Two

The night of the number: 2 thousand wins for the Heels, 2-game winning streak (hey, we'll take what we can get this year), and 2 seniors going out as winners.


Though it was - at best - an uneven game tonight's 69-62 win against the U does allow classy seniors Marcus Ginyard and Deon Thompson to go out on a high note.  Both played great, actually played as we expected and hoped they would the entire season.  That didn't happen this year, but it did tonight.


Both Ginyard and Thompson stepped up (along with help from Wil Graves and the rising John Henson) when the Heels needed them to.  In the first half, after Miami has cut into a 16-point lead Ginyard led a mini-run to give Carolina a 10-point cushion at half. 


Ginyard and Henson also led a spirited charge coming out of halftime to give the Heels an 18-point lead.  After that margin was winnowed down to one, Graves and Thompson hit huge shots.  Thompson's gutty turn around jumper that gave Carolina a three-point was inspirational, coming seconds after he got back on the floor from visiting the locker room to treat a strained back.  And it was nice to see Ginyard help ice the game late; his free throws not only provided the final margin of victory but also gave him his first career double-double.  


This game was a reminder of the good times and grand careers of Thompson and Ginyard, but it was also a reminder that this team has not gotten much better as the season has progressed.  Against the Canes the Heels continued to turn the ball over, get complacent with a lead (a pattern that started against another Miami team, FIU, as the Heels bookended an uneven season with games against schools from America's Casablanca), and miss a lot of bad shots, shots a normal Carolina team would know not to take.


There were times - the start of each half, and the last four minutes of the first half when Henson simply took over - when the offense flowed.  But this uneven game mirrored an uneven season.


But at least the seniors won, we are no longer in last place, and we have momentum as we travel to Durham in hopes of sneaking out of Cameron with a fifth-straight win at Duke.  GO HEELS!


A few random notes, then to bed:

• The recent play of John Henson has been fantastic.  He's even blocking shots better, keeping two in play today to start fast breaks.  He still makes some mental mistakes, but this guy is progressing rapidly and will be a star next season.  
• Graves hit two big Danny Green-esque threes tonight to kill Miami's momentum.  He and Henson are by far the best stories of this year, and they've been are best players since Ed Davis got hurt.  Graves rebounded pretty well tonight, too.
• Speaking of Graves, perhaps THE play of the game was Thompson's inbounds pass to the Greensboro junior with 35 seconds left. Both Drew and MacDonald (he and Strickland were horrible tonight, completely clueless) came open first, but Thompson held the ball long enough for Graves, an 80 percent free throw shooter, to get open. Graves hit both shots to give us a working 5 point margin.  Smart play by the senior Thompson, the kind of trademark Carolina play that has been missing much of the season.