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  • shwineka 11:29 am on March 24, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , blazers, , , elijah millsap, , , , , , , NYC, , , , , ,   

    Tar Heels to Final Four! ….sort of 

    The train kept rolling as UNC handled a feisty UAB on Tuesday night, or at least a feisty Elijah Millsap.

    Despite coughing up 15 turnovers and — arguably — the team’s best shooter, Will Graves, going 0-9 from the field, the Heels were in control of the Blazers and won 60-55. No last-second heroics needed, Larry.

    That didn’t stop Drew II from putting in some clutch free throws, as well as knocking down a couple of treys to seal the deal. John Henson matched a career-high in points and Deon Thompson turned in his first double-double since November. The Heels will face the winner of Virginia Tech and Rhode Island in Madison Square Garden for the semi-finals of the NIT.

    It might not be the NCAAs, but man, has it been awesome to watch this team finally come together. The youngsters seem to be hitting on all cylinders, while the veterans are playing to keep their careers going — looking at you Thompson and Ginyard.

    Deon and Marcus might feel a little let-down from their senior year, but there is a bright side to their sudden burst in hustle. They could make history as the first team to ever win the NCAA and NIT in consecutive years.  While admittedly it underachieves what many thought was this team’s capability, I guess UNC just can’t go through a season without making some kind of history.

    Oh, yeah. Congrats on reaching the 2,000 win plateau, boys!

    The match-up in NYC is a fun one, regardless of who wins between VT and RI tonight. Why? Well, if Virginia Tech wins, the game will be against an ACC foe with whom Carolina split its games this year. If Rhode Island wins, it will be a match-up of teams with the same colors.

    Personally, I’d like to see the RI game. That way the Heels could win on two levels: score and style.

     

  • shwineka 6:03 pm on February 15, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Adams Morgan, , , , , Fayetteville, Ramses, , Ventnor's, Wilmington   

    Duke Game Fan Insight 

    Well, now that it’s a new week and Carolina notched another win, two things are certain:

    One, we can always count on State.

    And two, my Duke-loss hangover is finally gone. I’m not the type that gets extremely mopey for a week after a Duke loss (it’s normally just a day, about as long as my usual hangover from other circumstances surrounding the game), but I just couldn’t get into writing about it. We’ll make sure and discuss the first game leading up to the next one.

    Three-fourths of the Rafters bloggers made it out to Ventnor’s Sports Cafe in D.C. for the game, which if you haven’t taken in a game there, it’s pretty darn fun — blue cups included. You could call Ventnor’s a “UNC bar.” You could also call it a Syracuse bar, as we found out when we showed up, early for our game, right on time for theirs.

    Anyway we found some time when not glued to the screen to ask some other Carolina fans about the game. You can listen below. Click on the Ramses (sorry they aren’t streaming!)

    Josh, from Fayetteville, NC

    Henry, from Wilmington, NC

    Matt, from Chapel Hill, NC (woot woot)

     

    • Caroline 2:15 pm on February 16, 2010 Permalink

      where’s the female insight?

  • shwineka 5:28 pm on January 27, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , ,   

    Guess Who’s Back? 

    (photos by Ethan Hyman of the N&O)

    Well, Ed Davis was back first of all, but more so, it was Carolina. I guess Roy makes a mean bologna sandwich, because last night the young Heels won on the road and had to come back in the second half, no less.

    Mimicking the formula of  UNC teams in recent years, the Heels went back and forth with a feisty over-performing opponent in the first half, and then pulled away to a double digit win. It’s both a blessing and a curse that UNC seems to get every team’s best shot. A curse for obvious reasons, and a blessing because of the past achievements that merit every team’s best shot.

    This far in the season we’ve seen more of the curse part.

    But not in Raleigh last night. The boys didn’t rattle at the raucous crowd, and I’m sure it was loud in there. As I’ve said before, it’s the sole purpose in a State fan’s life to beat Carolina.

    So sorry to disappoint.

    The point is things are looking up if the Heels continue to play at this speed. From Deon Thompson’s slick power-step-to-jam drive to John Henson’s weak-side blocks, things were just clicking. I wanted to say the block party had returned, but it was actually only Henson doing any blocking in his seven minutes of PT. Oh, don’t worry, I’ll repeat that stat below.

