So, next year we are looking at a great team when talking about the Men’s Basketball team, so to fair we also have talk about the great, meaning hard, out of conference schedule, and the many top notch opponents. UNC should easily be the top team in the colleg basketball landscape, and if not, they will not be lower than second in my opinion. However, and this is key fro all the fans that are already thinking perfection, they will face an out of conference schedule that has a nuetral game on an aircraft carrier, an away game against who is going to be the other great team of the season, a home game against a squad where one of it’s ex athletic directors loves to put gas on the fire.

By that I am talking about the games against Michigan State, Kentucky and Wisconsin. Add to these, which should all be Top 25 match ups, and maybe even a lot higher, others against Texas, University of Las Vegas, South Carolina, USC and a few more smaller schools and you can see that while the expectation for a perfect season could be in the fans’ mind, the reality is that one bad game and another unlucky one and the Tar Heels could be going into the Atlantic Coast Conference part of the season with a few blemishes, or at least several close calls. This by no means is an easy road for a team that has great, great talent but also is still in need of a shooter or two on a game in game out basis and their point guard this season is known to one and all.

There is one thing that all must truly believe of this team, their front court is going to be as strong as anyone’s and adding James McAdoo to the mix is just going to make bigs at Chapel Hill even more deadly. Am I saying that the quartet of John Henson, Tyler Zeller, Harrison and McAdoo can do it by themselves? Probably not, but what I am pretty secure in believing is that they will be able to alliviate a lot of the pressure that opponets will give to the back court, because leaving any of above mentioned players alone will cost anyone dearly. That does not take away from the fact that the guards will have to contribute as well, and they will have to do it on a regular basis.

Yes, it’s just July, by the way: Happy 4th by the way to one and all, but it is also time to begin thinking about the fall (football and soccer) and the winter (men’s and women’s basketball) sport for the school I love and care for. And all of this I will not be only doing on this web site, but also on the internet radio, as I will be re-starting my Tar Heel show on BlogTalk Radio beginning next Thursday.

And so, after 38 games, the great ride that was the `10-`11 UNC Men’s basketball season ends. A couple of miles from the spotlight that is New York City, a couple of baskets from the spotlight that will be Houston and the Final Four, the team closes out their season that was one heck of a fun time to watch for this old Heel. In the last of the Elite 8 games #2 North Carolina (29-9) went down to #4 Kentucky (28-9) by the final of 76 to 69. The seven points margin feels like what it was for most of the game, however with less than two minutes to go the Heels had the ball down just one, and this is where a lot of people have a problem with the game. I am not one of those people.

As Jay Bilas said this morning on Mike & Mike in the Morning when a team hits 12 for 22 from three there is little you can do. Add to that one of your best players, the ACC Defensive Player of the Year can not play more than half of the game due to foul trouble, and the result might just be a lot easier to comprehend. The Wildcats shot better from outside the arc (54.5%) than from inside (48.2%). The other problem was that in the second half, everytime that the Tar Heels got to within 3-4-5 points of the Wildcats they just could not close the gap anymore and before you knew it the margin was back to close (if not over) double digits.

The one segment of the game that sticks most in my mind was right at the beginning of the second half, when UNC got two baskets, cut the lead to four, John Henson got the rebound and made a bad pass (seemed like the ball slipped out of his hand), UK got the ball back and within seconds the lead was back up to 9. When I saw that small frame of the game I thought to myself “this isn’t good”, and it was one of three instances that Carolina made good plays to cut the lead to them making a small mistake that Kentucky took advantage of and turned into points. Nothing you can do about it, no one you can blame, mistakes are part of the game, things like this happen.

Henson, who has been averaging 17.3 points in the tournament only had five. You split the difference between what he has been scoring and what he had last night and you can see how close this game could have been with him in the game for his usual minutes. But most of all, the big difference, the thing we all knew, but have been able to compesate with the inside play, is that UNC does not shoot the three ball as well as most other squads. Kentucky hit 12 three pointers, Carolina 3. Again, if that number is what the Wildcats average during the season this game is totally different. But we all know that the “if’s” are great to make up things, the reality is yesterday, at the Prudential Center, the Wildcats won the game, ending a great ride by the Tar Heels.

