Quick Look at Heels in the NBA

I like the NBA, and am glad it's back.  Of course, as a Washingtonian the NBA is a relative term since our hometown Wizards keep getting jokier and jokier.  And I'm just talking about this year, not Gilbert Arenas bringing guns into the locker room.

First it was Andray Blatche tweeting for folks to stop criticizing him for criticizing the coach and organization. Nothing new there. But last night the Wizards reached new heights when they failed to list Roger Mason Jr., a DC native by the way, on their active roster.  When he entered the game, illegally, Mason was thrown out by the referees and the Wizards were given a technical. 

With the Wizards less than blog worthy, it's of course time to turn to the Tar Heels.

With the season a week old, here is a quick look at the 12 Tar Heels - which I think is second to Connecticut, believe it or not - in the NBA in order of minutes played.

1. Ty Lawson, 32 minutes - Averaging 22 points and 3 assists. He's emerged as the best Tar Heel in the NBA
2. Raymond Felton, 32 - A solid 13 and 7 assists for Portland
3. Antawn Jamison, 30 minutes - Hanging on after 13 years in the league, currently averaging 14 points a game for Cleveland
4. Tyler Hansbrough, 28 - Practically playing starters minutes as Pacers sixth man.   Has two double-doubles this year and averaging 11 points and 11 boards despite terrible shooting percentage
5. Marvin Williams, 26 - Has helped Hawks to 3-0 start with 14 points and 8 boards
6. Wayne Ellington, 31 - With an asterisk, since he did not play in the Timberwolves first two games but came off the bench last night to score 13 points.
7. Vince Carter, 19 - Coming off bench for Mavericks
8. Brendan Haywood, 19 - Starting for defending champs with Tyson Chandler gone, but not playing that well.  Averaging 5 and 5 for 1-3 Dallas.
9. Ed Davis, 19 - Sixth man for Toronto Raptors
10. Brandon Wright - Has played in one game for Mavericks and still trying to get his NBA career going after 4 years in league
11. Danny Green, 6 - Limited minutes but has played in all 3 games for Spurs this year. Was playing in Slovenia with Deon Thompson during lock out.
12. Jerry Stackhouse, 6 - Still in the NBA after 16 years, with Marvin's Hawks.

GO HEELS!  

Fixing College Sports

Lot of buzz for New York Times columnist Joe Nocera's magazine article on paying athletes as a way of fixing college athletics.  I do not think that increasing the professionalization of college sports is the way to go.  I like some of his ideas, such as offering athletes lifetime health insurance as part of their scholarship.  

But I think Nocera overthinks this issue. The best way to reform college athletics is a simple one: make freshmen ineligible. Incidentally, this is an idea championed by Dean Smith for years.  That alone should make it a no brainer for the NCAA and school presidents across the country.

Anyway, making freshman ineligible would restore academic balance, allow athletes to spend at least one year as a regular student, and reduce 'get rich quick' recruiting scandals hatched by alumni, boosters, coaches, etc., among other things.

In August, in the wake of the Butch Davis firing - Nevin Shapiro - Jimm Tressel news cycle I posted some other reforms on the late http://firebutchdavis.blogspot.com/2011/08/how-low-can-you-go.html blog.

Here are those ideas again, mainly around the theme that college athletics needs to take it down a notch, not be so big time and try to take some of the money out of it.  That's the only way to fix a system that does not need reform so much as it's fundamentally corrupt. Of course, proposing de-emphasizing money sounds crazy.  But remember, these are supposed to be institutions of higher learning that in the case of state schools are theoretically non-profits.

Anyway, to fix college sports the NCAA should do the following:

1. Make freshman ineligible to play any sport, revenue or non-revenue;
2. Use baseball's draft rules for all sports; you can get drafted out of high school but if you DON'T go pro you can't be re-drafted until you finish your junior year (and you have to make progress towards graduation while in school for those 3 years);
3. Limit conference sizes to 8 maximum; that would mean fewer games and practices for all sports, and shorter seasons, and therefore more time in the classroom, being a regular student, etc.;
4. Allow players to receive a percentage of money from sales of merchandise that use their likeness; seems only fair that the players should benefit from sales of THEIR jerseys, etc.;
5. Have a play-off system for all levels of football; get the bowls and their corporate shysterism out of college football;
6. Link post-season participation to graduation rates; if your team does not meet a certain standard you stay home from bowls and postseason tournaments.