    Takeaways

    • The bench is getting shorter. All five starters played 28 minutes or more last night, and only Dexter Strickland and Travis Wear got double digit minutes off the bench.
    • Emergence of John Henson? Henson looked good in his limited time on the floor. He notched 2 pts, 2 rebs and 3 blocks. It’s nice watching this guy develop throughout the season. (I’m talking about his skills obviously —  kid is a beanpole.)
    • D-FENCE. UNC held NCSU scoreless for an 8-minute stretch in the second half. They did it lots of ways, too, whether it was Henson’s blocks or even Thompson creating steals at mid-court.
    • Good shots. UNC has been crushing the field-goal percentage category, including from three. Last night they shot 50.9% from the floor, 42.6% from downtown. Now if they’d only work on that 59.1% from the line.

    Superlatives

    • Blockmeister – Well, the only guy who got any blocks, John Henson. But especially for his two in one defensive possession.
    • Move that made you go “OHHHHH!” - Deon Thompson for that sick drive into jam. I will try to find some video of this, or make my own. I got DVR!
    • Not superstitious, just a little stitious – Roy Williams. Roy might think that talking about his ties makes us dadgum idiots, but did you see him wearing any stripes last night? All I’m saying is that our analysis shows us to be 0-3 in the ACC when he does. Just saying.
     

  • shwineka 11:41 am on January 14, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,   

    UNC Falls to…….Clemson? 

    I’m bummed today, sad even. Something that rarely happens is really bringing me down.

    In falling to Clemson Wednesday, UNC added an “L”  to a, well, I guess you can call it a “rivalry.” But for the most part, it isn’t one. After last night, the series stands at 122 wins for UNC, 20 for Clemson. Carolina has, and will always hold the trump card over its brothers to the south.

    So why does this loss hurt so much?

    Is it the fact that even though both teams held similar national rankings, Clemson students stormed the court? Andy Katz feels it was justifed. Though I might (actually certainly do) disagree.

    Is it because the Roy Williams era has more or less consisted of Williams spoiling us with Final Fours and National Championships, and we just can’t take this average team?

    Are we just suffering Tyler Hansbrough withdrawal?

    In my opinion it’s a combination. Starting with the withdrawal part.

    For the previous four years, Heels fans watched arguably the hardest-working  player to ever wear the baby blue. Hustle has been the standard. Players fed off that, and tried to match intensity with their floor leader. (Who certainly led by example, not charisma.)

    This year that’s absent.

    Roy’s teams need that general to run the floor and get after loose balls and just exemplify the Carolina philosophy. The whole system is about “getting it” and frankly it appears this team just doesn’t “get it” yet.

    Roy looked drained throughout the Clemson game. He used an old Dean Smith tactic, putting in the “blue team” and pulling the five on the floor to sit them down and tell them why they were sucking, for lack of a better word. Even the mid-half line change didn’t rouse the Heels.

    Commentator Jay Bilas even said something to the effect of, “Roy Williams is getting older with every turnover.” Last night UNC coughed it up 26 times.

    So back to last night’s game’s lingering sting.  When you have players that buy into the Carolina system, you will typically not lose by 20. If everyone’s playing tough that doesn’t happen. Sure you might lose a game, but it’s not going to be the lopsided affair we witnessed last night.

    To top that off, it wasn’t to an eventual national championship team, like the previous biggest loss for Roy at Carolina, Kansas. It was to Clemson.

    Clemson, folks. Clemson.

    The team that has NEVER won in Chapel hill, and the team that hasn’t beaten Carolina since I was in high school in 2004. The other losses this year have all had their reasons to be justified. Three of them were to top teams and the other, although a stretch, could be called a trap game. But now the eternal optimist in me is fighting really hard with the pessimist. It could possibly be a long season.

    So go ahead and be sad today. It’s OK. Carolina lost to Clemson. And if you’re sad every time that happens, you’ll live a mostly happy existence.

    (photo by Robert Willet of the N & O)

     

  • shwineka 5:30 pm on January 11, 2010 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , , , Kenan Stadium, , , , , , , , , ,   

    UNC Beats Va. Tech 78-64 

    Last night was a fantastic one for Tar Heels fans everywhere. Conference play began, Marcus Ginyard returned, Roy Williams was his sharply dressed self again – sans sling – and, oh yeah, the Heels pulled out a W.

    From the onset of the game it appeared it would be more of the same we’ve come to expect from this young team. Some poor decisions and ummmm, we’ll call it “inefficient layup production,” had Carolina trailing by four at the half.

