Heels Fold Down the Stretch in College Park

Disheartening loss, to say the least, against Maryland yesterday in College Park.  The Heels cruised to a 16-point lead early in the second half, and still led by nine with two minutes left before a few bad plays and some good shooting by the Terps led to the third loss of the season.

The game was close early, but Carolina casually dominated the middle 30 minutes of the contest. Ty Lawson asserted himself in the second half and Carolina got scoring from all five starters. The casual play masked the fact that the Heels weren't shooting well.  Lawson only had 2 assists, mainly due to missed shots as both Green and Ellington were only 1 for 5 from three. Carolina dominated the offensive glass, which can also mask a bad shooting night if you are getting second and third shots.

The game seemed to turn with Green was whistled for his fourth foul.  Maybe Green had been playing great D against Vasquez, a guy you hate to lose to, or perhaps they missed his drives to the basket.  Either way, Carolina eased up a bit without Green on the floor.

But by far the most disheartening part of this loss is blowing a 9-point lead with two minutes left in a game Carolina was winning going away.  You'd expect a veteran team, a team that kept it's composure at Cameron, in Tallahassee and in Miami, to do the same against Maryland.  But some missed free throws, one bad decision by Lawson late (to dribble through a triple-team the final minutes), the call against Hansbrough (home teams often get that call) all led to blowing a lead and losing in overtime.

Then again, there is some consolation (though not much) in losing in overtime to a desperate team with their season on the line.  Carolina didn't catch any breaks down the stretch (Dean always said you need as much luck as talent to win) and Maryland made plays. So the Heels lost. 

There is no need to push the panic button. After all, Carolina lost in College Park in 2005 and that squad famously recovered.  And you can bet ole' Roy will use this loss to keep the Heels focused the rest of the way.

A few more random notes:

• Three hours after watching Carolina lose I watched 'Taking Chance' on HBO.  The movie about a Marine escorting a dead colleague from Iraq, and the effect it has on him and the citizens he meets on their journey from Delaware to Montana, was incredibly moving and elegiac.  Most of you know I'm not a fan of the armed forces, but I really felt sympathetic to all the characters in this movie.
• Back to more mundane matters; the ACC should get the most bids in the NCAA tournament this year.  That is especially true when it come to the Big 10. Not only did the ACC win the made for TV challenge against our friends in the Great Lake region (with Carolina and Duke humiliating Michigan State and Purdue in road wins) but any conference that features a game where a team wins with 38 points in 40 minutes (Illinois lost at home to Penn State, 38-33, on Wednesday) should be a one-bid league. In fact, that kind of game should cost scholarships or TV money as an affront on college basketball's good name.
• The Nats, despite signing Adam Dunn, are becoming the Big 10 of baseball. Both MLB and the Nationals continue to embarrass our national past time.  The lingering steroids era is well chronicled. But GM Jim Bowden, Jose Rijo and the Nats look either incompetent - at best - or completely corrupt in their signing of an allegedly 16-year old prospect. I don't know what's more shameful: dealing with a Dominican street agent who is a friend of Rijo's rather than the player's agent; or the fact that Rijo claims to have scouted Esmailyn González for two years before signing him.  So Rijo could not tell this kid was 14 when he first started scouting him?  He couldn't tell the difference between a 14 year old and an 18 year old? I hope it's a simple case of Rijo being a moron instead of a case of Rijo figuring out a way to get a friend a chunk of Gonzalez' signing bonus.
• Both Rijo and Bowden have got to go. Bowden is a hack.  Rijo does not appear much better.  And their relationship is shady. The Nats' Dominican facility is owned by Rijo, and two years ago Bowden and Rijo embarrassed the organization when it was revealed that Dominican prospects had to stay at a Rijo-owned hotel even though it was still not finished. No wonder the FBI has questioned both in connection with an investigation into shady dealings among Dominican street agents.
• FSU's win at Virginia Tech yesterday was huge.  It cements the Seminoles as an NCAA tournament team.  But it also tightened up the standings in the ACC. The top four teams get a bye in the first round of the ACC tournament so no one wants to come in fifth place; with their loss at Duke tonight the Deacons are in that slot.  
• But things are still fluid. Carolina and Clemson will finish with 13 and 10 wins, respectively, but spots 3 to 6 are up in the air.
• Duke (8-4) has games at Carolina, at Maryland, at Virginia Tech and home versus FSU.  One can easily see Duke losing three of those games and finishing 9-7.  
• Maryland (6-6) goes to NC State and Virginia and has Duke and Wake at home.  Three wins gets them to 9-7.  
• Wake (7-5) has home games against NC State and Clemson, who will be out for revenge after losing to the Deacs in Littlejohn, and play at Maryland and Virginia.  Going 2 and 2 gets Wake to 9-7.
• Florida State already has 8 wins, with home games against Clemson and Virginia Tech and road games at Duke and Boston College left.  FSU will win at least one game to get to 9 victories, with the BC game particularly huge in terms of ACC tournament seeding.  You can also see them finishing with three wins and 11 total victories. If they do that the Seminoles could finish second in the ACC!  
• At 7-6 BC has an outside chance to get to 10 wins. Besides the big game versus FSU, the Eagles play Georgia Tech and a resurgent NC State in Raleigh.  
• Virginia Tech is 6-6 with games remaining against the four best teams in the conference: home versus Duke and Carolina, on the road at Clemson and Florida State.  They could go 8 and 8 - it's hard to see them winning more than two of these games - but more likely 6 and 10.  
• Finally, Miami has a decent chance to get to 8-8 which might be enough when you consider how solid the ACC is this year.  The U is 5-8 with winnable games versus Georgia Tech, NC State, and Virginia, though the latter two are on the road. NC State in particular will be a tough out.
• Even at 5-7 State could make it to 8-8 or 9-7.  They've played well at home lately, and host BC and Maryland in big big games for all three teams, but travel to Miami and Wake so 7-9 seems more likely.
• No matter how you look at it, it will be quite a finish.

