ACC Tournament Semi-finals

No surprises on day two of the ACC tournament.

Carolina handled FSU despite allowing the Seminoles to shoot almost 50 percent. The outcome was never really in doubt once the Heels took the lead half way through the first half behind Hansbrough, Ginyard and Ellington's shot near the end of the half.

But for much of the first half the Heels seemed to be playing down to the level of the competition.

The most significant development of the first half actually happened before the game started when Ty Lawson was introduced as the starting point guard. Lawson looked ok, and I agree with other commentators who noted that he still is not at full speed.

Though he didn't start Quentin Thomas had another great game off the bench, with 4 points, 3 assists, a couple of assists and a block in eighteen minutes. Q only had one turnover, and in general the Heels took care of the ball to finish with only 10 turnovers.

In the second half Carolina was much more focused and much more productive, at least on offense and the boards. In the first half the Heels were actually out rebounded, but fixed that in the second half. Carolina also repeatedly fed the post and Hansbrough finally went to the foul line after 3 halves of not shooting a free throw. Ellington also had a nice half, and though he didn't shoot well Danny Green made a number of nifty plays and passes, and the Heels maintained a comfortable lead for most of the game before eventually winning 82 - 70.

BTW, there was a big piece on Hansbrough in USA Today this week.

Though it wasn't the most exciting or well played game, it still was a nice win. FSU is a pretty decent team with a lot of scorers. And the Seminoles were playing for a shot - granted a very long shot - at the NCAA tournament. Finally, as Dean always said it's hard to beat a team three times in a season.

The Heels now play Virginia Tech today at 1:30. You may recall the Thomas-led Heels defeated the Hokies by 39 points about a month ago. That humiliation was the turning point of the season for Virginia Tech; after that game coach Seth Greenberg had each player sign a pledge (I pledge to: play hard for my teammates, give my all, listen to the coaches, be a good student, etc.). That seems to have worked as Tech recovered to finish with 9 wins in conference.

Their win over Miami yesterday - a competitive though inelegant game - should be enough to get them into the field of 64. But I assume Virginia Tech will play as if they need one more win - against a marquee opponent like the Heels - to punch their ticket.

That said, I imagine the game will be close early before the Heels pull away methodically for a 20 point win.

Other ACC Tournament Thoughts

• Duke eventually pulled away from Georgia Tech last night to set up a semi-final game versus Clemson. That should be a good game, but my money is on Duke and a rematch for the ACC championship between Carolina and Duke.
• One thing that gives me pause is the way Clemson dispatched BC. Granted, it's BC, but more than the score I was impressed by the way Clemson played. The Tigers were focused and aggressive. I still think Duke will win but it will be a good game.
  
• I watched the second half of the Duke-Tech game with long time friend - and friend of this blog - Joe Pillow, in for a visit from Seattle (where Joe reports it is hard to watch enough Carolina hoops), my former badminton partner from Carolina Mary Cotter and her husband at a gay sports bar on U Street called Nellie's. Prior to that we went to my new favorite DC spot The Saloon (No TV; No Standing) for some quality craft beer from Germany and Belgium - and some terrible dip called mirza.
  
• Finally, I wasn't crazy about Roy's introducing Hansbrough to a referee at the end of the game yesterday. Perhaps he did it tongue in check, and it did not come up in his post-game press conference. But it looked like he was showing up the refs a bit, and bottom line Dean would never do that.

Other Random Hoops Thoughts

• Nice piece by Feinstein (2 references in 2 days for the Duke grad!) about American University Jeff Jones in today's Post. American defeated Colgate for the Patriot League championship and their first appearance - after 41 years of hoops - in the NCAA tournament.
  
• As most of you know, Jones played and coached at Virginia before being fired by his alma mater. Jones took the Cavaliers to the tournament 5 times in 8 years; conversely the Wahoos have been lost in the hoops wilderness ever since under Pete Gillen and Dave Leito. Anyway, congrats to Jones and AU, the university closest to our home and thus the one I hope my kids go to (if they don't go to Carolina, of course).
• Interesting to note that Gary Williams and Jimmy Lynam both coached at AU. But the most infamous player or coach in AU history is probably . . . ? Hint - his first name is the same as a famous muppet. Who knows that answer?

ACC Tournament Preview

Carolina takes on FSU in a few hours in the first game of the second day of the ACC tournament. I think I blogged this last year, but growing up in North Carolina the first day of the ACC tournament was practically a state holiday. There were only two days - or two events - where TVs were allowed in class: a moon walk and the ACC tournament. Class would stop in order to watch some college basketball, at least in the good ol' North State.

Of course, there was more riding on the outcome back then in the days of each league only getting one entry into the NCAA tournament. That's one reason the ACC tournament always was the cover story on the next week's Sports Illustrated (also a big deal back then).

John Feinstein laments what has happened to the ACC tournament - more focused on the post-football expansion ACC as opposed to the post-multiple NCAA bids ACC - in the Post today.