    Then the impostors who we’ve been developing a certain familiarity with left and the real, full-potential UNC team came back out for the second half. The 3’s fell quickly and were ultimately the difference in the game. Five 3-pointers in the second half and a 14-point win, you do the math.

    Maybe it was their obnoxious football fans who showed up at Kenan the first year Va. Tech joined the ACC, but for some reason I really dislike that team, and especially losing to them. Nice job, boys.

    Last night was a good, character-building win. UNC built a lead, and kept it for the first time against a power-conference foe.

    Takeaways


    • WILL GRAVES! - Thirteen points on 5-10 shooting including trey, treys would have been enough, but Graves decided to add six boards and two blocks just for good measure. If UNC can get that kind of production from Graves it would cause opponents to have to guard the perimeter more honestly and not crash down on our bigs, opening up the offense a bit. Last night can only be a good sign.
    • John Henson - Henson is starting to understand his role a bit better. He had as many blocks last night as points (2) and notched one of every other statistical category (Rebs, Asts, Stls — and TOs). He only played 10 minutes, so to me that shows he’s getting after the ball and making better decisions based on what situation he’s in. Now if only he could add 20 pounds, that’d be great. Love ya, John, but sometimes I worry you might break.
    • Holding the lead - As I said above, Carolina built a lead in the second half — like they have in many games — but this time they held on to it. Tech never got back in the game after going down 15, and the win was never in doubt after that point.

    Superlatives

    • Not as “Fierce” as Roy Award - To Seth Greenberg for his failed attempt at lookin’ sharp.

    • Mr. Consistency - Mr. “Easy” Ed Davis had another double double (20 pts, 11 rebs) and chipped in four blocks, including a couple of monster pins to the backboard. Now if he’d only cut down on those four TOs…..
    • Perpetually Most-Improved Player - Dexter Strickland might not be a consistent, go-to scorer yet, but his decision making is constantly getting better. Dex had one TO in 21 minutes last night.

    (Photos by Robert Willet of the N & O)

     

  • shwineka 11:54 pm on December 2, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , Buffalo Billiards, , , , , Dean Smith Center, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,   

    Deja Vu: UNC Handles Michigan State 

    UNC 89, MSU 82

    Box Score

    It’s becoming a common thing. UNC plays Michigan State. UNC wins.

    The Heels have taken their last five meetings with the Spartans, and these aren’t just in the Big 10-ACC Challenge games. I recall an April day in 2005. A hot Spartan team was in the Final Four making some noise and ready to take down the No. 1-seeded Tar Heels. Or wait was that 2009?

    Anyway, for all the things that Tom Izzo does well, he can’t seem to figure out his Carolina conundrum. And honestly, who didn’t think Tuesday was going to be his night?

    A completely different UNC team showed up in the Smith Center than I’ve seen this year. The froshs and sophs played like upperclassmen right from the tip-off, with UNC jumping out to an early lead. It had to feel sickening for MSU fans, a horrible case of deja vu. Us DC-based Rafters bloggers sat with a decent contingent of UNC fans at Buffalo Billiards. A great idea emerged. Anyone not privileged enough to live in Chapel Hill, like our esteemed colleague Benn, should tweet us to meet up in the DC area for game viewings. We like to go out. If we go out anyway, we’ll make sure to say where we’re going.

    Hey, we might even put your picture on the internets.

    Before I get all hot and bothered thinking about tweet ups:

    Takeaways:

    • The recruiting class of 2008 came out of its shell. LD and Easy Ed both notched career highs in points (18 and 22 respectively). LD hit some clutch shots and had a 2-to-1 assist to turnover ratio in 27 minutes. Davis was his normal smooth self. You must watch this guy on Ustream sometime. Just follow him on twitter and he’ll notify when he’s getting on. If you want to know why we love him so much that will tell you everything.
    • If there’s only 5 seconds left in a half, who gets the rock? Answer: Dexter Strickland. Strickland hit his second buzzer beater of the year at the end of the first half, sinking a trey.
    • Will Graves is a starter, but he logs bench minutes. He’s getting about the same run time as Strickland, John Henson and Tyler Zeller. Gut tells me that once Roy is more comfortable with Henson or Strickland they’ll get the start. (And after last night I gotta be leaning towards Strickland)
    • Back to Dex. Strickland had zero turnovers while logging some significant minutes at point. And as Luke Winn reminds us, he is a converted shooting guard. Got to be happy with that.
    • Are the Wears twins? …………or clones? Travis – 2 pts, 3 rebs in 6 minutes; David – 2 pts, 2 rebs in 7 minutes

    Superlatives

    • Players of the Game: Larry Drew and Ed Davis -  see above
    • Lookin’ Fierce Award: Roy Williams
    • John Henson, if there was an award for throwing the ball between your legs to save it from going out, we’d give it to you. I don’t think even the Rafters has an award for that.
     

