Well, I was close - but the game wasn't

Where to begin in talking about last night's 18-point beat down of the right-wing boobs/devils from Durham?  

So many things to talk about, from Tyler Zeller's double double and dominance, to the important bench play of James Michael McAdoo, PJ Hairston and Justin Watts (great D when Bullock got into foul trouble), to Harrison Barnes' confident shooting and dagger late, to John Henson's second-half play on offense and a key stop late on D, to Reggie Bullock doing a little bit of everything, and finally to Kendall Marshall being Kendall Marshall+ controlling a game's tempo and hitting big shots. 

But I'll start here, with my pre-blog.  

We knew Carolina had to do three things to win last night - go to Zeller, rebound and go over screens on defense.  To say they succeeded on all of those endeavors is to state the obvious and make an understatement.

Led by 'In Z We Trust," the Heels dominated the boards. And it was pure dominance, as Carolina was quicker to the ball all night. It was not Duke choosing to concede the glass and send 4 guys back on D to stop Carolina's transition, it was a desire to win that part of the battle - and the Heels did.  

And as any Tar Heel born, Tar Heel bred, waiting to be Tar Heel dead fan knows, rebounding leads to transition baskets. Carolina's board work and transition game is what lead to that awe-inspiring 24-point halftime lead.

The other key was our defense on the three-pointer. As it has been in North Carolina's 5 other recent wins in Cameron, the Heels went over ball screens and forced Duke to step inside the three-point line all night. Reggie Bullock in particular was fantastic - again an understatement - on defense. He is so smart, and big, and good, I can't stop gushing about this guy.

How much gushing?  I told my brother after the game that Bullock's play reminds me of George Lynch. 

That's right, I went there - George Lynch.  Yes, Bullock has been THAT good.

But the key to beating the devils is to take away the three, and with this team to stop Austin Rivers, and led by Bullock the Heels did that for a full 40 minutes last night.  

To recap, the pre-game blog stressed: Zeller, rebounding and going over screens - and I predicted a final score of Carolina 86, devils 73.  Close enough, and happily not a close score as the Heels blew out the devils in Cameron, again, for another ACC regular season championship. 

• I've blogged it before, I'll blog it again: there is nothing like beating Duke in Cameron. For me, the worst thing about Duke is not Krzyzewski or their players (usually not their players, since this IS the alma mater of Christian Laetnner, J.J. Reddick, etc.) or anything basketball related; after all, you have to respect a team that plays hard, wins, graduates their players, etc. But the Duke student body - right now training the next Rand Paul or Richard Nixon! - is another matter. It's simply great to puncture their sense of boorish and arrogant entitlement for one night.
• I was surprised to read Tarheelblue.com's Adam Lucas' column this morning that kind of wondered if Carolina had the stomach to come back from last month's tragic loss to Duke in the Dean Dome. Did anyone really question that? I didn't. Isn't Roy Williams our coach? Isn't he a protege of Dean Smith?  Enough said. Plus, isn't Kendall Marshall our point guard, Tyler Zeller our anchor? Coming back - and keeping losses in perspective - is as Carolina blue as rebounding, transition baskets, and pointing at the passer.
• If I ever suffer a serious medical condition - a heart attack, get into a car accident, etc. - please DO NOT call 911, please call Kendall Marshall instead. That guy is phenomenal. He was a maestro last night, and his offensive game continues to get more confident and more important. There is nothing that Marshall can not do.
• Another key was James Michael McAdoo. Early in the season I blogged on his importance as our only real big off the bench. With Z in some foul trouble last night McAdoo was huge, and his two Johnny on the spot plays, the Blake Griffin-esque dunk and the tip in late -were huger than huge.
• Finally, if I'm a Duke senior the last name I want to see on Carolina's roster is Tyler or Ty.  It's official name is Cameron Indoor Stadium, but our pals Hansbrough, Lawson and Zeller have unofficially dubbed that place Ty(ler)'s House.

Anyway, what a great win.  

GO HEELS! 

Weird, Ugly and Stubborn.

Another weird and ugly win for the Heels this afternoon over Virginia.  Carolina has fallen into an odd pattern of shooting badly (33 percent in this game) on the road - yet winning.  The way Virginia plays defense, by packing their zone in the lane, you would the think the Heels would have needed another Raleigh-on-Thursday-night shooting display to win.

