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  • shwineka 3:19 pm on January 26, 2012 Permalink | Reply
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    Inside the mind of a State fan…. 

    Now before you turn and run screaming from the title of this post, hear me out. I’ve been doing some thinking about this, and I might actually have a theory as to why N.C. State fans have such a hatred for UNC (or UNX, UNCheat, the Tar Holes etc. if you go by their nomenclature). I’ve often wondered why State fans, beyond just a mere conference rivalry and close proximity, seem to harbor this innate hatred of all things Carolina. I think I might have boiled it down to a simple statement: State fans hate UNC for the same reasons UNC fans hate Duke.

    Now, my theory is based on said fans having attended each respective university. I can’t say I will ever understand lifelong State fans who did not attend N.C. State. I mean, seriously, why would you do that to yourself? Anyway here it goes.

    The parallels between the UNC/Duke relationship and the UNC/NCSU relationship are actually pretty easily noted. Duke is a higher ranked university compared to UNC, while UNC is higher than State. For kids growing up in North Carolina, there’s naturally going to be a little animosity if someone attends a “better” school than you. Now we all know that school rankings don’t accurately describe the experience there or even in some cases the education. For instance State’s engineering program is well-respected and tough to get into, and I’m not sure UNC even has an engineering program. (actually, it does) But generally speaking, the perception as far as education goes is: Duke > UNC > N.C. State.

    UNC students, and fans, get a little prickly if it’s brought up that “Duke is a better school,” or even “Duke is a ‘good’ school,” for that matter. Imagine being a State fan. You’ve got two “better” schools right there in the Triangle, and they’re both actually better at basketball.

    Another parallel is the perception of the respective student bodies. Tar Heels think of Blue Devils as snobby yankees with trust funds (to be blunt). N.C. State students (Wolfpackers?) think of Tar Heels as sissy English majors in khakis. UNC and N.C. State view Duke and UNC respectively as the preppier, more stuck-up version of themselves. For UNC, they hate that Duke is a private school. For State, they hate that UNC acts like a private school. What’s not to hate about someone more stuck up and obnoxious than you?

    Finally, there’s the media attention given to Duke and North Carolina. UNC typically gets just as much media coverage as Duke, so it’s not media envy that burns up Tar Heels, but just the fact that they — and Coach K in particular — are constantly covered by ESPN and other outlets. BREAKING: Duke hit a shit-ton of 3-pointers last night! Coach K has 4,000 wins and leads the ACC in smirking! Better show you a highlight!

    To Carolina fans, Duke is undeserving of its media darling status. Now imagine being an N.C. State fan, and every time you turn on the TV or look at a magazine, there’s Tyler Zeller’s mug, blankly staring back at you. You think it would start to get to you? Well, it does. That’s why State fans go mad, can’t hack it, and end up doing something stupid like the picture at the top of this post or peeing in the Old Well.

    So to recap, N.C. State fans feel slighted that UNC is viewed as a better school, annoyed at its preppy student body and overwhelmed by its constant media attention. Perhaps now we have better insight into the mind of the Wolfpack, but then again I have this unsettling feeling that I just wasted an hour of my life writing this that I won’t get back. I’LL NEVER GET THAT BACK.

    I hope we win by 30 tonight.

     

     

    • DM 3:57 pm on January 26, 2012 Permalink | Reply

      Viscerally upset by the even topical comparison of UNC to Dook (evil EEEEVVVIIILLLL) … however the lines “why would you do that to yourself” ,”yankees with trust funds” and “‘actually’ better at basketball” made up for it…. GO HEELS!!

    • Becca 9:50 am on January 27, 2012 Permalink | Reply

      I sincerely regret the power of a few ignorant people with a paint can – to create an unflattering representation of State and to provide pure fuel for Carolina’s superiority complex. From the true mind of a State fan, I really don’t think academics or athletics are the primary reason for aversion. We’ll still be tailgating in our cowboy boots and throwing red paint on things (I’m now venturing into the mind of a Carolina fan) despite any season record or ACC standing. Any animosity is usually in response to the “preppier, more stuck-up” attitude.
      On that note, I guess we should all work on our mass generalization habit.

