UNC vs Texas: L (Texas 103-90)

Lawrence Jordan: Texas out-coached and out-played the overwhelmed Tar Heels in Dallas this weekend. It was as ugly as it was frustrating. All of the Tar Heels' weaknesses and flaws were on display against a talent Texas team well deserving on the win and its top 3 ranking.

What are the weaknesses? Let's take a look:

• Coaching: "Coaching?" you may ask. Yes. Against top ranked teams this year (all losses) there is a 5 to 6 minute span in the first half where the Heels lose their composure and bleed points. UT ended the half on a 23-7 run that ultimately put the game away. If you add this run with the UK (22-2) and Syracuse (19-2) it adds up to a 64-11(!) deficit. Call a time out and coach, Roy! This team is not experienced enough to manage these runs and its costing games.
• Toughness: Hansbrough's grittiness inside is lacking. Thompson's line of 8 points on 3-12 shooting and 7 rebounds will not suffice against top tier teams. The Heels were out-rebounded by 20, but also outshot at the FT line by 15 attempts. If the philosophy is to pound the ball inside - hit the lay-ups or get to the FT line.
• Unreliable guard play: Despite Roy allowing his team to fall into another big hole, the Heels had the lead down to 4 points after making some defensive stops with a little over 6 minutes left to play. The resulting offensive play was Larry Drew firing a fall-away three point air ball with lots of time on the shot clock that was converted to a three pointer on the other end. Not a smart shot. Ginyard and Drew combined for 9 turnovers.
• Unproductive freshman: With the exception of Strickland (12 points, 3 assists) the other freshman combined for 8 points and 5 rebounds in 37 minutes. What was Henson doing during his 12 minutes?
• Free throw shooting: Really? 11 of 19 on Saturday. The Heels are .645 for the season - giving away points and possessions at every turn.
  

I was amazed most by the rebounding differential. During the game I was complaining about the amount of airballs their team shot that happened to fall into their big men's hands. In retrospect, why did their players have such good position on our talented front line?

This was one of the more frustrating game to watch, because the game was a clumination of all the problems the Tar Heels have had all season. Roy stubborn refusal to change his coaching style to adapt to his team's needs is astounding. Some talented opponents will not allow you to run over them, and it's at these times when Roy needs to make game adjustments before it's too late.

Roy is the Tar Heels HOF coach and there is nobody better for the position, but if Roy is going to ask his teams to constantly improve over the season he should also ask the same of himself and his system. So far this season, equally talented teams and coaches have the upper hand.

ACC Conference Predictions: UNC (11-5)

Lawrence Jordan: The media picked the Tar Heels to finish atop the ACC once again this year due to their incoming freshmen class and returning big men. I hate to anger my Tar Heel brethren, but I think this is too lofty a prediction.

Everyone knows the losses, due to graduation and NBA entry, the Heels faced over the offseason. For the Heels to succeed they need:

1. Upperclassmen leadership: Ed Davis and Deon Thompson are leading the way in the front court, and Marcus Ginyard's shooting percentage has increased from the outside (as has his arch). Davis or Thompson needs to step up and be the "go to" scorer in crunch time. I support Davis...
2. Freshman production: Not one freshman is among the top six scorers on the team. TOs are up. Lost defensive match-ups are up. Their playing time is down. Henson is the biggest disappointment so far, as he appears to be struggling at learning his new position.
3. Solid guard play: Larry Drew currently leads the ACC in assists per game, but he is also averaging more than 3 TOs per game. The guards need to protect the ball and hit the open perimeter shot. Both areas need improvement.
4. Hit open shots: The team will have to take points that are given to them: open outside shots and FTs. Both areas have been a struggle this season.

The talent on this years Tar Heel team is blatantly obvious, but so is the lack of experience. The imbalance of talent, heavily favoring the front court, will be abused by other ACC team. UNC will finish in the top 3 in the ACC, but significant improvement is needed to contend for the title.

Schedule Notes:

• No Clemson in Chapel Hill this year - yearly unbeaten steak automatically extended. Feels kind of dirty since they field a good team.
• No FSU game in Tallahassee - I'm going to miss seeing brews served at college game on television.
• UNC's 4 game win streak in Durham falls.

Games:
VT: W
@ CLEM: L
GT: W
WAKE: W
@ NCST: W
UVA: W
@ VT: L
@ MD: L
DUKE: W
NCST: W
@ GT: L
@ BC: W
FSU: W
@ WAKE: W
MIA: W
@ DUKE: L

ACC Conference Predictions: NC State (7-9)

Philip Thompson: I realize that this seems like a very optimistic number of wins, but for some odd reason I feel like the Pack has a chance to reach this lofty total. I would like to say this team could easily finish the season with a (3-13) conference record.

