Feeling it, but not feeling it (yet)

The start of the college basketball season, more to the point the Carolina basketball season, was a silver lining to a weekend dominated by barbarism.  But even then, the lingering effects of the academic scandal has tempered that Carolina blue escape. 

I Tivoed Friday's opening game versus Temple, and watched it after our eleventh grade pot luck with a mix of interest and disinterest. Typing that sentence was unimaginable just a few years ago. But I have to admit I wasn't that excited even though this team could win Carolina's sixth national championship and Roy's third.   

Carolina's descent to the level of just any other school with a big time sports program, as opposed to the school that did things the right way, is part of the issue. I also find it harder and harder to ignore the general tawdriness and outright hypocrisy of college sports.  There is little to no justification for big time colleges and universities supporting minor league football and basketball leagues.

But if you read Ross Douthat's Sunday column in The New York Times you start to realize that perhaps the entire college system, not just athletics, is corrupt. Colleges seem to have lost their sense of higher purpose. In that regard the shift from teaching to research mirrors the shift from amateurism to big money sports programming (played by athletes who do not get paid, let alone collect workers compensation or other benefits).  

And that makes it hard, at least harder, to be a fan.

Nonetheless, I'll offer up a few more hoops notes:

• One other reason I may have felt a little disinterested is that Carolina's best student-athlete, Marcus Paige, was hurt.  I still enjoyed watching, but maybe I would have felt more invested if the player I know goes to class, loves learning and is a Dean-worthy kid wasn't in street clothes.
• That said, this is a tantalizing team that I imagine I WILL get invested in.  One reason is they are talented and deep. Even without Paige the Heels' back court has played especially well in our first two games.  Joel Berry II looks self assured and savvy running the offense, and more aggressive with his shot; Nate Britt seems to be a legit 3-point shooter and has always been a heady point guard; and Theo Pinson has been Alvin Robertson*-like in displaying a complete floor game - so far.  
• And our front court will be almost unmatched. Kennedy Meeks has lost more weight and could be this season's Sean May.  Against Temple he had 3 blocks!  Brice Johnson will continue to be a double-double machine and could get even better if he continues to mature.  Isaiah Hicks may be the best back up power forward in the ACC; do not be surprised when he carries this team a few games or halves this season, and Joel James is a great back up five (and also a good student).  
• Justin Jackson, who was impressive down the stretch last season to salvage an up and down freshman year, has been the only player to underwhelm - but it's only been two games.  

Finally, the silver lining to this scandal HAS to be that all the players are taking and attending real classes.  How embarrassing to have to say that as a Tar Heel.  But the fact that they are once again real students will make rooting for them doable.  I assume I will come around.  GO HEELS!

* Alvin Robertson is one of only 4 players in the history of the NBA, and the only non-center, to log a quadruple double.  Can you name the three centers who have done so?   

What a week

Quite the week for the Tar Heels: a big win against Kentucky; a frustrating yet explainable loss to Texas; then the big loss, when Carolina announced that P.J. Hairston would not be reinstated, ending his Carolina career before his junior year could even start.

But first, back to the Texas game. Not much to be said about that one, other than this is the kind of season this team is going to have. They're young, so will confound Tar Heel nation by coming out flat some games or missing tons of free throws.  The Heels played pretty well, and despite the sluggish start had tied the game midway through the first half.  

Then Carolina starting missing free throws, which kills a team twice - especially when you miss that many. One is you are obviously leaving points, free ones at that, on the rim.  Secondly, missed free throws and empty trips keep a team from picking up any momentum. That can wear you out physically and mentally, and it was evident versus Texas.

Also evident, for the first time this season, was Leslie 'Acutally I do indeed play for the Tar Heels' McDonald. Long an afterthought during his time in Chapel Hill, Leslie looked good in making 4 of 9 three-point shots.  For better or worse, he is now a key player, one the Heels will depend on to balance the offense and open things up for McAdoo but especially Meeks and Johnson and Hicks, who is likely to play more with Joel James hurt. 

Of course, most of us were counting on P.J. Hairston to play that role. Carolina's leading scorer from last season became tantamountly tantalizing as fans envisioned adding a player with his offensive game, particularly his outside and free throw shooting, and toughness to a team that has already beaten Kentucky, Michigan State and Louisville. 