But that's not what happened.  

None of Carolina's perimeter players had a decent game.  Kendall Marshall was stymied all night, Reggie Bullock was off and generally had a terrible game, and Harrison Barnes never got into the flow of the game at all.  Those three were a combined 4 for 24.

Of Carolina's wing players only PJ Hairston was productive, with a mini, personal 5-0 run in the second half.

So how did Carolina win on a night Virginia dared our wings to win the game, but they didn't?

That's where stubborn comes in.

Despite the packed and swarming Wahoo defense (toughest question Evan asked me this game: "What's a Wahoo?") the Tar Heels insisted - stubbornly - to feed the paint and rely on Tyler Zeller and John Henson to win this game.  

And those two came through.

Zeller was unstoppable early, and scored our first 8 points, and of course that freak-nasty, step-threw dunk with 13 seconds left were our final 2 points of the game.  He finished with 20 and 8, another solid and player-of-the-year type of performance, one the Heels needed on a day Barnes went 3 for 15 from the floor.  Foul trouble and a momentum changing run at the point by Stilman White helped take Z out of the middle part of this game but he was great at the end.

If Psycho Z carried the Heels early, Henson carried Carolina late.  In the final 10 minutes he WAS the Carolina offense.  And he, too, had a freak-nasty dunk off of an in bounds pass in the second half.  Henson also was very tough on the glass in the final 10 minutes,  made 7 of 8 free throw for the game, and made a big defensive play and steal off a Virginia in-bounds pass late.  Like Zeller, he disappeared a bit in the middle of the game and had a few very bad turnovers, too, but late he was money.  Oh yeah, Henson also had another double-double, 15 and 11 boards.   

And though he didn't shoot like he did in Raleigh, kudos for Marshall for finding his big men down the stretch as the Heels pulled out another ugly win in a weird game, thanks to Carolina's stubborn insistence on going inside and getting the best and easiest shot possible.

GO HEELS!

A few more notes:

• Hard to measure Carolina's defense in this one.  On one hand, Virginia only scored 51 points. On the other, it mainly looked like they missed some makeable shots especially in the last 5 minutes.  The Cavaliers also took lots of bad shots, none worse than Mike Scott's 18 footer with about a minute left.
• Not much bench play in this one, though James Michael McAdoo did make 3 of 4 free throws and Hairston did have that nice run; each played 12 minutes, while White and Justin Watts managed just 3 minutes each.

Zeller, Heels Bounce Back

What a great bounce back performance by Carolina, led by Tyler Zeller, in their win over Virginia today.  The Wahoos, though boring and at time excruciating to watch, are nonetheless a tough out.  

The Cavalier defense (another great ACCism like Hokie Pride, Hurricane Basketball, and Duke cheerleaders) kept the Heels from getting up and down the floor, but at least we looked like Carolina in frequently and successfully going inside for scores and winning the rebounding battle.

Finally, we looked like Carolina is methodically closing out the win. The Heels stretched the lead from 4 to 18 in the final 5 minutes of the game, a stark contrast with, well, you know what I'm talking about.

One thing that DID carry over from Wednesday night was the stellar play of Tyler Zeller.  At one point, after a nice blocked shot, I tweeted 'is there anyone playing better the Zeller right now?"*  Psycho Z had another great game with 25 and 9.  On a day when most of the Tar Heels missed most of their shots, Zeller was an efficient 9 for 16 with 3 steals, too.

It was inspiring to watch Zeller bounce back from easily the 3 worst minutes of his life.

As great as Zeller played, it was also excellent to watch the Heels close out a game Carolina style. The defense in the second half was excellent as the Heels rebounded well, closed out on shooters, put up walls and held Virginia to 20 points in 20 minutes.  

That defense was especially tight in the last 5 minutes.  Ol' Roy called a time out just prior to the under 4 time out and the Heels got the message, tightened up their defense, and did NOT let Virginia get back in the game.

Great stuff.

But it wasn't just Zeller that carried over back to back (and for him, back to back to ...) positive performances. James Michael McAdoo did, too, as he looked confident and aggressive this afternoon on his way to 9 points, 7 boards and 2 steals in 18 minutes.  That's at least 6 straight good halves for McAdoo, who appears to have turned the corner.

