Feb. 2, 2010
By Adam Lucas
Thanks for all the "I was there" emails from last week. We haven't been able to return most of those messages, but you can be sure we've enjoyed reading them. Either next week or the week after, we're thinking about doing a column completely devoted to the "I was there" memories, because we received some great stories.
Two other quick things: yes, there will be video coverage of Celebration of a Century on TarHeelBlue.com. Look for ordering details later this week. And I'm on the hunt for Tar Heel fans in the Blacksburg area, so drop me an email if that's you.
I know I'm just another of an untold number of Tar Heel fans who is distressed by the direction this season has taken. When I watch the team play, (I just finished suffering through the Virginia game), I don't see our players seeming to have fun. It looks like they've lost a great deal of the confidence they had in themselves at the start of the season. I understand that the team has experienced a tremendous number of injuries, but I don't think that can be the sole reason for the change in demeanor. I also know that everything could turn around starting with the next game - the potential is certainly there - but it seems highly unlikely. In your opinion, what can Roy and his staff do to stop the bleeding and finish the season on a positive note, in the process laying the groundwork for a more confident team and (certainly) a better season next year?
David R. Moore
Johnson City, TN
This was the most rational of the emails we received in the wake of Sunday's loss, while also expressing some of the same frustration most every Tar Heel fan felt. David's question is the same one every Carolina fan is asking, and the same one every member of the coaching staff is asking. As Williams said Sunday night, "I'm about as frustrated and disappointed as I've ever been in my entire life."
From courtside, there was a noticeable difference in the team's demeanor Tuesday night in Raleigh as compared to Sunday night in Chapel Hill. As soon as
Deon Thompson made his first shot against NC State, he was bobbing his head and smiling.
Dexter Strickland and
John Henson interacted with the crowd. Teammates swarmed to hoist
Marcus Ginyard back to his feet after the senior took a charge. That might be the most frustrating thing about the season so far--somewhere in there is an entertaining, talented basketball team. Be honest: would it really surprise you if Carolina went to Virginia Tech and won? Not really. Would it really surprise you if Carolina went to Virginia Tech and lost? Not really. You could say the same thing about every game remaining on the schedule. How weird is college basketball? This is still the same bunch that lit up Michigan State two months ago. And that same Michigan State team that looked so disjointed in Chapel Hill is the same one that has won 14 of its last 15 games.
There was none of that NC State-like enthusiasm against Virginia. At times, it has felt like the Tar Heels are waiting for bad things to happen. Some of it is uncertainty, yes. You can still see players on the bench coaching some players through what they're supposed to do on some plays. But as Williams has also said multiple times, "Sometimes you have to stop that, `Woe is me,' stuff and just play basketball."
In general, although some of our emails are contradictory to this theory, Carolina fans are pretty reasonable. Most of them are capable of understanding that a team restocking from losing its top four scorers from a national championship squad is going to lose some games. The confusing part happens when that same team frequently cites "lack of intensity" and "lack of effort" to explain defeats, and when those same intangibles are sometimes missing on the court.
Of course, none of this discussion answers David's question. The freshmen, especially, bear watching over the next two months. All of them are talented basketball players. None of them have ever struggled like this. It's not their team, which can sometimes make a player more passive about solving issues. But at 2-4 in the ACC with maybe the toughest stretch of the season on the horizon, it's past the point when anyone on the roster can be passive.
Is there any insight to how Coach Williams decides playing minutes or is it a combination of effort at practice and in game performance. Dexter Strickland seems to be the topic of a lot of blogs to include ones on ESPN about how he has done great when he comes in the games and yet it seems he gets pulled quicker for mistakes than most. He is obviously as quick up and down the court as Ty Lawson, but not as mentally smart with the ball as Ty. So is there a meaning for the madness or is Coach Williams stuck on the experienced players to bring the team out of this funk?
Phil Parker
Cameron, NC
First, I'd be hesitant to say Strickland is "obviously as quick up and down the court as Ty Lawson." Maybe in a straight footrace, yes, and it might depend on whether Lawson decided to tie his shoes on that particular day. While dribbling the basketball, no.
But I also know there wasn't the point of your question. Williams's regular response to the playing time question is to say, "Those who play the best, play the most." Phil's not alone in calling for more Dexter Strickland, and most of those emails suggest Strickland at the point guard spot because of his speed. The Tar Heels have occasionally experimented with Strickland and Drew together. That's a lineup I personally like, although it puts a lot of pressure on Will Graves to hit outside shots, because Strickland is shooting 27.3% from the three-point line--lower than Ginyard's 36.4% mark from beyond the stripe.