I am of two minds on Hairston.  He clearly made some mistakes, with the biggest one being that he kept making the same one - speeding in a car rented by an individual of questionable character to put it mildly - over and over.  Even after being pulled over once he committed the same offense two more times.  Not good.

That said, he went to class while he was held out of nine games, and by all accounts was mature about the suspension, competed hard in practice, and was a good team mate.  Oh yeah, he was also embarrassed.  You would think that would mean something with the NCAA, but I guess not.

Hairston will likely go into the 2014 draft, an opportunity he turned down in favor of coming back to school last year.  Not exactly the way things are supposed to go for a student-athlete, especially one at Carolina. 

This team has shown that even without Hairston they can and will have a great season.  I wish the same could be said for P.J. Hairston.

GO HEELS! 

A Great Week to be a Tar Heel (after a rough couple of months)

After months and months of dissonance, from P.J.Hairston's mistake filled summer to the latest reminders that the Carolina football program is an embarrassment to the University, some semblance of order was restored to Tar Heel Nation last week. 

Two great things happened.

One, Dean Smith was awarded the highest honor that an American can earn, the Presidential Medal of Freedom. More than a great Tar Heel, Dean is a great American. For many, and certainly for me, he embodies everything good about Carolina. Not the basketball program - Carolina.  

To be, rather than to seem.*  Could a guy born in Kansas be any more a Tar Heel?

In recounting why we has awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom we are once again reminded why he is a great American. Dean was an active citizen on top of being a successful basketball coach. Sure he graduated 98 percent of his players, won an Olympic gold medal, won two national championships, and did it the right way.  But Dean also cared about the well being of his fellow citizens, and worked to make our country, not just Carolina, better. Whether he was integrating parts of North Carolina, advocating for gay marriage or against the death penalty, Dean knew that to truly be an American one has to be an active citizen engaged in making ours a more perfect union.  

Two, perhaps in honor of Dean Carolina looked like Carolina on Sunday in defeating the defending national champs on a neutral floor.  

What a game! Roy said it after the win but after 4 lackluster games the team seemed to finally stop looking at the bench hoping for Hairston to come in and bail them out (I can't include Leslie McDonald in the same sentence as Hairston; that guy has been in Chapel Hill for 4 years and yet has NO identity or presence it seems). 

The great news is the guy they need is already on the floor in the person of Marcus Paige. He finished strong down the stretch last year, and his progress along with Hairston and James Michael McAdoo was enough to make Heels giddy for this season, at least until the troubles with PJ surfaced this summer. Against Louisville, we saw Paige emerge as a two-headed monster who could dish like Marcus but score like P.J. 

It was fantastic to watch, and exciting to think about how Paige will only get better as he gets stronger. He's already a smart player - of course a Carolina player - and his skills will keep growing. Paige is going to have a monster year for the Heels.

Remember, this is Carolina. As great as Paige was the win reached the giddy level due to the contributions from the entire team.  There are many to choose from, but I'll start with Nate Britt.

Even in wins, such as the ones over Oakland and Richmond, Britt has generally been pretty bad.  His performance against Holy Cross prompted me to tweet 'that my biggest fear is that Britt turns into Adam Boone.' 

Against Louisville he stopped going north-south a la Boone and aggressively attacked the rim and even displayed a deft touch, too! He's a freshman so we should cut him some slack on his learning curve, but it was great to see him play with confidence and poise against an opponent like Louisville. 

Paige and Britt moved the ball, Carolina style, for 40 minutes as everyone contributed to a great win. 

Speaking of freshman AND moving the ball, how about Kennedy Meeks?  He looked like Sean May in ways ridiculous - he's chubby! - and sublime - look at those outlet passes, soft hands and soft touch around the basket.

We saw Paige coming, and knew Meeks and players like Isaiah Hicks and Britt were touted recruits, but I'm not sure if anyone other than ol' Roy saw Brice Johnson coming on the way he has so far.

He is this team's X factor.  His energy and skill off the bench have been phenomenal - so far.  Johnson appears to have a nose for the ball and scoring, and has become that third guy, along with Paige and McAdoo, that every successful basketball team needs.

If Johnson and Paige keep playing at this level, Britt and Meeks keep growing and getting more comfortable, and McAdoo starts acting like Mac-a-do instead of Mac-a-doesn't, this team will continue to be fun to watch AND make a run at an ACC championship - even without Hairston.