GO HEELS!

Character Win Over The U

An important, gut-check, character-building, fill-in-any-other-cliche-here win for the Heels last night in Coral Gables.   Carolina endured a sub-par offensive night - and a great shooting display by Jack McClinton - to net an impressive 69-65 post-Duke road win over Miami.

Carolina won despite not reacting very well to Miami's zone.  Instead of being patient and feeding the post the Heels shot way too many jumpers.  The good news of course is that Carolina's starting back court had a great shooting game, with Ty Lawson once again leading the way.

As he did in Cameron, Lawson was dominant in the second half, especially down the stretch in hitting 3 big three-pointers. Wayne Ellington also had an excellent night with his first career double-double.   His 15 points/10 rebounds was paired with 5 assists and only one turnover.   

On a night when little went right offensively, and the Heels were held to a season-low 69 points, the Carolina made enough plays and Lawson made enough shots to win a tough road game.

That's the good news for the Tar Heel back court.  The bad news is they failed to get Hansbrough enough touches.  Some of that was mitigated by effective rebounding, led by Ed Davis' eleven off the bench.  For the five minutes before halftime Davis helped carry the Heels, and after half time Deon Thompson had a nice run as the Heels built up a 14-point lead.

Even after Miami made their late run to cut the lead to one you just had a feeling Carolina was going to win this game; they had simply been too tough and resilient to lose.  Specifically, those traits were on display on four key plays:

• Danny Green's huge block on McClinton on what would have been a lay-up to give Miami the lead; Green had what could be generously called a so-so game, but on that play he showed why some people say "Danny Green is God!"
• Bobby Frasor's late game defense on McClinton; with about a minute left Frasor forced McClinton to take a desperation three that barely drew iron. Frasor also had a nice drive for a basket late.   Frasor's had back to back good games, and along with Davis and Larry Drew give Carolina a very reliable 8-player rotation.
• Hansbrough drawing a charge with 44 seconds left.  As he did against Duke Hansbrough influenced a game with his defense and quick feet.