• Man, did Maryland look terrible last night down the stretch in losing to Boston College. Vasquez in particular was horrible with a lot of turnovers, and James Gist didn't help matters by jacking up shots from the perimeter. You'd think Gary Williams would call a time out, draw an X on the whiteboard marking Gist down low, and order Vasquez to get him the ball. Seems like a simple thing to do, but the Terps couldn't do it.
• The fans are starting to get restless with Williams in College Park; interesting how the press in DC always defends him. I wonder how long that will last since Maryland is doomed for a third trip to the NIT in four years.
• Miami played their way into the tournament yesterday with their win over NC State. State finished with a losing record and won't even get invited to the NIT.
• The biggest game of the day is Virginia Tech versus the Hurricanes at 2:30. A win by the Hokies guarantees their bid to the NCAA, though one would hope with 9 wins in the RPI's toughest conference would be enough. But 9 wins is not a lock after playing an unbalanced schedule most of your wins coming over bottom feeders like BC, NC State and Wake.
• Carolina's tilt against FSU could end up being a close game. Counting their first round win over Wake, the Seminoles are now 8-9 in the ACC. A win over the Heels could get them into the tournament, or FSU probably thinks it can so they will be fired up.
• The good news for Carolina is they are starting to hit their stride on offense and defense, and now has four almost unstoppable weapons in Hansbrough, Ellington, Lawson and Danny the Deity.

Go Heels!

God I Love Danny Green

I found myself texting that message to quite a few friends after Carolina's great win over the Devils tonight in Durham.

There were so many great performances tonight by the Heels.   Let's start with the team itself.  

As they did in the final regular season game in 2005, Carolina held Duke scoreless - SCORELESS - down the stretch as they outscored the Blue Devils 10-0.  It was a great team effort, with lots of help defense.  

To wit, after Scheyer made it 66-68 with just under 6 minutes left the Heels didn't score for 3 minutes - but did not panic. With 3 minutes left Scheyer drove one more time trying to make it a four-point game but my new deity - Danny Green - rotated over and blocked the shot.  

From that point on the Heels played great Carolina basketball; they were smart, kept their cool and were methodical down the stretch on the offensive end. In the last three minutes there were just so many huge huge plays by the Heels.

Start with Ellington's driving basket to tie it at 68.  Carolina wanted to get the ball to Hansbrough, but when Wayne realized that Tyler was not open he made a great decision and a great drive past a great Hansbrough screen for the big bucket.  

After Henderson missed a contested shot we saw more smart Carolina basketball on the ensuing possession.   Again, Carolina looked down low. But Lawson could not get it to Psycho T but did find a cutting Marcus Ginyard. Ginyard missed the shot, but Green kept the ball alive and Hansbrough just took the ball from Singler for the put back and a 2-point lead that restored order in the universe.

That may have been the play of the game, and highlighted Carolina's dominance on the boards.

Trailing by two, Duke came out of a time out only to see Paulus miss a 3-point shot that was taken way too early in the possession.  But you can't fault Paulus for having the stones to take the shot and for carrying Duke the entire night.

Carolina got the ball back and added insult to Paulus' injury.  Roy called the same play he ran in February 2007 when the Heels won in Cameron - clear it out for Lawson and let him blow by Paulus. Instead of scoring he got fouled and make both free throws for a 72-68 lead.  

   

If Hansbrough's put back was the biggest play of the night, the second biggest was Lawson's steal after he knocked down the two free throws.  Again, it was more great team defense.  After Henderson tried to dribble around Hansbrough, Lawson came over to steal the ball. 

Ty immediately pushed the ball up court, but missed the lay up.  But if you run the floor good thing happen. Danny the Diety did, and his tip in of the Lawson miss gave Carolina a six point lead.  

Just as Lawson followed his free throws with a steal, Green followed his tip in with a big block of Scheyer's lay up on the other end.  Green was simply spectacular tonight - on offense and defense, in the first half and the second. 

Duke got the ball back only to have Scheyer's three blocked by Hansbrough - one of 15 FIFTEEN - blocked shots by the Heels.  Carolina's rebounding, defense and blocked shots were three of the many great things the Heels did in Durham tonight.

After the block Carolina got the ball up the court quickly, with crisp diagonal passes from Lawson to Ginyard to Ellington to Green for an emphatic dunk and an 8 point lead with 25 seconds left.

Duke 'answered' with a Nelson air ball and the game was over, though Green got one more block against Paulus with 10 seconds left.

Just an excellent game with great plays by the entire Tar Heel squad.

Everyone played great and contributed.  I've already mentioned Green, Hansbrough, Ellington and Lawson.  But how about Q's big three to regain the lead at 60-57 after Scheyer had tied it with 9 minutes left?   Or Thompson, who finished with 5 blocks, 7 points and 9 boards, plus made two big free throws in the second half?

Some of the stat lines for the Heels are just as gaudy.  Hansbrough's 16 points and 15 boards, Lawson's 10 points, and Ellington's 16.

But the gaudiest and best line belongs to the player who won this game for the Heels, my man Danny Green. He goes to Durham, comes off the bench and finishes with 18 points, 8 boards and 7 blocks.  He got the Heels off to the great start in the first half - including a freak-nasty in-your-grill dunk over Paulus - and closed the game with big plays on both ends of the floor.  God I love Danny Green.   

A Few More Thoughts

• Heels finish the season undefeated on the road. Pretty phenomenal, and a tribute to Roy but mainly to the players for developing a toughness that was not there last year.
• Krzyzewski once again has a losing lifetime record versus Carolina (14-24 vs. Dean, BTW), and the Heels have beaten Duke three times in a row at Cameron.
• Nothing like defeating Duke at Duke, in front of all the right-wing entitlement boobs.  Take that Richard Nixon, Ken Starr, Elizabeth Dole, etc. etc.
• That said, here's to Greg Paulus.  The guy has made himself a player.  Hard to knock Duke's squad - in Paulus, Henderson, Nelson, Scheyer, and Singler that is a ton of talent, and I haven't mentioned perhaps their most talented player Nolan Smith.  Another testament to Carolina's defense, toughness and smarts in defeating a team like that on their home floor.
• As talented as they are - and it was a great great college basketball game - the Dukies looked gassed and really bothered by the Heels down the stretch. Whereas the Heels methodically imposed their will in the last four minutes, Duke looked tight and tired. Paulus' missed three, Singler's missed three and a big miss by Henderson at the 5 minute mark all point to a tired team that may have expended all their energy in simply making it a tie ball game.

