Kentucky: 1,966 North Carolina: 1,951
15 little wins separate these two traditional powers and they renew the rivalry tonight at 9 pm eastern in the Dean Dome. ESPN GameDay will be there to preview the action at 8pm. ESPN has made a huge deal out of this game, making it the final game in a day-long celebration to tip off the college hoops season.
Kentucky comes in at full strength. Well, they at least have all of their players. UNC is without Tyler Hansbrough and Marcus Ginyard for the 2nd straight game. There's some encouraging news out of Chapel Hill today, though. Hansbrough practiced yesterday. According to coach Roy Williams, the big guy had about 10 dunks in limited action. There is no timetable for his return, but he is at least practicing, which is a step in the right direction. Ginyard is expected to be out at least until mid-December, which begs the question: Who's going to guard Jodie Meeks? The junior guard for the Wildcats had 39 points in last week's 111-103 loss to VMI. Will the Tar Heels have an answer for him? Will Wayne Ellington elevate his defensive intensity enough to contain Meeks?
The big advantage for the Wildcats will be in the low post, where Patrick Patterson can dominate. Without Hansbrough in the lineup to slow him down, look for many double teams from Deon Thompson, Tyler Zeller, and Ed Davis.
If the Wildcats are smart, they will not try to run with Carolina like they did with VMI last week. Keeping up with these Heels, even down two men, is a daunting task for the most talented of teams. Kentucky simply doesn't have the fire power or the depth to hang with UNC. Look for them to slow the game down a bit, which will keep the score lower.
A big key for Carolina tonight is rebounding. The Tar Heels are going to have to control the defensive glass effectively to win this game. If Kentucky gets 2nd and 3rd chances to score, this game will go down to the wire. If the Heels can limit them to 1-and-out most of the night, they'll be able to set up their fast break and their secondary break and wear down the Wildcats.
It should be a good game to watch with a great atmosphere. It's the first big game of the year for both teams. The crowd should be electric. It's not every day there's a game involving two teams of this magnitude in November. Cherish it, enjoy it, and root like crazy for the Heels!
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Monday, September 22, 2008
Mike Paulus: Put up or shut up
A lot has been said about Mike Paulus in the last couple of days. Not much of it has been good. The redshirt freshman came into the game with 6:53 left in the 3rd quarter with a 10-3 lead. His first play from scrimmage, he handed the ball to Greg Little and the sophomore running back scampered 50 yards for a touchdown. 17-3 Tar Heels. That would be the last exciting play for the Tar Heels all day.
Paulus made mental error after mental error in the Heels' eventual 20-17 loss to Virginia Tech on Saturday. Granted, it was his first significant playing time and he came into the game in a pressure situation. The kid's got a cannon of an arm, there's no doubt about that. But he's got to work on his game management.
Case in point: the Heels were driving down the field with the score 20-17 Virginia Tech and Carolina had the ball on the Tech 23-yard line, 2nd and eleven. Paulus rolled out to his right to avoid the sack and had Shaun Draughn wide open 5 yards in front of him. Had he passed the ball to Draughn, he would've easily gotten the Heels into a comfortable field goal range which would've tied the game, and possibly even a first down. Instead, Paulus launched the ball down field to Hakeem Nicks at the goal line, who was being quadruple-covered. The ball was intercepted, and the game was basically over at that point.
The Heels face a tough test this weekend at Miami, probably the best team they've faced to this point by far. Can Carolina go in there and escape with a win? Sure, anything's possible. But Tar Heel fans, don't get your hopes up. The defense is fine, as long as they don't have a quarterback who's going to throw multiple interceptions every game, forcing them to have to be on the field longer.
Many fans are looking past this weekend and on down the road at the season as a whole. Coming into the season, many fans and media pundits alike had high expectations for this young bunch of Tar Heels. 8 or more wins was predicted by nearly everyone. That all changed on Saturday afternoon when TJ Yates broke his ankle. It's time for everyone to temper their expectations. A weak ACC still leaves open the possibility for 6 wins and a bowl game this year. The key word there is possibility.
