All posts by Rob Harrington
Rob Harrington ·
20 Mar 2010, 5:33 PM ·
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Deep in the heart of Dixie, North Carolina point guard Larry Drew himself showed the heart many have questioned all season. In a tie game with fewer than 10 seconds to play, Drew drove the length of the court, split three defenders and made a contested layup to give the Tar Heels a 76-74 victory against Mississippi State in the second round of the NIT.
Carolina justifiably has been lambasted for its poor performances on the road this season, but the Heels clawed back from two substantial deficits and took the lead late thanks to the timely shooting of Will Graves and some key defensive plays by John Henson.
The Heels are the No. 5 seed in their bracket and MSU was No. 1 —and would have beaten Kentucky and made the NCAA Tournament if not for a last-second collapse last weekend — so this constituted a major triumph for this iteration of the Tar Heels.
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ACC, Basketball, UNC-Chapel Hill John Henson, Larry Drew, Mississippi State, nit, will graves
Rob Harrington ·
17 Mar 2010, 2:16 AM ·
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CHAPEL HILL/CARMICHAEL AUDITORIUM — They aren’t finished just yet. North Carolina, which limped into the NIT after the horrifying season that’s been chronicled here and everywhere else, utilized a raucous crowd to defeat William & Mary 80-72 in the opening round of the tournament.
Unlike the NCAA Tournament, which creates neutral venues for every game, the first three rounds of the NIT take place at the higher-seeded team’s home court. And because Carolina — seeded No. 4 in its bracket — is undertaking renovations at the Smith Center, the Tar Heels’ former home became the default option.
And what a stroke of good fortune it was. From the opening tap, the Tar Heels played with far greater intensity and joy than they have all season. Roy Williams described the crowd as “sensational” after the game, and there’s little question that the Heels benefited from the building’s emotion to fight back from a late deficit — something they’ve struggled to accomplish all year.
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ACC, Basketball, UNC-Chapel Hill Carmichael, Deon Thompson, nit, Roy Williams, Tyler Zeller, William&Mary
Rob Harrington ·
12 Mar 2010, 2:29 AM ·
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The Tar Heels will be on the sidelines during the NCAA Tournament (File photo by Rob Rowe)
For a half, North Carolina made everyone forget. Or, at least if one were inclined to forget, the possibility was open. The struggling Tar Heels held a 10-point lead at halftime against Georgia Tech in the opening round of the ACC Tournament, but they crumbled in the second half and fell to the Yellow Jackets 62-58.
The loss knocked the Heels out of the tournament and officially ended the Heels’ chances of earning a berth in the NCAA Tournament, though entering the weekend essentially no one expected them to win the ACC title.
Carolina’s primary issue in this game was the same one that felled the team all season: poor shooting. The Heels shot just 33 percent from the field, an excruciating number against a team that didn’t perform especially well on defense.
The Heels did get double-figure scoring games from both Deon Thompson (10 points, eight rebounds) and Tyler Zeller (17 points, 10 rebounds), but no one else was able to get anything going offensively.
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ACC, Basketball, UNC-Chapel Hill ACC Tournament, continued failure, Deon Thompson, Roy Williams, Tyler Zeller
Rob Harrington ·
3 Mar 2010, 12:38 AM ·
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Ginyard's leaping ability appears to have returned (File photo by Jeremy Lange)
CHAPEL HILL/SMITH CENTER — Finally, an exhale of relief. After struggling throughout ACC competition to string together two consecutive decent performances, North Carolina fought through its usual rough patches on Tuesday to defeat Miami 69-62 on senior night at the Smith Center.
The victory gave the program its 2,000th of all-time, second only to Kentucky.
Seniors Marcus Ginyard and Deon Thompson—two of the winningest players in program history—were able to receive a proper sendoff despite this unmitigated disaster of a season.
Carolina actually threatened to break the game open early, but inevitably the Tar Heels committed a rush of turnovers, finishing with 17 while compiling only 16 assists.