Of course, Carolina had a lot to do with their fatigue and general discombobulatedness.  The Heels played a great overall game with contributions from everyone and everywhere on the floor.  What a great win, led by my man Danny the Deity.

Go Heels!

Olympiacos Eliminated

Olympiacos got waxed on Wednesday, losing 0-3 to Chelsea and thus getting eliminated from the European Champions league tournament.  Chelsea dominated and kept the ball on their side of the field most of the game.   The most telling stat of the game was shots - Chelsea had 18 on goal, while the Reds only had 6.

Not exactly news, but the game reminded you once again that English league football is a lot better than the Hellenic league.

The next Hellenic football news to watch for is the upcoming European Championships in Austria and Switzerland where Greece will defend her 2004 championship.

Of course, some ACC hoops news:

• Clemson lost tonight at Georgia Tech, but with 9 wins they are in.  They host Virginia Tech this weekend; the winner will have 10 wins, but both the Tigers and the Hokies are in either way.  That game is also huge in terms of seeding for the ACC tournament; the winner will finish third and get a bye, but the loser could tie with Miami who could finish fourth when their win over Duke is used as the tie breaker (best quality win).
• Maryland has a huge game at Virginia this weekend, but even if they win they need help in the ACC tournament.
• Miami is probably in with 8 wins after their comeback against BC Wednesday night.   They could really breath easy if they take care of FSU in Tallahassee this weekend to finish with 9 wins.   Other than the Carolina-Duke game the Canes at the Noles is probably the game of the weekend.
• Finally, in a mild upset as Vince Carter - with 5 votes or 35% - won our poll as the best Carolina dunker of all time.  He edged the greatest basketball player of all time 5 to 4.  I'm pretty sure I voted for David Noel solely on his dunk at Kentucky.  Hard to pick against Carter, especially when you consider his dunk over a 7 footer in the Olympics - perhaps the greatest dunk of all time and his display at the slam dunk contest a few years ago.
• Kudos to brother and Baseball America editor John Manuel for planting the seed for our new poll on Tyler Hansbrough.

A Win Is A Win

For a nice win - where the Heels shot 70 percent in the second half - tonight's game versus Florida State was pretty boring.

The Heels got off to a fairly lackadaisical start highlighted by Surry Wood's four points.   Hansbrough and Ellington both shot air balls before the first TV timeout as FSU got off to a 7 point lead.  I like that Roy gave Wood, a non-scholarship player, the start and let him break a sweat. I also like that he did not overreact - or react at all, really - to Carolina's slow start.

The Heels eventually got rolling a bit; Ginyard made some nice plays, Hansbrough got to the free throw line, but it was Danny Green who really jump started Carolina's offense with some nice shooting and passing.  Will Graves once again had some nice minutes in the first half, too.  Hansbrough eventually finished with 20 and 9, Ginyard with 13 on 5-7 shooting, and Green 12 and 7.  

Carolina was much more methodical and efficient in the second half.  Carolina continued to dominate the backboards, and Hansbrough and Green continued to lead.   The Heels also moved the ball very well, especially in the second half, on the way to finishing with 22 assists.  Thompson - who had a bad game on defense - made a few shots on the way to 8 points, but the biggest difference between the first and second half was the play of Lawson and Thomas.

Lawson made 4 of 6 shots, with 3 assists, in 20 minutes.  Q, playing in his last game at the Dean Dome, finished with 8 points on 4-4 shooting on four nifty drives (and one dunk where he clearly hung and pulled himself up on the rim, something you can only get away with on Senior Night).

Ellington was oddly off, and finished with only 6 points on 2 of 9 shooting.  As you know, to me he is the key to this team.  Hopefully he got it out of his system, and will bounce back against Duke on Saturday.

So a nice win where the Heels shot great in the second half, passed the ball really well, and dominated the boards. And as a bonus Lawson continued to play himself back into playing shape.    It might have been boring, but it was a nice win where the Heels did a lot of things right. 

A Few Random Updates

• Big game for Hellenic football team Olympiacos as they play the second game of their two-game UEFA Champions League series against Chelsea tomorrow (Wednesday) at Stamford Bridge.  The teams played to a scoreless tie two weeks ago in Athens.  The winner tomorrow advances to the round of 8, though Olympiacos can advance on a tie if they score (a 0-0 tie means extra play - I think - but the Reds advance if it's a scoring tie on the basis of away goals).  The game is on ESPN2 at 2:45 pm eastern.
• Virginia Tech played its way into the NCAA tournament with their win over Wake tonight.  The Hokies now have 9 wins in ACC play.  Conversely, Wake is now out of the NCAAs with 9 conference loses.
• Lots of big games left this week and weekend, including the Heels' third straight win at Cameron.  

Visit to Nationals Park

The kids and I took advantage of the nice weather today, and prodded by the article in the Post visited the new Nationals Park.

We purposely took the (Danny) Green line there to see what that would be like. Unfortunately, the new Half Street exit at the Navy Yard metro stop is not finished yet.