Mike Paulus was the number 11-ranked quarterback in the class of 2007 by scout.com. He originally committed to John Bunting and when Bunting was fired halfway through the 2006 season, Paulus hinted at de-committing, as any recruit would do. Paulus, however, took it one step further. He basically said that he was the glue holding the recruiting class together and that it would be in the best interest of the administration to bring in a coach that he wanted to play for, otherwise he would go elsewhere and take some other prized recruits with him. Paulus basically insinuated that he was bigger than the program.
Well I'm here to tell you Mike Paulus, if you don't produce this season at quarterback, you will not be the only one wishing you had gone somewhere else to play your college football. It's time for you to put your money where your mouth is and produce. Here's your chance to prove that you deserved all that hype coming out of high school. What are you going to do?
Paulus made mental error after mental error in the Heels' eventual 20-17 loss to Virginia Tech on Saturday. Granted, it was his first significant playing time and he came into the game in a pressure situation. The kid's got a cannon of an arm, there's no doubt about that. But he's got to work on his game management.
Case in point: the Heels were driving down the field with the score 20-17 Virginia Tech and Carolina had the ball on the Tech 23-yard line, 2nd and eleven. Paulus rolled out to his right to avoid the sack and had Shaun Draughn wide open 5 yards in front of him. Had he passed the ball to Draughn, he would've easily gotten the Heels into a comfortable field goal range which would've tied the game, and possibly even a first down. Instead, Paulus launched the ball down field to Hakeem Nicks at the goal line, who was being quadruple-covered. The ball was intercepted, and the game was basically over at that point.
The Heels face a tough test this weekend at Miami, probably the best team they've faced to this point by far. Can Carolina go in there and escape with a win? Sure, anything's possible. But Tar Heel fans, don't get your hopes up. The defense is fine, as long as they don't have a quarterback who's going to throw multiple interceptions every game, forcing them to have to be on the field longer.
Many fans are looking past this weekend and on down the road at the season as a whole. Coming into the season, many fans and media pundits alike had high expectations for this young bunch of Tar Heels. 8 or more wins was predicted by nearly everyone. That all changed on Saturday afternoon when TJ Yates broke his ankle. It's time for everyone to temper their expectations. A weak ACC still leaves open the possibility for 6 wins and a bowl game this year. The key word there is possibility.
Mike Paulus was the number 11-ranked quarterback in the class of 2007 by scout.com. He originally committed to John Bunting and when Bunting was fired halfway through the 2006 season, Paulus hinted at de-committing, as any recruit would do. Paulus, however, took it one step further. He basically said that he was the glue holding the recruiting class together and that it would be in the best interest of the administration to bring in a coach that he wanted to play for, otherwise he would go elsewhere and take some other prized recruits with him. Paulus basically insinuated that he was bigger than the program.
Well I'm here to tell you Mike Paulus, if you don't produce this season at quarterback, you will not be the only one wishing you had gone somewhere else to play your college football. It's time for you to put your money where your mouth is and produce. Here's your chance to prove that you deserved all that hype coming out of high school. What are you going to do?
Yates done for the year?
There are several internet rumors flying around. They started last night. Apparently, TJ Yates, the sophomore quarterback for the Tar Heels who was injured in the third quarter of Carolina's 20-17 loss to Va. Tech on Saturday, had an MRI last night. That much we know is true. Beyond that, there are several people claiming to have inside sources who say that he sent a text message to one of his teammates last night saying that he was done for the year. I don't know about you, but if I had been through a year and a half of practices and games with someone, I wouldn't send them a text message to tell them that I was going to be sidelined for the year. Maybe Yates was too upset to talk about it. Maybe he just wanted to get the word out. Or maybe some one's "sources" are just plain lying. Only time will tell if this rumor is true. Check back here, I'll be providing updates as I get them. But the way Mike Paulus played on Saturday, let's all hope and pray, for the sake of the team as much as for TJ, that this is all just a vicious rumor.
9:34 am Update: I can say with 99% confidence that these rumors are true. There's still no official word from the university, but I've seen people with very credible sources saying that it's true. It's a sad day for TJ Yates. The young man put in a lot of hard work re-habbing his injured throwing shoulder and goes down in the 3rd game of the season. More to come on exactly what the injury is and our prospects with Paulus at QB.