Those are just a few.  I hope the NCAA makes some serious changes, but I'm afraid that until university presidents get the nerve to de-emphasize college sports a bit there will continue to be more Butch Davis-Jim Tressel-Nevin Shapiro-style headlines. 

Wizards Are Back!

The Wizards - and the NBA - are back! 

But that's the problem for a local - and loyal - basketball fan in DC.  The under talented 'Zards from last year, a team that won 23 games, are back with basically the same team.  The changes are all on the margins.  Shelvin Mack is now our back up point guard and Washington's first-round pick, Czech import Jan Vesely, is now our back up power forward.  

Unfortunately, the starting five is practically unchanged from last year's mediocre-to-bad team.  Three of Washington's five starters - Nick Young, Andray Blatche and Javale McGee - are career underachievers who make a fan less than optimistic about the 2012 season that debuts today versus New Jersey.

On one level Young, Blatche and McGee are the NBA at it's worst, three guys who don't understand that the most important thing in basketball, or sports, is effort.  Effort on every play.  Basketball is NOT about getting on Sportscenter,  or thumping your chest or staring down an opponent, etc.  

Players like Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan, etc.  have always understood that effort begets winning.  But those 3 think style is more important that substance and hard work on every play. 

The NBA is partly at fault here.  They market the players as superhuman athletes, which undoubtedly some of them are.   But the main reason that NBA players are superior athletes is effort - and hard work - rather than some physiological trait they were born with. 

Until Young and especially McGee and Blatche understand the roll of effort in success, this version of the Wizards will stink.  And we know that because it's the same team that stunk last year.   Sheesh.

There is some hope Young, who got better last year, and maybe McGee, who says he wants to get more consistent.  

But as it was last year the main reason to watch this team is John Wall.  He had a good rookie season at 16 points and 8 assists. Hopefully he'll develop a consistent jump shot this year and mature. Too often he pouts and get visibly frustrated on the court when he misses a shot or turns it over.  More professionalism would help him with both his jumper and on-court presence.  Again, the good news is that Wall seems to be a compete gym rat who cares about nothing but basketball (he lives in a condo near the Verizon Center and sometimes walks to work but rarely does anything else apparently) and the maturity should come with time. 

The only other returning player who is worth keeping long term is back up shooting guard Jordan Crawford.  He showed flashes of offensive ability last year and plays hard.  He's behind incumbent 2 guard Young, for now, but long term Crawford and Wall could form a plus backcourt.

If I was Flip Sanders, I would ditch Blatche and play effort guys like Trevor Booker, Chris Singleton and Maurice Evans more. As that list shows, this team has a roster full of guys who play forward: Blatche, Vesely, Singleton, Booker, Evans, Rashard Lewis, Ronny Turiaf, Kevin Seraphin; we also have interestingly enough 3 French nationals: Seraphin, Turiaf, and Hamady Ndiaye (all from former French colonies at least).

So here is my proposed Wizards rotation; this may be the only such list on the internet; such is the super low level of interest in our hometown team.

C - McGee, with I guess Blatche as his back up.  Obviously very weak here.  If this were my team, I would only play Blatche as a back up center.

F/4 - Despite  all our forwards it's a crap shoot here.  I guess I'd go Lewis, who is 6'10" and used to be able to score but plays like a 3/small forward.  Vesely would be my first option off the bench here, with some minutes for Evans - but none for Blatche.

F/3 - Booker or Singleton; I would start one of these two guys despite their youth and inexperience simply to always have an effort guy on the floor for 48 minutes. Turiaf, another effort guy, could also use up some minutes here, too.

G/2 - Young and Crawford; Crawford is probably in better shape since he was signed and therefore in camp on time so could start tonight over Young.  By the end of the season expect him to formally have supplanted Young at the 2.

G/1 - Wall, spelled by Mack.  So effort would be there at the 1, too.