We eventually walked down Half Street and were able to look at the stadium from across the street. The stadium itself looks ready. While we were there we got to see them test the fire alarms. They seem to work as the entire stadium had flashing lights going. We thought about starting an actual fire, but thought karma-wise that would not be a good idea.

I've posted some photos of our visit on the old blog.

Unlike the stadium but very much like the metro stop, the area around the stadium is a pretty serious construction site. Behind center field a new building, probably condos, is being built and the huge hole for it's parking garage takes up a city block. The big hole will be on your left when you walk to the stadium from the Half Street metro stop exit. On your right will be an even weirder site - a dreary, maroon-brick colored, block-long Metro bus repair shed/warehouse. I wonder if that's always going to be there, or will Metro sell the building and relocate. I imagine Metro would make a pretty decent profit from selling that building.

I assume everything will be cleaned up in time for opening day, but there still seems to be lots of work to be done in the next 3 weeks.

Hoops Notes

• Maryland blew a 20-point lead with 11 minutes left and lost to Clemson tonight 73-70, in College Park on Senior Night. Vazquez had 7 assists but 7 turnovers - all of them seemed to happen in the last 10 minutes of the game. Clemson was the opposite, and played loose on both ends of the floor before Oglesby hit a fade-away three with 3 seconds left to win it.
• Maryland is 8-7 with a game at Charlottesville. They are back on the bubble, and definitely need wins at Virginia and at least one win in the ACC tournament.
• The Wizards defeated New Orleans for the second time in a week behind Jam-Is-On's 28 points. That guy is a pro's pro. Hard to believe that the 'Zards will likely make the playoffs despite missing Arenas and Butler for most of the year, but not hard to believe that it is due to a great player and leader like Carolina's Antawn Jamison.

Two Great Comebacks Against BC

It's hard to figure out where to begin in blogging about Carolina's great win this afternoon against Boston College. 

So I guess I'll start with the obvious - the great comeback from 18 points down in the second half en route to a 90-80 road win.  Add this game to the list of celebrated Carolina comebacks.  The Heels trailed by 14 at the half and the deficit quickly ballooned to 18 after two more Rice baskets two minutes into the final stanza.  Rice was out of his head on fire in the first half on his way to 34 points.

Since this is a Carolina and Hellenic blog, I'll remind folks that among the greatest sins - perhaps the greatest sin - to the ancient Greeks was hubris.  Rice was hot, but I believe his hubris - exemplified by his fanning of himself after his seventh made three pointer - offended the Carolina Comebacks gods, a pantheon that includes Cunningham, Bradley, Jordan, Lynch and Dean.  

Perhaps for that reason, no matter how hot Rice was and even after the Heels got down by 18, this was one of those games where you just knew the Heels were somehow going to win.   I've blogged this before, but that is just one of those feelings a Tar Heel gets.

One reason you feel it is the coaching of folks like Dean and ol' Roy.  Roy pulled the starters after Rice's second basket of the second half gave the Eagles the 18-point lead.  Whatever Roy said to his starters worked.

The other thing Roy said in the second half that worked was "Danny, go in for . . . "  My man Danny Green was phenomenal today, hitting 3 three-point shots during a 22-3 run that fueled Carolina's comeback.   He finished 4 of 8 on three pointers, and with 18 points and 7 boards.   Green just oozed confidence on his jump shots, and came off the bench with a determined looked on his face that said "Enough is enough; time for me to lead the Heels to a win today."  He did.

Of course, he had help from Wayne Ellington.  At half time I told Ariadne and Evan, 'don't worry, the Heels are going to win this game, and it would be a lot easier if Ellington got hot.'  Well, safe to say he got hot.   After scoring only two points in the first half, Ellington hit two huge threes and showed off his new, varied and complete floor game.  In addition to going two for five on threes, he finished 7 for 12 for 20 points, and 3 steals. Ellington was excellent on both ends of the floor - this guy is no longer simply a three-point shooter - and was as good as any college player in the country in the second half.

Ellington was not alone in playing great defense in the second half;  Green, Ginyard  and the entire team did a nice job, especially on Rice.  Carolina was quick to double team in the final 20 minutes, and also did a great job of playing the passing lanes.   The comeback was fueled by steals and forced turnovers as much as it was by Green and Ellington.

The defense of Rice in the second half  brings me to the second great comeback in the game. I'm of course referring to the return of Ty Lawson.   

How great was it to see Lawson check into the game in the first half?  Me, I was visually and audibly giddy. Offensively Lawson didn't really look for his shot, but he did manage 5 assists in 21 minutes.   And Ty did have one of his patented blow-bys to the rack.  

But defense was where Lawson dramatically impacted this game.  In the first half Rice hit a number of tough and contested shots, with Q in is face on most the them.  The difference in the second half was that Lawson's pressure on Rice kept him from a) getting any open looks at all, and b) initiating any kind of offense for the Eagles.   

I loved the defense, but loved seeing him on the floor even more.

 

Finally, as great as Green and Ellington were, how about Tyler Hansbrough? Psycho T finished with a game high 25 points and 9 rebounds.  He also had the assist on Green's first three of the second half.   More importantly, he single handedly kept the Heels in the game in the first half.

The other guy who helped keep the Heels in striking distance despite the onslaught from Rice was Will Graves.  He scored 5 quick and calming points late in the first half, and also picked up a nifty steal.  Quality minutes at a key time from our only freshman.

A great team effort and great comeback from the Heels today.  It was a great game to watch and a great win.  

