Carolina Hellenic Tragedy

What a terrible loss.  Have any Carolina teams endured two terrible defeats in one season?  First FSU, now Duke?  

Of course, there is one huge difference in those two games; against FSU, the Tar Heels were horrible. But last night was truly tragic in that from the 8 minute mark in the first half (after a relatively slow start) to the 4 minute mark in the second - a span of 24 minutes - Carolina was dominant. Dominant. 

The Heels were better than Duke but lost. If that's not the definition of a Greek-style, Carolina tragedy, I don't know what is.

And it was Greek style. Similar to the Greek myths our heroes soared only to be dragged back down to earth in the end by the (blue) devil(s).

How else do you explain Kendall Marshall driving, dishing and dominating, then making a sloppy pass and turning it over with less than 2 minutes left?

Explain Harrison Barnes dominating and scoring at will for most of the second half, but missing two of four free throws late and turning it over on an albeit highly questionable charging call?  He was tripped but still should have made a better decision before barreling down the lane (perhaps it was hubris, the greatest sin in the eyes of the ancient Greeks.)

Or John Henson owning the glass but failing to box out Ryan Kelly after a missed three, allowing him to follow his shot and score?

And finally, the most tragic figure of the night, Tyler Zeller. He was unstoppable, especially the first half. But the devil dragged him down the most cruelly, as he missed two big free throws late, tipped in Kelly's missed three for 2 big points for Duke with under a minute left, then had to cover Austin Rivers(tyx) on the game winning shot.

No gods were ever more cruel, and few losses were so tragic.  

The loss put most Heels fans in the world of another Greek word: agony.  The root of the English word is the Greek word for 'game,' more accurately 'contest.'  To the Greeks, athletic contests were literally agonizing.  Sounds familiar 24-hours later, doesn't it?

A few more Heels notes: 

• We've all known free throw shooting was an accident waiting to happen.  Well, that accident was last night.
• I just rewatched most of the second half, and it did seem that Duke got away with an inordinate number of flops and travels. Much of that game was game was badly officiated; McAdoo was whistled for two borderline calls in particular late.
• That said, JM McAdoo had some spectacular moments in the second half.
• What's worse, losing due to costly and atypical mistakes, or losing to a one-man band?  Austin Rivers was phenomenal last night. Watching it live it looked like Carolina defenders were too often going underneath screens. But upon further review he made quite a few shots with a hand in his face. Rivers was a stone-cold assassin.
• But you have to give the entire Duke team credit. They would not go away, would not let Carolina close this game out. They believed if they hung in there long enough, something good might happen.
• Tough to lose when Carolina played so well for so long. One more free throw, one less own-goal tip in, and we win this game.  Tragedy.

Finally

How great was it get to finally watch some Carolina basketball tonight? 


Rereading that sentence, the funniest word is 'finally.'  That's how bad the loss to FSU felt, a loss that practically wiped out the entire season, or threatened to render the 2012 campaign meaningless.  A loss that could have lingered in the players' psyche for the rest of the year.  


It was that bad a loss, that bad a performance.


That's why this win, and the way the Heels won, felt so good (at least for me).


Sure, the first half was tough to watch.  Carolina got off to a good start though we left a lot of points on the rim, especially Harrison Barnes who just seemed off.  But our early lead vanished under another barrage of Hokies three point shots.  Some of those were good shots, but some of them were just plain luck; one three banked in as the shot clock expired after Jon Henson had blocked two shots on the possession.  Even when they were falling, I didn't feel that bad; unlike against FSU there were few wide open looks for Virginia Tech during that run.

Nonetheless, the Heels trailed at half.


But at half time something great happened.  Perhaps it was before halftime, actually.  John Henson scored on an patented UNC in bounds alley-oop pass with 0.9 seconds left to give us some momentum.


And boy, did that mo carry over.  Or it at least washed over Harrison Barnes.  He came out in the second half completely focused, and shook off his mini slump with an 8-0 run to open the final 20 minutes.  