But the night belonged to Lawson, who made the fourth and biggest play of the night against he Hurricanes.  His three with 11 seconds left sealed the win.  He was remarkably open down the stretch, which I guess reflects the concern and attention Miami had to pay to Hansbrough.

It also means the Heels will be tough to beat the rest of the season.  The need to clog the lane against Carolina is going to mean lots of open looks for Green, Ellington, and Lawson.  Green and Lawson are shooting better than 45 percent from behind the three-point line, and Ellington has shot just as well in his last 8 games (27 for 59).  And in their last two games in particular, the Heels have shown the ability to play lock-down defense, at least at key times of the game.

Winning tough games means a lot, especially when you win them with the kind of big plays the Heels made last night.

Few Random Notes:

• How good is Jack McClinton?  He made a number of tough shots on his way to 35 points last night. Remarkably, McClinton has scored more than 30 points against Carolina, Duke and Wake; a pretty good resume. His effectiveness makes you really appreciate the couple of times Carolina was able to stop him.
  
• After the Duke game, Caulton Tudor at the N&O wrote that Lawson is the odds on favorite to win Player of the Year honors in the ACC; hard to argue against that after his play AT Duke and AT Miami.
• The annual Duke swoon seems to be on.  BC is a good team and was at home, but Duke controlled that game for 36 minutes. Once again their back court combo of Paulus and Smith looked terrible, and Scheyer left Tyrese Rice of all people wide open late. You don't go far in the tournament without good guard play, and Duke is simply not getting that this season.
• Clemson has Wake Forest disease, losing two in a row after dismantling Duke at Littlejohn; first to Florida State at home and then inexplicably at Virginia yesterday. 

Clemson's two-game swoon makes Carolina's win at Miami look even better.  As is often the case in college basketball, teams of 19-year-olds suffer emotional let downs after big wins (see BC losing at home to Harvard after beating previously undefeated Carolina; Wake losing at Georgia Tech after taking down number one Duke; etc.).  Carolina could have been ripe for the picking after mauling Duke at Cameron.  Instead, they endured and tenaciously made big plays on defense and offense to win a road game.   

GO HEELS!

 

Maryland and ACC Basketball

The excellent and even-handed three-part series on the current state of Maryland basketball concluded today in the Washington Post.

It mainly focused on the way Gary Williams recruits with particular focus on Rudy Gay, and other local recruits who got away, and the AAU circuit.  The series concludes by theorizing that Maryland is so desperate to get back to the NCAA tournament that the Terps are willing to relax their usual high standards to lure talented players with considerable baggage to College Park.  

The series is generally sympathetic to Williams and touts his ethical recruiting (while leaving out his spotty graduation record). It's very well done and worth reading for any basketball fan.

I don't have anything to add really, other than it's odd to see Williams and the Maryland program in the doldrums. 

Ever since Phil Ford chose Carolina over Maryland the Tar Heels have been the gold standard in the ACC and the nation. Granted, the Doherty years were a major blow to the program's luster, but even with those three years in the mix Carolina is still the most consistently successful college basketball program in the country.

One thing to respect about Krzyzewski is that he is the only coach in the ACC to match Carolina's success.  He has hung with - and during the Guthridge/Doherty years surpassed - the Heels for 30 years.

Others have come and gone, and had momentary success, but no one else has ever hung with Carolina.  Very successful coaches like Bobby Cremins, Terry Holland, Jim Valvano, RIck Barnes, Dave Odom - even Pat Kennedy - eventually gave up trying to match Carolina and got out.  It's easy to imagine each of those coaches coming home one night after losing in the elite eight or the finals of the ACC tournament and proclaiming "I can't take it anymore; I've got to get out."  The stress of competing year in and year out with Carolina - and then against both the Heels and Duke - has driven many a coach to lesser jobs at South Carolina (twice actually, to Cremins and Odom), East Carolina (Terry Holland), DePaul? (Pat Kennedy), Texas (Barnes), etc.