Carolina's bench this game was the unlikely trio of McAdoo, Justin Watts and Stilman White.  White looked good, and played with confidence in giving Marshall a break. The offense did stall with him at point, a significant accomplishment.

Watts was effective, too, and was rewarded with 18 minutes filling in for P.J. Hairston, Dexter Strickland, Leslie McDonald, and Wanda.   

A nifty 18-point win over a ranked and tough team. That line would have been impressive no matter the circumstance, but coming off a agonizing loss even more impressive.  

GO HEELS!

*paraphrasing myself. I'm too old to remember what I tweeted 3 hours ago.

Not Epic, But Still Great

What a great comeback win for the Heels today.  Sure, it wasn't the kind of epic, '8 points in 17 seconds' Carolina comeback that has helped make the program famous.  After all, Maryland is down a bit this year and the Heels were only down 9 with about 15 minutes to go.

But it WAS a game where Carolina took repeated blows to the head - from Stoglin and Len in the first half, from the referees, from their own turnovers, and from a hostile crowd - all game long.  The great news is the Heels refused to get knocked out - though they were knocked down - and eventually rallied to win 83 to 74.

This game had upset written all over it.  Actually, not all over it - but it was in the margins, and that writing got bigger and bigger as the first half progressed.  Harrison Barnes looked bothered by his ankle, Kendall Marshall was turning it over, John Henson looked unfocused and our bench intimidated.

Only the surging Tyler Zeller kept the upset story from developing  He was excellent again today - he played a man's game on his way to 22 and 7 despite 4 fouls and only 22 minutes - and continues to peak as the season progresses.  We even saw some emotion from Psycho Z today during Carolina's decisive second half run.

But as it was last year, and again of late, Harrison Barnes asserted himself with some scintillating play in the final 15 minutes in College Park to lead the Heels.  After Carolina fell behind by 9 points, Barnes took over and hit a variety shots from all over the floor - 3s, drives, and a clutch pull up jumper with 3 minutes to go.  The only common denominator?  Every shot he took was a tough one.  Barnes' focus was freaky and inspirational - and the deciding factor in today's win.

Zeller and Barnes were excellent today but they got plenty of help in the second half from Marshall and Henson.  Marshall was spectacular in the second half, both with his big three-pointer and his timely drives to the hoop and trademark passes.  He finished with a career high of 16 assists, a ridiculous stat that does not come close to quantifying how precise he was in the last 15 minutes of this win.

After 30+ minutes of ragged play and bad shooting Henson joined the fun late, too.  His stone-cold turnaround jumper late was Rasheed-esque, and defensively he was huge down the stretch with a game-changing block that went a long way in silencing the Comcast Center crowd.

Finally, kudos to Reggie Bullock for some great plays late on offensive, 11 points and 5 boards, and a game-long harassment of Terrell Stoglin.  Stoglin got his points but missed 13 of his 21 shots and late he was gassed and could not buy a basket, much of that due to Bullock. 

Not epic, but still a great road win.  Not epic, but a comeback that saw every Tar Heels player make a big play in the second half.   Not epic, but the kind of road win that gives a team lots of confidence and swagger.

GO HEELS!

A few more Heels notes:

• Looking for another reason to be disgruntled about the next round of ACC expansion? With 16 teams in basketball, each team will only play one team twice a year in a home-and-home series every year. That means that Carolina will only play State twice a year once every three years (four times total in 3 years as part of the regular rotation).  BOO on that.
• Finally, I do not have a problem with John Henson's dunk as time expired.  There was time on the clock, Maryland had a player come over to try to stop him, and frankly it was a fitting and emphatic exclamation point on a big road win.
•  
• And finally, finally, folks probably remember that Michael Jordan's epic 'rock the cradle' dunk came in College Park as time expired on a UNC road win.  So Henson's dunk had some historical precedent. 

Five Great Halves in a Row

The Heels continued to prove they were back today against Georgia Tech, extending their winning streak to 31 straight at home, but more importantly playing their fourth and fifth straight great halves of basketball in routing the Yellow Jackets.

Lot's of other numbers to talk about: Carolina shot 54 for the game; made 8 three-point shots in the 1st half; the Tar Heels blocked 10 shots and had 8 steals versus only 10 turnovers for the game; ended a 4 game losing streak to Georgia Tech (the oddest number in this list).

