One more blog about ... Marcus Paige

There are plenty of story lines to contemplate as we await Monday night's national championship game between Villanova and Carolina. Will a title wash away part of the guilt associated with the academic scandal at THE university of the people? Can we break our title tie with Duke and sit alone in third place (UCLA 11; Kentucky 8, but only 4 not won by a racist named Adolph; Indiana and Duke also have 5 titles)? How do we feel about the prospect of Roy passing Dean?

But win or lose, tomorrow night marks the end of the Marcus Paige era. How sweet would it be if Paige went out with a title? I know Roy really wanted Hansbrough to get one as a reward for staying four years, and of course Tar Heels everywhere were happy when Jawad Williams, Melvin Scott and Jackie Manuel went out as national champs four years after enduring an 8-20 season.

Paige, along with Brice Johnson and Joel James, going out a national champion would probably top both of those, for now familiar reasons. As I've nattered on before, in blogs tens of people have read, to me Marcus Paige represents the restoration of something important, the return of the Carolina Way. To get him a championship in the wake of that scandal would be incredible and meaningful.

Of course, being an Academic All American AND making big plays is the Carolina Way. Once again, when Carolina needed him the most in this Final Four, Paige made the play of the game.

Saturday night was not a perfect game, for the Heels or Paige. Looking back at the win over Syracuse, despite shooting it pretty well I imagine you felt like I did: Carolina won without having actually played that well. We got off to a shaky start, Brice picked up two fouls in the first 10 minutes, Syracuse held it's own on the glass for the first half, and then we had some weird turnovers in the second half - 3 live ball ones by of all people Marcus Paige.

Fortunately, Marcus Paige is Marcus Paige. His touch pass to redirect Jackson's pass to Meeks for a layup was Dean-esque. Marcus' huge 3 when Syracuse had cut the lead to single digits was the dagger into the Orange's chances.

That shot was a continuation of the pattern we've seen during this run from Paige: at Duke he got the big steal, then the big defensive play that resulted in an important layup; in the ACC tournament he buried Notre Dame from behind the arc; against Virginia he scored the go-ahead basket and helped shut down Malcolm Brogdon; etcetera etcetera in the NCAA tournament.

If that pattern continues on Monday night, I imagine it won't just be ol' Roy crying. Go Heels!

A few more thoughts:

• I love our chances. Villanova has been playing great basketball, and tomorrow night's matchup now seems obvious. But as we've seen throughout this tournament, the Heels have too many weapons. James is Exhibit A; he calmly came off the bench in the first half and sank two shots like he was tying his shoes. He's Carolina's ninth-best player. I don't think the Wildcats can stop everyone.
• That is the key point: everyone. Carolina is getting contributions from the whole team this tournament. Kennedy Meeks had 15 and 9. If I didn't have a stat sheet I would have assumed he was our high scorer; that's how important each of baskets appeared to be. However, Justin Jackson and Johnson (where's Polk?) bested Meeks with 16 points. Joel Berry barely had to shoot but had 10 assists. And of course Marcus had 13, Theo made plays including a big three, and Britt was solid especially on defense. Everyone is contributing.  
• I also expect to see a totally dominant Brice Johnson - it's his last game as a Tar Heel, too - versus Villanova. Not FSU dominant, but don't be surprised if he is Notre Dame dominant, somewhere in the 25 and 15 range. 

GO HEELS!

On to Presbyterian

I never like to blog after a loss, especially a loss to a team like Kentucky and a coach like Calipari. Say what you will about Krzyzewski, but Calipari makes him look like John Wooden.  As obnoxious as Duke's students and players are at least they run a clean program and have some integrity - something you can't equate with a school that has featured coaches that range from racist - Adolph Rupp - to corrupt - Eddie Sutton - to scumbags - Rick Pitino and now John Calipari. I'm glad in the depths of the post-Dean wanderings Carolina never got that desperate. 


Give me 8-20 over Calipari or Pitino any day.


Anyway, back to the game. The Heels' 66-68 loss did have some silver linings.  For me, the best part of the game was Larry Drew. He didn't play a perfect game but he continues to improve, and looks more and more comfortable running this team.  His decision making and shooting continue to improve, so much so that at one point in the second half I asked Evan 'why does Roy still have Drew on the bench?"


The second-half defense was also a highlight.  Amazing that a Carolina squad that only scored 66 points almost won a road game, so kudos to the second-half effort especially on the defensive end.


As it was against Syracuse, the Heels looked young during parts of the game - and Kentucky and John Wall took advantage. Questionable shot selection, and a failure to get back on defense - more to the point, a failure to stop Wall - killed the Heels.