With a shortened season getting to 23 wins with this team would be a huge accomplishment.  I'm feeling semi-optimistic for one reason - the Wizards are young.  That youth should help them in a condensed season that will see teams play many back-to-back and some back-to-back-to-back games.   Those fresh legs could help the Wizards get to 25 wins this year, or 25 and 41 for the year.

That should lead to another decent draft pick - Jon Henson perhaps to play the four, for instance - and hopefully a newer and better team in 2013.

Thus end the longest blog post devoted to the Wizards on the internet. You're welcome. 

Two more Wizards wisps:

• I hope my fellow Hellene Ted Leonsis DOES NOT change the name of the team back to the Bullets.  Guns and bullets stink, whether we're talking the damage Washington bullets do in SE Washington or in Iraq and Afghanistan.  Do not bring this name back, please.
• The new unis are growing me, mainly the red not the homage to the old Bullets.  It's ironic that in super blue - politically - DC all our teams are going red.   

Nats Name George Allen New GM

The future is now at Nationals Park!

In trading four prospects, 3 of whom were among our top 10 according to Baseball America, for 2011 All Star Gio Gonzalez GM Mike Rizzo in NOT looking towards 2013.  In the suddenly competitive NL East Rizzo clearly thinks - as does Manager Davey Johnson - that the Nats can compete with the pitching-rich Phillies, the young Braves, and the renamed and restocked Miami Marlins.

The real loss in that trade is losing prospects - and pitchers - like Brad Peacock and A.J. Cole.  Peacock was the Nats' minor league pitcher of the year last season, and in 12 big league innings only gave up one run.  Tom Milone also looked good during a late season call up.  But the move reflects both a desire to get better now, and the fact that Washington has quite a bit of pitching depth in the minors.

In an end of the season interview with the Washington Post Johnson went so far as to say the Nats were only one player away from contending for a playoff spot in 2012. Most folks thought Johnson meant a center fielder or legit lead off hitter.  

We'll see if a 26-year old All Star who won 31 games, in the tough American League, in the last two years while pitching in the gargantuan Oakland Coliseum - who now is our number 2 or 3 starter after Strasburg and Zimmerman -  is that 'one player.'

A few Nats Notes:

• It will be - at least look like - a big league rotation next year, with Strasburg, Zimmermann, Gonzalez, Chien Ming Wang and John Lannan.
• Lannan was our number one starter in 2009 and 2010; now he's number 5.  Bad for Lannan but proof of progress in our pitching staff, right?
• The two other off season moves the Nats have made also fit the 'contending team' model.  Veterans like Mike Cameron, our new back up outfielder, and Mark DeRosa, who can play everywhere, are the kind of bench players contending teams feature.  Then again, you could probably say the same thing about Jerry Hairston last year.

Real Carolina Basketball

After playing a string of lackluster opponents, wins against Appalachian State and Nicholls State that didn't even merit a blog post, the Heels took on - and dismantled - a legitimate basketball team tonight in Rick Barnes' Texas Longhorns.

It was great to see the Heels rise to the occasion and blow out the Longhorns - and Barnes.  I know Dean would not approve, but I really like taking it to the Hickory native who was rude enough to get in Coach Smith's face a few times when he coached at Clemson.  Of course, Carolina was on an 0 for 4 streak against Texas, so simply breaking that streak was good.

What made it great was how the Heels did it.  

One, Harrison Barnes broke out of mini-slump, one that may have been brought on by being less than focused against those lesser opponents - though that's not excuse.  Tonight he looked like an All-American, making shots from all over the floor (on 9 for 15 shooting), putting the ball on the floor, rebounding, and Barnes also dished out a nice assist to Henson, on his way to a 25 and 10 double double.

Two, despite a few lapses the Heels were solid on defense, holding Texas to 35 percent (both for 2 and 3-point shots) and out rebounding the Longhorns 49 to 34.  

Three, as any Carolina fan knows when the Heels defend and rebound that translates into fast break points - in bunches.  North Carolina used two such bursts, once in the first half when Texas had cut the lead to 8 at 24-16 and again early in the second half to basically salt the game away with about 15 minutes to play.