  • bwineka 1:42 pm on January 26, 2012 Permalink | Reply
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    Preview: NC State 

     

    After a week off, a couple games away from Chapel Hill and now down a shooting guard, UNC is back on the court tonight against Tobacco Road foe NC State.

    • This is a much different NC State team than we became accustomed to under Sidney Lowe. C.J. Leslie is leading the Pack, maybe not statistically, but definitely is the player to watch. He’s second on the team in both points (12.8) and rebounds (6.2). The sophomore would be voted “most likely to go off” in his high school yearbook though.
    • The reason we didn’t use a photo of the team’s leading scorer per usual is because their leading scorer is Scott Wood, and we couldn’t bring ourselves to that. Wood did just recently set an ACC record for free throw shooting of some sort, score over 15 points per game and can just knock down threes like a champ, but we can’t take the kid seriously. Hope the loss of Dexter doesn’t allow Wood room to shoot all night.
    • State also has a very good point guard in Lorenzo Brown. His 6.9 assists would look much better if they weren’t overshadowed by Kendall Marshall’s 9.5. Brown does also add 12.4 points per game though. Pretty good.
    • The Wolfpack is an undeniably better team this year that it has been in recent memory. Three of its five losses have come to Indiana, Syracuse and Vanderbilt. It lost a close one away at Stanford that it shouldn’t be too upset about. Only really bad loss has been at home to Georgia Tech by 11. That’s ugly. And that’s coming from someone who was in attendance for the drubbing Tech put on UNC last year.
    • Here’s how State ranks nationally: Points per game: 33rd; Rebounds per game: 45th; Assists per Game: 8th; Field Goal Percentage: 36th
    • Here’s how UNC ranks nationally: Points per game: 1st; Rebounds per game: 1st; Assists per Game: 4th; Field Goal Percentage: 38th
    Prediction: UNC 80, State 74

     

     

  • admin 1:35 pm on January 23, 2012 Permalink | Reply
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    Poll Position: Heels hold steady 

    In the latest installment of our semi-regular post on the meaningless Top 25 polls (see: whenever I feel like spouting off a couple of graphs about the rankings), UNC holds steady at No. 8 in the Coaches Poll, while jumping up a spot to No. 7 in the AP.

    Seems about right. The teams ranked above Carolina that lost this week still maintain a better overall record than the Heels, so they weren’t punished too harshly. Also of note, the Murray State Racers stayed below Carolina despite their undefeated record. That makes sense, too. Even though Murray State is unblemished, do you really think they could take on the Heels? Neither do the Coaches or AP voters.

    The only team that seemed to split the two polls’ voters was Duke, who ranked in above UNC in the Coaches at No. 6 and below them at No. 8 in the AP. I typically agree with the Coaches Poll more-so than the AP and, unfortunately, I’m going to have to do the same again this week. While I think in the head-to-head match-up the Heels will prove they are better than the Devils, right now Duke’s 3-point loss looks a lot better than UNC’s 33-point loss to the same team. Advantage Devils.

    Where I disagree with the Coaches is in not ranking Florida State. FSU just missed out of the Top 25 this week in the Coaches but made the AP Poll. Who should have gotten the ax? How about Michigan? Michigan is still ranked in both polls and I’m not sure why. The Wolverines have lost three of their last six games, including one to Iowa and one to Arkansas, and needed OT to beat Northwestern in Ann Arbor. In that same time span FSU has defeated two Top 5 teams, one on the road in a notoriously hostile environment. It’s time for the ACC to welcome it’s fourth ranked member and kick the overrated Wolverines to the curb.

     

  • shwineka 11:50 am on January 23, 2012 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , , , torn ACL   

    Injury Update: Strickland out for year, McDonald unlikely to return 

    We got the news late Friday night that starting shooting guard Dexter Strickland tore his ACL against Virginia Tech and won’t be able to return this season — very bad news considering that Strickland was having a great year. Strickland was one of the most efficient players on the floor. His 7.5 ppg were achieved on around five shots or so per game. He also had backed up Kendall Marshall at the point in the brief stints that Marshall was not on the floor. Not only was Strickland probably UNC’s best on-ball defender, he was probably its best perimeter defender, something the Heels have struggled with all season.

