Ginyard is going to be key in `09-`10

How many times have you seen me say the “Carolina Way”? If I had to guess on this site there has to be at least a 500 mentions of that quote. And while for non Heels those are just two words, nothing more or less. But for those of us that have walked the halls of the University of Chapel Hill or a diehard fans, the “Carolina Way” are not just a pair of words, but a way of living, a way of thinking, a lot more than just two words put together. For the Men’s Basketball team this year the “Carolina Way” is something that all know, but few have lived it enough to teach it. Of course in that group you include head coach Roy Williams and his staff, but on the floor the go to guy for this will have to be Marcus Ginyard, the player I believe knows this “theory” the best. The way the fifth year senior (who had to red shirt last year due to a stress fracture in his left foot) leads this team and shows the rest of them the “Carolina Way” is going to be key to how well they do in the regular season and how far they go in the NCAA Tournament.

Marcus Ginyard

Yes, there is also another member of this team that is going to be counted on for senior leadership, Deon Thompson, who just finished playing with Team USA. But his work is going to be gelling a very talented group of front line players that will include sophomores Ed Davis and Tyler Zeller to go along with a trio of talented incoming freshmen. Ginyard is going to have to be the one that does this with the back court, the ones that need to bring up the ball, to run the team, to set the tempo. And, as of right now, the weaker link of this team. Playing in the ACC, with very tough non conference games, that is going to be a tall order. However, for those of us that have watched Marcus play know that if there is someone that can do it, it’s him.

It’s been a while since the fifth year senior has had any real action on the hardwood, but there is no way that playing with his team mates and the ex Heels during the summer at Chapel Hill won’t get him back up to speed. Plus I believe that there is something else that will motivate Ginyard this year (the quote from The News & Observer talking about watching his team mates winning it all):

“Obviously, it was difficult to just watch,” he said. “But just thinking ahead, and trying to see that next year I’d be playing and knowing that I made a great decision, and that things would work out … that hope just kept me going.”

Motivation! Yes, motivation is going to be something that is going to make Ginyard work harder than anyone can imagine. That motivation is going to be key I believe, since the senior is going to have to change from being the top defender on the team to maybe being key on the offensive side. He is going to be playing the wing, just like he did his junior year, when he started ahead of Danny Green. From there he will have to be aware of how the ball is coming up (probably from Larry Drew II) and how the front court is set up in order to get them to have the best shot available. Last year it seemed that head coach Roy Williams’ squad had the best opportunities fo scoring when Tyler Hansbrough touched the ball. In the `09-`10 season I would venture to say that the team will have the best chance of scoring when Ginyard is involved in the play.

With a team being without four of their starters from last year, but as still been ranked in the Top 5 by many, it’s going to be up to Ginyard (and Thompson) to lead the way. I believe that Marcus knows this and is ready for the challenge:

“It just gets me excited to know that I’m going to get to lead a young group, but still have a good group of veterans back,”

The season is still a long way away, but let’s face it, the pieces are there for another very exciting season. Of course, as we all know, exciting sometimes does not mean winning, and that is where the senior leadership is going to have to step in. If Ginyard and Thompson can be the ones that move their departments forward this team can once again challenge for the national title. With Thompson knowing what it means to be on the court when the final buzzer is heard and your team has won it and with Ginyard wanting that chance as well, it might be a stretch to believe that UNC could win it all, but it’s definitely not be absurd!

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