And that brings me to Maryland. The exception to that group should be Gary Williams. Maryland should annually be one of the ACC's elite teams.  Sometimes they are, sometimes they aren't.  But you would assume a coach so accomplished and comfortably ensconced at his alma mater, nestled in one of America's true high school hoops hotbeds, would be perennially competing for ACC and national championships.   

The series in The Post explains why that hasn't happened, but it still does not make sense that instead of competing for championships someone like Gary Williams is defensively arguing his case for keeping his job.

Good Nats News

Finally some good news from the Nats as they signed slugger Adam Dunn this week. Despite amassing tons of strikeouts this guy is a primo slugger, averaging more than 40 home runs for the last 5 years.  He's an old fashioned power hitter who is naturally strong, not chemically enhanced.  And despite all the strikeouts Dunn had a nice .381 on-base percentage last year.

The Nats desperately needed a power hitter; their leaders in homers last year were Lastings Milledge and Ryan Zimmerman (in only 106 games) with all of 14 dingers so Dunn is a major upgrade.  Dunn is also reported to be a great club house guy.

Besides bringing 60+ homers to Washington the addition of Dunn and Josh Willingham, who came to DC in an earlier trade with Florida, gives the Nats a credible line up.  Assuming Dunn is shifted to first base the Nats could field the following:

2B: Willie Harris

SS: Christian Guzman

CF: Milledge

1B: Dunn

3B: Zimmerman

LF: Willingham

RF: Elijah Dukes

C: Jesus Flores

Not exactly the 2008 Phillies, but more than legit. And the Nats even have some tradable guys like Nick Johnson and Ronnie Belliard that could, maybe, be turned into some pitching help.

As it always is with baseball, pitching will be key.  The Post has a good overview of the potential rotation in today's paper.  The good news is the Nats have a number of good-to-decent young arms led by number one starter John Lannan; and the pitching can't be as bad as it was last year when retread Odalis Perez was the number one.  The bad news is historic underachiever and former Oriole Daniel Cabrera is penciled in as the number 3 starter, and the Nats do not have a closer other than Joel Hanrahan on their roster. 

But hey, spring training is starting and last time I checked the Nats were tied for first place in the 2009 National League East.

A Few Random Notes

• Heels are at Miami on Sunday night.  This will be a tough game; the U hung with the Heels for 15 minutes in Chapel Hill a month ago, and Carolina could be a little flat after the thrashing they dished out in Cameron.  But I find it hard to believe that Miami can stop Lawson, Hansbrough, Ellington and Green at the same time.  Plus, Deon Thompson and now Frasor has his groove back.  It will be close, but the Heels will pull it out.
• A number of big and intriguing games in the ACC this weekend, including an ascending Florida State at a descending Wake Forest, Virginia Tech at Maryland in a difficult must-win game for the Terps, and a game featuring teams who could use a confidence and resume-building win, respectively, with Duke at Boston College.  I think I'm going to set the TiVO for all three.
• It's NBA all star weekend, and though I'm a big NBA fan I have no interest in any of the festivities. I used to love the dunk contest and even the game, but now it's just a clownish hype-fest.  Give me the ACC any day.

GO HEELS!

Thorough Dismantling

What a thoroughly satisfying - and just plain thorough - dismantling of the right-wing boobs from Durham tonight. Led by Ty Lawson, Carolina did what they wanted to in the second half on their way to a 101-87 thrashing of the Blue Devils.

The win means Tyler Hansbrough, Danny Green and Bobby Frasor end their careers undefeated at Cameron. Duke's class of 2009 spent $160,000 for a second-rate education and never got to see Duke beat Carolina. That's what you get when your alumni number Richard Nixon, Ken Starr, Elizabeth Dole, Henry Hyde and some other right-wing boobs I probably missed.

It also means that Krzyzewski is now 32-37 lifetime against Carolina (with a lifetime losing record IN CAMERON against Dean, I might add).

Carolina got contributions from everyone. Thompson was aggressive early in scoring 10 points in Singler's grill and Frasor, who had missed his previous 12 three pointers, buried three 3s to give Carolina an early lead. I had a feeling Frasor would have a good game, a la 2006, and he did.