Finally, getting fast break points was not the only Carolina trademark on display tonight.   The Heels repeatedly pounded the ball inside, either from passes from Kendall Marshall or Jon Henson, or thanks to drives by Barnes, or some freak nasty drives and dunks by Dexter Strickland,* Henson, Barnes and P.J. Hairston.* 

It was an impressive win against an above average opponent.  We saw Carolina rise to the occasion, offensively thanks to Barnes, defensively and on the boards as a team.  As a result, Carolina blew Texas tonight.

GO HEELS!

Though the last few games before the tilt against Texas were not blog worthy, there was one development worth mentioning. This stretch of home games has seen ol' Roy use the vintage Dean Smith half court run and jump defense.  Do yourselves a favor and check out this video of Dean talking about it.

Like getting the ball down low and running - even on a made basket - the run and jump is a central part of Carolina basketball.  It's use in the last decade or so has waxed and waned, but this year Roy seems to be reemphasizing it.

There could be two reasons, one cynical and one practical.  Cynically, the run and jump may be a way to hide Marshall's defensive deficiencies.  Carolina's point guard has to disrupt the other teams offense by pressuring their point guard, something Marshall sometimes struggles to do.  The run and jump should help Marshall.

But practically speaking, Roy us probably utilizing the run and jump because he has the personnel to do so.  Outside of Marshall, Carolina's starters are all rangy and athletic, as are key reserves Bullock and Hairston. This team is made for the run and jump. It's a very effective weapon.  Besides, as Dean says in that video it's a fun defense.  Dean was talking about fun for the players, but it's also fun for Carolina fans, too.

*Extra freak nasty

THE issue of the day

Time for this blog to weigh in on THE big issue, the one dominating our republic.  

No, it's not extending the payroll tax holiday, the troops finally coming home from Iraq, or even Newt Gingrich.

I speak of the one most only dare whisper about - Tim Tebow.

The Post and New York Times each had pieces on Tebow and his incredible popularity, especially his evangelical beliefs and 'tebowing.' 

I'm surprised how much criticism Tebow has received for his play.  He won a Heisman and championships at the University of Florida, and the Broncos are 5 and 1 with him as a starter this year.  The point is to win games, and he's doing that - and has always done that.

I also have to give him credit for being genuinely humble and sharing credit with his teammates, playing hard, and NEVER* saying the Broncos won because of divine intervention or because they have a team full of Christians.

However, I do have to take issue with Tebow's way too public piety and his high profile 'tebowing.'  The essence of Christianity - as opposed to beliefs or theology - is humility.  Father Dimitri reminded folks at St. Sophia about that just this morning.  

If an individual wants to pray at work, that's fine. But why make a big deal about it?  Especially when it's done by a celebrity enjoying the spotlight or an important moment it's looks more like self-promotion than humble prayer.  "Hey - look at me pray!  I am so PIOUS!"  

If you must 'tebow,' do so in private, without drawing attention to yourself.  To me, that seems to be more appropriate way to express your beliefs, at least at work.

* Maybe he has, but I've never heard Tebow make that claim.

Spotlight on Chapel Hill this weekend

What a big weekend in the southern part of heaven.

Where to start in chronicling - OK, blogging - the news from Chapel Hill.  But that's an easy question; as all Heels know the conversation ALWAYS starts with basketball.

Fun game, and win, tonight for Carolina as they took care of Long Beach State 86 to 78.   For the first time this season the Heels trailed at half.  I missed most of the opening 20 minutes due to some hitches with ESPN3.  But in the first half the 49ers - another theme for this weekend as we'll get to later - were red hot from three and out rebounded the Heels on their way to a 45 - 40 lead.

Long Beach State played a lot like Duke; spread the floor and cut to the hoop.  If the defense collapses on the driver kick it out for a three, and if they don't take it to the rack.  

In the second half Carolina did a better job of cutting off the driver and playing the passing lanes, which also helped generate some fast break inducing turnovers.  Kendall Marshall also did a pretty nice job covering hot-shooting Casper Ware in the second half.   Dexter Strickland, who often covers the other team's point guard, only played 20 minutes tonight so Marshall had to - and did - step up on defense.