Those numbers do tell the story.  Two numbers, two stories, two stats it particular should make every Tar Heels fan on the planet happy.

One, and the gaudiest one to look at, is the 10 threes for the game. Carolina started the season shooting 3s very well but had cooled of late.  This afternoon the Heels were getting and making open looks from beyond the arch. That, of course, opened thing up inside for another great game from Zeller, and effective and emphatic drives from Barnes.

If today's performance is proof that the Heels, in particular Bullock and Hairston, have regained their outside touch this team is practically unbeatable.  Who does the other team guard when all five Heels can shoot and score? 

Two, the defense was generally outstanding today, as evidenced by the 30 boards, and an 18 to 10 ratio of take aways - steals and blocks - to give aways - the dreaded turnover.  Boards, blocks and steals lead to fast breaks, and fast breaks lead to points.

In the second half Carolina's perimeter defense lagged at times, but the interior defense was outstanding, and I agree with Hubert Davis' kudos to Barnes for shutting down Glen Rice Jr. this afternoon.

As it is with Carolina's outside shooting, when the Heels defend and rebound like they did today, watch out world. 

The great news is the Heels have now done that for 5 halves in a row, and are starting to regain their swagger.

The iffy news is, can you really measure progress against a team that looked so overmatched like Georgia Tech looked today?  With Wake and Maryland up next, we may not find out that answer  for another week or so.  Either way, it's great to see Carolina looking like Carolina.

GO HEELS!

A few - ok, quite a few - more Heels notes:

• I loved Reggie Bullock's game today.  Not only did he bury some shots, 3 of 6 from three, I loved his activity on defense and without the ball.  His transition defense was key in the decisive first-half run that put this game away early.
• How crazy good is Kendall Marshall?  Ho hum, another 12-1 assist to turnover ratio game, with an excellent mix of long, spectacular, skip passes, mixed in with a three-pointer and a few nifty drives.  Running out of superlatives for his game.
• Fantastic to see John Michael McAdoo play with confidence today.  He had his best game in about a month.  Best of all?  He did not settle for that 10-foot fadeaway jumper he loves.  McAdoo was confident and aggressive today.
• Tyler Zeller continues to be 'the good Tyler Zeller' of last year's stretch run.  He was efficient and smooth on offense, great on the boards, and had another nice defensive game, too.  Front court mate John Henson had a nice if unspectacular game as well, 13 points, 6 boards, 4 blocks and a stop the presses 5 of 8 on free throws!
• Oh yeah, Harrison Barnes put together another dominant half of hoops.  In the first half he was not that aggressive but he made up for in the second stanza with a series of drives, pull ups, dunks, threes, and reverse lay ups.  And he played pretty good defense, too.
• Stillman White had a decent game, hitting one three, making one assist and one steal in 6 minutes of spelling Marshall at the point. Interesting to see Justin Watts play the point for about 2 minutes late in the game.  As a result, Marshall 'only' played 31 minutes tonight, which coincidentally is his season's average this year.

Take 2 Clemsons and Call Me in the Morning

When it comes to Carolina basketball, there is nothing like Clemson.  Once upon a time, Carolina was a school of unbelievable streaks: 20-win seasons, top-3 finishes in the ACC regular season, sweet 16 trips. Our friend Matt Doherty ended most of our most vaunted streaks (with some help from Boston College's Bill Curley).

The one that endures is our winning streak against the ACC's original football school, the Clemson Tigers. Last night's win leaves Clemson 0-forever versus Carolina.  Perhaps the most inexplicable record in sports is Carolina's 54-0 lifetime record at home versus Clem(p)son. 

Almost as inexplicable was the way the Heels stunk up the joint versus Georgia Tech on Sunday night.  After displays of toughness and determination in their previous 2 conference games the Heels displayed neither in Atlanta. They also could not do little things like catch a pass, let alone make a shot. Inexplicable that any Division I athlete, let alone a Carolina recruit, could not catch a pass but that's what happened on Sunday night.

The good news is last night the Heels righted many off those wrongs.  Perhaps best of all Carolina did not trail by double figures in this game for the first time in four games.  The Heels came out much more focused, with much more energy.