Finally, the win coupled with losses by Tennessee, Memphis, and others this week means that the Heels will probably be number one on Monday.   What a nice tribute to Quentin Thomas as he prepares for senior night on Wednesday against Florida State.   No one, including me, thought that he could do what he has done - including leading the Heels to the number one spot in the polls - these last seven games. 

Congrats, Q.  Let's hope your senior season ends the same way your freshmen year did.  

A Few Hoops Notes:

• Lots of big games lately and left on the ACC schedule.  How about that huge win by Maryland on Thursday at Wake Forest behind James Gist's 31 points?  Talk about rising to the occasion; who does Gist think he is, Danny Green?  
• The Deacons lost again today at Georgia Tech, and are now 6-8 with games at Virginia Tech and at home to State left.  A win over Maryland would have given them a great chance to get to 9-7 in the league; now they have to win in Blacksburg to get to 8 wins.  Even then, they would probably have to win at least one game in the ACC tournament.
• Kudos to Maryland for the impressive road win.  If they defeat Clemson in College Park for their ninth conference win on Sunday they should be in the tournament.  
• Even if they lose to Maryland tomorrow, Clemson should get to nine wins if they defeat Virginia Tech at home next weekend, and have an outside chance to get to 10 wins in conference if they can beat Georgia Tech in Atlanta.
• Virginia Tech can also get to 9 wins by defeating Wake at home on Tuesday.
• Miami's late season surge continued today with win at home over Virginia.   The Canes remaining games are at home to BC and at FSU. Both are winnable, and the U is almost guaranteed to finish with at least 8 wins in conference.
• Tough but explainable loss for State today against Duke.  State just doesn't have the fortitude to compete and win games like Carolina or Duke does.  I bet every fan in the RBC Center felt the dread and certainty that somehow the Pack was going to lose despite holding a 13-point lead with 5 minutes left.  
• Virginia lost despite 41 points from Sean Singetary and leading at half.  Interesting to note both teams with 40+ scorers lost today in the ACC.
• Finally, despite the loss the Cavaliers are playing with some spunk and passion, and will beat Duke this week in Charlottesville.  
• My guess is the ACC gets six teams in the tournament: Carolina, Duke, Clemson, Virginia Tech, Maryland and Miami, though Wake could sneak in if they finish 8-8 and win a game or two in the ACC tournament.

Two totally random notes:

• I had probably the best beer I've ever had this week on Wednesday night.  Navin Nayak took me to The Saloon on U Street ("No TV, No Standing") where I feasted on Saxo, an organic, monk-brewed beer from Belgium.  So I was giddy twice on Saturday: when Lawson checked into the game, and when I found Saxo at Rodman's.
• I got a hair cut today, and usually when I ask about a possible bald spot on my head my barber Panayoti always says 'get out of here; I'm bald and I know bald and you are not starting to go bald.'  But today when I asked my Greek-Cypriot friend said, "Well, you're not as bald as me."   

Carolina Takes Down Wake

The Heels' handled Wake Forest last night for their fifth win in a row.  Like the State game, the game was relatively close early as the Heels maintained a 4 to 10 point lead for most of the half.  

The stage was set for the second half by Ellington's three just before halftime.   Ellington was 3 for 5 from behind the arch last night, and once again helped carry Carolina's offense.

Hansbrough had another great game.  He is so good that it's easy to take him granted. But as well as Thomas has played lately it's Psycho T who has really stepped it up in the wake of Lawson's injury.  Hansbrough has developed a well rounded offensive game; he's got spin moves, power moves, that shot put hook shot, a mid range game, and of course his free throw shooting.  In a word - unstoppable.  In addition to his 29 points Hansbrough got McFarland in foul trouble. When McFarland picked up his fourth foul early in the second half the game was basically over.

I like the way the Heels started the second half.  Carolina repeatedly went inside to Hansbrough, Ellington and Green shot well, but I also liked the defense in the first 10 minutes of the half.   It was a very methodical effort by the Heels as they eventually led by 19 points.  

Green especially had a nice run the second half, and finished with 15 points and 9 rebounds.  His three after Wake had closed to 12 put the game away.

Finally, a word about Quentin Thomas.  Once again he had a nice game running Carolina's new, efficient half court sets.   What an asset he'll be in the NCAA tournament; with Lawson and Thomas the Heels will be able to run and play a half court game, if needed.

The Heels now have a week off before they play at BC next weekend.  As well as Q has played, Lawson may finally get back on the court after the week layoff.   

Random Hoop Thoughts

• State got waxed again in Charlottesville, trailing by 27 at one point.  I'm starting to develop a macabre interest in the Wolfpacks' ineptitude.
• Miami defeated Maryland and has an inside track to make the NCAA tournament.  Maryland is now firmly on the bubble.
• Finally, I was impressed by Wake.  They have four legit players in Teague, Johnson, Smith and McFarland; all four are either freshmen and sophomores. Watch out for them next year, though if they make it to 8-8 the Duke win should get them in the tournament this year.  The ACC deserves six teams in the NCAAs this season (UNC, Duke, Clemson, Miami, Virginia Tech, and Wake).

Not impressed

My kids and I went to the Wizards game last night against the Bobcats.  We got great seats at a nice price courtesy of StubHub, but the main reason we went was to be in the same room as Raymond Felton.  

