Lost Weekend for Tar Heels

Where to begin in chronicling this horrible sports weekend?

A night after shooting 56 percent Carolina could not do anything right in losing to Minnesota Friday night, 67 to 72.  I can not think of a single thing the Heels did well; we looked so bad it would not surprise me if Carolina forgot the words to the national anthem or how to tie their shoes. 

Harrison Barnes failed to make a basket (though he hit seven free throws), twenty four hours after looking calm and confident Bullock and McDonald looked totally out of sync, and foul trouble kept our bigs on the bench for long stretches of play.  The crisp passing against a zone, evident versus Hofstra, was no where to be seen against an opponent from the Big 10.

There were momentary flashes from Zeller, Marshall and Henson, but they were fleeting.  The Heels never got into a rhythm - offensively or defensively - and were lucky to be in the game.  And Larry Drew was Larry Drew.  It was a disappointing and 'stink up the joint' performance worthy of last season. 

Yikes and yuck.

Redemption was not to be found in Kenan Stadium versus NC State.  In the first half it looked like the Heels would break their four-game losing streak to the Wolfpack.  But in the second half State controlled both lines of scrimmage, pressuring Yates, stopping our running game, and blowing holes in our defense when the Pack had the ball.

But NC State was also very, very lucky, too.  On fourth and goal from the 16 Russell Wilson's pass into the back corner of the end zone was batted down but caught - just inches off the ground - for a game changing touch down.

A sour senior day for a class that has tantalized Heels fans with legitimacy, bowl games, but also with a nagging, tooth-achey feeling that they could have accomplished much more.

Finally, putting a cherry on top of this mountain of bad news, the always reliable and defending national champion Carolina women's soccer team lost today, in the third round, to Notre Dame.   

But to end on a high note, the defending national champion women's field hockey team plays for the national championship.  So as always, we'll always have field hockey. 

On to Presbyterian

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


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


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


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


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


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


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


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

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

Soccer Dynasty Continues


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


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


World CUpdate


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


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



More Good Nats News


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