Of course, the Heels could use Hairston and even McDonald if for no other reason that as deep as our front court is (McAdoo, James, Tokoto, Hicks, Meeks, Simmons, Hubert all played and scored versus Louisville) our back court is equally thin (yes, that was walk on, fourth-string point guard Wade Moody getting first-half minutes).

This squad will make some noise nationally, too, and this team will keep being tested as the Heels play a brutal schedule. The Heels still have games against Kentucky and Texas, and at Michigan State before turning to the ACC with new rivals like Syracuse in addition to games versus Duke (overrated in my opinion with a weak front court) and FSU (under rated), etc. 

But this week the Heels showed we have the talent to be Carolina, Dean's Carolina.  Forget Hairston.  With Paige, Johnson, etc. we have enough talent and skill to go win a lot of games and go a long way. 

GO HEELS!

A Few Random Notes

• Kudos to Chapel Hill's Superchunk for, among other things, including the North Carolina state motto, 'to be rather than to seem,' in their song "Your Theme." If you are not listening to "I Hate Music" you are under utilizing the gift of hearing.
•  I was embarrassed to see Carolina send letters to Marvin Austin, Greg Page and Robert Quinn stating that those three should no longer associate with UNC or come back to Chapel Hill.  Did the same letter go to Butch Davis and his staff?  I am not absolving the players from associating with agents, etc. but to single out the student-athletes instead of the coaches and adults in charge is embarrassing.
• Dean is the STANDARD.  The athletic department, especially the football program,  needs to remember that; what would Dean do?

This Year's Model

Hard to believe this is my first blog, let alone blog about Carolina basketball, in months.  I'll admit that the combination of some lingering ennui about Carolina athletics in the wake of the on-going embarrassment involving the football team and the African-American studies department (perhaps combined with getting older) has kept me off line.

But as is often the case, a win over a rival like NC State has rekindled my enthusiasm.  The switch to a smaller lineup has seemingly resuscitated this year's basketball team AND the Carolina Hellenic Blue blog.

I shouldn't attribute too much to Saturday's nice win over the Pack since the Heels have actually been playing better of late. After getting spanked in Coral Gables by Miami Carolina has outplayed Duke yet lost due to some terrible foul shooting and one Blue Devil run in the second half, scored 93 points versus a tough Virginia team, won on the road at Georgia Tech (which is actually news in the Roy Williams era), before taking down NC State on Saturday.

The wins are justifiably credited to Carolina's new small line up and more specifically to the insertion of PJ Hairston into the starting line up at small forward. More on that move in a minute.

What makes each of those games significant is not only did Carolina play well and win 3 of those 4 contests, but that Carolina finally started doing what every good Carolina team usually does - which is do what they want to do, and impose their will on the game and their opponent.

Against Duke we got shots we wanted and were aggressive, but the win over the Wahoos is the best example.  Virginia likes to control tempo, but the Heels would not allow that to happen. They rebounded, ran the floor and made shots against Virginia's tough, pack-line defense.

That takes talent, but almost more importantly it takes confidence and a faith in your teammates and coach. It took a while for a young team, especially for our freshman point guard, to develop that confidence.

But now it's here, and it's fun to watch.

The interesting this about this year's model is the style of play the Heels are imposing on their opponents.  In a word, that style is very 'un-Carolina.'

For practically 60 years, to the days of Frank Maguire but canonized during the Dean Smith era, Carolina basketball has featured a "big man down low, feed the post first, inside out" offense.  Those big men could often run the floor, and other attributes such as getting shots in transition before the defense gets set have characterized Carolina basketball.


The recent run of powerhouse teams assembled by Roy Williams took that model to a different level with a dominant big man balanced by one or two lights out shooters on the wing and a terrific point guard.

First and foremost, Carolina's offense has always prioritized getting a good - or better yet easy - shot. Logically, the closer a player is to the basket - from either a pass down low or on a fast break or the secondary break - the easier the shot so the Heels have always looked inside first.

This year's team does NOT do that, in fact CAN NOT do that, and therefore makes this year's squad the most un-Carolina-like team since ....when?  Ever?

Even before the recent switch to a four guard lineup, the 2013 Heels were unbalanced and did not fit into the historical arc of Carolina basketball.