    By now the blueprint is out there. If you want to beat UNC, hit a shit-ton of 3-pointers. UNLV hit 13 in it’s win earlier this year, while FSU’s Deividas Dulkys managed 8 all by himself and his team hit 12 on the game. Perimeter defense will be a sticking point if Carolina wants to make it to New Orleans — aka one Rafters editor’s bachelor party weekend, but also a reference to something called the Final Four. The immediate question is, of course, who will replace Strickland in the starting line-up.

    Possible replacements:

    • Reggie Bullock: Reggie’s minutes have been creeping up recently and his status as a great defender likely puts him in the conversation as the most likely replacement. Bullock has more length than Dex, and as we mentioned before, he’s the Nnamdi Asomugha to Dex’s Darrelle Revis. Bullock is a better shooter as well, which could insert some more firepower into the starting five, giving it an extra body that can drain the trey besides Barnes. I’m not counting Marshall as a threat from three just yet. Reggie’s ball-handling is not on Strickland’s level, however, and it’s likely he wouldn’t be asked to fill the back-up PG role.
    • P.J. Hairston: P.J. has been scoring at a slightly higher clip than Bullock, so his name must also be in the pictures for Strick’s minutes. Although both Bullock and Hairston have been cold as of late, Hairston’s points-per-minute still rate higher than Reggie’s. His defense is nowhere close, however. Hairston is a freshman and hasn’t picked up the tenacity to play defense in the ACC. He’s getting there, but while his shooting is cold, Bullock is going to be the better choice as a starter. Also, Hairston hasn’t shown anything to lead us to believe that he’s a decidedly better ball-handler than Bullock.
    • Stilman White: White has seen about four minutes per game so far in his freshman season, but that number is about to get a spike. White is one of the more capable ball-handlers left on the roster after Strickland’s injury. He is actually listed as a PG, and has played the position when he comes in. At times he reminds you of Adam Morrison — the Doherty era, UNC PG that would erratically sprint down the court and have a turnover — then at times he’s more confident. Most of White’s minutes come with his 2nd-team practice mates, so it’s true we haven’t seen much of what he can do with the starters. Look for White to spell Marshall particularly in blowout games.
    • Justin Watts: Watts will see more time because of this injury as well. Watts usually comes in at the 4 or the 3, but with all the variations Roy has toyed with in games like BC, we could see him anywhere. Be on the look out.

    The verdict: We think Bullock will get the nod as a starter. Roy is typically pretty loyal to upperclassmen and Reggie is more experienced than Hairston, who we think will get the second largest chunk of PT. Bullock’s defensive ability is what separates him from the pack of suitors. Needless to say, Bullock and Hairston will both be getting some quality tick in the ACC. White will spell Marshall a bit earlier in the game than usual, but Marshall’s minutes might creep up a bit, too. As Mike DeCourcy points out, Raymond Felton played 35 minutes in the 2005 title game, and Marshall will play close to that in any tight game in the conference. Watts will see an uptick based on the fact that Roy subs so many players already, and now he has one less on his roster.

    In other injury news….

    Leslie McDonald, who had considered coming back this season after tearing his ACL over the summer, will likely not come back, according to the News and Observer’s Andrew Carter. With all the question marks surrounding his ability to integrate into this year’s squad and the value that his skill set would add, this is a good decision. McDonald plays the same position and has a similar game to both Hairston and Bullock. Considering he doesn’t bring any additional ball-handling ability, this is a no-brainer. No need to rush him back only to muddle up the shooting guard spot. Now if he were a natural PG, we’d reconsider.