10:32 am Update: TJ Yates will be sidelined for at least 6 weeks, at which time his status will be re-evaluated, according to an update on Tarheelblue.com. Stay tuned for more later today.
9:34 am Update: I can say with 99% confidence that these rumors are true. There's still no official word from the university, but I've seen people with very credible sources saying that it's true. It's a sad day for TJ Yates. The young man put in a lot of hard work re-habbing his injured throwing shoulder and goes down in the 3rd game of the season. More to come on exactly what the injury is and our prospects with Paulus at QB.
10:32 am Update: TJ Yates will be sidelined for at least 6 weeks, at which time his status will be re-evaluated, according to an update on Tarheelblue.com. Stay tuned for more later today.
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
My Favorite Moments, Part 1
With Roy Williams having wrapped up recruiting through the end of this decade for the most part, there's not a whole lot of off-season updates to provide right now. The players are back on campus and are most definitely going through pre-season workouts as directed by the strength & conditioning team at UNC. Practice starts in a month, so once that happens, I'll be providing as many practice updates as I can. Until then, when I write about basketball, I'll focus on games and moments from the past that stick out in my mind as classic Carolina moments.
Today, I'll tell you about one of my favorite Carolina comebacks. There's been so many of them that I can't really pick a definitive favorite, but I have a list of favorites. One of them is the 2005 game against Duke in the Dean Dome. At the 5:20 mark of the 2nd half, the game was tied at 64. By the time Lee Melchioni had rattled in a 3 pointer from the corner with 3:05 left, the Blue Devils had built a 9-point lead. All seemed lost for the Heels that day. I was at a sports bar watching it with my sister and one of her friends. Always optimistic that the Heels can pull out a win until the final buzzer sounds, the way the Heels had looked over that 2-minute stretch prompted even me to think the game was out of reach.
Lucky for all of Tar Heel nation that it was Roy Williams, and not myself, who was on the sideline coaching the Heels that day. He called a timeout and told his team "If you do exactly what we ask you to do, I promise you we're gonna win this game." After the timeout, even his long time assistant Joe Holladay told him that he probably shouldn't have said that to his players.
When the players emerged from that huddle, they looked confident coming back out onto the court. Raymond Felton gave the ball to Jackie Manuel, who drove and missed, but big Sean May was there for the put back. When his shot missed, Jawad Williams was there for the tip-in. 73-66 Blue Devils. 2:40 to play. Timeout Carolina.
The Heels were able to force a Duke turnover on their next defensive possession, so with 2:20 to go, Raymond Felton got the ball and drove up the floor and eventually found Marvin Williams underneath. He drew the 4th personal foul on Shelden Williams (she-will as he's commonly known in Chapel Hill) with 2:03 to play and hit both free throws. 73-68 Devils.
David Noel fouled DeMarcus Nelson with 1:57 to play, but the freshman missed the front end of the one-and-one and Sean May got the ball and threw the outlet pass to Raymond Felton. Felton then drove the length of the floor and found May under the basket. His first attempt was blocked, but he got it back, made it, and was fouled in the process. May converted the 3-point play by knocking down the free throw. 73-71 Duke. 1:44 to play.
Duke got 2 open looks from the corner on their next possession, the 2nd by JJ Reddick with a minute to play. Both clanged off the iron. Sean May got his 23rd rebound of the day on Reddick's miss and the Heels quickly brought the ball up the floor. After a missed jumper by Felton, a wild scramble for the ball ensued and Duke wound up with possession, still leading by 2 with 36 seconds left to play. But the Devils wouldn't capitalize, turning the ball over at half court with 27 seconds left.
Felton took the ball right to the basket. He drew a foul and with 19.4 seconds left to play, he went to the line for 2 shots. He made the first one. 73-72 Devils. The second one missed, but Felton kept the ball alive by tipping it out. Another mad scramble ensued, but this time it went the way of the Heels. Marvin Williams wound up with the ball. The freshman put the ball up off the glass, into the basket, and drew the 5th foul on She-Will. The crowd went absolutely nuts, prompting Roy Williams to say after the game that it was the loudest he'd ever heard the Smith Center. The freshman then stepped to the line and calmly swished the free throw to convert the three point play. 75-73 Good Guys. 17.0 seconds left. Timeout.