As far as the people that think there was a need for a time out, let me say this: tell that to UConn, who didn’t call time out to hit their winning basket. The Heels had the momentum in that stretch, scoring there would have put them (no pun intended) on their heels. Why stop the game, give them a chance to set up, knowing that either Barnes or Zeller is going to get the ball when the point guard everyone wanted had the ball and knows how to distribute or shoot it? You go with what got you there, that’s the way I feel! I have nothing to say about that whatsoever.

The one thing I will say is that this team is a victim of its own success, making us feel like whatever the problem they had a solution, that for the most part it could overcome any lead, they could get the victory no matter what. This time they came out a bit short, nothing or no one to blame, just the way it went! Thanks for the great time guys, hope to see you all back in a year!

A couple of days ago I wrote about how I was happy that UNC & Duke would not be meeting one another in the NCAA Tournament. The rivalry between the Tar Heels and the Blue Devils is something that should be kept inside the ACC. Well, #2 North Carolina (29-7) will be facing another rival today at the Prudential Center (tip off time 5:05 pm EST) as it plays #4 Kentucky (28-8), with the winner getting their ticket stamped for the Final Four. And while this is a rematch from last December neither team is what it was when they first met this season. Not to mention that game didn’t have the stakes that this one does. Let’s be frank, the prize for the winner, a trip to Houston, is something that most people not bias to either program didn’t see happening. This was Ohio State’s bracket, heck, this was supposed to be OSU’s tournament, now it’s either going to be UNC’s or UK’s bracket, and who knows, it might be their tournament as well!

But first one is going to have to beat the other. And that is going to be difficult, for both, as each roster might be a bit thin quantity wise, but is stacked with quality. It is going to be difficult for either team to reference to what happened back on December 4th of last year, since the two teams have just changed so much since then. Kendall Marshall played ten minutes in that game, that won’t happen this time around. Harrison Barnes scored 12 points in that match up, again, find it hard to believe that will be the case once again. Both teams have matured, both teams have grown up, and programs have such a great history that while the players might not know what it means to be at this stage of the tournament, the coaching staff certainly do.

These programs have a storied past, Kentucky being the winningest program in college basketball with 2,051, while North Carolina is in third with 2,033. They have history with one another, having played 34 times (UNC leads the series 22 to 11), twice in the tournament (Carolina is 2-0), and they both have something to prove. The Tar Heels in showing the college basketball world, their fan base, and maybe themselves that last season was a bump in the road and nothing more, while the Wildcats wanting to show that their head coach is the one that will bring them back to the promised land (of a national title). So, while they will only play for fourty minutes, this game means a lot more to both programs, and that is why it’s a rivalry between these two teams. Of course, if that was not enough to get the Heels ready, maybe what the UK coach said last week is…

“They want to be us,” he said of opponents in the NCAA Tournament. “Not beat us. Be us.”

I can not speak for anyone else, but being an UNC faithful I know I have never had any thought of being anything else but a Tar Heel! And when asked head coach Roy Williams chuckled and said the following…

“It’s probably true with a lot of people,” Williams said. “I don’t think the North Carolina coaches, we would say that, or the Duke coaches would say that, the Connecticut coaches or the Indiana coaches or their players.”

But enough with the comments and what not’s, let’s get to what is going to count at the end, the game. If there is one thing that comes to mind about this game is the fact so many people are looking at Josh Harrellson and believing that after what he did to OSU’s All-American Jared Sullinger in their last game dealing with UNC’s Tyler Zeller should be a breeze. This is where I beg to differ, and differ a lot. Harrellson got Sullinger out of his confort zone in that game, by pushing him out of the paint, however for Zeller, who is averaging 27.3 points and 8.7 rebounds in the tournament, that is where he likes to play, with his seven foot frame, the jump hook is something that the UK center is going to have a tough time dealing with. And with the Wildcats’ big man out of the paint I think UNC is going to be able to take advantage of the situation and get second chance points off of missed shots. This is where John Henson, who has 17.3 ppg and 11.0 rpg in the first three games of March Madness, and his 7’4″ wingspan should make his living today.

