Hoo ha

At half time of yesterday's Carolina game, the in-studio commentator for ESPN went on about 'this Tar Heels team may not be good enough to merely flip the switch and play great ... blah blah blah" or some such hoo ha.  

That kind of 'analysis' has become quite common place, at least it was in 2008, 2009, and the last two years.  Commentators love blathering on about what's wrong with Carolina; so much talent the players get lackadaisical or indifferent, they don't play hard, imagine if they always gave maximum effort, etc.

Like I said, hoo ha.  

You may recall that in 2005 there was a similar narrative; the Heels had tremendous talent but did they play as a team. Can you imagine Dean's reaction when he heard that?  A Carolina squad being accused of NOT being a team?  

The old Dean-era narrative was the opposite.  Carolina's 'system' suppressed individual talent and players in service to the team.  At one point, that was actually one excuse given for why Dean could not win the big one - too much focus on the team and not enough freedom for individual stars to take over a game.

Old hoo ha.

But all those analyses are incorrect and display a lack of knowledge of Carolina basketball.  Carolina basketball is defined by effort on both ends of the floor, feeding the post first in search of the best and easiest shot, and increasing possessions by playing aggressive defense and rebounding. 

There is no flipping the switch, or even a system really.  It's a philosophy of playing winning and consistent and honest basketball, confident that effort, feeding the post, defense, rebounds and possessions will win most games.

Now, as we saw last night in Coral Gables, some games the easy shots don't fall, the defense gets a little sloppy, and the other team gets a head of steam.  As a result, the Heels found themselves down by 8 with 15 minutes left.

But eventually, the Heels will usually get it right.  And coming out of the under 16 time out, they did.  The defense got tougher and forced turnovers on 4 straight Hurricanes possessions.  Carolina quickly turned those turnovers into points. The rest of the half was more of the same, with the Heels playing tough D particularly against Miami's guards and center Reggie Johnson, dominating the boards on both ends, and making shots.

John Henson was tough down low to start the second half as Carolina fed the post, and had a great game on the glass.

In addition to defense, rebounding and more possessions, it's always good to enhance a philosophy with some simple and excellent talent, talent like Harrison Barnes.  Barnes' 14-point burst coincided with the Canes' turnovers and Carolina's defensive pressure, and helped lead the Heels to a nice, at times ugly but validating, win.

Maybe this team does flip the switch.  But it's not a switch as mundane as talent or a wake up call. It's much more profound than that.  That switch says Carolina basketball.

GO HEELS!

A few more Tar Heels Headlines

• Carolina basketball breeds confidence.  That's how Reggie Bullock, after misfiring for most of the night, was cool and collected enough down the stretch last night to hit 2 big three pointers.
• It's also the reason we continue to see the evolution of James Michael McAdoo.   For the fourth game in a row he was confident and aggressive.  Love to see that.
• Psycho Z was not as dominant offensively, but totally shut down Johnson down low.  He was big.
• Finally, Kendall Marshall was off for 20 minutes, and steadily fantastic for the final 15. Like Bullock, he missed lots of shots but kept his head up as he played all 20 minutes of the second half.