It was quite an alumni night.  On the Wizards you've got Brendan Haywood (who had 15 and 7), all star Antawn Jamison (who had a great game and led the 'Zards to the 15-point win) plus assistant coach Mike O'Koren. In addition to Felton - who played okay but did not look comfortable in the half court offense the Bobcats run; I'd love to see him on a west coast team that likes to run - the Bobcats feature Jeff McInnis, the injured Sean May, plus Phil 'Greatest Heel of All Time' Ford on the bench as an assistant coach.  Buzz Peterson also works for the Bobcats, hired by team president/part-owner/former roommate/best friend Michael Jordan.

In addition to Carolina, Fayetteville was also in the house as former Fayetteville State coach and alumni Jeff Capel Jr. - the father of Duke grad Jeff Capel III, the current coach at Oklahoma, and Carolina's Jason Capel - is another of the Bobcats' assistants.

After the game I came home to watch the Memphis-Tennessee game, and part of the heavyweight reunification bout between Vladimir Klitschko and Sultan Ibragimov.   As you know, Tennessee and Klitschko both won, but I don't know which team/fighter was less impressive.

Neither Tennessee nor Memphis looked that good to me.  Both teams took bad shots and seemed easily flummoxed into making bad plays.  Both teams finished the game at under 40 percent shooting, and Memphis shot less than 50 percent from the free throw line.  The Tigers came out hot then seemed to lose interest.   And as Memphis rallied late Tennessee looked really nervous - except on that last shot.

Part of it may have been the hype, which probably made some of the players nervous.  But as I watched it was hard for me to picture either team giving Carolina problems - or Duke or Clemson for that matter.

Klitschko was even less impressive.  At 6'7" he is a physical marvel and a heck of a physical specimen, and is much bigger, taller and has a much longer reach than Ibragimov, a Russian Avar.   After the third round he realized he could win on jabs alone, and never really committed to the fight.   He won a unanimous decision after 12 lack luster rounds without much action - or punching - at all.  It got so boring that his trainer, the legendary Emmanuel Stewart, told Klitschko he was going to win but criticized his own fighter for not committing to the bout or throwing enough punches.  

I wasn't impressed.  Hansbrough could have taken all four of them - Memphis, Tennessee, Ibragimov, and Klitschko - by his damnself.

Big Games Loom As ACC Season Goes to the Wire

There are quite a few huge games left in the last 4 weeks of the ACC regular season.  This looked like a down year for the ACC.  Despite possessing the best RPI in the country, and dominating the ACC-Big 10 challenge for the seventh year in a row, for weeks it looked like the ACC would be a four and at best a five bid league in terms of the NCAA tournament.

But three games last week changed that.  Duke's two loses to Wake and Miami have placed those teams firmly on the bubble.  And Virginia Tech's impressive bounce back win - on the road - over Maryland coupled with their very favorable schedule places the Hokies back in contention.  

All of a sudden, one can envision a scenario where the ACC gets seven teams into the field of 65.

Here is my team-by-team breakdown - in no particular order - of the remainder of the ACC regular season (courtesy of my visit to the eye doctor on Friday; I was there for two hours and between tests was able to forecast the remainder of the season):

FSU: despite a nice win over Clemson last week I think the Noles will finish by going 1-3 and 5-11 overall; they only have one more winnable game on the schedule, at home vs. BC, with a huge game vs. Miami in Tallahassee to the last regular season game for FSU; that game will mean more to UM so I have the Canes winning that tilt.

BC: only one winnable game left on their schedule, against Georgia Tech at home; after a nice start to the ACC season I think they'll finish at 5-11.

Maryland: the Terps have the most challenging remaining schedule of any ACC team; you can see them losing their last four games - 3 roads games vs. Wake, Virginia, and Miami, and a home game vs. Clemson;  I think they'll beat Clemson and limp to an 8-8 finish in the conference; the selection committee heavily weighs how a team played in their last 10 games, so they may be in trouble at 8-8; that loss to the Hokies was huge; will their win against Carolina get them in, or will early season losses at home to American and Ohio relegate the Terps to the NIT? with 8 regular season wins it will probably take a win in the ACC tournament to get Maryland into the NCAA.

Miami - I blogged about this last week, but Miami controls their own destiny; win against Duke was huge; they have 3 more winnable games left against Maryland, BC, and Virginia, a winnable road game against FSU, and a big big game at Clemson; simply winning at home gets the Canes to 8-8, and taking the Noles in the finale gets them to 9 wins and into the NCAA tournament; it also means NC-native Frank Haith is the ACC coach of the year. 

Georgia Tech - should win their last 3 homes games and finish 7-9.

Virginia Tech - Seth Greenberg would be coach of the year if not for Haith, assuming of course that VPI wins their last 3 home games against Georgia Tech, Boston College and Wake; their one road game is winnable too, against Clemson; they should finish 3-1 and with 9 wins in the conference; 9 isn't always the magic number, but it should get them in.

Virginia - I thought they'd go 11-5 this year, but instead will likely finish at 5-11 after going 3-2 the rest of the way; I do have them upsetting Duke in Charlottesville, though.

NCSU - only one winnable game on their schedule against FSU in Raleigh; Pack will finish the season in last place as one of four 5-11 ACC squads while Herb Sendek returns to the NCAA tournament as coach of Arizona State.

Wake Forest - another great story a la Miami and the Hokies; Gaudio could win coach of the year as sentimental choice and with 8 conference wins; the Deacons are great at home but bad on the road; if that pattern persists they will finish at 8-8 and on the same bubble as Maryland; will Duke win get them in? huge game looming @ Virginia Tech; like Maryland, they probably need a win in the ACC tournament to secure an invitation to the big dance.

Clemson - if they win their remaining two home games - against Miami and Virginia Tech - they get to 9 wins and in; road games versus Maryland and Georgia Tech are also winnable.