    • Zach Evans 12:46 pm on December 3, 2009 Permalink

      With all due respect to Henson, maybe the award should be the “Don’t Save the Ball Underneath the Other Basket” Award. As impressive as it looked, it did lead to an easy MSU basket.

      I guess I’m just never satisfied.

  • gonzologist 3:16 pm on December 1, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , Art Garfunkle, defense, , , ,   

    Deon's Subtle Dominance 

     

    Adam Lucas published an insightful profile of senior forward Deon Thompson on Tarheelblue.com over the weekend. The article discusses the myriad ways in which Deon has played second fiddle during his illustrious career: acting as one half of the Alex Stepheson/Deon Bash Brothers his freshman year, then having to Garfunkle his way for two years behind Psycho T. Deon even gets seconds here on The Rafters due to our extreme love of Ed Davis.

     

    Lucas points out some interesting facts about Deon’s defense, which I’m sure most of us hadn’t noticed:

    “Sunday, he helped harass Nevada standout Luke Babbitt into a 5-for-18 performance, including completely shutting him out from the 10:31 mark until 19 seconds remained–the key part of the game.”

    “It’s not a coincidence that with Thompson out midway through the second half, a six-point Tar Heel lead turned into a one-point deficit in less than 150 seconds.”

     

    That sort of defensive presence is a necessity, especially considering the high volume of turnovers the Tar Heels are consistently coughing up. While Davis and freshman John Henson come up with the most spectacular blocks, Deon continues to execute the less glorious maneuvers – like hedging on screens and closing out perimeter shots – that enstill an underlying defensive toughness. So far this season he has been the Tar Heels’ leading scorer, and is showing some new moves with the same fluidity his game has always exhibited. Here’s to hoping that Deon’s performance thusfar is the prelude of a well-deserved starring season.

     

  • shwineka 12:29 am on November 30, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: Bill Lumbergh, , , , , Mike Gminski, , , , , ,   

    Wrap-up: UNC survives Nevada 

    UNC 80, Nevada 73

    Box Score

    This game could be categorized as “character building.” Carolina came in with what we’ll call a turkey-day hangover, plodding through the first three quarters of the game. (The much smaller Nevada Wolfpack ended up only losing the rebounding battle by three, 45-42.) The defense was sluggish at best as Nevada shot 43 percent from the field in the first half. But when the game came down to the wire, with about five minutes left and Nevada down two, the Heels suddenly had a resurgence of confidence. And while the game would never get much more separation than five or six points, UNC seemed to carry itself with a bit more swagger and squashed Nevada’s upset bid.

    Oh yeah, and Roy Williams got his 600th career win as a head coach.

    Roy has the highest win percentage of any active coach and is already in the hall of fame. It was actually funny watching him receive an award for his 600th win on TV. After his recent shoulder surgery, you could tell he really just wanted to get the frick out of there and find an ice pack.

    Takeaways:

    • Tyler Zeller didn’t take a charge this game. What gives Big Z?
    • Four players played 30 or more minutes. It looks as if Roy is starting to tighten up the rotation. Look for a future post on the depth chart.
    • Larry Drew – 10 assists and one turnover. Um……hell yes.
    • Eight team turnovers: huge improvement. Keeping this in the single digits will take the team far. Though as is evidenced by LD’s stat line, the TOs aren’t coming from the point, but from errant passes by the post and wing players.

    Superlatives:

    • Player of the Game: Ed Davis – (16 pts, 15 rebs, 2 asts, 3 blocks, 1 stl) Ed really showed how he can dominate the glass. He has a nose for where the ball is going to bounce and the hops to get there first. Ed also gets block of the game for his two blocks in about 30 seconds near the end of the second half.
    • OK, I can finally say it, “Kid can play!” Award – Larry Drew II
    • Stat Stuffer (aka Danny Green Award): We might have to rename this the Marcus Ginyard Award – 10 pts, 6 rebs, 4 asts, 1 blk, 4 stls
    • Bill Lumbergh Look-Alike: Former Dukie Mike Gminski – see below

    The resemblance is striking.