Still, beyond stats, the key to the win was the team’s resiliency to push back against the opponent’s big runs. The Heels were much looser tonight than they’ve been for most of the season, obviously benefiting from a confidence standpoint thanks to the win at Wake Forest last weekend.
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ACC, Basketball, UNC-Chapel Hill Deon Thompson, John Henon, Larry Drew, Marcus Ginyard, Miami, senior day
Rob Harrington ·
27 Feb 2010, 8:42 PM ·
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Roy Williams has lacked mirth this season despite his curious ties, but against Wake his team finally got a win
Ordinarily, a win over a fringe NCAA Tournament team wouldn’t generate much excitement in Chapel Hill. But there was genuine elation in town on Saturday afternoon, after North Carolina marched to Wake Forest and brought back a 77-68 victory.
The Heels did a much better job handling the ball, dishing out 16 assists against a relatively low 12 turnovers. Some of the better ball control can be attributed to UNC playing at a slightly slower pace and focusing harder on getting better shots.
Which isn’t to say Carolina shot especially well. The Heels hit just 40 percent from the field, and they were a truly horrific 58 percent from the foul line, including just 4-for-12 by Larry Drew.
Drew, for the record, denied transfer rumors after the game based on a published report that surfaced Friday on the internet. Overall, the beleaguered sophomore point guard did a good job containing speedy Wake guard Ishe Smith, and he contributed eight assists with only three turnovers.
Carolina’s defense was the overwhelming factor in the win. Certainly, the Demon Deacons missed far too many open shots, but it could be argued convincingly that the Heels have caught some bad breaks along those lines throughout the bulk of the season. In this contest, Wake hit only 30 percent of its shots, a devastatingly poor performance at home.
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ACC, Basketball, UNC-Chapel Hill better late than never, John Henson, Leslie McDonald, Wake Forest
Rob Harrington ·
24 Feb 2010, 11:43 PM ·
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Tyler Zeller, returned after a 10-game absence due to injury, hasn't been effective (File photo by Rob Rowe)
SMITH CENTER/ CHAPEL HILL—Much of the North Carolina fanbase is screaming for someone to press the stop button on the 2009-10 season, but the basketball gods instead continue to cruelly press repeat.
At home on Wednesday night against a beatable Florida State team, the Tar Heels dug themselves an early hole and never were able to climb high enough to smell fresh air, ultimately losing 77-67.
It’s been similar to the opening scene in There Will Be Blood, except instead of Daniel Day-Lewis falling and breaking his ankle, the Tar Heels’ plummet resulted in two shattered legs, a dislocated shoulder and a ruptured spleen.
The obvious joke to make now is that the Carolina injured its heart as well. The team’s body language was poor and its performance equally subpar, the Heels showing little fight and trailing by 15 points at halftime.
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ACC, Basketball, UNC-Chapel Hill CBI, dangerous wells, Florida State, nit, Roy Williams
Rob Harrington ·
22 Feb 2010, 12:29 AM ·
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Roy Williams' 600th win was one of this season's few happy moments (File photo by Rob Rowe)
After Saturday’s 71-67 loss to Boston College, North Carolina now is mathematically assured of a losing record in the ACC.
The Heels dropped to 14-13 overall and 3-9 in conference play, ending whatever ruminations still existed that the club might regroup and earn an at-large bid into the NCAA Tournament. Carolina’s postseason destiny now appears to spell the letters NIT, if that. As for the NCAAs, the Heels likely will need to win the ACC Tournament to earn the automatic bid.
Carolina played well against the Eagles defensively, limiting them to just 40 percent shooting. But even upon the return of Tyler Zeller, who had missed 10 games with a foot injury, the Heels failed to muster any semblance of offense when they needed it most.
UNC shot just 39 percent from the floor and stuggled to get clean looks during the final 10 minutes of the contest, dooming the club to defeat despite committing only 11 turnovers and generally playing good defense. Of course, those shooting woes were compounded by the club’s poor free throw shooting, as again the Heels failed to crack 70 percent from the foul line.