It was almost inspirational the way Barnes and the other Heels came out of half time sick and tired of not playing well.  Barnes' one man run quickly turned in a team-wide one, as everyone started making plays, extra passes, baskets and free throws as part of a 31-5 run that put the game away.


And the Heels got back to playing tough D, especially in that second half.  Carolina was only credited with 9 blocks - seemed like more than that - and the Heels were much more aggressive and attentive defensively, especially in the passing lanes, with nice help and putting up walls to cut off penetration.


A gut check win on the road is always nice, but just as nice was watching the Heels look like the Tar Heels again.  They went inside (either via the pass or drive), were patient and smart on offense, rebounded like crazy, blocked shots and overplayed the passing lanes and as a result were able to run in the second half.


It was vintage Carolina basketball, something that we only missed for one game but a game that lingered for what felt like an eternity - at least until the second half of tonight's game.


GO HEELS!

A few more Heels notes:

• John Henson broke out of his one-game mini slump, too.  In Tallahassee he seemed unfocused, but tonight he was everywhere, grabbing 16 boards, officially blocking 6 shots (but it felt like 16 - or 60 blocks tonight) and finishing with 16 points.
• Tyler Zeller seems to be back to last season's form.  He was the only Heels player to show up versus the Noles, and tonight he was just as good with a double double of his own with 14 points and 11 boards. And he, too, seemed to block or alter dozens of shots. 
• Kendall Marshall almost his own double-double with 9 points and 8 assists.  K-Mar did a nice job of looking for his shot more tonight.
• The only bad news is the potential injury to unsung hero and Dex Factor, Dexter Strickland.  He twisted his right knee in the second half.  Reggie Bullock admirably filled in for our best defender and had a nice half despite not scoring that much.

Not Much to Say

Not much to say after a total beat down like the one the Heels took at the hands of the Seminoles yesterday. In Carolina's first road game in 42 days, the Tar Heels were humiliated and buried under a barrage of three pointers, led by Davidis Dulkys' 8 of 10 shooting.

There is a smorgasbord of problems or issues one can talk about (so I lied, there is much to say), but two stand out for me.

One, the play of Kendall Marshall.  Some post mortems from the game have mentioned that FSU put pressure on Marshall.  On one hand, they did pick him up full court.  But on the other, his turnovers all were seemingly unforced.  It was as if he was a pitcher with tired legs; so many of his passes sailed out of bounds over the heads of their intended target.

This team goes as Kendall Marshall goes, and when he struggles that bad the Heels will look and play bad, too.  There certainly were other terrible performances by Carolina players yesterday; Barnes had his second straight terrible shooting day, Henson left his head and concentration skills in Chapel Hill (0-8 free throws, an embarrassing technical), and perhaps Strickland's ankle bothered him more than it looked and thus he could not effectively cover Dulkys or Loucks or anyone on the perimeter.  And our bench - P.J. Hairston in particular - was horrible.  

But Marshall is the keystone for this team; without him we collapse.

So players - and sometime teams - can have one bad game.  But for me the other disturbing thing, issue 2, was our play to start the second half.  

How many Carolina fans thought at half "Ok, the Heels played badly but we're only down 8.  Barnes will get on a roll, Marshall will feed Zeller and Henson, and we'll win this game.  And FSU can't keep shooting this well"'?  I'd bet 90 percent of Tar Heel Nation saw that scenario ready to unfold.

Unfortunately, things got worse in the final 20 minutes. The Heels thought they could turn it 'on' the second half, but other than Zeller did not. Or worse, Carolina expected the Seminoles to wilt - and they did not. The Heels failed to raise their level of play, turning it over and failing to guard to start the half, and were buried.

Very disappointing to say the least.  Carolina was in a position to win this game at half time - we had seemingly taken FSU's best shot - but did not. That's VERY un-Carolina.  And that's the worst part of this loss - we did not look like Tar Heels.

