Showing posts tagged “Roy Williams”
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 ·
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
Grayson Currin ·
13 Feb 2010, 7:44 PM ·
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It was the battle to avoid last place: When the N.C. State Wolfpack visited the Dean E. Smith Center late Saturday afternoon in Chapel Hill, the circumstances were much different than they were last February, when UNC had only three season losses and was charging convincingly toward the school’s fifth national title. But the Tar Heels’ woes have been largely on par with those of the Wolfpack this season. Both teams came into today’s game with 11 losses each—eight for the Wolfpack in conference play and seven for the Tar Heels. And both teams dropped ACC contests at home Wednesday night, putting them neck and neck—or perhaps it’s feet and feet—for last place in the ACC.
Today, though, somebody had to win, and during a weekend in which alumni from the last seven decades of UNC’s century of men’s basketball gathered to celebrate tradition in Chapel Hill, it was the Tar Heels. With about five minutes left in the first half, the Tar Heels took the lead for the fifth time and, this time, didn’t relinquish it.
“What I felt is that it’s a wonderful weekend, and I told the kids, ‘Let’s do our part,’” UNC coach Roy Williams said of the festivities after the victory. Williams improved to 19-1 versus the Wolfpack. “I didn’t feel like it would be a great weekend if we didn’t do our part. I did emphasize that for this to be a really fantastic weekend, we had to play.” Continue reading »
ACC, N.C. State, UNC-Chapel Hill Javier Gonzalez, John Henson, Richard Howell, Roy Williams, Sidney Lowe, Tracy Smith
Grayson Currin ·
11 Feb 2010, 1:44 AM ·
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Yup, it was ugly. (Source: Duke Photography)
CHAPEL HILL, N.C.—During Wednesday’s entire first half in Chapel Hill, the Duke Blue Devils scored only six points inside the paint, all on second-chance putbacks, none off of set plays. So it was appropriate and certainly not surprising when, with just seven minutes remaining in the tied game, freshman Mason Plumlee locked up a rebound, stepped, and dunked the ball behind his head after yet another Kyle Singler miss from the floor.
Before that dunk, the Devils and the UNC Tar Heels had traded the lead 11 times in a game that seemed more about withstanding errors like missed free throws and bad passes than actual execution. But after that slam, it was all Duke in a tenacious, low-scoring 64-54 win, winning for only the third time in the last 10 meetings of the legendary rivalry.
“Mason’s play on that offensive rebound reverse dunk was huge—not just for the two points,” said Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski after the game, noting that it did break the tie. “But for his teammates to see the ball go in with that force.” Continue reading »
ACC, Basketball, Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill Andrew Dawkings, Ed Davis, Lance Thomas, Mason Plumlee, Mike Krzyzewski, Roy Williams, will graves
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 ·
21 Jan 2010, 3:50 PM ·
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Marcus Ginyard, dunking earlier this season—and perhaps watching himself on the big screen (File photo by Rob Rowe)
CHAPEL HILL/SMITH CENTER — Minutes after Wake Forest defeated North Carolina 82-69 on Wednesday night to drop the Tar Heels to 1-3 in the ACC and 12-7 overall, a colleague on press row posed the following question:
”If Carolina basketball were going to play tug-of-war against political progressives, whom would Vegas make the favorite?”
That the answer to this question took a couple minutes to ponder reveals a sorry state of affairs for both the Tar Heels and American liberals, and in the case of the basketball team, hope may be a full season away.
Unlike previous ACC losses, when Carolina got drubbed from the outset, the Heels battled ferociously early and were within three points at halftime. But Wake’s scorching second half shooting — the Deacs shot 7-for-8 on three attempts in the second half — enabled them to open up a comfortable double-digit lead that they never surrendered.
Carolina’s leading rebounder and best overall player, Ed Davis, missed the game with an ankle injury. With both Davis and Tyler Zeller (who’s out for several more weeks) sidelined, Carolina no longer has the advantage of interior scoring against most opponents. For that reason, too many offensive possessions resulted in uncertain passing around the perimeter leading to a jump shot that Wake was happy for the Heels to take.
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ACC, Basketball, UNC-Chapel Hill Ed Davis, Injuries, nit, progressive depression, Roy Williams, Wake Forest
Rob Harrington ·
18 Jan 2010, 10:10 PM ·
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CHAPEL HILL/SMITH CENTER — North Carolina lost its third game in four attempts on Saturday afternoon, dropping a heartbreaking 73-71 decision to Georgia Tech and failing to achieve what would have been a remarkable comeback.
For the second straight game, Carolina simply wasn’t ready to play. The Yellow Jackets raced to a big early lead and were up by 14 points at halftime, so even winning the second half by double digits wasn’t enough to dig out of the hole.
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ACC, Basketball, UNC-Chapel Hill Ed Davis, Georgia Tech, Larry Drew, losing streak, Marcus Ginyard, Roy Williams
Rob Harrington ·
5 Jan 2010, 7:21 PM ·
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If you’d informed the average Carolina fan in October that the Tar Heels would enter ACC competition with an 11-4 record, they’d probably have shrugged without any great distress.
After all, everyone knew this was a young, untested team facing a highly difficult non-conference schedule, and a few slips during the first portion of the season were to be expected.
But no one could be happy with Carolina’s performance on Monday night, when UNC blew a late, 11-point lead at the College of Charleston on its way to losing 82-79 to the Cougars in overtime.
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ACC, Basketball, UNC-Chapel Hill Charleston, collapse, Deon Thompson, Ed Davis, Roy Williams
