Brett's Blog

The Tar Heels open the season in Atlanta and will try to do what no team from the ACC has been able to do and that’s not get waxed by the opposing SEC team, let alone actually win. UNC faces LSU in the season opener in Atlanta and has to travel to Rutgers. The Heels also have to travel to Florida State and Miami, but at least they get Clemson, Virginia Tech and ECU at home. It’s not an easy schedule, but it’s not a killer, either.

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Tom O’Brien said he doesn’t like playing North Carolina in the final game of the season because the two could meet up a week later in the ACC Championship Game. Well, Tom, you won’t have to worry about that this year, for sure. However, the Wolfpack do have a decent schedule where they seem to be catching teams just at the right time. Cincinnati, which is in flux, comes to town, and N.C. State travels to ECU, which is also in flux. Losing either one of those games will be bad, but if they lose at Central Florida in the second week of the season, you can classify this program as being below Wake and slightly ahead of Duke, but only slightly.

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How would you like it if your team’s non-conference schedule consisted of Florida, Oklahoma and BYU? Well, that’s what Florida State has on is docket for 2010. But a year removed from having a brutal schedule, it actually sets up quite nice for the Seminoles, despite the hard non-ACC games. Clemson and North Carolina travel to Tallahassee, though Florida State does have to go to Miami. This is a very workable schedule and one that could land the Noles in the ACC Championship Game.

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Yes, Clemson has two cream puffs on its schedule in North Texas and Presbyterian, but give head coach Dabo Swinney credit for not backing out of an away game at Auburn in the third game of the season. This is one of those important games for the image of the league. The Tigers have a fairly difficult ACC schedule, too, as they play Miami, North Carolina, Florida State and Georgia Tech. Of course, there’s also that season-ender against South Carolina. Should be a very interesting year in Tiger Town.

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How’s this for a stretch of games? Wake Forest has a five-game stretch that is brutal. The Deacs travel to Stanford, then to Florida State, before coming home Georgia Tech and Navy, and then finishing it up at Virginia Tech. Wake Forest will do very well not to go 0-5 in that stretch and if it should somehow manage to win two of those five games, then Wake should be bowling once again.

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It doesn’t look good for the Blue Devils to qualify for a bowl in 2010. Non-conference games against Alabama and Navy are the main reasons why. They could beat Wake, Maryland, Virginia, Boston College and Elon, but that means Duke still has to get a win against either Virginia Tech, North Carolina, Miami or Georgia Tech to qualify. The Blue Devils have to absolutely beat Navy to have a shot at a bowl. But I’m guessing it’s not going to happen this year.

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The Hokies begin the 2010 season with a bang by playing Boise State at FedEx Field, which is home of the Washington Redskins. The game is on a Monday night and the entire nation will be watching. If the ACC is going to save any kind of face this season, the Hokies have to win what is essentially a home game. But the fact that 21 starters return from the team that finished second in the nation is going to make it very hard on the Hokies. They also have games against East Carolina and have to travel to Miami. However, Va. Tech gets the Yellow Jackets in Lane Stadium.

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Two words completely describe the Miami football schedule for 2010: HOLY CRAP! The Hurricanes only have one easy game, which is the season opener against Florida A&M. But then three straight road games against Ohio State, Pitt and Clemson, followed by a home game against rival Florida State and you’ve just looked at the first five weeks of the schedule. The last three games of the season are against Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech and South Florida. Hats off to coach Randy Shannon for making this schedule, but man it seems like he’s trying to lose his job.

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It’s going to be another very long year for the Cavaliers. It could very well be a season where Virginia wins only three games. They start the season against Richmond, which beat Duke last year, travel to Southern Cal, play Georgia Tech, Florida State, North Carolina, Miami and Virginia Tech. Good luck with that. Hopefully the team will still have bodies by the end of it all.

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Say this about Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson, he doesn’t shy away from playing decent non-conference games. There’s always the season-ender against Georgia, but he’s also added a game at Kansas. The Yellow Jackets also play Middle Tennessee State, which made a bowl game last season. The Yellow Jackets have three difficult games in ACC play as they try to defend their title. They have to go to Clemson, Miami and Virginia Tech. Winning two of the three could mean another trip to the league championship game.