Late in the first half Duke got rolling and Carolina got sloppy and lost it's aggressiveness. The combo led to a Duke surge and an 8 point half-time lead. It could have been much much worse, but Danny Green hit a huge, nerve-calming three to keep Carolina's head above water.

I imagine folks noticed that instead of panicking during Duke's run Roy 1) did NOT call a time out, and 2) actually went to his bench to protect Hansbrough, who had two fouls, and give Lawson a blow. I liked the calm way the team reacted to that run. Pure Carolina; we'll take your best shot, but we are going to beat you in the second half.

And man, did they EVER beat down Duke in the final 20 minutes. I bet Roy reminded Lawson in the locker room that he was unstoppable against Duke's very weak back court. And he was, scoring 21 second-half points, mostly on lay ups as he repeatedly blew by any Duke defender assigned to 'guard' him. Lawson was completely dominant.

But it was a team effort. The second half swamping was methodical, pure, simple and total. There were a few big plays - Hansbrough's three to boost the lead back to 12 with the shot clock winding down, the steals by Green and Ellington early in the second half - but it was mainly Carolina playing smart Carolina basketball. They moved the ball, got the ball down low, got great looks, and shot more than 60 percent in the second half. Almost all of that was due to Lawson's total game.

Carolina scored at will in dropping 101 points IN CAMERON. Duke's vaunted defense had held teams to an average of 61 points a game. The Heels scored 57 in the second half!

The good-hearted liberals from Chapel Hill played great defense in the second half. They played the passing lanes, denied the ball, and kept guys like Henderson in check.

Frasor was the final piece of the puzzle. His early threes were big, but he played 27 minutes and completely dominated Henderson on defense.

Simply a great great win. As I blogged after the win at N.C. State, it is great to beat Duke, even better at Cameron in front of their spoiled capitalist-pig fans, better still to dominate them so totally. But even better than all that, it's just great to watch Carolina play Carolina basketball - running, moving the ball efficiently and moving without the ball, playing smart, staying calm, storming back, winning a big game.

The Heels were much better than Duke, and lead the lifetime series 130-97. And that gap will get wider as long as Roy is on the bench. This is Carolina's sixth win in the eight games against the Devils.

Tonight was just a great Carolina win, made sweater by the opponent and the venue.

A Few More Thoughts

• Duke showed their true, bitch-ass colors more than a few times tonight. And one instance, Singler's stupid and petulant elbow to Hansbrough's jaw, gave Carolina two free throws and some momentum early in the second half. A stupid and typical Duke play.
• But Duke's biggest scalawag is Gerald Henderson. Frasor ate him up in the second half, taking him completely out of his game. How did Henderson react? By elevating his game? No, but with two cheap shots to Hansbrough late in the game. At least he didn't elbow him in the face, so I guess that's progress.
  
• Hansbrough was not as dominant as Lawson, but he had a magnificent second half. He drew a charge on the perimeter, played great defense when Carolina was switching on screens, hit that big three, got some big boards - Hansbrough played smart Carolina basketball. Hansbrough hit a similar big three against Duke in 2006 (but I imagine you knew that already).
• Duke's point guards are terrible. I wouldn't be surprised if Duke limps along the rest of the season and finishes with a whimper. Book them to lose in the second round of the NCAA tournament.

Go Heels!

Pre-Duke; Post A-Rod

Not much to say about Carolina's trip to Durham tomorrow night; ESPN has said enough.  I'm glad that we will have the local, Raycom feed on Wednesday.

I like our chances for an historic win. Lawson and Ellington will be key; not only are they playing great basketball of late but they are matched up with Duke's relatively weak back court.  If they play as they have the last few weeks Lawson and Ellington should dominate.  Duke is weak down low, so expect Hansbrough to have a good game, but the Blue Devils are also weak at the point. Lawson has a 4-1 assist-to-turnover compared to a 1-1 ratio by Nolan Smith.  Paulus started against Miami on Saturday but continues to make bad decisions.  Like I said, with our back court vs. their back court, and Hansbrough versus their donut hole in the middle, I like our chances.