This year's team, with four guards and a power forward, is more like a modern NBA line up (or even dare I say recent Duke teams). Folks may have noticed that this year's NBA all star team ballot did not include a category for center; you voted for 2 back court players and 3 in the front court.  The three-point line and in my opinion Magic Johnson and the age of big guys who can handle have completely changed the game of basketball. Instead of going down low first, to a Hansbrough or Sean May or Eric Montross - or to a Kareem or Bill Russell or Wilt Chamberlain - today's basketball revolves around players who can slash to the rack and drive and dish, or positionless, offensive-polyskilled freaks like LeBron James, Dirk Nowitzki, Dwayne Wade and Kevin Durant (or Michael Jordan for that matter).

You have to give ol' Roy credit for making that work this year (or criticize him, I suppose, for failing to recruit a successor to the May-Hansbrough-Zeller line).

But he does deserve credit. This small line up is starting to believe in itself, and obviously the coach is a big part of that. He's getting defense from a three-point specialist, great rebounding from his small forward, and leadership and savvy from his 150-pound freshman point guard.

And this weekend, this most un-Carolina line up did a great job of playing smart, winning Tar Heels basketball - and winning a rivalry game to boot.*

Go Heels!

 * and got me blogging again!

A Few More Thoughts 

• NC State LOOKS really good, and I wonder why they have struggled at times this year.  They have plus-talent at the one, two, four and five.  Richard Howell is particularly impressive. I guess the easiest explanation is one that came into play on Saturday; C.J. Leslie disappeared at times.  Credit Hairston for some great defense, too.
• It looks  like the ACC will have 5 teams - Carolina, Duke, NC State, Virginia and Miami - in the NCAA tournament, but that's it unless Maryland or FSU run the table in Greensboro.
• Two years ago I was convinced that Tony Bennett was in over his head at Virginia, but I was wrong.  A program seems to be building in Charlottesville.
• Though the Heels are doing well I don't see an first-team all ACC players on the roster.  My first team all-ACC team is Larkin, Plumlee, Howell, Joe Harris, and either Kenny Kadji or Erik Green.  Reggie Bullock and maybe Hairston could be second or third-team members.  

Oh well

What a big day, one that makes it hard for a Carolina fan to focus. The good news is Carolina was rewarded for a 14-2 ACC regular season with a number one seed in the Midwest regional.  More on my brackets later in the show.

Yet, it is hard not to lament the game - and ACC Tournament Championship - that got away this afternoon in Atlanta.  The 3-point loss to Florida State was an entertaining game, and a reminder that even in a down year, the ACC still produces the nation's best basketball.

The hardest part of looking back at today's game is typing this next line: Carolina had the ball, down by one with 11 seconds left, and lost.

That simply is not supposed to happen.

What is? The Heels make a few passes, get the defense out of position, and hit a short shot - and usually get fouled - to win the game.

But not today. And not this year, so far.  The same scenario unfolded in Lexington in December's loss to Kentucky.

Today, all-everything (but second team All-ACC) Kendall Marshall missed a wide open three pointer with 7 seconds left against FSU to seal the first ever ACC championship for the Seminoles.  

In hindsight, Marshall should have driven into the lane for either a lay up, a foul on FSU, or to pass to Zeller or Barnes.  Instead, he shot a hair early, and missed.  

But it's hard to fault Marshall. Though he did not have a great game, with some odd turnovers to start the second half, he had just hit a big 3 twenty seconds earlier to bring the Heels within one - and was wide open.  

Still, we've come to expect that Marshall never makes a mistake. The shot was not a mistake, but taking it when he did, 3 or 4 seconds too early, probably was.

Oh well.

The only thing that makes the loss semi palatable - besides the knowledge that the NCAA tournament awaits, and the last 2 Carolina national champs also failed to win the ACC tournament when coincidentally injuries to McCants and Lawson also played a role in 'ol Roy's coaching decisions - is that:

1. The Heels played hard, and rallied from a 16-point deficit
2. Carolina almost pulled it out despite playing without John Henson (and Dexter Strickland)
3. FSU played really well, and made tough shots, especially by Luke Loucks and Michael Snaer (he was impressive; his 3 at the 8 minute mark was huge and stemmed a Carolina run), and Bernard James came up with 2 huge blocks late.  The Seminoles made plays when they had to.
4. P.J. Hairston looked great, hitting 3 three-pointers and turning the game around for the Heels in the second half
5. Harrison Barnes joined Hairston on that run, and looked assertive and focused all day which should carry over nicely into the NCAA tournament

This loss could provide a great springboard, not just because it was a loss but Carolina had to fight.  That same kind of fight will be needed in the next 3 weeks and ideally 6 games for the Heels, games that will hopefully feature John Henson.

