Better game, same result…

When we will look back at this season and see the game between North Carolina (13-9 & 2-5 in the ACC) and Virginia Tech (17-4 & 4-3 in the ACC), played at Cassell Coliseum, it will show that it was a loss for the Heels by the final of 74 to 70. For those that keep a closer eye on things it will tell you that it was the fifth loss in the last six games. But, as I have said so many times, scores/records hardly ever tell the whole story of a game, this one is no exception. Sure, the web boards might going ballistic once again about this loss and once again fifth year senior is taking the beating for the loss, but in my opinion this team is one shooting guard from being 3-4 games better than they are. In my opinion this game could have gone either way, but as it has for most of the season, it went for the opposition, bringing me back to what I have said this year: “it is what it is“. This time the “it is what it is” is a loss that could have gone either way and more proof that this year’s team is good, but just isn’t as good as it needs to be. Nothing less or more.

Will Graves, who has had a couple of good games for UNC, this game went 1 for 7, 0 for 4 from beyond the arc, still could have bailed out the Heels in this one if the shot with about a half minute from the end would have gone in. It didn’t, once again going back to my “it is what it is” theory for the `09-`10 basketball season. As a team this game to me was loss in two places: turnovers, which the Heels had 19 compared to the Hokies 10, and free throws, which UNC went 20 for 30 (66.7%, way below what we are accustomed to seeing at Chapel Hill). In this case one of these three things does not go so bad and this game is a win, and no, this is not a far fetched reach, this is a reality. Graves going 3 for 7, 5-6 less turnovers, shooting 80% at the charity stripe (would be 4 more points), and this is a different discussion we are having. Unfortunately this is how it went and it can not be changed.

I have had plenty discussions on how Carolina didn’t need John Wall. This game is prime example of it, as this team could have won the game (as well as others) with a Wes Miller in the line up. In other words, a shooter from the outside could have made this year totally different.

But there were some bright spots to this game, such as John Henson, who had a good outing, and was a key in getting Carolina back into the game after they had fall a dozen points behind. The freshman was perfect from the free throw line (4 for 4), only had one turnover, went 5 for 6 from the field, giving head coach Roy Williams 14 points in 14 minutes. Another frosh who played well off the bench was David Wear, who scored 12 points (16 minutes) going 5 for 7 from the field (2 for 3 from the 3’s), and he too only had 1 TO. Even more encouraging is that this loss on the road was a lot less of a FUBAR than a couple of the blowouts the Heels have had in league play. As a team I would like to say that the defensive play was better than it has been in a while. Baby steps for the baby Heels! Henson said this after the game:

“That’s one thing I had to do, I had to start playing harder,” Henson said.

I will go as far as to say that if this game had been played in the friendly confine of the Dean Dome the outcome would have been different, but this is neither here or there, and this is another loss, the ninth for this squad. So what now for this squad? I am not going to say that this was the break out game for Henson, as I have made that mistake when Graves had a big game (as well as others). On the other hand, while a lot of the fans are once again up in arms for another loss, I think that there is a bit of improvement in this team, it just needs to stay there and not fall back, which is something that hasn’t happened this season. Maybe that might be the key to the remainder of the season, understanding why players are having flashes instead of staying lit. This quote from the starting point guard kind of tells the story right now:

“It’s definitely disheartening, not encouraging,” Larry Drew II said.

It seems like this year coach Williams is going to have to be more a care taker than a coach, trying to get these guys to believe in themselves and each other more than anything else. We will see what will happen when Carolina plays Maryland on Super Bowl Sunday.