Duke - should finish with 12 wins even with an upset loss to Virginia; I have Carolina beating them for the third year in a row in Cameron to end the season.

Carolina - I see the Heels running the table behind Hansbrough and Q, with Lawson returning to burn the Devils in Durham.

So my final standings are:

UNC 14-2

Duke 12-4

Clemson 9-7

Va Tech 9-7

Miami 9-7

Maryland 8-8

Wake 8-8

Ga Tech 7-9

BC, FSU, 

NCSU, Virginia 5-11

Huge games left:

Maryland at Miami - TODAY

Miami at Clemson - Feb. 27

Wake at Georgia Tech - Mar 1

Clemson at Maryland - Mar 2

Wake at Virginia Tech - Mar 4

Miami at FSU - Mar 8

Carolina at Duke - Mar 8

Maryland at Virginia - Mar 9

Hellenic Football Update

Greek professional football teams generally do not fare well in European competitions. But that had changed a bit this year, as all of the big 3 of Hellenic soccer - Olympiakos, Panathinaikos, and AEK - advanced in their respective tournaments.

That momentum came to a halt this week, as Pana and AEK were eliminated from the UEFA Cup tournament after reaching the round of 32.

And despite outplaying UK power Chelsea for most of the game, Olympiakos had to settle for a 0-0 tie. They really needed that game since it was on their home pitch in Athens. Game two of the two-game series is in March at Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea is very tough to beat. The winner of that game advances. But if it's a tie I think the Reds advance; havingn scored an away goal is one of the tie breakers.

The good news on the Hellenic football horizon is the upcoming June Euro 2008 Championship where Greece will be defending their Euro 2004 title.

The Q Bandwagon

It's not just Carolina and Hellenic Blue Blog - the whole internet is on the Q bandwagon.

There is a nice piece at Insidecarolina.com on Q - http://northcarolina.scout.com/2/731074.html - that reminds us: "Thomas is averaging 7.7 points and 6.5 assists per game in Lawson’s absence, while connecting on 53.6 percent of his field goal attempts for the season. His on-court demeanor has changed dramatically from a seemingly overwhelmed backup to a smooth, calming presence as the Tar Heels ‘ starting point guard."

Ditto the Wilmington paper with their story on no longer doubting Thomas at http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20080221/NEWS/802210418/1005/NEWS

Heels Humiliate Pack For Second Time This Season

It wasn't a 30-point blow out like the earlier game in Chapel Hill, but Carolina once again humiliated the Wolfpack tonight.

The Heels methodically took apart the Pack in the second half, led by Tyler Hansbrough, Wayne Ellington and Quentin Thomas. Hansbrough finished with 32 points, 12 boards and 5 steals. He simply ate up State in the second half.

As great as Hansbrough was the whole team looked great. Offensively the Heels were efficient and smart, and as a result shot 52 percent for the contest. And defensively the Heels were much more aggressive in the second half.

In addition to Hansbrough, Ellington, Q and Roy had great games.

Ellington had another great shooting night; his slump is dead and buried. Best of all, he made shots from all over the court - on threes, pull ups and drives. He was 8 for 13, finished with 21 points and 8 boards. Eight boards!

Q had another nice, confidence-building effort against the Pack. He looked cool and in control tonight as he ran the offense and shot the ball well, making great decisions all game long. He finished with 10 points - on 5 of 7 shooting - and 7 assists (versus only 2 turnovers). Thomas looked like a first-string ACC point guard tonight.

And let's give Roy some love. The defensive adjustments the Heels made at the break fueled the run that quickly put this game away early in the second half.

Roy and those three players were stellar, and I haven't even mentioned Marcus Ginyard, who finished with 13 and 6, including two nasty spirit-crushing - almost coach-firing - dunks.

If I was a State fan I would be embarrassed by that team and their effort. Two of Ginyard's dunks we uncontested - in the half court! State did not compete in the second half, which is incredible when you consider it was a home game against their most heated rival.

But I guess Hansbrough can do that to a squad, crowd and school. When he is this unstoppable, relentlessly getting the ball where he likes it and making shots - that can demoralize anyone or any team. Tonight he had everything working: making shots down low, a few 12 footers, a few spin moves taking it to the rack, and those five steals.

As good as Hansbrough was, State was that bad.

A Few Random Thoughts:

• Carolina has won two straight games by more than 50 points with Q at the point, and overall are 5-1 without Lawson. I love the mental toughness the Heels have developed in the face of losing Ty for six games, and can't wait to see how well the Heels play once Lawson returns.
• Even without Lawson, the way Q has played lately the Heels could be a final four team with Thomas at the point. As long as Ellington shoots it like he has lately, Hansbrough keeps being Hansbrough, and Q keeps gaining confidence you never know how far this line up could go.
• And the Heels are now tied for first in the ACC after Miami's upset of Duke tonight in the Gables. I'm not terribly surprised by this score. Miami was coming off a win, and knew going in that a win over the Devils would dramatically enhance their chance of making the NCAA tournament. They pulled it off tonight, scoring 96 points against Duke.
• The U plays Maryland next, with the Terps coming off a loss at home to Viriginia Tech. Maryland looked terrible on offense, and let the Hokies hang around for 35 minutes. In the last five Virginia Tech got hot, Maryland got tentative and the Hokies stole a win in College Park.
• Tonight's results remind you of why college basketball is college basketball. Virginia Tech, coming off a 39 point humiliation to Caroline, BEATS the team that beat Carolina - on their home floor. Miami beats a team - Duke - at home that beat Carolina in Chapel Hill, the same Carolina team that defeated Miami in Coral Gables by 16.
  