     

     

  • bwineka 12:26 pm on January 20, 2012 Permalink | Reply
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    Roy Williams Tie Tracker: Florida State & Virginia Tech 

    One thing all UNC fans have come to know, love and expect of Roy Williams is his fashionable selection of ties, most often courtesy of Chapel Hill outfitter Alexander Julian. The same man who put the argyle on the side of the basketball uniform is still turning heads with what he’s putting around Ol’ Roy’s neck. So, here at The Rafters we decided to pay homage to the best accessory in college hoops, if not the entire sporting world, and document every tie Roy Williams wears this season.

    FSU

    Over it.

    Virginia Tech

    Last night Roy kept it casual. Nothing too exciting.

    Here are this year’s stats:

    Media Day – Pink tie with blue flowers and green dots, white shirt and pinstriped suit.

    Late Night with Roy – Carolina blue tie with red and white diagonal stripes, pink shirt and white pocket square.

    Exhibition, UNC-Pembroke, W 100-58 – Purple and teal square pattern tie with lavender shirt and patterned coat.

    Michigan State, W 67-55 – No tie, blue polo, khaki pullover and combat boots with UNC-Carrier Classic logo.

    UNC-Asheville, W 91-75 – Orange tie with yellow pattern, blue shirt and blue pocket square.

    Mississippi Valley State, W 101-75 – Yellow tie with orange, purple, blue and green pattern, white pocket square, grey pinstriped suit and Eve Carson lapel pin.

    Tennessee State, W 102-69 – Carolina blue tie with red and white diagonal stripes and white pocket square.

    South Carolina, W 87-62 – ?

    UNLV, L 80-90 – Grey tie with red squares and blue diagonal stripes, white shirt, blue crosshatched jacket and no pocket square.

    Wisconsin, W 60-57 - Very light Carolina blue tie with white pocket square, white and Carolina blue vertically striped shirt and pinstriped suit.

    Kentucky, L 72-73 - Purple gradient tie with pink square accents with white pocket square.

    Evansville, W 97-48 – White diagonal stripes on Carolina blue tie with white shirt and pinstriped shirt with pocket square.

    Long Beach State, W 84-78 - Pink tie with blue flowers and green dots, white shirt and pinstriped suit and white pocket square with blue accents.

    Appalachian State, W 97-82 – Blue and white textured tie with white shirt, grey and blue jacket and white pocket square with blue accents.

    Nicholls State, W 99-49 – Yellow tie with large paisley pattern, blue shirt and blue pocket square.

    Texas, W 82-63 - Carolina blue tie with red and white diagonal stripes and white pocket square.

    Elon, W 100-62 – Carolina blue and silver paisley tie with white pocket square and pinstriped suit.

    Monmouth, W 102-65 – Carolina blue tie with navy square pattern, Carolina blue pocket square and pinstriped suit.

    Boston College, W 83-60 - Pink tie with blue flowers and green dots, white shirt, pocket square and pinstriped suit.

    Miami, W 73-56 - Purple gradient tie with pink square accents with white pocket square.

    Florida State, L 57-90 - Carolina blue with zig-zagging right angles with white pocket square, white shirt and pinstriped suit.

    Virginia Tech, W 82-68 – Carolina blue tie with white pocket square.

    (Photos via N&O)

     

  • bwineka 11:57 am on January 19, 2012 Permalink | Reply
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    Preview: Virginia Tech 

    Let’s put the past behind us and agree that the Florida State contest may be the worst basketball game in UNC history. Good, now to more pressing matters, Virginia Tech.

    •  There’s no more Malcolm Delaney to terrorize the Heels. Same goes for Jeff Allen. Junior Erick Green has stepped in to try o fill this void. The guard averages over 16 points per to go with a team high 3.2 assists. Green has been sidelined with a knee injury but says he expects to play tonight.
    • Senior Dorenzo Hudson has also been putting in work for the Hokies. The guard lost last season due to injury but seems to have come back just fine. The Charlotte native is scoring over 11 per game.
    • Besides Hudson and Green, these Hokies are quite young. Virginia Tech relies on freshman Dorrian Finney-Smith (freshman) and Jarrell Eddie (sophomore) in the post. DFS leads the team in rebounding and Eddie shoots 50 percent from behind the arc.
    • This is how Virginia Tech ranks nationally: Scoring, 166th; Rebounds per Game, 120th; Assists per Game, 206th; Field Goal Percentage, 168th. No great wins for VaTech but they are coming off a pretty bad loss to BC. Ew.
    • This is how UNC ranks nationally: Scoring, 1st; Rebounds per Game, 1st; Assists per Game, 5th; Field Goal Percentage, 36th.