The reason for the new found confidence is that this team seems to play much better together and it putting forth much better effort than the last few seasons. Coach Lowe’s team has already won a few games this season that no doubt would have been losses in the past.

For this season to continue to be a success, State must keep Tracy Smith out of foul trouble and keep the tempo of games at a comfortable pace. If both of these happen, then the Wolfpack should be competitive in most games.

@ Wake Forest: L
Virginia: W
@ Florida St: L
Clemson: L
Duke: L
@ Maryland L
UNC L
@ Virginia: W
@ Georgia Tech: L
Virginia Tech: W
@ UNC: L
Maryland: W
Wake Forest: W
@ Miami: W
@ Virginia Tech: L
Boston College: W

A Teaching Moment

Philip Thompson: Butch Davis this week suspended troubled player Donte Moss for the Tarheels bowl game later this month in Charlotte. In making a statement on the suspension, Davis could not help throwing a verbal dagger at NC State. After the game, Moss slapped a Wolfpack player in the back of the head who Davis claimed was ‘kind of taunting him and in his face.’

I honestly question if this is the real reason for the suspension. If it was, then why did it take almost three weeks for the penalty to occur? Remember, this is the same kid who coaches had issues with at the Shrine Bowl last season and also the same kid who punched out a teammate in a dorm room earlier this year. Butch calls the latest suspension a teaching moment. Well, what the hell did he do after the assault this summer?

And furthermore, why drag NC State into this? Video footage shows Moss going out of his way (towards the wrong locker room), the slapping Sterling Lucas in the back of the head and start walking away fast.

Butch, take care of your own kids, leave NC State out of this, and try to figure out how to actually beat the Wolfpack next season.

Weekend in Review: (12/11-12/13)

Philip Thompson: (Lawrence Jordan)

1. College Basketball Drops the Ball - For the 1st time since Labor Day there was no college football on television. Why was there not a single decent hoops game all weekend? (Exams generally counter any good games this time of year.)
2. Roy Head Getting a little too Big? How about Roy removing someone from the stands the other night for yelling at a Tarheel to miss a free throw? I am sure UNC student never do this to opposing fans. (Most over-dramatized event this weekend. ABCers jumping on Roy. UNC fans being over defensive. Some drunk guy gets kicked out of the game. Big deal. Why are there 100,000 "witnesses" who heard everything this guy said (or didn't say)? Section only holds so many people.)
3. It's December – How bad are the Cowboys come December? Wade Phillips looked clueless once again standing on the sidelines yesterday. San Diego looks to be in a good position right now. (No Romo girlfriend to blame it on? Curious...)
4. Matt Moore is not the answer - Moore is a good #2 option to have in this league. However I think the Panthers would be crazy to make him the starting QB for next season. (Wholesales changes are needed with the Panthers, starting with coaching staff/front office. The team is stale...)
5. Ingram for Heisman - After so much hoopla before the season about the ‘Big 3’ (McCoy, Tebow, Bradford), it seem almost anticlimactic when the award was given to a running no one had head of before the season started. (Tebow sheds another tear...)
6. Too much Tiger - Remember when everyone said Tiger hated Phil for acting a different way when the cameras were not on him? Just a little hypocritical there Tiger? (Since when did US Weekly & The National Enquirer start editing mainstream journalism? Enough of the hyperbole. Woods killed the marketable side of his career. The media killed this story by overcovering it..."BOOO!" all the way around.)

BASKETBALL: UNC vs UK (UK 68-66)

Lawrence Jordan: The Tar Heels' trip up to Lexington, KY did not have the desired result of the Carolina Faithful, but it did live up to its billing as a showcase game between two premier programs.

After jumping to a 9-2 lead early in the game and putting the UK faithful on edge, the Tar Heels surrendered a 28-2 run to the explosive cats. Carolina was just not able to surmount such a sizable lead by the end of regulation and lost by 2 points.

Which begs the question, what could the Heels have done to quell the Wildcats offensive explosion? Where could they have plugged the dam? The answer is simple and yet complicated. Roy needed to call a timeout.

This is not a new revelation. Roy's stubborn refusal to call first half TO's have haunted his teams for years. His preference to let his teams play through controversy is recorded, stamped, and dated. Roy even confronts the topic in his new book, "Hard Work," when he basically states that his players know what to do to stop these runs and it's up to them to apply what he's taught them in practice (paraphrasing).

Well, I don't completely buy that. When Roy won his first game as a head coach at Kansas, he totaled more wins that I will have in my college coaching career. He can also shine his two rings and his HOF plaque until his heart is content. BUT I can also disagree as an alumnus and a fan of the team.