Without a doubt I think that the bigs for both sides are going to be at war, trying to get points, rebounds, blocks, alter shots, and anything/everything else you can think of. That is why it might be the play of the back court that might make the difference in this one. And this is where it might just be interesting, as neither Kendall Marshall or Dexter Strickland have to beat their counterparts, they just have to play them evenly. If they do, I think UNC wins the war inside and would move on to be one the last four teams standing in this year’s tournament. Ok, I know that is easier said than done, but it’s basically what it comes down to. Marshall needs to set the tone for the team, get the ball in the hands of his bigs, find the open man, hit the shot when needed. Those are all things that he can do, and has done them many times this year. Dexter Strickland needs to have another great defensive effort, making sure that his man does not go off on the Heels from beyond the arc. Again, something that he can do.

I would be doing this post a dis justice if I didn’t talk about one of the players that has definitely matured in the last 120 days or so, Harrison Barnes. He has had game winning shots, has been scoring when needed, and is the player that kept UNC in both of the first two games of the ACC Tournament. Barnes is a freshman only in academics at this point. On the court he is a seasoned veteran, who I believes loves the spot light of the big game. This one is as big as it gets, and having had a sub par performance the first time these two teams met I am sure Barnes wants to redeem himself anyway he can.

Finally, the one thing that can definitely play in UNC’s favor: the fast tempo/transition game. If the Heels can get it going, making Harrellson having to chase the much quick Zeller up and down the court, it’s going to definitely benefit the Tar Heels in this game. The Vegas Insiders have North Carolina as a 1.5 points underdog, I am going to say that they will pull off the upset and win a game in the mid seventies, with the final being 78 to 73 for the Heels!

As soon as I got to see the brackets on Sunday all I could think of was “the East is stacked”. Then, after doing my Sunday night show, Pushing the Envelope, I got into looking at the bracket some more and it got worst and worst and worst! Let’s Carolina being in a bracket that has the top team in the tournament in Ohio State, that it also has the best zone defense squad in the nation with Syracuse and that rounding out the top four seed is Kentucky. Then let’s add that out of the other 15 teams in this bracket six have head coaches that have either won the national title (Jim Boeheim ~ Syracuse) or have been in the Final Four (John Calipari ~ Kentucky – Bob Huggins ~ West Virginia – Jim Larranaga ~ George Mason – Thad Matta ~ OSU – Jay Wright ~ Villanova).

Want more? The top programs with the most ever wins in UK and UNC, not one, not two, but three teams from what all analysts call the best conference in the US, the Big East. Syracuse seems to be the trendy pick for the people behind the mikes when it comes to a powerhouse breaking the chalk and getting in past the one seed, while George Mason seems to be in the same category as far as the mid-majors are concerned. If this is the way that the committee rewarded the overall number one seed I am not sure OSU is too happy about it, and I know I am not too happy about it when it comes to North Carolina.
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Let me say this, who wins this part of the bracket will have most certainly earned its way to the Final Four this season. On the flip side, this bracket does have some sweet match-ups when it comes to the story of this sport. We could see UNC vs Kentucky, meaning the two top winningest programs with some of the best freshmen in the country on their rosters going at it. Syracuse vs UNC, for what would definitely be a very hard game for the Heels, due to the zone, but also a way to put another nail in the coffin of a season ago. Even the first two games, Long Island and possibly Washington, should be very exciting games, as both of the teams like the fast tempo, just like UNC does.

Mega teams, talented individuals, Hall of Fame head coaches. This is what the East regional is this year, and it should make for some very exciting basketball when it’s all said and done!

Let me just put this out before I go on to my rant here, this post might be a bit (or maybe I should say more than just a bit) bias.

Looking around one of my favorite sites when it comes to college basketball, Rush The Court, I found a thread that led me to a  Basketball Prospectus article about their Top 25 freshmen so far. And guess what Tar Heel nation, Harrison Barnes isn’t on the list while three players from Kentucky are in the Top 5. When I give you my outlook on this you will realize why it does not make any sense to me, and yes, let me say it again, it might be bias, and then again it might just be common sense.