    Prediction: UNC 77, Virginia Tech 65

     

  • shwineka 11:29 am on January 18, 2012 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Deividas Dulkys, , , , Stephen Schramm, ,   

    Wrap-up: FSU dismantles hapless Heels 

    UNC 57, FSU 90

    Box Score

    For one half of basketball Saturday, it looked like UNC would get a nice road test. Yeah, at the close of half the Heels were down, but Tyler Zeller was playing great and Deividas Dulkys was shooting lights out. Surely FSU wouldn’t be able to keep this up for another 20 minutes right?

    Oh, how wrong.

    Dulkys himself continued the destruction going 8-10 from 3-point range on the day, notching a career high. I know it seems like Tar Heel fans are always complaining about someone going off for a career game against them, but COME ON! It happens EVERY year! I digress.

    Anyway, if you watched you know what happened. Carolina never put it together, and actually played worse in the second half, while Florida State couldn’t miss and scored a season-high 90 points. The questions about UNC’s toughness since Saturday are certainly warranted. What team with national title talent goes out and loses by 33 to an unranked team?

    There have also been many questions surrounding Roy’s decision to take his team off the court with 15 seconds left in the game before FSU students stormed the court. It’s the perfect fuel for a seasoned Roy hater like Pat Forde, but I think Stephen Schramm at the Fayetteville Observer takes a better line. Yeah, storming the court is part of college basketball, but as a coach who’s seen his share of court stormings — including this year at UNLV — Roy was thinking about the fact that it only takes one over-zealous fan or one slip-up before the narrative changes. It was unfortunate that the five players were left on the floor, and it you want to get mad at Roy, I guess I can’t argue why you shouldn’t. But him leaving his subs on the floor on purpose? It doesn’t add up. Even Forde admits that “Generally speaking, he has valued his subs and role players.” It was an honest mistake made in the heat of the moment.

    Takeaways

    • UNC’s 3-point shooting woes have continued since the Miami game. The Heels shot a miserable 4-21 for a 19 percent clip. If you are reading this blog you have a pretty good chance of being able to hit 19 percent of your threes. The fact that they took so many was probably driven by the game score, but there is no reason for Kendall Marshall to take five treys. At least he hit one of them, though, as P.J. Hairston went 0-7.
    • Reggie Bullock got a huge minutes spike. Bullock played 23 minutes to Dexter Strickland’s 21, but I wouldn’t read too much into that. Bullock is a better shooter than Strick, and is a better defender than Hairston, so the jump was probably due to the game’s flow.
    • Tyler Zeller had some intensity. Z came to play and seemed he wasn’t going to let the Heels get routed by himself. Then the second half started. He still ended up with a good line for the game, and he fought well on the boards especially.
    • Maybe that nine-game homestand wasn’t such a good idea. It had to be concerting when players said in December that they sometimes struggled to stay focused against lesser competition. The long homestand couldn’t have helped set up the game Saturday.
    • Kendall Marshall had seven turnovers. For the first time in forever, Marshall had more turnovers than assists (4). When his players aren’t hitting their shots it’s going to affect that ratio, but seven turnovers is too many even if he had notched seven assists. The Heels need Marshall to have a cool head on the road, so this is a little troubling.
    • This was probably one of the worst Carolina games in recent memory. The complete lack of intensity by the Heels was disturbing. Carolina just doesn’t — read: shouldn’t — lose by 30. There was an unbelievable performance by Dulkys, yes, but say you reduce his 3-pointers to a typical 40 percent and it only reduced the Carolina deficit to 21 — still a blowout.

    Superlatives

    Player of the Game and Stat Stuffer: Tyler Zeller (14 pts, 14 rebs, 4 blks, 1 stl) For much of the game he seemed to be the only one that gave a damn. He was out of his mind on blocks and rebounds. It’s too bad none of that carried over to the team.