A win would be Carolina's fourth in a row in Cameron, and would make Hansbrough, Danny Green and Bobby Frasor undefeated for their careers in Durham.  It would also be Carolina's sixth win in the last eight games vs. Duke, cementing Roy as the dominant ACC coach, and would keep building on Krzyzewski's losing record against the Heels.  But best of all it would mean that the entire Duke University class of future capitalist pig-dogs and Wall Street raiders of 2009 will graduate without seeing a Blue Devil win at home over Carolina. 

A Rod

I've never been a big fan of Alex Rodriguez, actually I did like him when he was in Seattle.  And I don't get any joy from his embarrassment and stupidity. Ever since he signed that ridiculous contract for $252 million he's been a self-immolating semi-tragic figure.  He's also been a well-documented loser.

For me the real sadness is for baseball.  A-Rod was supposed to be the clean superstar, the one who would eventually break Barry Bonds' record the right - and clean - way. I've more than once from various commentators in the wake of the Maguire and Bonds steroid abuses that the only players whose numbers you should trust are Griffey Jr., Vlad Guerrero and A-Rod.  Not any more.

That is the real sadness; so many of baseball's biggest stars are tainted as is the entire sport.  If you make the list of the 20 biggest baseball stars of the last twenty years that list would probably look like this: Maddux, Pedro Martinez, Randy Johnson, Clemens, Piazza, Ivan Rodriguez, Maguire, Bagwell, Pujols, Cal Ripken, Derek Jeter, A-Rod, Chipper, Griffey, Guerrero, Bonds, Sosa, Manny Ramirez, Gwynn,  Mariano Rivera.  Twenty-five percent of that list is tainted, as is arguably the best pitcher, the best out fielder, and the best infielder.

The only good news is that steroids is finally in the rear view mirror, but baseball should be ashamed of itself for looking the other way for so long.   A-Rod is one of 104 players with tainted samples.   I'd release the entire list so baseball can move on and we can finally but a coda on the steroids era. 

Punk Rock Americana

A brief respite from Carolina basketball to blog a bit about two great American - and punk rock - institutions: Habitat for Humanity and Alcoholics Anonymous.

As many probably heard, Millard Fuller, the founder of Habitat for Humanity, died this week. Since it was founded in 1976, an auspicious year for America and punk rock, H4H has housed more than 1 and half million people in 3,000 locations (including Tallahassee, Florida where I worked on two houses in the late 80s) around the world.  Families living in Habitat homes do not pay interest on their mortgages and the homes are built by volunteers with donated materials.

Fuller, like his most high-profile supporter Jimmy Carter, was an evangelical Christian.  Unlike most of that ilk, he was not a hypocrite and put his beliefs into action . . .  rather than spend his time say, bashing gay people.  

But what he really was was a punk.   What could be more punk rock, more do it yourself, than building someone a house who doesn't have one?  He didn't wait for corporations or government to solve the problem of low income housing (though to be fair the U.S. government has probably built more low-income housing than any entity on earth), he did it himself.  He didn't sit around lamenting the problem; he identified it and tried to solve it.

DItto Alcoholics Anonymous.   A complete DIY operation - identify problem, identify solution - run by volunteers reaching out and helping their peers.  And it works!

In addition to being punk rock operations, H4H and AA are excellent examples of American participatory democracy. Citizens organizing themselves to make their society and country better on their own.  One of the things that makes American better than Europe (take your pick actually: baseball, Bill of Rights, better pizza, rock and jazz vs. opera and classical, etc.) is that we don't expect the state to fix everything. Here, democracy means more than voting. It means civic institutions and being involved in your community, and that's what these two organizations do (punk rock style).