With our regular rotation, plus a rejuvenated bench and a more rested Kendall Marshall (5 days off!), I love this team's chances.  

GO HEELS!

 

First draft of my NCAA picks

As I mentioned above, the NCAA tournament should provide some measure of payback for the Heels, three weeks to straighten out Carolina's karmic balance sheet.  

The basketball gods owe us.  Well,maybe not the gods, since my first draft bracket looks more like a Charles Bronson movie: 

• Carolina gets revenge for the 2008 Final Four and beats Kansas in the Midwest regional final;
• Then we get revenge for losing to FSU twice (Dean always said it was hard to beat a team 3 times in a season) by finally taking down the Noles in the national semi-final in Nawlins; 
• And finally, the Heels get revenge for losing to Kentucky in last year's regional final, and in December, in the national championship game. 

Simple, right?  GO HEELS!

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.

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!

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!

When does 2012 start?

As some of you know, Evan has a blog called Waiting for 2012.  It's mainly devoted to Nationals fans as we wait for Steven Strasburg and Bryce Harper to play a full season for our hometown team.

But that notion will have to take a back seat to the 2011-2012 college basketball season.  With today's news that Harrison Barnes is staying in Chapel Hill the Heels look more than stacked for the 2012 season.  

The inevitable comparisons to 2009 have already started for the Tar Heels. That team had to wait until Lawson, Green and Ellington decided to stay in school, then after a few speed bumps proceeded to dominate college basketball on their way to Carolina's 5th NCAA championship.

For me, the real comparison with 2009 is that ol' Roy will have to coach up to expectations - and deal with the pressure of being a heavy favorite. With all five starters returning from an Elite Eight squad, that will certainly be the case in 2012.

But it's a good problem to have. GO HEELS!

A few more notes:

• Great weekend of NBA playoff games. Of course, the only two I watched in their entirety were the ones that featured Tyler Hansbrough and the 'Three-headed Carolina Point Guard Monster" in Denver (aka George Karl, Raymond Felton, and Ty Lawson).
• Tough to see the Pacers lose, but great to see Psycho T running the floor, making buckets, dunking a few times and abusing Duke's Carlos Boozer in the process.  Ironically, Boozer is probably the player that Hansbrough should most emulate in the NBA.  Both played the five spot in the ACC but Boozer has thrived as a power forward thanks to a variety of shots and skills.  However, Hansbrough should NOT emulate Boozer's listless defensive efforts.
• All Heels fans know about the speed of Ty Lawson, but the NBA game also allows him to showcase his strength.  He made a number of tough shots in the paint against the Thunder last night.  And it's fun to watch Lawson and Felton play in the same back court.  Both played more than 30 minutes last night, and each scored in double figures - though Felton missed all four of his three-point shots including a big one with a minute left. 
• Danny Green played 29 . . . seconds in the Spurs' loss to Memphis, and Brendan Haywood had 2 points, 6 boards and 1 blocked shot in the Mavericks' win over Portland.  His dunk ignited a 12 - 4 run that gave the Mavericks the lead at half time. 

Nationals Note

Opened on a Nats note, so will close on a Nats note.  Evan and I had tickets to Saturday's rained out game versus the Brewers.  And just like a rainbow that follows a storm, the rainout turned out great for us.  

We were able to trade-in our Saturday tickets for tickets to Sunday's double header. We had good seats for game one, in Section 221, Row D, then moved down to Section 128 for the second game.  Both were on the first base side (our normal season tickets are near third base).  I don't know if it was the change of scenery, or the spontaneity of our post Palm Sunday-lunch decision, the two free hot dogs someone gave us, or the fact that the Nats swept the Brew Crew, but we had a fantastic time! 

Most it had to do with the Nationals' play - though I did like sitting on the first base side.  Led by Danny Espinosa, who hit a three-run homer in game one and a three-run triple in the night cap, the Nats finally came up with some big hits. 

But more importantly, both starting pitchers - Jason Marquis and Livan Hernandez - pitched well, and Marquis was the first Nationals starter to throw a pitch in the 8th inning this year.

The Nats are 8-7, above ,500 and on a pace for 86 wins.  So maybe we only have to wait for the Tar Heels in 2012?