I have seen the terrified look of our players after back to back turnovers or surrendering back to back 3 pointers. I have felt to excitement switch from exhilaration to fear in the Dean Dome, or, like in Lexington, watched as the opposing team becomes an unstopped juggernaut while Roy sits idly by.


There are several arguments I've heard from the UNC faithful:

• Roy is playing and coaching for the entire season versus just trying to win this one game. (If that is so, please explain the 40-12 lead Kansas planted on the Heels at the Final Four a few years back. There were no other games after this...)
• Roy is trying to give his young players experience and confidence by proving to them they can come back. (Wouldn't beating a Top 5 team on the road on National Television do the same thing? Wouldn't calling a TO, especially on the road, allow him to slow the momentum of the opponent and make any necessary defensive/offensive changes?)
• The television TOs give Roy a chance to settle his team down, and give him the opportunity to use the TOs at the end of the half/game. (Teams have 5 TOs a game. The team loses a TO at halftime if none are used in the first half. Why not use a TO to stop the momentum of a big run? Why put your team so far behind you need all the TOs at the end to manage the clock while attempting a comeback?)

My post will never change Roy's mind. My post might infuriate some of my Tar Heel brethren who do not take kindly to questioning the Carolina Head Coaches. My post will allow people to discuss a hot topic amongst the Tar Heel fans.

BD vs TOB (3 Years In)

Mike Sturdivant:

• Crap bowl appearances - Butch 2, TOB 1 (both so far were losses to average Big East teams)
• Winning ACC records. Butch 0; TOB 0 (NCSU and UNC have combined for 2 winning league records over the last 11 years, and both were at 5-3, don't tell anyone outside the ONH).
• Overall records. Butch 20-17; TOB 16-21.
• Head to head wins. Butch 0; TOB 3.

External factors:

• Butch, essentially has one more recruiting class in of his own, as he was hired with three weeks left in Bunting's final season. TOB was not hired until a few weeks after the Chest's last season, and at the start of a recruiting dead period, and TOB couldn't start recruiting until less than a month before signing day and primarily was only able to hold on to some members of the Chest's final lame duck class.
• TOB's first three squads have had the most incredible run of injuries in the recorded history of mankind, each year unthinkably getting even more severe, finishing up the third year with 35% of the scholarship roster (and one offensive coordintor) on the shelf. You take away 35% of Butch's last two teams, and they aren't winning 8 games. Until this is changes, NC State has no chance to win.

What does this mean:

• Carolina fans will say - "we've won 4 more overall games and have been to two bowl games in Charlotte, and you've been to one in Birmingham, we are dominant."
• State fans will say - "we've beaten your arse 3 out of 3 times, we are dominant."
• Especially considering the injuries and recent recruiting class who are yet to make an impact, 3 years later, I'll take TOB in this toss us every time. I assume Lawrence Jordan will disagree.
• We get a few more years to figure this out, but the entire ONH will take TOB v. Butch, over Chuck v. Bunting.

Observations from State-Carolina (a week later)

Mike Sturdivant:

• Despite the records, respective win loss streaks, and injury reports, this was finally a game where the matchups went in the Pack's favor. Overshadowed by its pourous defense, the Wolfpack's offense is second to none in the ACC. In the Tar Heels offense, the gradually improving Pack defense finally found a group that it could potentially slow down.
• The Heels came into the game with an impressive 8-3 record, but the last two of those wins were the result of multiple defensive touchdowns. While multiple defensive touchdowns is an indication of a strong defense, it is not a reliable source for scoring long term - it can't last forever, and it didn't.
• The difference in the game was Tom O'Brien. With long time OC Dana Bible in the hospital, TOB took on the play calling duties for the first time since being the OC at Virginia 13 years ago. I'm not sure who make the defensive calls for the Heels, but TOB made him look silly. STOP BLITZING. The heels brought constant pressure throughout the game, and although this resulted in a number of tackles for loss in the run game, it also left Carolina's corners exposed by Owen Spencer and Jarvis Williams in man coverage. The Heels cover guys are talented players, but not talented enough to stay with Spender and Williams, especially when the Pack o-line did a decent job of limiting the rush and giving Wilson a chance to hit his guys. This started early in the game, and the Carolina defensive staff never made an adjustment. As Joe Susan once yelled across the field - GIVE YOUR KIDS A CHANCE!
• Kudos to the young and injury decimated Pack defense for its second half play. Playing with only 35% of its scholarship players, and most of these injuries on D, the Pack still got beat deep in the zone three times in the first half. But losing starting LB D. Maddox and another freshman corner during the game (to be replaced by another walkon), the Pack held the Heels to 3 second half points for the win.