The three frosh from UK made the list are Brandon Knight (5th), Doron Lamb (3rd) and Terrence Jones (2nd). All of these players are scoring in double digits, Knight leading the way with 17.7 points per game, followed right behind by Jones (17.6) and Lamb is third with 14.4. Jones is close to 10 boards per game (9.2) and is averaging 1.8 BPG, while Knight has the best APG with 3.9, but also has 3.3 TOs per game. All good numbers by all means, but how do they compare to Harrison Barnes?

Well, first off let say that coach Williams plays more players than his counterpart in Kentucky, which means that all three of the Wildcats play a bit more per game than does the Tar Heel. Barnes has an average of 11.7 points per game and has shot less (165) than both Jones (205) and Knight (197). And of course we can go on and on with the stats and find anything and everything under the sun about why one deserves it and the other doesn’t, but the reality is pretty simple if you check the stats out, if the three players from Kentucky deserve top billing someone like Barnes definitely deserves to be included in the Top 25. I am not going to argue that he deserves anything more than that, even though I feel he does, but not to be included has to make me wonder if the author has something against Carolina basketball.

Let me close with this, I am not trying to say that the UK players are not worthy of their ranking, or for that matter anyone else on this list, what I am trying to say is that Barnes is worthy of it as well! This would be even more evident if I broke down the whole thing (every single player) against the competition each of these frosh has faced in the first half of the season. But I doubt that would truly be worthwhile, because just looking at the competition that UNC faces and how Barnes is doing should be enough to have him on any Top 25 freshmen list.

Dick Vitale

On the other hand the other nine teams leave something to desire…

Yes, Duke is number one, which had to be because of the returning players from a national championship, as well as the ones coming in/eligible to play in the upcoming season. I do not like the fact that the Blue Devils are top, but that is more because I am a Heel than anything else. Michigan State, who has a great core and their head coach returning, is second. I would have had them first, but with the tendency of Tom Izzo to get to the promise land but never cut the nets down #2 might even be too high. Purdue is third, and I have no problem with that, while Thad Matta and OSU are fourth, which I find just a bit too high. Rounding out the first five teams is the first squad from the Big East, Villanova. Overall, with all the talent on these teams, you could move them around a bit and no one would truly care, they all have talent, they all have good coaches, they all (with the exception of ‘Nova) have a good shot at a long run in March.

Now it gets tricky in my opinion. The sixth team is Kentucky and the seventh is Syracuse, who both lost a lot and Mr. Vitale is doing the addition by freshman discussion, which I think is fine, but he can not think that what happened to coach Calipari last year can happen over and over, especially in the Salt City where to play there you need to learn that 2-3 zone that is no joke! Next up is Florida, who I am thinking might just take down Kentucky this year, but we shall see, and would have them above the Wildcats and the Orange in this pre-season ranking. Finally, one slot above North Carolina, is Kansas State, and here too, mostly cause I don’t watch them too much, maybe cause I think Dickie V is right, that looks good to me.

So, two ACC teams and two Big East squads in the Top 10. Kentucky in the top positions because of the one and done theory, OSU and MSU capable to be a very good team and many many other tidbits fill up the first ten team of Dick Vitale’s list. Here is my prediction out of all of this: all the teams that will be in the Final Four should come out from the ten squads mentioned by Dick V, going even further, SU or KSU won’t be part of that.

It’s been out a while, but due to many other things (online & RL) I have not put it up for people to see, or better yet, for people to react to it. This is the 100th year anniversary of basketball at North Carolina, and I have to say that head coach Roy Williams surely made a heck of a schedule to celebrate. The first game that sticks out in my mind, more for the venue than the opponent (even if the team is good), is the game against Texas, because it’s going to be played at the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium, and that alone makes it an event. But that the game between UNC and Texas is going to be the last of the big time games this season, as the Tar Heels are going to play teams like: Kentucky (love the game because of Calipari and Wall), either Cal (love this game cause of a rival with a fellow Twitter, Diana Klockkova) or Syracuse (love this game because of where I live), Michigan State (rematch of the NC) and of course the fun ride that is the ACC schedule.

