Dec. 31, 2007
By Turner Walston
Losing Bobby Frasor for the season hurt the Tar Heels, on the court and off. Roy Williams said his team will have to adjust to playing without Frasor, and quickly: ACC play starts next weekend. So it didn't help when the Tar Heels lost another point guard, albeit temporarily, when Quentin Thomas went down with a sprained ankle in practice Friday.
Williams scrambled for someone to stay the course when Ty Lawson needed a breather, and he turned to Marcus Ginyard. Of course he did. Ginyard is already entrenched as a starter averaging more than 26 minutes per game. On Sunday, he not only started at small forward - he was the backup point guard. "It's been a lot of fun for me, and it's just great learning the offense from another position," Ginyard said.
Ginyard said he recognized that he could play some point guard upon beginning his Carolina career. "Watching Coach Williams' guards at Kansas, and knowing that those three perimeter guards are very interchangeable positions, I knew that it was a possibility and I felt like I did a little bit to prepare for the opportunity," he said. And he made the most of the opportunity: In 26 minutes of action Sunday, Ginyard found ways to contribute all over the scorecard: He scored six points and added three rebounds, four assists and three steals.
But Williams is not about to hand over the reins entirely. Ty Lawson played all but eight minutes Sunday, with Williams using some creative substitution patterns. "I kept trying to take Ty out around the TV timeouts to give him a little extra rest, and it worked out fine," the coach said. He also installed a zone defense in practice, as he did in 2005 to similarly help Raymond Felton. Williams said sophomore Marc Campbell would have been behind Ginyard at the point guard position, if needed.
For his part, Ginyard is ready to try out yet another position. "Now, I'm just trying to get coach to put me in at the `5,' because that is the only position I haven't played."
Even with Frasor and Thomas unavailable, the Tar Heels played at their familiar breakneck pace. With the game tied at 37, the Tar Heels reeled off runs of 11 and 16 points, with a single Valpo basket in between. A 37-37 game became a 64-39 game in less than eight minutes.
Losing Frasor means that each Tar Heel will have to step up in his own way. This was the case Sunday. It was shooting guard Wayne Ellington who led the team with six assists, and Deon Thompson set a career-high with five blocks. "A lot of times what we do as a team out there, when we're playing our style of basketball is surprising to be able to put up numbers like we did tonight and to have runs like we did," Ginyard said after the game. "I think this team doesn't understand how good we could be at times. Right now we're just hoping to continue to progress toward a complete 40-minute game."