Few More Heels Notes:

• I wonder if ol' Roy will schedule any more extended home stands in the future?  Hard to measure how much impact the schedule had on this flop, but Roy is superstitious enough to avoid another stretch like that.
• Props to Tyler Zeller, who many fans have questioned this year but who was the only Tar Heels player to show some effort for 40 minutes.  He kept us in the game the first half.
• Within an hour of the loss the Dex Factor tweeted "embarrassing but a learning process; we'll bounce back!' Ah, youth. I like following Strickland (@DStrick01), who generally tweets in proper English, which I appreciate. 
• Wayne Ellington (@WayneElli22), who had 13 points last night for the Timberwolves, also tweeted "I'd hate to be at the next practice!"
• Virginia Tech looms next, though looms is a strong word.  They lost yesterday to Boston College.  I feel sorry for Hokies fan: I expect the Heels to be very focused and fired up for that one; and Seth Greenberg is still their coach.
• No time to panic yet; it WAS only one game.  But if the Heels come out flat in Blacksburg that will be a very troubling indicator about the leadership and fortitude - the talent this there, obviously - of this year's team.

GO HEELS!

Can't Spell Ho HUM without UM

Tonight's win over Miami had to be the most boring Carolina beat down of all time.  The only suspense for the last 15 minutes of the game was whether or not Harrison Barnes would score again.  For the record, he didn't.  His 6 points on 2 of 12 shooting ground his recent hot streak to a resounding halt.

But Carolina is this good - and Miami that lackluster - that on a night when our best player struggles the Heels still dominated and were never really threatened in Coach Jim Larranaga's Dean Dome debut.

There were 3 keys to the game.

One, Carolina's guards were fantastic.  Kendall Marshall had his first double-figure scoring game of the season and repeatedly slashed to the basket for scores.  Dexter Strickland was even better, turning defense into points on his way to a 14-point effort and hitting a few jumpers.

Carolina's defense was the second key tonight.  This team is started to get tough on D, especially since the Texas game.  Jon Henson and Tyler Zeller seemed to block or disrupt every 2-point shot attempted by the Canes.  On the perimeter Strickland was particularly effective, shutting down leading scorer Malcolm Grant (5 points, 2 for 8 from the field) and doing a great job playing the passing lanes.

Three, the Heels stayed focused after building a 20-point.  Unlike against Boston College, where the Heels allowed the Eagles to get within 9 points before waking up and putting the game away, Carolina maintained their defensive pressure and fed the post down the stretch against the U.   Miami never had a chance.

The Heels' next opponent is their suitcase as Carolina has to remember how to pack for back to back road games in Tallahassee and Blacksburg.  Packing a suitcase may be as exciting as tonight's win over Miami. 

Predictable results from Heels, Barnes versus BC

Carolina's 83-60 win over Boston College unfolded largely as expected.  The Heels were much more talented and simply better than the Eagles, who started 5 freshmen.  

The Heels predictably started slow then went on a run to take a comfortable lead at half time. Also predictably, the Heels got a bit bored after taking a 20-point lead in the second half. BC was able to cut the lead to 9 at one point before the Heels woke up.  Once Carolina did, the Heels went on another run to close the game out with a 23-point win.

There was some news in today's win.  The most significant item - also predictable - was Harrison Barnes' continued excellent play.  Barnes appears to be peaking at the perfect time of season, much like he did last year.  Against BC he hit shots from all over the floor - driving, taking 3s, a few one-dribble jumpers, the entire repertoire - and was very aggressive.  He had 4 steals, too, and looked like a player of the year candidate. 

It wasn't all Barnes, though.  I thought the Heels' defense was pretty good for most of the game.  Zeller had 20 points and held on to the ball, P.J. Hairston was 2 for 5 on three pointers, and Marshall once again had more than 10 assists.