But on offense is where Marshall made his biggest contribution.  Once again he finished with more than 15 assists.  As it was on defense, Marshall and the offense were very efficient in the second half.  Marshall set up his teammates extremely well. 

When the Heels finally went on their run with around 15 minutes to play it was led by emerging super sub Reggie Bullock and Harrison Barnes.  Both made a number of 2 and 3-point baskets from all over the court, and both looked confident when the Heels started to take over this game. Impressive performances from both. 

Barnes even had a few assists (funny how our last two superstar players, Barnes and Hansbrough, were generally black holes when it comes to assists).

At one point Bullock was doing it all - hitting 3s, taking it to the rack, rebounded and even getting a steal then leading the fast break before dishing off for an assist.  He was so good after the steal I tweeted 'Is there anything Reggie Bullock CAN'T do?"

As hot as both of those guys were - Barnes finished with 20, Bullock 15 - John Henson was our leading scorer with 24 points, on 12 of 17 shooting, to go with 10 boards and 4 blocks.  Henson was the biggest beneficiary of Marshall's great play. Could anyone who watched that game live have guessed that Henson took that many shots?  I was surprised when I looked at the box score.  

Zeller had a nice bounce back game, too, with 17 points on 7 of 9 shooting and 9 rebounds (but 4 turnovers).  He was unstoppable at times and hit a tough hook during the Heels' big run in the second half.

Despite some spotty defense in the first half, this was in general a great team effort to win an exciting game over an opponent that, despite having 5 losses, is a tough out (they beat Pitt in Pittsburgh and lost tough and close games at Louisville and Kansas).

Extra hoops points:

• Long Beach State's unis said 'the Beach' on the front.  Makes one wonder if Kramer's fragrance of the same name is their corporate sponsor/
• Bullock was rewarded with 24 minutes tonight, taking time from the Dex Factor.
• He was our bench tonight, as Hairston and McAdoo both struggled.

The other big story from Chapel Hill this weekend is the final of the College Cup tomorrow for the NCAA men's soccer national championship.  The Heels will once again play the 49ers, but tomorrow it will be the UNC Charlotte 49ers.

Friday night's semi-final, come from behind, win on a shoot out game versus UCLA was one of the most exciting non-World Cup soccer games I've ever seen.  Lots of action and shots, and great effort from the Heels.  The championship game is Sunday at 4 pm on ESPNU.

But the biggest story from Chapel Hill was the hiring of Larry Fedora as Carolina's new football coach. He comes to Kenan Stadium from Southern Mississippi, where he led Bret Favre's alma mater to an 11-2 record this year and the Conference USA championship.  

Fedora certainly had a great press conference, and he seems very fired up. He said the right things about the values that Carolina stands for, though I would have liked for him to mention Dean Smith when he talked about those standards and history.  

Fedora is a bit of a Mack Brown-type, and that worked last time Carolina tried that model.  He's also young, so could in theory be in Chapel Hill a long time.

That said, I still wish Carolina had given interim coach Everett Withers a shot at being our permanent coach.  Withers handled a tough situation with aplomb.  There were a few missteps; giving the James Madison game ball to Butch Davis, the war of worlds with NC State to name two.

But the main reason I would have given him the job is that despite the distractions and last-second coaching transition, the Heels were a focused football team in 2011, with few turnovers, penalties or mental mistakes.  Withers kept the team together, motivated and disciplined, and for that I thought he deserved a chance to be our long term coach.

I wish him well on his next endeavor. Go Heels! 

Stink

I don't like blogging after a loss.

Like it even less when it's after a loss in a game that Carolina coulda and shoulda won.

Even worse to blog after a loss to a team like Kentucky.  For Carolina fans, Kentucky may be the perfect storm, the imperfectly perfect mix of Duke smugness and NC State redneckedness - now with an added dose of anti-Dean scumbag courtesy of Calipari.

So losing today really stinks.