Shot selection especially hurt us during their run. Kentucky's defense of our second unit - plus their transition baskets - made us look unathletic. And for a while in the first half, Kentucky out-Heeled the Tar Heels as the Wildcats rebounded and fast-breaked to a 19-point lead.


As I blogged after losing to Syracuse, that kind of stuff happens to a young team. 


The loss means the Heels are 2-2 against quality opponents (Ohio State, Syracuse, Michigan State, Kentucky), with a December 19th game at Texas (in Cowboys Stadium) wrapping up the meat of their non-conference schedule.  Has anyone played a tougher non-conference schedule than the Tar Heels?  Carolina fans should appreciate what this young team has done so far, especially if the Heels go on the road and down number 2 Texas in two weeks.

• Not many freshmen are as good as the hype, but John Wall is.  He was pretty impressive in the first half.
• Carolina  hosts Presbyterian on December 12th.  They really stand out on the schedule: Ohio State, Syracuse, Nevada, Michigan State, Kentucky, Presbyterian, Texas.  Only one of those teams did not play in the NCAA tournament last year.
• After a great game versus Michigan State, the freshmen really looked the part against Kentucky.  John Henson had two dunks blocked against the Wildcats, though Dexter Strickland had a nice dunk and overall good game.

Soccer Dynasty Continues


Carolina's womens soccer team won their 20th NCAA national championship (and 21st overall) on Sunday, 1-0 over Stanford. The Heels scored early,in the first 10 minutes, then clamped down on defense. Besides being their 21st overall, it is Carolina's third championship in the last four years, and the second year in a row they defeated an undefeated and untied team for the title.


As Dean once said, Carolina "is a women's soccer school."


World CUpdate


The U.S. got a great draw and should advance out of the group stage at next year's World Cup.  The U.S. is in the same group as England, Algeria, and Slovenia.  The U.S. and England should advance, and I'm going to predict a mild upset, picking the U.S. to tie England in their first game.


Greece got a tougher group but should still advance - a major accomplishment if they do.  Ellas is with Argentina but also with manageable foes South Korea and Nigeria (FIFA says Greece is ranked higher than both of those squads).  Look for Greece to lose to Argentina, tie Nigeria and defeat South Korea, and more importantly advance to the sweet 16 next summer.



More Good Nats News


Finally, I like the Pudge Rodriguez signing by the Nats.  A perfect mentor for Jesus Flores and our young pitching, and a more than adequate stop gap in case Flores is not ready for spring training.  It's not saying much when talking about a team that lost 103 games, but the Nats' off-season is going much better than their regular season did.

2005 Team Redux

In the wake of Carolina's win on Monday, there have been a lot of comparisons between the 2005 and 2009 squads.  The similarities are obvious: May=Hansbrough; Felton=Lawson; McCants=Ellington; Marvin Williams=Davis, even Thomas=Drew II. 

The comparison's break down at cousin Jackie Manuel and Danny Green. Manuel and Marcus Ginyard match up but there was no one on the 2005 team quite as versatile as Green.  That fact may put the 2009 Tar Heels ahead of the 2005 champs. 

The other place the comparison breaks down is with Jawad Williams and Deon Thompson.  Though they had similar stats - and coincidentally both torched Michigan State in the first half of a Final Four game - Jawad was more of an outside threat while Deon is almost exclusively a low-post player.

I've saved Jawad for last as a way of celebrating the news that the Cleveland native has signed with his hometown Cavaliers for the remainder of the season.  Jawad had a cup of coffee with the Cavs earlier this season, and has played all over the last four years (Spain, Japan and Israel)  but primarily in the D-League. He was recently called up from that league's Grand Valley franchise when anti-Heel/former NC State karma wrecker J.J. Hickson was lost for the season due to injury.

Jawad is the sixth member of the 2005 national champs to play in the NBA, joining the stars of that team (May, McCants, Felton and Marvin) and David Noel (who spent a season with Milwaukee and is currently playing with the Reno Bighorns in the D-League).  

Despite Green's versatility having six NBA players - though in fairness only Felton and Marvin Williams are starters and consistent contributors to their teams - may give the edge to the 2005 champs.

Either way, GO HEELS!

Hansbrough, Green and Frasor Exit as National Champs

There are so many great things to blog about when your team, and especially when your team is Carolina, wins a national championship.

Odd how good 'your team' winning can make you feel.  In reality, in means nothing - unless you consider deciding on which commemorative tee-shirt or DVD to buy as something.  

But for sports fan, it obviously means much more than that.  It makes you happy in a silly but meaningful way, and it's one of the best parts of being a sports fan.