With so many ACC teams stinking up the joint this year - Wake, Clemson, Maryland, and BC all pretty bad - these kinds of games may be the norm for the Heels.  The good news is you can count on 20-point wins despite some lapses in concentration, and the Heels have also shown that against good teams the Heels will rise to the occasion.   Those traits sound a lot like the 2009 team, a predictable comparison.

Speaking of 2009, a huge night for 3 members of that team tonight in the NBA.  Ty Lawson squared off with Danny Green tonight as the Nuggets took on the Spurs.  San Antonio won 121 to 117 behind Green's 24 points.  With Manu Ginobili out with broken hand Green is finally getting significant playing time in the League.


Lawson did his part for Denver, finishing with 20 and 10 assists.  


And Tyler Hansbrough finished with 15 and 7 off the bench, in 28 minutes, for Indiana in their win over the Charlotte Bobcats.  Psycho T has been in double figures every game this season for the 6 and 2 Pacers. 


GO HEELS!

Stink

I don't like blogging after a loss.

Like it even less when it's after a loss in a game that Carolina coulda and shoulda won.

Even worse to blog after a loss to a team like Kentucky.  For Carolina fans, Kentucky may be the perfect storm, the imperfectly perfect mix of Duke smugness and NC State redneckedness - now with an added dose of anti-Dean scumbag courtesy of Calipari.

So losing today really stinks.

In general the Heels played well, especially in the first half when Carolina's outside shooting, led not only by Harrison Barnes but also P.J. Hairston and the 'coming on like his uncle Jerry Stackhouse' Reggie Bullock (both, FYI, North Carolina natives).

For most of the game the Heels outplayed the team whose home court is named for one of the most closed-minded and backward thinking coaches in modern times.  Carolina looked like Carolina, running and getting great shots.

In the second half some troubling bugaboos plagued Carolina - Zeller's butterfingers, two empty trips when John Michael McAdoo missed two free throws then air balled a baseline jumper - highlighted by an odd lack of rebounding and therefore a lack of scoring down low.

Overall, Barnes had some nice moments despite foul trouble, Zeller did score in double figures, Henson was solid for 39:55 on both ends, Marshall bounced back from a back to back lackluster games, and the Dex Factor had his moments, too.  And don't forget how great Hairston and Bullock were.

Unfortunately, Strickland's missed dunk looms large, as does his ill-timed turnover late.  On the last play, Zeller simply misdribbled in the lane.  The ball bounced to Henson, who probably shot it too soon. In hindsight, I'm sure Henson would have liked to pump fake or put it on the floor to get a few feet closer.

Odder still to have Carolina run a play for Zeller.  Psycho Z loves playing against Kentucky, and dumping it down low to him is generally a great play for the Heels.  However, I know I am not the the only member of Tar heel Nation who wanted Barnes to take the last shot.  

So, a tough loss on the road to a good team.  Stink.

One silver lining is, after a loss to UNLV then an excruciating game over Wisconsin, ironically enough the Heels regained their swagger this afternoon.  Carolina looked loose AND confident today.

The other silver lining may be karma.  Last year, the Heels defeated Kentucky in the Dean Dome (a home court named for a progressive, liberal and modern coach in the best sense of each of those words) then lost to the Wildcats in the NCAA tournament.  I would not be surprised to see the same thing happen in 2012.  

GO HEELS!

Weird

What a weird, hard fought game for the Heels tonight.  

It was weird in a number of ways.  Weird to see Carolina have to play at such a slow tempo.  Even in the second half, when the Heels did a good job rebounding and therefore should have been able to run, the game was slow and played in the half court.

Weird in that Kendall Marshall had his second straight lackluster game in a row.  It's the curse of CHB blog perhaps?  Jordan Taylor and Wisconsin, not Marshall, set and controlled the tempo for this game.  We did not see vintage Marshall tonight.