Heels, Hokies, Hoops and Hellenic Football

Great to watch the Heels rout the Hokies on Saturday afternoon. It reminded me of those halcyon days of yore, you know January.

It was a great win no matter how you look at it, but especially sweet in the context of recent nail biters and over time wins, to say nothing of the many injuries and ailments the Heels have had to deal with. Under normal circumstances, a 39-point beat down by the Heels would not be that noteworthy, but for me me there were three nice story lines from the 92-53 win.

One, don’t forget that Virginia Tech swept the season series against the Heels last year. The loss in Chapel Hill was the most galling, as Carolina lost another overtime game to Jamon Gordon and last year’s pretty good Hokie squad. This year the Heels are excelling, or at least making plays and winning, in overtime.

Two, the Heels blew out an ACC team while using second and third-string players for much of the game. Not only did Q have a tremendous game - more on that later - but Alex Stephenson played a great game on both ends of the court and Will Graves was on the floor during key stretches of the tilt versus Tech. It’s been said quite a bit lately, but the silver lining of these injuries is more time and experience for players like Graves and Q.

And three, how great was Q today? By far this was his best game as a Heel. He is playing with such confidence now, as evidenced by his two DUNKS against the five from Blacksburg. His dunk in the first half also featured a great cross over dribble to get him into the lane and to the rack. Great to see a guy who has persevered play so well when given the chance. Thomas finished with six points, seven boards and six assists against Virginia Tech.

I think he will be able to handle State on Wednesday, and the Heels should be in great shape again when Lawson returns.

Hoops Random Thoughts

• I guess Wake has recovered from the post-Chris Paul talent slump they’ve endured, to say nothing of the challenge of recovering from the sudden death of Skip Prosser. I only watched the second half of that game, but came away impressed by the way Wake fought back after Duke retook the lead after trailing at half. It was the first time I’ve seen Wake play, but they looked pretty athletic on offense and defense.

• Wake’s defense kept Duke’s perimeter game in check, but the foul trouble didn’t help the Devils either. Most of those fouls looked legit; I don’t know if Duke was tired or that much slower than Wake or what. But whatever the reason, I think it’s ridiculous for the referees to foul out six players - six starters - in a game. And here’s an excuse for me to repeat one of my core hoop beliefs: 9 times out of 10, when an offensive player drives to the hoop and a foul is called it SHOULD be on the defense for a block; let the offense flow.

• It was quite a Wake Forest weekend with the NBA all star game in New Orleans revolving around Chris Paul. Interesting to note that only three schools had two players each in the All Star game: Wake with Paul and Tim Duncan, Carolina with Sheed and Antawn Jamison, and UConn with my man Caron Butler (nice article in the Post), Ray Allen and Rip Hamilton.

• UConn and Carolina makes sense, but who would have ever thought that Wake would be in that company? [Then again, 20 years ago who would have thought the Huskies would replace Indiana in the college hoops pantheon of Carolina, UCLA, Kentucky, Duke, Kansas, ?Arizona?UConn?] Also interesting to note that neither player was able to lead Wake to a Final Four in their six years in Winston-Salem.

• Wake has to be considered a bubble team for the NCAA tournament now, and Miami can played itself back onto the bubble after their win this weekend over Georgia Tech (if Tech had held on to defeat the Huskies two weeks ago they could have gotten back on the bubble too). So the ACC should get at least four: Carolina, Duke, Clemson, Maryland; hopefully five with Wake, and maybe six if Miami rises to the occasion.

• The Canes are intriguing. They are 4-6 in the conference but control their destiny. Their next three games are key: they host Duke and Maryland, then visit Clemson before finishing with three winnable games - against Virginia and BC in the Gables then a rivalry game at FSU - to close out the season. Eight wins in the ACC should get them in, especially if - and it’s a HUGE IF - they can take down Duke and/or Maryland and Clemson on the road.

Random NBA Thought

• I didn’t watch any of the All Star game though I intended to since Jamison and Sheed were in there. The whole weekend has gotten too hype-driven and superficial to watch or enjoy. That said, I have to give David Stern and the NBA props for going to New Orleans. The mandatory service day on Friday was nice, but almost more importantly it was good to focus the media - what media the NBA generates - on the still shameful state of post-Katrina New Orleans. How that story has faded off the front page of the papers is embarrassing.

Hellenic Football Thoughts

• Finally, some Greek soccer news. Olympiacos plays at Chelsea tomorrow in the sweet 16 of the European Champions league. Chelsea is favored but Olympiacos comes in feeling confident after winning a road game for the first time in 32+ years in the Champions league.

• Panathinaikos plays Rangers in the round of 32 of the UEFA Cup (the consolation-prize tournament to the Champions league). Pana scored a mild upset in the first game of the two-game series by tying the Scottish squad over the weekend. Game two is in Athens on Thursday.

Almost Completely Random Presidents Day Musing

• How about that James Knox Polk, UNC 1818? He helped launch a semi-bogus war against Mexico in an effort to spread slavery (plan was to admit Texas but also New Mexico and Arizona as slave states). But the Mexican-American war also got us California, which seems like a good thing. The war also gave a one-term Congressman from Illinois a national platform to criticize an unjust war. Of course that lanky member of Congress was Barack Obama, I mean Abraham Lincoln.
  

Have a nice presidents day!

February 18, 2008