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The Terrapins will begin the season with a very difficult game against Navy, which will be played on neutral turf in Baltimore. There are also a games at West Virginia, Clemson and Miami, as well as a home game against Florida State. It’s unlikely Maryland will make a bowl game and this very well could be head coach Ralph Friedgen’s last season at the helm. In fact, I’d say the odds are heavily in that favor.

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Boston College has a pretty decent schedule this year. Yes, there are home games against Weber State and Kent State, but there are also games against Notre Dame, Syracuse, Florida State, Virginia Tech and Clemson. It’s going to be a difficult task for the Eagles in 2010.

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Not that it should surprise anyone, but the agent for Carolina Panthers defensive end Julius Peppers said the former Tar Heel has played his last play as a Panther. Again, this shouldn’t surprise anybody, but still seems like a little bit of a shock to the system, especially when you say it outloud.

Personally, I know that he is a fantastic player and maybe the best in the NFL at his position when he WANTS to play. The problem is he doesn’t always want to and that is the reason why I have no issues with the Panthers letting him bolt. For the most part, he was nonexistent this season, especially in the early half when it matter most.

They could get a first- and third-round draft pick for him should another team opt to sign him as compensation. And considering Carolina doesn’t have a first rounder this year, that’s not all bad.

So, here’s to you, Julius. Don’t let the door …., well you know the rest. Now hopefully the Panthers won’t screw the pooch by drafting clowns in his place and wasting the picks (see Dwayne Jarrett).

In sports we all tend to overreact one way or another. When our team wins, it’s because they are the greatest collection of players ever, and when our team loses, we want heads to roll because the coach and players aren’t any good. Amazingly, that seems to be the reaction concerning the North Carolina basketball team.

Yes, the Tar Heels are in a losing skid, and yes there are some problems with the team, but I think most people are overreacting to just how bad it truly is. After all, this is the same team that beat Michigan State and Ohio State earlier in the year.

I’ve seen the Heels in person a few times this year and one of the things that jumps out is that this team doesn’t have a true scorer. In many ways it’s like Clemson. There isn’t that one person that you know can get you 20 points on any given night. It’s an offense by committee and unless three or four people are having good nights shooting, this team is going to struggle to win.

People like to rip on Larry Drew II for being the root for all of UNC’s issues. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Just so you know, he leads the ACC in assists at 6.24 per game. His assist-to-turnover ratio is quite good, too, at 1.98, which is fourth-best in the ACC. In fact, it’s better than Duke’s Nolan Smith and Maryland’s Greivis Vasquez. Drew is also averaging 9.1 points per game and shooting 44.4 percent from beyond the arc. Drew is the least of the problems on offense.

What is a huge problem is all the turnovers by those not named Drew. Dion Thompson, Marcus Ginyard and Ed Davis have combined to turn it over 128 stinking times. And keep in mind: These are guys who AREN’T handling the ball on every possession. As a result, UNC is dead last in the ACC in turnover margin.

Another aspect, and one that may be the most surprising, is the lack of defense. UNC has the worst scoring defense in the league, and it’s not even close. The Heels are giving up 73 points per game. I know a lot of that can be contributed to their run-and-gun style of offense, but that’s still very high.

But here’s where the real problem is defensively: the 3-point shot. UNC ranks 11th in the ACC in that area as teams are making a whopping 33.5 percent of its long-range shots. I thought Ginyard was supposed to be this defensive specialist. And just for the record, that’s what you call someone that isn’t any good on the offensive end just so he won’t feel bad.

People complain that this team doesn’t have any heart. I disagree. I think it’s just that this team truly doesn’t have a leader. Ginyard, Davis and Dion are all quiet guys. This is a passive team. Roy Williams seems to be the only one that will yell and cuss and it gets old awfully quick to the players when the coach is doing all of it.

With all that said, all is not lost for the Heels. As we saw this past weekend, every team has major issues. This is still the very, very average ACC. Last year, UNC would have been in big trouble and may have finished in the lower third of the league. This year, because of the bad play, there’s still a very realistic chance the Heels could finish 8-8 in the league, which could be good enough for the NCAA Tournament.

People who argue that 8-8 isn’t good enough to make the NCAA just doesn’t understand how things work. It’s a numbers game. With the Pac 10 likely to only get one or two teams into the tournament, that means other conferences pick up the slack. Teams like Cornell and Northern Iowa don’t affect the selection because their conferences only get one team in the dance anyway. The only way they would hurt UNC is if they don’t win their conference tournament and are selected as an at-large.

