tar Heels.

In the past this matchup was always viewed as the brute force of Michigan St.'s physicality versus the quickness of UNC. While the Spartans may now have the advantage on the perimeter, with guards Kalin Lucas, Durrell Summers, Chris Allen, and forward Daymond Green all averaging double figures, the Heels clearly have the advantage inside, with the post presences of Deon Thompson, Ed Davis, and Tyler Zeller. I like what I've seen so far from Larry Drew at point guard: 7.7 ppg, 6.7 apg, and a growing habit of hitting big three's. I also like the odds that Marcus Ginyard shuts down at least one of Michigan St.'s perimeter scorers. The continued growth of Drew, combined with UNC's interior advantage, makes the Heels just too big to handle, even when the Coyote is quick enough to catch this bird.