That lackluster play from our point guard was one reason why our offense never flowed against the Badgers.  Harrison Barnes was fantastic in the second half, but he was by and large creating his own shots. Strickland had some nice runs on offense, but they mainly came when he was bringing the ball up. The guys who rely on Marshall to set them up, i.e. Zeller, Henson, McAdoo, etc. were non-factors on offense for most of the night as a result.  Weird.

But on the positive side, it was a gut-check, hard-fought (and cliche ridden) win over a top 10 team that will give Ohio State a run for it's money in the Big 10.

I mentioned Barnes, but he was so clutch and tough down the stretch in leading Carolina to this win almost single handedly.  Loved the methodical way he went about it, too.  He was cold and confident.  Barnes also finished with 5 blocks. 

Strickland was the offense in the first half and was magnificent in disrupting Wisconsin's offense in the second.  The Dex Factor featured a little bit of Derrick Phelps tonight in containing Taylor.  Huge night for Strickland (despite that one crazy turnover late).

Finally, in addition to Barnes our best option on offense in the second half a couple times was Reggie Bullock.  His late 3 was Barnesesque - cold and confident.  His performance was also proof that his breakout game against Tennessee State was not a fluke.

Though our offense sputtered, it was reassuring to see the way the Heels defended (Badgers shot 36 percent; Taylor was worse at 30 percent), rebounded (Heels out rebounded Wisconsin 39 to 26) and made free throws tonight (19 for 24, or 79 percent).  All three of those traits are excellent and meaningful measures of a teams toughness.  Very reassuring.

So with those 3 things on the upswing, here's hoping our offense - and Marshall -  and shooting bounces back by Saturday and the tilt versus Kentucky.  Having to worry about a Carolina team's offense?  

Weird.

On second thought

I didn't get a chance to blog between Carolina's blow-out win over South Carolina and the disappointing loss to UNLV last night.

But upon further review, the blog topic would have been the same - Kendall Marshall.  He was once again unbelievable against Lesser Carolina.  He finished with 14 assists - many of which were spectacular - his third double figure total for this young season. 

John Henson may be our best player so far with Harrison Barnes poised to assert that title during the season, but Marshall is Carolina's most important player.  I agree with Jay Bilas' assessment that we may be seeing the second coming of Jason Kidd.

The loss to UNLV also highlighted how important Marshall is. As my brother pointed out during the game, Carolina counts on our point guard to disrupt the other team's offense via ball pressure. The Tar Heels' recent championship teams have featured point guards who could dominate a game defensively: Derrick Phelps in '93, Raymond Felton in '05 and Ty Lawson 3 years ago. 

Roy recognizes that Marshall might not be fleet enough to do that, at least not yet, so Dexter Strickland - who by the way was the only starter to play well for 40 minutes versus the Rebels - has been covering the other teams point guard.

Saturday night plenty of things went wrong for the Heels; Carolina could not rebound, guard or shoot.  Even good teams will struggle with one of those facets of basketball during a game, but rarely do good teams stink at all three at the same time. Saturday night, Carolina certainly did.  Zeller had a terrible game, both Z and Henson were pushed around on the boards where Carolina got killed, no one made free throws, and Barnes and the starters had a collectively terrible shooting night and settled for a shocking number of bad shots.  

And on both ends of the floor Marshall struggled; he didn't disrupt their defense or run North Carolina's offense as well as he has throughout his tenure as our starting one. When he struggles, this team will struggle. The good news is Marshall - and by definition the 2012 Tar Heels - is too good to have THAT happen again.  

This week will be a big one for the Heels as they welcome Wisconsin to Chapel Hill as part of the ACC-Big 10 challenge before heading to Lexington to face Kentucky in a match up of college basketball's two winningest programs.  This loss to UNLV will bring out a more focused, determined Marshall and Carolina squad (and ol' Roy, too).  In particular, look for huge games this week from Zeller, Barnes and of course our most important player, Kendall Marshall.