Coming out of the huddle, Duke hurried the ball up the floor and found Reddick open one more time from the wing. He fired the 3-pointer for the win. Swish?? Nope. CLANG!! Yet another scramble for the ball resulted and Daniel Ewing wound up with it. He, too, took a 3 to win, and he, too, got a big ol' CLANG. By the time Sean May had corralled the rebound, the game was over. The crowd rushed the floor as absolute mayhem ensued.
The moral of the story from that day? You can't spell Blue Devils without 'evil' and in the eternal battle of Good vs. Evil, Good always wins. 75-73 Good guys. Roy Williams learned from the best of them, Dean Smith, in the fine art of comebacks, and he provided a comeback for the ages on this day. Even though his own assistant coach told him he shouldn't have said what he said, Ol' Roy knew what he was doing. And on this day as much as on any other, Ol' Roy really was that good.
Today, I'll tell you about one of my favorite Carolina comebacks. There's been so many of them that I can't really pick a definitive favorite, but I have a list of favorites. One of them is the 2005 game against Duke in the Dean Dome. At the 5:20 mark of the 2nd half, the game was tied at 64. By the time Lee Melchioni had rattled in a 3 pointer from the corner with 3:05 left, the Blue Devils had built a 9-point lead. All seemed lost for the Heels that day. I was at a sports bar watching it with my sister and one of her friends. Always optimistic that the Heels can pull out a win until the final buzzer sounds, the way the Heels had looked over that 2-minute stretch prompted even me to think the game was out of reach.
Lucky for all of Tar Heel nation that it was Roy Williams, and not myself, who was on the sideline coaching the Heels that day. He called a timeout and told his team "If you do exactly what we ask you to do, I promise you we're gonna win this game." After the timeout, even his long time assistant Joe Holladay told him that he probably shouldn't have said that to his players.
When the players emerged from that huddle, they looked confident coming back out onto the court. Raymond Felton gave the ball to Jackie Manuel, who drove and missed, but big Sean May was there for the put back. When his shot missed, Jawad Williams was there for the tip-in. 73-66 Blue Devils. 2:40 to play. Timeout Carolina.
The Heels were able to force a Duke turnover on their next defensive possession, so with 2:20 to go, Raymond Felton got the ball and drove up the floor and eventually found Marvin Williams underneath. He drew the 4th personal foul on Shelden Williams (she-will as he's commonly known in Chapel Hill) with 2:03 to play and hit both free throws. 73-68 Devils.
David Noel fouled DeMarcus Nelson with 1:57 to play, but the freshman missed the front end of the one-and-one and Sean May got the ball and threw the outlet pass to Raymond Felton. Felton then drove the length of the floor and found May under the basket. His first attempt was blocked, but he got it back, made it, and was fouled in the process. May converted the 3-point play by knocking down the free throw. 73-71 Duke. 1:44 to play.
Duke got 2 open looks from the corner on their next possession, the 2nd by JJ Reddick with a minute to play. Both clanged off the iron. Sean May got his 23rd rebound of the day on Reddick's miss and the Heels quickly brought the ball up the floor. After a missed jumper by Felton, a wild scramble for the ball ensued and Duke wound up with possession, still leading by 2 with 36 seconds left to play. But the Devils wouldn't capitalize, turning the ball over at half court with 27 seconds left.
Felton took the ball right to the basket. He drew a foul and with 19.4 seconds left to play, he went to the line for 2 shots. He made the first one. 73-72 Devils. The second one missed, but Felton kept the ball alive by tipping it out. Another mad scramble ensued, but this time it went the way of the Heels. Marvin Williams wound up with the ball. The freshman put the ball up off the glass, into the basket, and drew the 5th foul on She-Will. The crowd went absolutely nuts, prompting Roy Williams to say after the game that it was the loudest he'd ever heard the Smith Center. The freshman then stepped to the line and calmly swished the free throw to convert the three point play. 75-73 Good Guys. 17.0 seconds left. Timeout.