     

  • bwineka 3:06 pm on January 11, 2012 Permalink | Reply
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    Roy Williams Tie Tracker: Miami 

    One thing all UNC fans have come to know, love and expect of Roy Williams is his fashionable selection of ties, most often courtesy of Chapel Hill outfitter Alexander Julian. The same man who put the argyle on the side of the basketball uniform is still turning heads with what he’s putting around Ol’ Roy’s neck. So, here at The Rafters we decided to pay homage to the best accessory in college hoops, if not the entire sporting world, and document every tie Roy Williams wears this season.

    Hey, purple gradient. Good to see you again.

    Look at Jackie Manuel getting into it too.

    Here are this year’s stats:

    Media Day – Pink tie with blue flowers and green dots, white shirt and pinstriped suit.

    Late Night with Roy – Carolina blue tie with red and white diagonal stripes, pink shirt and white pocket square.

    Exhibition, UNC-Pembroke, W 100-58 – Purple and teal square pattern tie with lavender shirt and patterned coat.

    Michigan State, W 67-55 – No tie, blue polo, khaki pullover and combat boots with UNC-Carrier Classic logo.

    UNC-Asheville, W 91-75 – Orange tie with yellow pattern, blue shirt and blue pocket square.

    Mississippi Valley State, W 101-75 – Yellow tie with orange, purple, blue and green pattern, white pocket square, grey pinstriped suit and Eve Carson lapel pin.

    Tennessee State, W 102-69 – Carolina blue tie with red and white diagonal stripes and white pocket square.

    South Carolina, W 87-62 – ?

    UNLV, L 80-90 – Grey tie with red squares and blue diagonal stripes, white shirt, blue crosshatched jacket and no pocket square.

    Wisconsin, W 60-57 - Very light Carolina blue tie with white pocket square, white and Carolina blue vertically striped shirt and pinstriped suit.

    Kentucky, L 72-73 - Purple gradient tie with pink square accents with white pocket square.

    Evansville, W 97-48 – White diagonal stripes on Carolina blue tie with white shirt and pinstriped shirt with pocket square.

    Long Beach State, W 84-78 - Pink tie with blue flowers and green dots, white shirt and pinstriped suit and white pocket square with blue accents.

    Appalachian State, W 97-82 – Blue and white textured tie with white shirt, grey and blue jacket and white pocket square with blue accents.

    Nicholls State, W 99-49 – Yellow tie with large paisley pattern, blue shirt and blue pocket square.

    Texas, W 82-63 - Carolina blue tie with red and white diagonal stripes and white pocket square.

    Elon, W 100-62 – Carolina blue and silver paisley tie with white pocket square and pinstriped suit.

    Monmouth, W 102-65 – Carolina blue tie with navy square pattern, Carolina blue pocket square and pinstriped suit.

    Boston College, W 83-60 - Pink tie with blue flowers and green dots, white shirt, pocket square and pinstriped suit.

    Miami, W 73-56 - Purple gradient tie with pink square accents with white pocket square.

    (Photos via N&O)

     

     

  • shwineka 12:16 pm on January 11, 2012 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , ,   

    Wrap-up: Heels sloppily slap ‘Canes 

    UNC 73, The U 56

    Box Score

    What a weird game last night. UNC was stone cold on offense, but coupled that with some great D to stumble to an almost 20-point victory over Miami. The bulk of the scoring came, not from the Heels’ vaunted front court, but from its guards — one of which hadn’t hit double-figure scoring all season.

    Instead of driving and dishing in the first half, Kendal Marshall — the notorious single-digit scorer himself — was driving and scoring. With about two minutes left in the first period, he took three consecutive possessions and: 1)drove for lay-up 2)drove for lay-up and 3) drove the lane and dished a gimme to Henson (who missed.) He was on fire. Dexter Strickland seemingly couldn’t miss from 19 feet. He drained several long 2s last night. He’s been knocking down that shot with some consistency this year, but last night he was dialed in. I still can’t help but think if he were taking those shots from one foot back (behind the 3pt line) that he’d be bricking them. Something about the arc with that kid.