In general the Heels played well, especially in the first half when Carolina's outside shooting, led not only by Harrison Barnes but also P.J. Hairston and the 'coming on like his uncle Jerry Stackhouse' Reggie Bullock (both, FYI, North Carolina natives).

For most of the game the Heels outplayed the team whose home court is named for one of the most closed-minded and backward thinking coaches in modern times.  Carolina looked like Carolina, running and getting great shots.

In the second half some troubling bugaboos plagued Carolina - Zeller's butterfingers, two empty trips when John Michael McAdoo missed two free throws then air balled a baseline jumper - highlighted by an odd lack of rebounding and therefore a lack of scoring down low.

Overall, Barnes had some nice moments despite foul trouble, Zeller did score in double figures, Henson was solid for 39:55 on both ends, Marshall bounced back from a back to back lackluster games, and the Dex Factor had his moments, too.  And don't forget how great Hairston and Bullock were.

Unfortunately, Strickland's missed dunk looms large, as does his ill-timed turnover late.  On the last play, Zeller simply misdribbled in the lane.  The ball bounced to Henson, who probably shot it too soon. In hindsight, I'm sure Henson would have liked to pump fake or put it on the floor to get a few feet closer.

Odder still to have Carolina run a play for Zeller.  Psycho Z loves playing against Kentucky, and dumping it down low to him is generally a great play for the Heels.  However, I know I am not the the only member of Tar heel Nation who wanted Barnes to take the last shot.  

So, a tough loss on the road to a good team.  Stink.

One silver lining is, after a loss to UNLV then an excruciating game over Wisconsin, ironically enough the Heels regained their swagger this afternoon.  Carolina looked loose AND confident today.

The other silver lining may be karma.  Last year, the Heels defeated Kentucky in the Dean Dome (a home court named for a progressive, liberal and modern coach in the best sense of each of those words) then lost to the Wildcats in the NCAA tournament.  I would not be surprised to see the same thing happen in 2012.  

GO HEELS!

Weird

What a weird, hard fought game for the Heels tonight.  

It was weird in a number of ways.  Weird to see Carolina have to play at such a slow tempo.  Even in the second half, when the Heels did a good job rebounding and therefore should have been able to run, the game was slow and played in the half court.

Weird in that Kendall Marshall had his second straight lackluster game in a row.  It's the curse of CHB blog perhaps?  Jordan Taylor and Wisconsin, not Marshall, set and controlled the tempo for this game.  We did not see vintage Marshall tonight.

That lackluster play from our point guard was one reason why our offense never flowed against the Badgers.  Harrison Barnes was fantastic in the second half, but he was by and large creating his own shots. Strickland had some nice runs on offense, but they mainly came when he was bringing the ball up. The guys who rely on Marshall to set them up, i.e. Zeller, Henson, McAdoo, etc. were non-factors on offense for most of the night as a result.  Weird.

But on the positive side, it was a gut-check, hard-fought (and cliche ridden) win over a top 10 team that will give Ohio State a run for it's money in the Big 10.

I mentioned Barnes, but he was so clutch and tough down the stretch in leading Carolina to this win almost single handedly.  Loved the methodical way he went about it, too.  He was cold and confident.  Barnes also finished with 5 blocks. 

Strickland was the offense in the first half and was magnificent in disrupting Wisconsin's offense in the second.  The Dex Factor featured a little bit of Derrick Phelps tonight in containing Taylor.  Huge night for Strickland (despite that one crazy turnover late).

Finally, in addition to Barnes our best option on offense in the second half a couple times was Reggie Bullock.  His late 3 was Barnesesque - cold and confident.  His performance was also proof that his breakout game against Tennessee State was not a fluke.

Though our offense sputtered, it was reassuring to see the way the Heels defended (Badgers shot 36 percent; Taylor was worse at 30 percent), rebounded (Heels out rebounded Wisconsin 39 to 26) and made free throws tonight (19 for 24, or 79 percent).  All three of those traits are excellent and meaningful measures of a teams toughness.  Very reassuring.

So with those 3 things on the upswing, here's hoping our offense - and Marshall -  and shooting bounces back by Saturday and the tilt versus Kentucky.  Having to worry about a Carolina team's offense?  

Weird.