As few extra points:

• James Michael McAdoo, though not as key as Marshall, will be a very important part of our season. The Heels will need him to produce off the bench in general, but in particular as our lone reliable big man off the bench he will be key in spelling both Zeller and Henson. He had some nice moments versus UNLV, especially running the floor, but he also missed some important free throws in the second half that could have impacted the final outcome.  
• Besides Strickland two other Heels had nice games versus UNLV: Reggie Bullock and P.J. Hairston.  Both have put together back to back to back nice games.  McAdoo, Bullock and Hairston give Carolina a phenomenal bench. 
• Great to see Carolina stick it to Duke for the 20th time in the last 21 games, including 8 straight wins.  At 7 and 5 Carolina is bowl eligible, no small feat considering the turmoil of the off season and the firing of Butch Davis.  Kudos to Everett Withers and seniors such as Dwight Jones for leading this year's squad.
• Next year is already tantalizing, with Bryn Renner and Gio Bernard poised to lead the Heels to the promised land - 9 wins, including one over N.C. State!
• Finally, while were talking leadership one of my favorites is T.J. Yates, who led Carolina to 8 wins last year despite numerous suspensions and disruptions.  Today, Yates played in his first NFL game and helped lead his Houston Texans to a 20-13 win. Yates took over for injured second-string quarterback Matt Leinert at the end of the first half, and completed 8 of 15 passes for 70 yards.  Leinert may be out for the season so Yates is likely the de facto starter for the AFC South leading Texans.
• GO HEELS!

News, actual NEWS, from Carolina's romp over Tennessee State

Though most of the story lines stayed the same - John Henson showing off his new and improved offensive arsenal, Harrison Barnes looking like Harrison Barnes with a couple of particularly sweet moves, Kendall Marshall dropping a record number of dimes - there was some actual new news from Carolina's latest romp over 'a team that will or has made the NCAA tournament in 2011 or 2012 but isn't nearly as good as Carolina."

The Heels were led by Reggie Bullock's 23 points on their way to a relatively easy 102-69 win.  Coming into the season the Heels only had one semi-legit concern, at least talent wise.  With Leslie McDonald, arguably the Heels' best outside shooter, out for the season there were - are? - concerns regarding whether Carolina has enough outside shooting.   

North Carolina's imposing front line of Tyler Zeller,  Henson and Barnes is practically unstoppable.  But the Heels will still need outside shooting to keep teams from playing a packed-in zone (a la Virginia) and daring Carolina to beat them from the outside.  Barnes is part of that solution; though he will likely take fewer threes he is also expected to make a higher percentage.  

But the other half of the answer to the McDonald question is Bullock.  He had his moments last year despite battling a balky knee that eventually ended his season early.  This year, a healthy Bullock needs to actually turn into the McDonald of last year, especially the version down the stretch in 2011.  McDonald eventually developed into a confident offensive player off the bench, one the Heels relied on.

[It could be a three-part answer if you factor in P.J. Hairston, but I don't want to make that kind of assumption for a freshman even though Hairston is very, very good].

Bullock had been a little underwhelming so far this season but against Tennessee State looked fantastic. He was confidently stepping into his shot and even drove a few times to the hole.  Shooting is as much mental as it is physical, so that kind of night could launch a great sophomore campaign for Bullock - and answer the one question that lingers with this year's Carolina team.

GO HEELS!

Extra points

• How great was Bullock's night?  It rendered a 15-assist night for Marshall a mere footnote.  K-Mar now has 38 assists in his last 3 games, which I think is a Carolina record, including 2 fifteen assist efforts. The Heels shot 62 percent versus Tennessee State, and are shooting 53 percent for the season. The main reason for those gaudy stats is Marshall (and playing teams that were on the short side so we could easily feed the post).  Henson has gotten better, but so has Marshall. 
• Tennessee State head coach John Cooper was once an assistant coach at Fayetteville State University, located in the city in which I am blogging from right now!