But being a Carolina fan is even better.  My love for Carolina makes me one of the most biased people on the planet. I would be guilty of being overly dramatic if i said Chapel Hill saved my life. A more accurate statement would be, as someone who went to Carolina from Fayetteville - FAYETTEVILLE - Chapel Hill is where my life really took off, really started.

That's why we care so much about the Heels (and, incidentally, why I make a point of voting for Anup Desai every week on American Idol, too).

The connection we feel to Carolina is not the only reason to enjoy a national championship.  There are many reasons: the fact that Carolina has graduated more than 95 percent of its players for the last 40 years, the lack of permanent corporate signage at the Dean Dome, the way Carolina prioritizes basketball yet also keeps it in perspective.  

Then there is the dominance. Most hoopsters consider 1979 the birth of the 'modern era' of college basketball. Not only was that the year that Magic battled Bird for the national championship in what is still the most watched basketball game in history, 1979 was also the first year the NCAA seeded teams.  Carolina has the most national championships, 4, and the most final fours, 11, in the 31-year modern era.  Even with the 3 lost years of the DOH! regime, Carolina's win last night certifies the Tar Heels as the best college basketball program of the modern era.  Case closed.

But even with that dominance, for me the best part of last night's championship was the players.  The people associated with basketball at Carolina, led by the peerless Dean Smith but including players like Michael Jordan, David Noel, George Lynch, Ademola Okulaja, Sean May, Raymond Felton, Antawn Jamison, Charlie Scott, James Worthy, Jimmy Black, Sam Perkins, Billy Cunningham, Larry Brown, and Phil Ford make one proud to be a Tar Heel.

Now we can add the 2009 champs to that list, led by Tyler Hansbrough and Danny Green.  Those two will always be among my favorite Heels.  I blogged before about Hansbrough and how he epitomizes the essence of sport.  Psycho T is all about an honest effort, exhausting yourself for your team and school.  Hansbrough is pure and honest and what sports should be all about.

Green epitomizes the other thing I love about sport: being willing to take responsibility, to step up when needed.  Did anyone step up more than Danny Green this year?  He carried Carolina in January and February, and made as many big plays - if not more - than Hansbrough, Lawson or Ellington.  Stepping up became his calling card.  How impressive is that?  

Finally, neither gave it to the negative things swirling around them. Hansbrough ignored the taunts and doubts about his game or ability.  He simply played hard and played skillfully and let those traits settle things.  Green never hid the fact that his father was in prison.  It affected him his sophomore year.  It seemed to motivate him his senior year.  Great stories both.

Those two made this championship extra sweet; what a great way to cap a career for seniors Green, Hansbrough and Frasor. It's always great to win, to see great players like Lawson and Ellington play great Carolina basketball.  To see guys like Deon Thompson and Ed Davis dominate a team like they did in the first half against the Spartans.  To see Bobby Frasor get rewarded for persevering with a break-away lay up in the championship game. 

It's just great to be a Tar Heel.

CAROLINA COGITATION

• There have been quite a few comparisons between the 2009 and 2005 teams.  For me, the biggest difference is in what each championship meant. The 2005 championship washed away the bad taste of the 8-20 campaign of 2002, and reassured Tar Heel Nation that all was right again.   As stated above, this year's championship signals that Carolina is THE dominant program in college basketball.
• As long as Roy is at the helm Carolina is going to dominate.  Roy now has 2 championships and 3 final fours in 6 years (not to mention 4 straight wins at Cameron and 7 of the last 10 overall against the University of New Jersey at Durham). Do yourselves a favor and pen Carolina into your final four EVERY year until Roy retires in 10 years.  Williams recruits like crazy - and you'd have to be crazy to turn down a scholarship to Carolina - and is both a good teacher and game coach.  He and Carolina will always be tough to beat. 
• Look for another great ride next year too.  Carolina's 2006 team, led by Noel and a freshman named Hansbrough, made an unlikely run to the NCAA tournament that season. Unlike Florida, who won two championships but followed that up with two straight NITs, Roy does not allow a let down in the program.  And for a guy who's won two championships in the last six seasons his 2006 coaching job may have been his best ever.  Don't expect a let down next season.
• Congrats to sister Cleo for winning the PIRG NCAA pool, and for Evan and Ariadne for coming in fifth.  For the record, I came in 11th place.
• Finally, a word on Michigan State and their bid to uplift their economically suffering state's spirits.  One thing everyone is ignoring is that North Carolina is not an affluent state immune to the global economy or the recession. Up until recently, I imagine Michigan was much more affluent, and thanks to labor unions had a much larger middle class.  Michigan does not have a monopoly on struggling economies.  Take a look at the Tar Heel State's economy: the textile industry - relocated to Mexico and Honduras and Vietnam; the furniture industry - gone to China; tobacco - long gone (good riddance). For years those were the three pillars of North Carolina's economy. In the 80s and 90s those industries were replaced by turkeys and hogs, and high tech, both still there, and finance/banking. The third one is obviously hurting, almost on par with the auto industry and for one of the same reasons: stupidity and/or incompetence. I guess the reason Michigan gets more sympathy is that unlike the state of North Carolina, the state of Michigan still does not have a second act on the their economy. There is no there there after the auto industry. But North Carolina the state is hardly Goliath to Michigan's David when discussing the economy.