    Takeaways

    • Henson and Barnes were a disappearing act on offense last night. Henson ended up with 11, but scored six of those points the last two minutes he was in the game. He wasn’t very aggressive and was missing from close range. Barnes was just completely cold. He started settling for 3-pointers (0-5) and it just got worse from there. He was the only starter not to hit double figures. His inconsistency is the only thing holding him back from being one of the top players in college basketball. He was an efficient, absolute beast against BC Saturday, then last night stumbled a bit. He still gets the benefit of a doubt because of his slow start last year. The good games are starting to pile up more often than not.
    • The Heels played really good defense, like, really good. The team combined for 10 steals and hassled Miami to 17 turnovers, and this was a Miami team whose strength was its senior guards. Reggie Bullock has emerged as probably the second-best defender on the team behind Strickland. He’s got quickness and length and will just shut down ball handlers if they attempt to drive on him.  Strickland might get more steals, but Reggie prevents opponents from even trying to pass it to his mark. He’s sort of like the Nnamdi Asomugha of basketball defenders, while Strickland is Darrelle Revis.
    • Carolina’s 3-point shooting woes returned, with the team shooting 12.5 percent on the game — 12.5 percent!! The good news was Miami was almost as terrible, shooting 18.8 percent. That number will need to improve as the Heels head to Tallahassee to play the long and athletic Florida State. If Carolina can’t establish an outside threat, it will be tougher to keep pounding inside against the Seminoles.
    • The Tyler Zeller shot-put is back. Zeller’s baby hook has morphed into a spin-around-in-one-motion-and-chuck-it-at-the-rim do-hicky. It works, though.
    • Miami, while not a top-tier team nationally, is one of the better teams talent-wise in the ACC this year behind UNC and Duke. Last Saturday Miami narrowly lost to Virginia, widely held as the third best in the conference. It’s truly a down year in the ACC – again.

    Superlatives

    Player of the Game: Kendall Marshall (12 pts, 2 rebs, 8 asts, 2 stls) Marshall was on fire in the first half. He’s become much better at deciding when he should take it to the hoop himself vs. dishing it. In the past some of his drives have felt kind of forced, as if he was hearing Roy in his head say “Kendall you need to drive it sometimes.” As Marshall establishes himself as a threat to score, it will open up things for the rest of the team.

    Stat Stuffer: Tyler Zeller (16 pts, 10 rebs, 1 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl) Zeller contributed in his usual way, and then added juuuuuuuust a little bit of everything else. We’re giving this award to him for that sweet little dime to Henson under the rim.

     

  • admin 5:10 pm on January 10, 2012 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: The Wire   

    ACC Power Rankings – The Wire Edition 

    *SPOILER ALERT*

    If you plan on watching the (insert adjective that means “ultimate best ever spectacular awesome” — perhaps SPECTULIMAWESOMEST!) series The Wire, you should not read the following Power Rankings. Yes, they are excellent Power Rankings, but they also reveal some plot twists that you’d be pissed about knowing. Like if someone told you that Bruce Willis was dead before you saw the Sixth Sens…….shit.

    We like to recycle around here, so if this seems familiar, it’s because we’ve done it with LOST and Mad Men the past two years. Miraculously, every season of ACC basketball seems to mirror the great TV dramas of our time. It’s almost like we’re just making it up!

    Holiday gourging might have slowed the blog posts down, but it’s a new year with resolutions and everything. Ours is to post more frequently with these types of features – perhaps REGULARENTOFTEN? On to the Power Rankings.

     

    1. UNC – Avon Barksdale/Marlo Stanfield – UNC is the king pin. It controls what’s going down in the game. Depending on which season you watch, that’s either Avon or Marlo. Like Avon, UNC always does things the “right way,’ whether that be using Dean Smith’s principles or the code of “the game.” With the likes of John Henson, Harrison Barnes, Tyler Zeller and the rest of the Tar Heels seeing significant PT, UNC has plenty of minions, just like Marlo had Chris and Snoop to do his dirty work. You know in the game, no one really wins, but Marlo gets off pretty easy in the end, and we think the Heels ACC schedule will allow them to get off easy until NCAA tournament play begins. It’s a down year.