With all of college basketball down, 8-8 in the ACC with non-conference wins over the Spartans and Buckeyes should be good enough to keep the Heels in the tournament.

All is not lost for Heel fans and a win at either Virgina Tech or Maryland this week, plus a win at home against Duke will go a long way toward calming UNC nation down.

South Carolina athletics director Eric Hyman spoke about the $25,000 fine the SEC levied against his school after the fans stormed the basketball court following the Gamecocks win over No. 1 Kentucky Tuesday night.

“First, let me say that the atmosphere at the Colonial Life Arena Tuesday night was as
exciting as any time since I’ve been here. Our fans did a great job all night and the
student section was awesome. We certainly don’t want to take away from that enthusiasm
and excitement.

“However, the SEC schools voted unanimously on the sportsmanship policy and the
subsequent fines for violating that policy, and we support it fully. The purpose of the
policy is for the safety of our student-athletes, coaches, officials, students and our many
fans. While I was thrilled with the outcome of the game, I was also very concerned that
we follow this policy to prevent a dangerous situation from occurring.”

RALEIGH – Hello from press row at the RBC Center, where the unranked North Carolina Tar Heels are taking on the N.C. State Wolfpack. The place is packed, as one might expect. The crowd is loud and ready go explode. A quick note about the blog, this is going to be a fun blog, which will offer jokes at the expense of both teams, quirky observations and some actually insight on the game.

With that said, let’s get this thing started, shall we.

NC State 6, UNC 5…15:34 left in 1st half

So, before the game, I was sitting in press room and talking to the beat writers of both teams. You can get a much better sense of what’s going on by talking to the guys that are there with the teams on an everyday basis and I can honestly say that I learned something new:

UNC coach Roy Williams HATES, HATES, HATES N.C. State more than any other team in the league, including Duke. With him, it’s personal and goes way back to his days as an assistant and a student at Chapel Hill.

As one beat writer, who’s been covering UNC for two decades put it, “Roy hates N.C. State more than syphilis.”

They went on to say that should the Wolfies win that the bus ride home for the UNC players will be far worse than losing to Duke or any other team in the league. This is the game Roy wants more than any other.

UNC 12, NC State 10…..11:26 left in 1st half

So far, here are some observations:

The Wolfpack are playing right into UNC’s hands. The teams that have beaten the Heels have been teams that have pushed the ball. The Wolfies are slowing it down and taking a lot of time on each possession to get a shot off, which is perfect for the Heels. …

Neither team is hitting their outside shots and the inside play is dominating the game. I would think that would also play into the hands of the Heels. N.C. State needs to knock down its 3s if it’s going to win.

We have Sidney Lowe’s pimp red blazer vs. Roy’s light blue blazer.

OK, so freshman John Henson just shot an air ball at the free throw line, which sent this place into a frenzy. Dude, really? An air ball? And you were a high school All-American?

UNC 19, N.C. State 14….7:57 left in 1st half

N.C. State is getting killed on the inside and on the boards.

UNC had a chance to go up 25-14 but Ginyard had the ball slip out of his hand while going in for an open dunk. N.C. State took advantage of it and scored five quick points.

UNC 28, N.C. State 21…..3:58 left in 1st half

OK, a couple of random observations during this timeout:

It seems that the only words that anybody knows to the Wolfpack fight song is, “Go to hell Carolina!” The rest of the time, all you hear is a little bit of humming and people making things up as they go along until that part comes up again. It’s kind of funny. …

Also, in the pregame announcement of the N.C. State players, a noise meter was rolled to center court and supposedly the louder the crowd gets, the more light bulbs light up. As one might expect, the lights reached all the way to the top, but the noise level wasn’t any louder than it was when they rolled the thing on the court. It was very, very loud, but it wasn’t like it got progressively louder. I’m callin BS on that noise meter.

Marcus Ginyard is having an awful offensive game. It seems the game plan for N.C. State is to let him shoot because he hasn’t made a thing all night.

Speaking of not making anything, where in the world is Scott Wood and Dennis Horner for the Wolfpack?