Coming out of the huddle, Duke hurried the ball up the floor and found Reddick open one more time from the wing. He fired the 3-pointer for the win. Swish?? Nope. CLANG!! Yet another scramble for the ball resulted and Daniel Ewing wound up with it. He, too, took a 3 to win, and he, too, got a big ol' CLANG. By the time Sean May had corralled the rebound, the game was over. The crowd rushed the floor as absolute mayhem ensued.
The moral of the story from that day? You can't spell Blue Devils without 'evil' and in the eternal battle of Good vs. Evil, Good always wins. 75-73 Good guys. Roy Williams learned from the best of them, Dean Smith, in the fine art of comebacks, and he provided a comeback for the ages on this day. Even though his own assistant coach told him he shouldn't have said what he said, Ol' Roy knew what he was doing. And on this day as much as on any other, Ol' Roy really was that good.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Original Post
OK Tar Heel fans, this is my first attempt at blogging about our beloved Heels. I've blogged about other things in the past, but my true love is Carolina athletics, especially basketball. During football season I will definitely be following the gridiron Heels and blogging about them, but once basketball season gets going is when I will do the majority of my updates.
A little bit about me. I grew up in New Bern, North Carolina. From the time I realized what sports were, I was a Carolina fan. After high school, I went to Louisburg College for 2 years, which was a pit stop on the way to Chapel Hill and the most beautiful campus in the land. My senior year was Matt Doherty's first year at the helm, the 2000-01 season. So I missed the 8-20 debacle by a year, thank the good lord! I went to Dean Smith's basketball camp 3 times and got my picture taken with him each time. I got to shoot 3 layups on the court of the Dean Dome...the first year, I bricked it and thought to myself "That's the only chance I'll ever get to shoot in this building, and I missed it!!" But I was able to redeem myself each of the next 2 years and I made it each time.
As the years have passed, I've grown more and more passionate about all things Carolina. My family is afraid to watch games with me because I yell constantly at the TV. This past year, I had no voice from the first round of the ACC Tournament all the way through the Final Four run in the NCAA tournament.
One of the best moments of my life as a Tar Heel fan came at the Tar Heel Tour (Ram's club meeting) in the Triangle in 2006. I was able to meet Roy Williams, get his autograph, and get my picture taken with him. I've got the Sports Illustrated that he signed framed and hanging on the wall of my "Carolina room" in my house.
That's a brief synopsis of my life as a Carolina fan. Check back often, I will be blogging often through football and basketball season. During the off season, I plan to provide as many recruiting updates as I can through a few inside sources I've been able to accumulate. Thanks for reading!
A little bit about me. I grew up in New Bern, North Carolina. From the time I realized what sports were, I was a Carolina fan. After high school, I went to Louisburg College for 2 years, which was a pit stop on the way to Chapel Hill and the most beautiful campus in the land. My senior year was Matt Doherty's first year at the helm, the 2000-01 season. So I missed the 8-20 debacle by a year, thank the good lord! I went to Dean Smith's basketball camp 3 times and got my picture taken with him each time. I got to shoot 3 layups on the court of the Dean Dome...the first year, I bricked it and thought to myself "That's the only chance I'll ever get to shoot in this building, and I missed it!!" But I was able to redeem myself each of the next 2 years and I made it each time.
As the years have passed, I've grown more and more passionate about all things Carolina. My family is afraid to watch games with me because I yell constantly at the TV. This past year, I had no voice from the first round of the ACC Tournament all the way through the Final Four run in the NCAA tournament.
One of the best moments of my life as a Tar Heel fan came at the Tar Heel Tour (Ram's club meeting) in the Triangle in 2006. I was able to meet Roy Williams, get his autograph, and get my picture taken with him. I've got the Sports Illustrated that he signed framed and hanging on the wall of my "Carolina room" in my house.
That's a brief synopsis of my life as a Carolina fan. Check back often, I will be blogging often through football and basketball season. During the off season, I plan to provide as many recruiting updates as I can through a few inside sources I've been able to accumulate. Thanks for reading!
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