Here is the schedule and then I will give you my thoughts about it all:

Head Coach Roy Williams

I have read on different boards that some posters believe that this team could lose 10 (or more games). I find that very hard to believe, even with all the touch out of conference games. I do know one thing though, if you lose seven or more games during the season the chances of winning the national title is slim, as only four team (in seventy years) to do that feat. That begs to ask: will North Carolina lose seven games this season? And the answer for me is: depends if this team stays in 2009 or is a 2010 experienced team. Definitely not a black and white answer, but one that is as specific as I can be with. What does it mean? If this team can gel and work together quickly they will be ready for the second half of the season (the ACC schedule) and be very good by the time March comes around. If they do not they will have a much bumpier road to the end of the season.

In the end this means the following: UNC can have less than seven wins if they bond well quickly or they can have more than seven if they don’t. With plenty of talent coming in and minutes to be given out it’s going to be a bumpy beginning for this squad, and that is where the senior leadership of Marcus Ginyard and Deon Thompson is going to come in. If the two seniors can step up and get the team going in the right direction I doubt that this team will see five losses, if it takes more you are going to be right at the seven loss line. It’s not that far away from the beginning of the season, so we will see if I am right or wrong. Leave what you think in the comments area, and see if you were right on or not!

GMTH 05/20/09

Another day and another time for the “Good Morning Tar Heels”, the animated post where we give shout outs and links to Tar Heels and friends of The Fifth Corner web site. We also give out birthday wishes to Heels. In today’s edition we look at a Michael Jordan’s guitar, some National Basketball Association lottery picks thoughts, an Indy 500 look and much, much more on this edition of “Good Morning Tar Heels”. So, sit back and relax, watch the video and then check the links below it for all the posts I talked about.

Chase Page turns 26 today, so let’s all wish the ex UNC defensive lineman a happy birthday.

A Tar Heel, Jason Peck, has a very interesting post about the 10 reasons why sports organizations should use twitter.

Staying with the carolina blue theme here is a chance to own something from one of the greatest ever. MJ’s guitar is being sold, why not have it? Check it out at By the Horns blog

NBA Lottery result and how the first 14 picks are going to go according to mookie at his site “A Stern Warning”. Hmmm mookie, no Lawson in the lottery? Your killing this Heel slowly!

Slam Dunk talks about the lottery as well, but makes no predictions on who is going where. I wonder if Jeff Sack is also going to slowly kill me by keeping Lawson out of the lottery.

And Dime Mag has its first mock draft. At least he has Lawson at #14, meaning in the lottery and three Heels in the first round. I can live with that.

Indy 500 starting line up as well as tv schedule from MidWest Sports fans. Last week we saw the ponies, this week we are going to see a lot more horses fly by.

Could there be someone unhappy in Kentucky? Moon Dog believes there just might. Read the post to find out who that someone is. And by the way, I do agree that he could be somewhat unhappy.

LeBron James has another trick shot, and you can see it at DockSquad. With shots like that who needs to practice? LBJ has a career on the Harlem Globetrotters.

And if you are talking about videos you are talking NESW, where amazing videos happen.

GMTH 05/07/09

Even if the weather is not the best, The Fifth Corner is here to give you some of the best shout outs and links for today, May 7th, 2009. From a great UNC site, to a great Tar Heel web board, you know that there will always be a touch of carolina blue when doing “Good Morning Tar Heels”. We then check out the saga that is becoming Brett Favre and his return to the National Football League. Staying with the NFL there is a good debate going on about the ex QB from the Packers & Jets, and on the same site great report cards about the NFL teams and their draft. Lastly, a link to one of the top point guards going to Kentucky, and I wonder to myself, what is this going to do with Calipari and Wall. All of this right here, right now, on this edition of “Good Morning Tar Heels”…

First off, check out the UNC blog named “Tar Heel Fan“, where there is always great material having to do with Carolina. And if you want to talk Carolina, check out CB.com, where you can meet some great people like Mike Irby or HeelBent (and many, many more).