That may have something to do with Kendall Marshall replacing Larry Drew II in the starting line up. That was certainly part of it; Marshall was no Ty Lawson but the Heels did score 46 points in the first half - and did not fall behind.

Marshall did his part, but the Heels were led in the first half by Jon Henson and Reggie Bullock.  Bullock got major minutes due to a pneumothorax issue with Leslie McDonald. Not only did Bullock score 16 points in the first half, he got them as a result of playing a complete floor game. Bullock did hit 3 three-pointers but he also played the passing lanes and created - scored off of - Clemson turnovers.

Playing the passing lanes was emblematic of a more aggressive defensive effort by the Heels. Particularly late, the Heels really ratcheted up their defense and as a result Clemson only scored 2 points in the final seven minutes.

Also on display late was the toughness the Heels demonstrated in their wins over Virginia and Virginia Tech.  For most of the game the Heels had a working lead of 4 to 8 points but the Tigers fought back time after time, tying the game at 63 with seven minutes left.   That's when the Heels started making plays. 

Down the stretch Barnes made another big three and had a important defensive board, Marshall made free throws, there was a key tip-in by Henson,  and Zeller had two monster offensive rebounds.  

So overall a pretty satisfying game, one that makes us 3-1 in the conference.  We didn't get behind early, Bullock and Henson made shots, and the Heels got tough late to win.  Thanks Clemson!

And GO HEELS!

Few more Heels notes:

• This is Henson's team now.   Used to be Zeller's.  Psycho Z is still playing well, but Henson is consistently making plays on offense and defense (everywhere but the free throw line).  We get much worse when he is not on the floor.
• Zeller needs to get more touches.  In the last two games he's only taken 11 shots.  Maybe teams are keying on him more, and Henson is benefiting as a result.  But I wish we could be more patient on offense and get Zeller more touches and shots.
• I was impressed by Larry Drew II.  Coming off the bench he was more Bobby Fraser 2006 than his usual Adam Boone.  He attacked the basket and played some good d, too.  And he didn't sulk.  Props to LDII.
• Bullock finally snapped out of his parliament-sized funk last night.  Like Barnes, he's had trouble losing himself in the game but last night he finally did - and scored 16 points in the first half.
• Barnes keeps tantalizing. He is clearly skilled but still seems to be thinking too much out there.  I like that he has been taking the ball to the rack more, and seems to have improved as a defender.
•  After 3 games in 6 days the Heels are now off until their January 26 visit to the U. 

Psycho Z!

What an exhilarating win for the Heels today against the Wildcats!  It was sloppy at times, but in general Carolina played an all-around game to win one they had to have.  Losing today, especially after the kind of effort the Tar Heels put forth, could have had devastating consequences for Carolina.

But now the converse is true: this is the kind of win and game that a squad can build a successful season on. 

There were plenty of star turns in this game.  John Henson was everywhere making every kind of play.  Blocks, passes, rebounds, getting good position (he was not pushed around tonight as he was in the second half of the Illinois debacle), and of course scoring.  He even made an important free throw late after air balling two in a row early in the second half.

Harrison Barnes had a three-minute stretch where he looked like an all-American especially on the soaring, put-back dunk in the first half.  He scored seven points during a nice, 9-0 run for the Heels.  Barnes' streakiness included that mini-run, AND a time in the second half where he single-handedly tried to hand Kentucky the win.

Even Larry Drew made some nice plays, setting up teammates, getting a steal or two, and a nice drive and two big free throws late.

My unsung hero of the game was Dexter Strickland, and not just because in the first half he hit a JUMP SHOT!  Rather, it was his defensive effort.  Strickland lead an incredibly solid defensive effort for the Heels, and in the second half he slowed down Doron Lamb, Kentucky's very impressive freshman.

The big story from today's game - besides saving the season - was that defensive effort. Carolina imposed their will on Kentucky's offense, and funneled the ball and Kentucky players to areas of the floor where we wanted them to go, especially towards Zeller and Henson.  As a result the Heels finished with 9 blocks; 5 by Zeller and 3 by Henson.  And when Carolina's defense was not directing the ball towards our big men it was forcing Kentucky into traps and double teams.   It was a great defensive effort, just great team defense.

