March 7, 2010
By Adam Lucas
DURHAM--Much like Custer eventually arrived at Little Bighorn, we'll eventually get to Saturday night's 82-50 shellacking by Duke.
But to truly get a perspective on what the game meant, we have to go back further. Back before the recent two-game win streak. Back before the wins over NC State. Before Georgia Tech or Clemson or even Charleston.
Here are some relevant quotes from the 2009-10 Tar Heels over the last four months--one from each month.
Marcus Ginyard after the Valparaiso game, an 88-77 victory on Nov. 16, 2009: "Starting in warmups it felt like we really didn't have a sense of urgency to play, an excitement to be out there on the court or an intensity about us."
Ginyard after the Texas game, a 103-90 loss on Dec. 19, 2009: "Intensity has been an issue for us the entire year. I don't know what else to say about it."
Ed Davis after that same game: "They just wanted it more than us."
Larry Drew after the Virginia game, a 75-60 defeat on Jan. 31, 2010: "Enthusiasm is the biggest thing. The concentration and intensity level."
Davis after that same game: "It's a lack of intensity and attention to detail."
Roy Williams after the loss at Georgia Tech, a 68-51 defeat on Feb. 16, 2010: "We can't win against anybody with that kind of effort, intellectually and physically."
By now you may have detected a pattern.
So it was surprising and unsurprising all at the same time to arrive in the locker room following Saturday night's rout and find Drew saying this:
"It seems like we didn't come out with any kind of fire. If guys want it bad enough, they'll come out there and compete with some kind of heart."
He wasn't speaking alone. In fact, Williams had come into the locker room at halftime and expressed essentially that same message, saying that Duke's "want-to" was higher than Carolina's "want-to."
Stop for just a second and acknowledge that the Blue Devils played very well. They were remarkably efficient, scoring 27 points on 15 Tar Heel turnovers. Their three primary scorers scored and their role players role-played. Even if the Tar Heels had been so intense they were chewing the faux brass railings off the Cameron Indoor Stadium stands, they still might have lost the game.
But this is the Duke game. Senior night. The chance for five wins in a row in Durham. It doesn't seem realistic to hear a player say, "We didn't have any fire," for the Duke game. So the question becomes this: How is it possible to have a lack of fire for a game like this?
Drew's answer: "I don't know what to tell you."
In the other corner of the locker room, Ginyard was adding to the conversation.
"Their want-to and will to win the game was way over ours," he said.
It's that "way over" that's the key part of the quote, because it felt so true. Duke didn't just have a little edge--in anything. They weren't a little more intense. They were way more intense. You could almost feel the entire building swelling with the same kind of cathartic release Tar Heel fans felt with the win at the Smith Center in 2005.
Carolina couldn't match that kind of emotion, and they didn't come close.
"You would think that would be impossible," Ginyard said.
Not really, not if you looked at the history of the past few months. There are some physical problems with the 2010 Tar Heels, yes. There are not enough shot-makers and too many injuries.
The most vexing problem, though, is one that was brought up in the very first week of the season. There are still times, even now--ostensibly the most important part of the season--when there's no predicting what type of emotion the Tar Heels will bring at any given moment.
"It's a way worse problem than anything physical," Ginyard said. "It's one of the worst feelings in the world. You want to know what to do or what to say to help guys understand and you're helpless. It's a terrible feeling. No question about it. It takes your mind for a spin every day."
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.