BASKETBALL: UNC vs MSU (UNC 89-82)

Lawrence Jordan: The Spartans of Michigan State marched into Chapel Hill last night with a top ten ranking and revenge on their minds after losing twice to the Tar Heels last season, but were turned away with yet another loss - their 5th straight against the Tar Heels.

At the end of the game, it was the Tar Heel upperclassmen who padded the stat book, but for extended periods in the first half the vaunted freshmen class was extremely productive.

As Digger Phelps pointed out many times at halftime, the freshmen were responsible for 31 of the 36 points posted at one point in the game. The speed and flow of the offense seemed to click and their productivity gave us a glimpse of their potential. It was exciting to watch.

At other points in the game, the freshmen's errant passes, forced shots, and turnovers were too many, too often, and too costly.

Overall it was a great win for the Heels. Now the Heels must travel to UK on Saturday to face the rejuvenated Wildcats under Calapari and his stellar recruits. They'll need all hands on deck the entire game this weekend, but this game provided some film where they can study what they did right.

Game Notes:

• While the 3pt shooting was much improved (5-10), the free throw percentage was way too low. Giving away points at the line is unacceptable.
• Tyler Zeller needs to let the game come to him. He took some shots that appeared out of control and missed badly.
• Dexter Strickland! If he can play with this tenacity consistently, he could play a huge roll for the Heels this year.
• Will Graves tip-outs on the offensive glass at the end of the had a large impact on the end of the game. No, stat for that production, but that is solid basketball.
• Henson's length was frustrating the MSU guards all night...and it was fun to watch.

Tar Heel Thoughts from the Game: NCSU 28-27

Lawrence Jordan: I was in Raleigh this weekend enjoying a few beverages on the town Saturday night. As a Raleigh native, I ran into several of my friends from the Red side of The ONH. After congratulating them on the win, they couldn't help but lob a few good-natured jabs my way:

• "Well at least this closes out a bad season on a positive note."
• "Butch just can't get it done versus Tom O'Brien."
• "All that talent and you still can't beat us..."

The bar also erupted into several rounds of "N-C-State...NCSTATE! N-C-State...NCSTATE!"

At first I was jealous. I wanted to be the one on the victorious side of the rivalry...I still do. But then I realized something...I had been in their situation before. I had been stuck in bad football seasons and the only thing I had to celebrate at the end of the year was a victory over the Wolfpack; the years were 1998-2000.

Coach Carl Torbush was leading the mediocre Tar Heel football program to an overall record of 17-18, 1 Bowl Victory, and a 2-1 record versus the rival Wolpack football program.

Compare that to the past three years, 2007-2009, when Coach Tom O'Brien lead the Wolfpack football program to an overall record of 16-21, 1 Bowl appearance, and a 3-0 record against the rival Tar Heel program.

Now while I would love a victory over my peers' Alma Mater NCSU, I realized that I would not want to change places with them after all. I would not want to pass on Bowl Appearances, winning records, and the cusp of a national ranking.

Carl Torbush was fired after his third season with more wins and more Bowl appearances than Tom O'Brien has currently produced in Raleigh. Herb Sendek offered them post season appearances but no victories over their rivals, and they unceremoniously let another school hire him away. How does the flip side of the coin look to the 'Pack? How long will the Wolfpack fan-base accept losing records from their head coach and settle for wins against the Heels?

Game Notes:

• Amassing almost 100 yards in penalties in the first half is unacceptable. On one drive alone the Heels kept the Pack driving with 2 pass interference calls and a personal foul totaling 45 yards. Where is the discipline?
• The Heels' offense is not good enough to let scoring opportunities pass. Johnny White's goal line fumble and Casey Barth's missed FG were extremely costly.
• Deflating the offense because of a lack of confidence also takes aggressiveness out of the defense. Butch needs to read Roy Williams' new book about staying aggressive until the opponent concedes. Playing to win is different than playing not to lose.

Wolfpack Thoughts from the Game: NCSU 28-27

Phillip Thompson: Well, well, well, Butch Davis. You now find yourself 0-3 versus NC State. What do you think about that? Not only did you lose, your players look like a bunch of classless fools on the field. I was a real big fan of Greg Little standing over an injured Wolfpack and taunting him. Real classy.

• Love that the team dedicated the game to Coach Dana Bible
• Why on earth did UNC quit throwing the ball deep? It was working.
• No doubt UNC has a lot of talent on defense, but they take a ton of chances and proved to be susceptible to the big play
• Tom O’Brien can rest a little better this offseason
• Even though his stats my not jump off the page, Toney Baker was huge for the Wolfpack, especially on the last drive that was used to run down the clock
• With rumors of Notre Dame calling is Butch due for another raise?
• NEW SLOGAN - - - 28-27