     

    (game photos by Robert Willet of the N & O)

     

  • shwineka 5:06 pm on November 24, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , , , , Grayson Flittner, , , , , Runnin' Bulldogs, Shane Battier, , , , , , ,   

    Wrap-Up: UNC Routs Gardner Webb 93-72 

    (Photo by Robert Willett of the N&O)

    UNC 93, Gardner-Webb 72

    Box Score

    The story of this game is short and sweet.

    Gardner Webb was just outsized and out-athlete-ed. Yes, it’s a word. Anyways UNC’s perimeter defense was again shaky, it’s just GW didn’t have the guards Syracuse did. That didn’t stop Runnin’ Bulldogs guard Grayson Flittner from tying the record for most 3-pointers in a game in the Dean Dome (9). The kid could not miss. He finished with 32 points.

    Takeaways from the game:

    • It seems like Tyler Zeller has taken a charge every single game. It will be shorting him a few games worth, but starting now we’ll try to keep track of how many games he does this. So beginning yesterday, he’s 1 for 1.
    • Dexter Strickland has shown flashes of greatness. His development will determine a lot in regards to how far Carolina goes this year. If he steps up big, look out.
    • When both the Wear twins are on the floor at the same time, UNC plays smart. You can tell these kids have played together their entire lives. Did anyone else catch how the only resemblance of a comeback in the Syracuse game came mostly at the hands of the Wears? Wish they were a bit more athletic, but you can’t have everything, they’ll get there.

    Superlatives:

    • The “If you call me Shane Battier, I’ll kick your ass” Award: Tyler Zeller
    • Best Block: Once again to John Henson for his block-into-leap-frog-between-the-legs-bounce-pass-to-save-it-from-going-out play. It’s at the 1:23 mark of the video, though you can’t see the best part, which is the out-of-bounds save. That’s two wins in this category for Mr. Henson.
    • Stat Stuffer (aka the Danny Green Award): Marcus Ginyard – 8 pts, 5 rebs, 6 asts, 3 stls
    • Most Minutes without a Turnover Award (sadly a very important one): Tyler Zeller, 15 min played

     

     

    • lulu 1:29 pm on November 27, 2009 Permalink

      will be looking forward to the “superlatives” “OVER-THE-TOP-CATEGORIES-THAT- SHOULD -NOT BE-MISSED.”

  • shwineka 12:30 pm on November 21, 2009 Permalink | Reply
    Tags: , , , , , , , , ,   

    Coaches Vs. Cancer Wrap-Up: 'Cuse Hands Heels First Loss of Season 

    (photo by Jack McIssac – Getty)

    After a nail-biter against Ohio State, one could almost see it coming. The way UNC sloppily handled its double-digit lead Thursday didn’t bode well for the contest on Friday against a Syracuse team that is seemingly firing on all cylinders. The Heels lost 87-71.

    Carolina’s turnovers are starting to become a broken record, 19 this time, and ball security seems to be their biggest weakness. Syracuse scored more than 20 points off those turnovers, but it wasn’t until the second half that the game got out of hand. UNC’s defense kept them in the game in the first half, creating some turnovers of its own and  helping the Heels to a three-point halftime lead.

    In the second half, two different teams showed up than had played in the first. UNC, whose offense hadn’t been very effective all night, suddenly forgot how to play D as well. Syracuse became an unstoppable force, hitting 10 of it’s first 14 shots in the half and going on a 22-1 run that effectively won the game. UNC made a late charge to bring it within eight, but it was a short-lived rally.

    Sometimes you hear coaches say that it’d be good for their team to get a loss, so what good will come of this?

    How about just the sting of a blowout loss? The Heels haven’t had a loss like this since the 2008 Final Four loss to Kansas, which ended 84-66. Last year’s team lost four games by a total of 16 points combined. This year’s team equaled that in one game. Pride can be a great motivator.

    The parts are all there — and I’m sure Roy hadn’t spent too much time on playing against a zone like Syracuse’s — so this loss may sting now, but it will be something to build on. And with the Heels non-conference schedule, they better get building.

     

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