    2. Duke – Russell “Stringer” Bell – Stringer is the architect behind the Barksdale crew’s rise to power, but it’s only when Avon (see: UNC) is out of the picture that he takes control. Kind of like Coach K, he’s the evil genius pulling strings on his way to power and fortune. He treats the game like a business, much like K treats basketball. Everything seems to be going well for String, kind of like Duke seems to be doing well with it’s lofty ranking, but in the end, you know Stringer gets got.

    3. UVA – Michael Lee – UVA is the up-and-comer with potential. They work hard on defense like Michael works hard to be a role model for his little brother and still be respected in the game. If you’re going to play any team in the ACC, this is the one you might not see coming. You’d expect it from UNC and Duke, but UVA? Yeah, Bodie didn’t see it coming from Michael, either. #RIP

    4. N.C. State - D’Angelo “Dee” Barksdale – He’s Avon’s (UNC) little bitch nephew. You really want to like him, but he just doesn’t ever stand up for himself, and he complains A LOT. State’s had its chances to prove itself – against Vandy, Indiana and Syracuse – but just hasn’t pulled through. In the end, Dee just ends up getting punked by Stringer.

    5. Miami - Lt. Cedric Daniels - As a school, Miami has a checkered past academically and is prone to a scandal or two. Daniels himself has a checkered past from the Eastern but much like new head coach Jim Larranaga, he’s experienced and newly dedicated to doing everything on the up and up.

    6. Va. Tech – Roland “Mr. Prezbo” Pryzbylewski – Prez just couldn’t cut it as a “po-lease.” Va. Tech just can’t cut it as a tourney team. #dropsthemic

    7. FSU – Howard “Bunny” Colvin – Just look at the resemblance between Leonard Hamilton and Bunny. Next. (Shout out to lonelytailgater.com, who had also noticed this resemblance and put together that pic)


    8. Maryland – Felicia “Snoop” Pearson – The actress who played Snoop basically played herself in the series. She’s a real banger from the street, and seeing as how Maryland is the closest school geographically to B-more, we had to give them the real thing. Snoop has quite a reputation and isn’t afraid to do dirty work for Marlo (UNC) by knocking off opponents (like Duke.) — We know, Snoop doesn’t take out String so it’s not a perfect analogy, but you get the idea.

    9. Clemson – Lester Freamon – People outside the ACC may forget that Clemson plays basketball. People forgot Lester Freamon from the pawn shop unit was real police. Clemson isn’t looking that hot this season, but they are always a threat to break a case/cause an upset with guys like Milton Jennings and Devin Booker.

    10. Wake Forest – Maurice Levy – The lawyer is the brains behind the top dogs (Avon/Marlo/Stringer). Wake is the brains and the least physically imposing out of the Tobacco Road crew. Eh? Get it? He’s fat and not intimidating just like Wake.

    11. Georgia Tech – Jimmy McNulty – Yeah, he was good po-lice once. And he always teases at being good police again. He’s a smooth talker (former coach Paul Hewitt) in a pretty package (Atlanta) so he can pull almost any girl he wants (recruits). He took a long shot on the homeless murders (Brian Gregory) and it’s yet to be seen if that’s actually going to put his career back on track.

    12. Boston College – Clay Davis – Ranked 300th in ppg, 311th in rpg, and 256th in apg as of today. You know what Clay would say.

     

     

    • Caroline 6:28 pm on January 11, 2012 Permalink | Reply

      this is amazing. sheeeeeiittt

    • Matt 3:14 pm on January 12, 2012 Permalink | Reply

      Oh indeed

    • Steve 10:30 pm on January 12, 2012 Permalink | Reply

      Future ACC additions and their Wire counterparts:

      Syracuse- Bubs (there’s a joke about sexual misconduct and drug use in here somewhere)
      Pitt- OMAR. You come at the king, you best not miss.

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