NCAA Preview

I'm a little nervous three hours before tip-off, but mainly calm. Some of that is age, but I think most of that calm comes from the Carolina basketball team. Their resolve and determination, coupled with pretty phenomenal talent, should be enough to win Carolina's fifth NCAA championship tonight (sixth overall if you count, as Carolina does, a team in the 1920s that was voted the number one team in the nation).

Michigan State will be very tough, especially on the boards, but the Heels should prevail. Offensively, teams that shoot the three effectively are the ones most likely to give Carolina problems, and the Spartans are not a great three-point shooting team. The Heels' three-point defense has been very effective in the last two games, so that will probably not be a problem tonight.

The bigger threat is probably from the crowd and the hype around playing for a downtrodden state. Adrenaline can make up for a lot. Hopefully Carolina starts strong and keeps the crowd from getting into the game early and effectively.

But bottom line, I can't see Michigan State stopping all of Carolina's weapons. If they focus on Hansbrough down low, that leaves things open for Ellington and Green. Finally, the home-state team will not be able to stop Ty Lawson. Travis Walton will probably guard Lawson, but he's similar to Oklahoma's Warren, another taller, longer guard. Warren couldn't stop Lawson, and neither will Walton.

As you know, Tar Heels love to brag about how humble we are. Nonetheless, I'll point out that I correctly picked Carolina to defeat Villanova by 14, accurately predicted that the Heels would win by 12 over Oklahoma, and was off by one point on the Gonzaga spread (I said 22, final score was by 21).

So my prediction for tonight is an eleven point win for the Heels, led by balanced scoring and tougher than expected defense. I'm sticking with my pick of Ellington leading Carolina to the win, but with Lawson having another strong game and being named MVP of the Final Four.

GO HEELS!

On to Monday night

The second half went according to plan and the Heels held on to defeat Villanova by 14.  And as good as Ellington and Lawson were, the best player on the floor for the final 20 was Danny Green.  

Villanova hit shots and turned the Heels over coming out of halftime and cut the lead to five points.   At that point, Green hit two big threes around an old-fashioned three-point play by Lawson - after one of Hansbrough's four steals - to practically ice the win for North Carolina.  

Green has done that all season, hitting so many game-changing shots that I've lost count. But tonight, as it always is with Danny Green, it was about his total game not just his three-point shooting.  As was the case when he ripped an offensive rebound away from the Griffin brothers, Green had a big offensive rebound he simply wanted more than two Wildcats in the second half.  Ditto with a big blocked shot and charge that he took to end Villanova's second half run. He's a deity in my book.

  

Green's second half play looks even bigger when you look at the overall play of both teams. Neither team was very smooth on offense, with Carolina leaving good shots on the rim and stubbornly missing lots of free throws. The silver lining, besides Green, is that Ellington hit two key baskets at key times and Lawson continued to push the ball up court.   But Carolina missed shots because they missed shots.  Villanova missed mainly due to Carolina's defense.  Every Wildcat shot seemed to be contested. Carolina's defensive intensity and aggressiveness on offense wore out Villanova, who as predicted were overwhelmed by the Heels' defense, focus, and talent.

That focus and toughness and improvement on defense, coupled with the fact that on offense Carolina has been able to get any shot they want all tournament long, will hopefully lead to their 5th NCAA title on Monday night.

GO HEELS!

One last note; one reason the second half had no flow was the referees, who generally stunk and I thought called a self-conscious game.  In the first half, they appeared spooked by both teams being in the double bonus and swallowed their whistles.  In general, college officiating is getting worse and worse, so bad that Sport Illustrated noted that the college game is much rougher than the NBA.  And the flow and beauty of basketball - and offense - suffer mightily.  Here's hoping the NCAA adopts two great NBA rules: no hand checking, and the 'no-charge zone' under the basket.  The way games are officiated now in the NCAA the defense has a big advantage.  

That style of play is one reason why I keep criticizing the Big East. That league is way too physical and as a result is simply bad and unattractive basketball.  Ironic that that overrated conference will - in effect - have 3 refs on the floor Monday night but no teams playing for a national championship.