Drew and Strickland played together for the final 2:48 of Sunday's first half, a time period during which Virginia outscored Carolina by two points. They also played together for an approximately nine-minute stretch late in the second half, a stretch in which the Tar Heels seemed to try to start a couple comebacks but ended up being outscored by one point. Against NC State, the tandem was much more effective. With Strickland and Drew on the floor together for about 6:30, Carolina outscored the Wolfpack by 10 points.
But lineups aren't entirely based on game play. As you might have read on the site Sunday night, practices between the NC State game and Virginia game weren't great. One of the problems at practice came Saturday, when Williams became frustrated with persistent errors by...Drew and Strickland. "I would like to play them together a little bit, especially if we're not getting more production from the two spot," Williams said last night on his radio show." But if we grade both guys out and Dexter is negative every time and Marcus is positive every time, that's something fans don't see."
Williams also said, though, that the Tar Heels need more production from the shooting guard spot. "We've given Leslie McDonald a couple opportunities and we gave Justin Watts a couple opportunities early," he said. "No one stepped forward to do any better than Marcus, especially since he was significantly better defensively...There's no question I'm loyal to a fault sometimes. I give more opportunities to the kids who have worked so hard for us. I've done it that way my entire life. But when push comes to shove, Marcus has to shoot the ball better and he is not the only one."
Having a shorter rope with freshmen who make mistakes is a part of Williams's coaching style. Think about someone like Danny Green, whose minutes were limited by bad decision-making as a freshman but eventually evolved into an essential senior. These freshmen will eventually do the same thing.
Why do tickets to sold out home ACC games show up for sale at the last minute?
@nasaheel via Twitter
ACC games usually sell out within moments of going on sale in the fall. But sharp-eyed readers like the above have noticed the ticket office sometimes puts seats on sale in the last 24-48 hours before tipoff. The reason: season-ticket holders sometimes return tickets through the Turn it Back to Turn It Blue campaign. When those potentially unused tickets are returned, the ticket office is sometimes able to put them on public sale. The moral of the story is that it's worth checking the TarHeelBlue.com online ticket office the day before or the day of an ACC game, even if it was listed as sold out in November. That's happened three times already this season, and fans have had the chance to buy seats for the Georgia Tech, Virginia and Wake Forest games. You never know what tickets might be available--there were good tickets in the bottom of the upper level available for the Wake game.
Brownlow's Down Low
What's the average number of three pointers that teams hit against Carolina, compared to the average number they hit throughout the rest of their season. It seems teams have a field day against the Tar Heels from three-point land.
J. Stikeleather
Richmond, VA
Lauren writes: Two teams set season-highs in three's made that still stand - Valparaiso (12-of-27) and Gardner-Webb (15-of-36). Another four non-conference teams set season-highs but have since passed them; those teams are FIU (eight, have since made nine), Albany (nine, have since made 12) and Presbyterian (nine, have since made 13). College of Charleston's 13 were a season high but recently, they somehow lost while hitting 19-of-35. (The Cougars won five straight after beating Carolina but have lost two in a row.)
Carolina has had some luck. Nevada made just 5-of-21. Marshall has made ten or more five times and had done it three times before the Carolina game, but they hit just 4-of-18. Ohio State made just 6-of-21 three's; the Buckeyes have made ten or more in six games. Michigan State hit just 2-of-20, tying a season-low. NC State's Scott Wood hit 1-of-8 and had made 16-32 in the previous ACC games.
ACC play is where things get crazy. Clemson hit 7-of-26, the most made by the Tigers in ACC games. For Georgia Tech, it was Iman Shumpert, who had 30 points and made 4-of-7, that was the aberration. In every other game of his career, the sophomore made just 30.8 percent. And in all games this season leading up to the Carolina game, he made just 9-of-33 (27.3 percent).
Wake Forest made 9-of-16, the most makes and best percentage in an ACC game for the Deacs. Wake has made 27.3% in other ACC games. C.J. Harris hit 4-of-7 against Carolina and 7-of-24 against the rest of the league. Ari Stewart hit 3-of-4 and has hit 4-of-15 in the other ACC games. Virginia's Sammy Zeglinski hit 5-of-8 and had hit five once out of conference but had made 8-of-20 in ACC play, 2-of-10 in the last two.
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly. He is also the author or co-author of five books on Carolina basketball, including the just-released book on the 2009 national title, One Fantastic Ride. Get real-time UNC sports updates from the THM staff on Twitter.