Over at Moon Dog Sports there is a story talking how Favre’s agent says he wants to win a Super Bowl. Got news for the agent and the QB, all the players in the NFL want to win a Super Bowl.

Over at Sports2Debate they are also talking Brett Favre, plus they have both the AFC and NFC report cards about this year’s draft. Check it all out, if you dare!

Lastly a small piece about Eric Bledsoe going to Kentucky from College Hoops Net (CHN).

I am writing this post not to attack a fan base, but to show that sometimes we do not care enough about what we have and have to look at the other programs. And they do the same to us. It’s a shame that as fans sometimes we just can’t appreciate what is right in front of our own noses. Kentucky right now is in the lead for overall wins over North Carolina by four games. And while the Wildcats love to know that it’s them having the lead, they should also realize that the game of basketball was being played a lot longer in the blue grass state that it has in Chapel Hill. And I am not even going to start up with the fact that if Dean Smith or Roy Williams had the Tar Heels in the SEC the lead would be UNC’s and not by 4, but by probably 200 or so (ok, so 200 might be exagerating a bit). But I am not making this post for sour grapes, I acknowledge that the Kentucky program (which is 106 years old) has won 1988 games (18.75 wins per season), while North Carolina (which is 99 years old) has won 1984 games (20.0 wins per season).

See what I am trying to say here? The number only matters alone for the Kentucky fan base. Because if we begin to add in the rest of the things that go along with those wins and Kentucky is nowhere close to being what North Carolina is. Yes, I know, the winning percentage also favors Kentucky, .758 to .738, but again, switch the two teams around, with UK playing in the ACC and UNC in the SEC and I would say the winning % goes out the window together with the Wildcats’ narrow lead. What I am trying to say here is that this “Rush to 2K” that is becoming somewhat an obsession on several boards I frequent makes no sense whatsoever because it’s not on an even playing field.

Sure UK has seven national championships to UNC’s five, even if in the last fifty years UNC leads 4 to 3. Carolina has more players in the NBA and more appearances to the Final Four than Kentucky. The Tar Heels are 22-10 against the Wildcats. So, which one do you prefer as a measuring stick there? But here is more proof to how meaningless the “Rush for 2K” is. We all remember the UCLA golden days with John Wooden, right? The Bruins are ranked 8th as far as all time wins, with 1,672. You know who is ahead just ahead of them? Temple and St. John’s. Which you can not say are anywhere close to the luster that UCLA has when speaking about basketball. So, all these numbers in my mind mean very little, besides the fact that many universities have had good runs throught their long history when it comes to basketball.

Is being the first to 2,000 wins going to mean anything to Kentucky (if they do it) or North Carolina (if the Wildcats stumble with Calipari as they did with Gillispie)? I say not, and this comes from someone who is in the middle of this race. It only means anything to those, like me, that enjoy checking the past every once in a while. And since I am sure I won’t be blogging when it comes to talking about 3,000 wins, I figured at 2K and see what I drew of it.

First off, three teams Kentucky (1988), North Carolina (1984) and Kansas (1970) should breaks the 2,000 wins mark this season. Coming in fourth for all time wins is Duke (1876) and if the Blue Devils keep winning 27 games or so they should breach that threshold five seasons from now. After that, it’s Syracuse (1753) and that means at least six seasons, and then we are getting to close to 200 wins (or 10%) from 2K wins. So, what does this all mean? To me it’s pretty simple, forget the one on one rivalry, and see what the difference is between the top three teams and the rest of the field.

Lastly, while a lot do not like his ways of doing things, let me give some props to the all time winningest head coach, Bobby Knight, who with over 900 games has won so much compared to whole programs. And to all, be it great or not, long storied or just starting, enjoy what is there for you and do not get caught up with what the “others have”, because it will ruin what you have. As far as the rivalry for the top spot of the winningest program, with Calipari at Kentucky and Williams at Carolina I have a feeling the yearly wins will be pretty close, so it’s going to be who wins more during the post season.

(all the numbers were found on wiki pages and I take no credit in any of the numbers posted here, nor do I take blame if any number is incorrect)