HALFTIME
UNC 37, N.C. State 33

Here are some halftime notes and facts:

They’re having a cornhole contest on the court during halftime, but it seems like the sanctity and spirit of the game is being violated as neither contestant has a beer in his hand. And just for the record, both players sucked.

Wolfpack point guard Farnold Degand is a transfer from that great hoops school known as Iowa State. When a player that couldn’t cut it at Iowa State is in your starting backcourt, there are problems. Also, did you know that he can fit 42 Skittles in his mouth at once.

UNC guard Will Graves is the only player from the state North Carolina that gets significant playing time for the Heels. Did you know he has more tattoos than Degand can fit Skittles in his mouth? I think Graves has 54, to be exact. UNC has four players from California that get major minutes. Did you know you can smoke marijuana legally in that state if you get a prescription?

HALFTIME STATS OF NOTE
Ginyard, 0-for-4 shooting…Wood 0-for-4 shooting…Horner 0-for-2 shooting…UNC 3 turnovers…N.C. State 1 offensive rebound…UNC 5 offensive rebounds…N.C. State shooting 50 percent…..UNC shooting 45.2 percent….Smith and Gonzalez are a combined 9-of-12 shooting….Drew II and Strickland are a combined 5-of-7 shooting.

Every time something big is about to happen, the P.A. boy yells, “Wolfpack in the house!!!” That really is annoying.

Start of the second half.

N.C. State 43, UNC 38…..16:58 left in 2nd half

The Wolfies have come out firing from long range and are knocking them down. Wood drills a 3, followed by Gonzalez. The RBC is roaring. Meanwhile, the UNC guards are looking like their usual selves, turning it over two times on three possessions. It’s looking so bad that Roy called a timeout before the TV timeout at 16 minutes.

You just have to wonder if the N.C. State guards can continue to live and feed off that emotion and drain their shots.

Ginyard needs to stop shooting. Wide open 3 and he misses badly.

N.C. State 43, UNC 38….15:55 left in 2nd half

The worse possible thing for UNC has happened, Drew II hit some shots in the first half and he’s continuing to shoot because of it. He’s missing everything now.

UNC can’t even make a layup at this point. The Heels are lucky State hasn’t pulled away. UNC has one stinking point in the first 5-plus minutes.

UNC 43, N.C. State 43….13:23 left in 2nd half

Just now looking at the court for UNC, no wonder they can’t score. Their five consisted of Drew, Strickland, Travis Wear, John Henson and Thompson.

Sidney Lowe took out Gonzalez and he shouldn’t have done that. He’s the only one who can score for the Wolfpack. As a result, UNC scored seven unanswered.

UNC 45, N.C. State 43….11:48 left in 2nd half

The Wolfies haven’t scored in the last seven minutes and are 0-for-12 with three turnovers during that stretch.

WOW!!!

UNC 51, N.C. State 43…..9:42 left in 2nd half

It took eight minutes to do it, but the Wolfies finally scored. WooHoo!

State is lucky it’s only down nine points.

UNC 54, N.C. State 45….7:56 left in 2nd half

N.C. State is 4-for-20 this half.

Wood and Horner have a combined 3 points. No wonder they’re losing by 13 freaking points.

I think it’s time for Sidney to retire the pimp jacket. He had a nice run in the ACC Tournament his first year as head coach wearing it every day, but those days are long gone.

N.C. State has one field goal over the last 12 minutes.

UNC is on a 28-6 run.

Wolfie fans are bolting for the exits. Some are yelling at Sidney as they’re leaving.

Horner makes a basket with 3:30 left in the game with the Wolfies down 17. It’s his first of the night. Nice for him to show up and play the whole game.

UNC 68, N.C. State 54….2:51 left in 2nd half

Stop the presses, Horner has made two 3-pointers in a row. Way to step up big, Dennis.

Well, the death of UNC basketball has been greatly exaggerated. In this league, this year, they’re still going to win some games and lose some. This isn’t a very good team, but it’s not awful, either.

N.C. State just doesn’t have enough consistent firepower to be competitive every night. There are going to be games they win, like against Duke, when a lot of people are hitting their shots. But on nights when Horner and Wood disappear, they’re going to lose big, like they did tonight.

I will be posting video interviews from Roy, Sidney and players following the game. Thanks for reading.

FINAL
UNC 77, N.C. State 63