Random Thoughts

• Good article on Bobby Frasor in today's N&O. With Graves out for the rest of the season I hope we'll soon see the 2006 Frasor reemerge for the Heels.  Also worth checking out the N&O's midseason report on ACC basketball.
• You heard it here first: watch Maine moderate Senator Susan Collins.  She knows the Dems don't get to 60 filibuster-proof votes without her and fellow Maine Republican - and Greek-American - Olympia Snowe.  Collins just got reelected and is already asserting herself as a key power broker. Witness her deal making on the economic stimulus bill last night.  Expect more of that to come.
• I was in Whole Foods last night; I'm always struck by how bad the music is in there.  It's usually a mix of boomer-dreck: Fleetwood Mac, Bob Seger, "Do You Like Pina Coladas . . ." . etc.  Shouldn't we hear more Pete Seeger than Bob Seeger at a store like that?  Anyway, last night they played "Lie to Me" by Chris Isaak.  I came home and have been listening to his second (self titled - 1987!) and third (Heart Shaped World) records ever since.  Both still sound great and unique twenty years later.  
• Some Hellenic hoops news.  Greece replaced coach Panagiotis Yannakis with Lithuanian and former Olympiacos coach Jonas Kazlauskas.   Coincidentally, Yannakis is the current coach of Olympiacos. Kazlauskas recently coach his national squad at the Olympics.  Yannakis is the Dean Smith of Greek hoops. He won a European championship as a player with Greece in 1987, defeating the USSR in the title game, and coached Greece to the 2005 European championship and a silver medal in the 2006 World championships (defeating the U.S. in the semi-finals). Kazlauskas takes over as Greece prepares for the 2009 European championships in Poland.
• One final final Hellenic hoops news.  If you have NBA TV you can watch Olympiacos play today - Feb. 7th, live - in the Eurobasket tournament.  American Josh Childress is hurt but you can still watch Theo Papaloukas hoop it up Hellenic style.
• In case anyone is wondering, 1976 was the U.S. Bicentennial and the year The Ramones released their first album.

Fool's Gold

Carolina turned fool's gold into cash on Tuesday night, hitting 15 of 25 three-point shots on their way to blitzing the Maryland Terrapins 108-91.

Carolina had no trouble making shots, not just threes.  They were unstoppable, and Maryland never put up much resistance. When you hit that many threes, scoring more than 100 points looks effortless.  That's how the Heels' offense looked on Tuesday. The Heels would dribble up court, get an open look, and make it.  Carolina looked like they were playing a high school team, and Maryland could only score when the Tar Heels allowed them to.

Carolina did give up too many points, and Roy was justifiably mad after Maryland scored three times in a row on transition shots AFTER a MADE basket.  But outside of that stretch, I thought the Heels' defense was pretty good.  

Then again, Maryland looked very bad. Lawson had four steals against the Terps and on at least two of them he simply took the ball out of the hands of the player he was guarding.  

A Few More Thoughts

• After failing to get back on defense Roy called a time out, but was so disgusted he did not actually say anything to the team. Interesting to see that Deon Thompson of all people was the vocal leader in that huddle.
• Best part of this game for me was once again Ty Lawson.  Not so much his stats or shooting, but he once again looked confident and efficient.  He has completely buried the mini-slump that plagued him against Boston College and Wake Forest.
• The Michael Copeland Era has finally begun.  The other shoe finally dropped on Marcus Ginyard, as he has taken a medical red shirt for the season.  Coupled with Will Graves' suspension, apparently for not keeping up in the classroom, means that for the first time since his freshman year Copeland will get significant minutes.
• Good piece, in defense of Carolina's defense and about Ginyard and Graves, from Sports Illustrated's Seth Davis.  
• Another interesting week in the ACC as Wake lost again on the road and Clemson looked strong in waxing Duke. Wake looks nothing like the team that took down the Heels a month ago.  Then again, my earlier statement that Wake is overrated may be true.  Carolina lost by only 3 to Wake even though they played terrible, and since then Demon Deacons have lost to Miami and Georgia Tech and barely beat Duke after the Blue Devils played bad, too.
• Clemson looked good last night, especially Trevor Booker.  But Duke also looked terrible and intimidated and completely over matched.  Booker's domination is the most recent reminder that Duke is very weak down low.  But the other issue plaguing Duke is point guard play. Nolan Smith does not set up teammates very well, and Paulus is not much better.  Heels are at Duke Wednesday night.