The defense was key, but another outstanding feature of today's win was the team resiliency and perseverance. Carolina was playing well most of the game, but never opened up much of a lead and spent most of the game trailing the Cats.  But they never gave in, kept working, and made plays for the win.

After a back and forth few minutes to start the second half, a Kentucky mini-run left the Heels down 6 with just under 12 minutes to go. It even forced 'ol Roy to call a time.  Coming out of the TO Leslie McDonald came off a John Henson screen at the top of the key.  But instead of taking a three, McDonald took two extra dribbles and hit a floating 8 footer.  It was a smart, Carolina-style play by McDonald, who was our best player off the bench today.  Twice he passed up threes for an easier drive to the basket.

Two minutes later Justin Watts got a big rebound that he turned into an old fashioned three-point play.  And almost more improbably, at the nine minute mark Drew - told you he had a nice game - made his own three-point play off a rebound fast break.  The Kentucky run was over, stemmed by the unlikely three of McDonald, Watts, and Drew II.

Great resilience and focus - and smart, Carolina basketball.

In the last 8 minutes it was basically the Tyler Zeller show.  As good as the defense and resilience of this team was today, THE story of the game has to be Psycho Z!

First he tied the score off a nice feed from Drew - yes, a very nice game from LDII - at the 7 minute mark.  Down the stretch Zeller did everything: he was grabbing rebounds; blocking shots; taking charges; carrying Wanda's groceries into the house; running the floor; getting great position and hitting free throws. 

Despite that effort the Heels were down one with a minute and a half to play.

But we kept getting the ball to Zeller, he and Drew made their free throws, Carolina really tightened up on defense, and the season was saved.  

Overall is was an exciting game to watch, but more importantly an exhilarating win that the Heels really, really needed.  Last year, this stretch of games ruined the season.  Interestingly enough, the exact opposite happened last year: we beat a Big 10 team (Michigan State) but lost to Kentucky, Texas and College of Charleston.  And the season was lost.

Hopefully the opposite will keep happening, so we'll win 11 games in the ACC, etc. etc.   And the way the Heels competed, kept their cool, and made plays down the stretch it could happen. It was that kind of game, and that big a win. 

Hadditional Heels Headlines:

• Another great thing about today's win? It undoubtedly made Kentucky's wack job, Duke graduate Senator Rand Paul sad.
• Last year's win over Michigan State gave everyone a false sense about the 2009-2010 Heels, especially about Larry Drew.  The good news is the Heels' next few games - against Evansville, Long Beach State, then another rematch with Texas - can give this team a chance to build on today's confidence. 
• Justin Watts was another unsung hero of the Kentucky game. In the final four or five minutes Roy went to a line up of Zeller, Drew, Barnes, Strickland and Watts (keeping Henson's free throw shooting on the bench). The Durham senior delivered with shots, free throws, a nice board and a defensive stop down the stretch.  He even tipped Strickland's missed free throw into the air - killing a second or two - as the game clocked expired.
• Love having Henson and Zeller down low on both ends of the court.
• This was the worst collective game our 3 freshman have played.  Marshall was horrible and made a number of bad passes.  Bullock had a few moments with a key assist and board in the second half.  He also got some open looks that he could not knock down.
• Barnes had that one good, electrifying run in the first half but otherwise he once again forced the action.  One theory I have is that many high school players from non-basketball states can be somewhat overrated, while city kids may be underrated.  Consider Vince Carter and Jon Henson, who came to Carolina from Florida, a football and baseball state.  It took each at least a year to step their game up to ACC level.  Barnes, from Iowa, may be on the same trajectory.  Iowa is a nice place, but Barnes did not face the same kind of competition as kids from New York, New Jersey, California or even North Carolina or Indiana.  
• Look at Kentucky's Lamb, from Queens.  He was fantastic.  It's only one game, but it's not surprising that a kid from New York is ready to successfully jump from high school to big time college basketball.  Ditto for Duke's Kyrie 'Eleison' Irving, who is off to a much better start than Barnes.
• Then again, Tyler Hansbrough was from Poplar Bluff, Missouri, an area more Iowa than Queens.  He's the exception.  But the good news for Heels fans is we got a Tyler Hansbrough-esque performance today from Tyler Zeller.  Psycho T, meet Psycho Z!