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ACC, Basketball, UNC-Chapel Hill Boston College, futility, John Henson, nit, Roy Williams
Rob Harrington ·
17 Feb 2010, 3:15 AM ·
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With little in the way of cheering to do this season, Rameses has begun to focus on public outreach (File photo by Rob Rowe)
North Carolina’s season is closing toward what ordinarily would be considered a premature end, but increasingly UNC fans are counting down the days.
Based on the Tar Heels’ disastrous loss to Georgia Tech in Atlanta on Tuesday night, it appeared that some of the players may be beginning to check out as well.
Carolina’s first half yielded just 21 points and resulted in a 41-21 halftime deficit, the Heels’ most anemic scoring half since Roy Williams arrived in Chapel Hill. The Heels didn’t play much better in the second half, though they did obscure their total lack of preparedness by taking advantage of a Tech team that clearly was coasting.
The Heels shot a nearly unfathomable 32 percent from the field, including just 3-for-15 on threes and 10-for-24 from the foul line. They had as many turnovers as they did field goals (19), something that essentially no team can survive to win a game.
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ACC, Basketball, UNC-Chapel Hill epic disaster, Georgia Tech, when does football start?
Rob Harrington ·
31 Jan 2010, 11:12 PM ·
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Not even UNC's enthusiastic fans could lift the team's play (file photo by Rob Rowe)
SMITH CENTER/ CHAPEL HILL—The headline says it all. North Carolina, which most recently defeated N.C. State on the road in its most impressive victory in weeks, reverted back to early January form on Sunday night against Virginia, getting smoked 75-60.
The Tar Heels had expected to receive an emotional boost from raucous, stir-crazy fans, many who spent the weekend trapped under a sheet of snow and ice, but for whatever reason the Cavaliers were the team that played with greater purpose throughout the game.
Carolina did essentially nothing right, getting beaten in areas where they typically succeed even in losing performances. One such example was high percentage scoring, where the Wahoos outscored the Heels 30-14 in the all-important category of points in the paint.
Virginia handcuffed the post tandem of Ed Davis (still gimpy due to an ankle injury) and Deon Thompson, limiting the pair to a combined 3-for-10 shooting and 11 total points. And remember, this is the putative strength of the team.
That brings us to the backcourt, where Larry Drew surged late but was ineffective for most of the game, finishing with 15 points on 5-for-13 shooting but also committing three turnovers and generally struggling to contain UVa’s guards defensively.
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ACC, Basketball, UNC-Chapel Hill blowout, Ed Davis, Larry Drew, Marcus Ginyard, no easy answers, Roy Williams, Virginia, will graves
Rob Harrington ·
27 Jan 2010, 12:39 AM ·
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Seen here in healthier form early this season, Davis exhibited a warrior's spirit against the Pack (File photo by Rob Rowe)
North Carolina traveled to Raleigh to face rival N.C. State tonight, and the Tar Heels defeated the Wolfpack 77-63 in a game that State fans had every right to believe they could win despite UNC’s recent dominance of the series.
The Tar Heels weathered their customary offensive woes thanks to outstanding defense, perhaps the best they’ve played in several weeks. Carolina limited the Wolfpack to 39 percent shooting, including an atrocious 29 percent in the second half.
Pre-game drama surrounded the availability of stud big man Ed Davis, who missed the Wake Forest debacle due to an injured ankle. But while Davis clearly was hobbled against the Wolfpack, he gamely suited up and contributed 12 points and nine rebounds.
Meanwhile, maligned point guard Larry Drew enjoyed what may have been his finest 40-minute performance since the Michigan State game in early December, scoring 18 points on 5-for-9 shooting and adding seven assists against only one turnover. If he consistently can play anywhere near that level, the Tar Heels’ place in the NCAA Tournament should be secure by the end of the season.
The Heels’ other primary guard, Dexter Strickland, continues to impress. He added 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting and hit a couple of timely jump shots. The guards’ confidence and success handling the ball enabled the club to commit what, given the season’s results to date, might be considered a miraculously low 11 turnovers for the game.
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ACC, Basketball, UNC-Chapel Hill, Uncategorized Deon Thompson, Dexter Strickland, Ed Davis, Larry Drew, N.C. State
