The Rafters

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  shwineka 12:28 pm on June 11, 2010 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: ACC (32), ACC Sunday Night Hoops, Austin American Statesman, Baylor, Big East (3), Charlotte (2), Coaches' Poll (2), Duke (41), expansion, K-State, Kansas (11), Kentucky (6), Missouri (2), Pac-10 (3), Pacific, Raleigh (4), Roy Williams (70), SEC (5), Tar Heel Fan, Texas (4), Texas A&M, UNC (120), WRAL (2)   

  Taking the offensive: the ACC Superconference 

  With all the hullabaloo over conference expansion going on in the Midwest, I was happy to see that the ACC and North Carolina were going largely unaffected. I like the current setup. Although I wish that UNC were guaranteed more games against perennial league contenders like Wake Forest every year, the competition is good for ACC teams’ RPI and the conference is well respected for its basketball.

  Apparently though there has been talk of hitting us right where it hurts, namely right at us – UNC that is.

  Tar Heel Fan pointed out this SEC wish list in the Austin American Statesman (via WRAL) and I find it quite disturbing. The SEC, pioneers of the 12-team conference and not wanting to be left behind the Pac-whatever-it-is-now, could be eying expansion and targeting UNC and Duke. This, according to THF would be a boon to their basketball prestige giving them three of arguably (well, arguably as far as Duke and Kentucky ) the best teams in college basketball history in the same conference.  It would also look to boost its football stature by adding powerhouse Texas and it’s little brother Texas A&M (not to mention Butch’s boys in blue).

  THF pointed out that the Charlotte and Raleigh markets – let alone football crazed Texas – are nothing to sniff at, both coming in the Top 30 in the nation, so that could play a factor as well.

  Well, that’s all well and good, but rather than sitting on our Atlantic Coast cabooses, why don’t we take the offensive and spawn a superconference of our own?

  

  The Pac-10 has been courting with Texas as well, though I’m not sure what exactly is Pacific about Texas. Using that logic, Kansas, K-State, Baylor and Missouri seem ripe to come to the Atlantic Coast Conference to me.  The ACC’s basketball pedigree would instantly skyrocket. In the last coaches poll of 2010, taken after the tournament,  Kansas (6), K-State (7) and Baylor(10) were all in the Top 10, while Missouri received some votes for the Top 25.

  With that addition, no one could argue that the Big East was the best basketball conference any more, though we at the Rafters know that has never been true, and the spark in competition would make ACC games the must watch affair any night of the week. Forget ACC Sunday Night Hoops. How about the ACC Nightly Knockdown, Drag-out Brawl?

  Now I’m sure Roy Williams wouldn’t be too keen on the idea of his other love, Kansas, joining the conference, but as much as I love Roy I don’t think his personal preference would have much say in the grand scheme of things.

  If other conferences are licking their chops at some of the pillars of our conference, we should be looking around as well. Like I said, I’m happy with the current situation, but to let it fall below its current status would be a travesty, and we should think offensively.

  kikus is discussing. Toggle Comments

   
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    kikus 9:40 pm on June 12, 2010 Permalink

    может у кого нить есть ещё информация по этому поводу??

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  shwineka 4:19 pm on June 3, 2010 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: ACC (32), Alabama, andre dawkins (3), Bob McAdoo, coach K (12), david wear (13), dexter strickland (18), Easy Ed (5), Ed Davis (26), elliot williams (2), Gordon Hayward, Harrison Barnes (11), James McAdoo, john henson (26), Justin Knox, kendall marshall (4), Larry Drew (3), NBA (10), NBA Draft (2), NCAA (2), reggie bullock (4), Roy Williams (70), SEC (5), Sports Illustrated (6), Tar Heels (49), The Rafters (14), travis wear (14), tyler zeller (19), UNC (120), wear twins (10), will graves (17)   

  Catching up 

  Is it finally over? By that I mean the sick feeling in your stomach re: the most recent NCAA championship. Mine has finally subsided. So might as well cure the subsequent blogging hangover by getting back at it eh?

  What better way to get over a case of the “I-can’t-believe-Gordon-Hayward-missed-that-shot”s than by looking forward to next year. Now that the NBA draft deadline has passed, we know that Easy Ed will be leaving us for bigger and better things. Can’t really blame him. He’s a projected lottery pick depending on how the draft day moves go, and he stands to lose a lot of money by staying in college for another year with all that lockout business.

  So then there’s Harrison Barnes. The No. 1 recruit in the country is coming in with some highly touted classmates to add some more youth to what is already going to be a young team. But wait! Why not make it even younger?

  Over the past few days it’s come to light that James McAdoo, nephew of former Tar Heel and NBA Hall of Famer Bob McAdoo, and a Top 5 recruit in the class of 2011, might just pull an Andre Dawkins and come to UNC next year with Barnes and Co. Read this piece on SI.com and it will make you feel all warm and giddy inside. Here’s a throwback of ol’ Bob, sorry about the watermark. Only image I could find in a Heels uni.

  

  Well if you read that article, it’s made clear by James McAdoo’s father that James came up with the idea once the Wear twins transferred. That gave me some piece of mind. I was afraid that Roy might have been pulling a Coach K. As in last year when Dawkins came to Duke as a 17-year-old. I never read any stories on him – why woud I? – but after Elliot Williams transferred I was sure it was K figuring out some way to bolster his roster. Unfortunately whoever initiated the Dawkins early graduation talks, it worked out for them, but that’s beside the point.

  The other move I’m not sure we’ve covered here on the Rafters is the transfer of Justin Knox from Alabama. This should be a valuable pick-up. If he can put up his numbers from the SEC a year ago (6.3 pts., 3.7 rebs) that will be gravy. It’d be about equal to what two Wears were giving us, so even trade.

  I don’t think the McAdoo Move would alter the potential starting lineup for next season, nor will the Knox pickup.  At the beginning, I’m guessing Drew, Strickland, Graves, Henson, Zeller, with the expectation that Barnes will be starting by the ACC season.

  The transfers and early graduations would give us a very solid bench, however, with McAdoo and Knox spelling Henson and Zeller. Graves and Barnes wouldn’t be forced to play much post, and Reggie Bullock and Kendall Marshall will provide the guards with respite.

  Come to think of it, that would give the Heels exactly 10 players who would likely see minutes — one sub for each starter.

  And if they start playing anything like last year, that would come in handy when Roy needs to make one of his full line-up substitutions.

   
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  shwineka 11:41 am on January 14, 2010 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: andy katz (2), Basketball (13), Carolina (33), Chapel Hill (12), Clemson (12), Dean Smith (5), dexter strickland (18), espn (6), Final Four (9), Jay Bilas (2), Kansas (11), national championship (4), News & Observer (10), Robert Willet (8), Roy Williams (70), tyler hansbrough (14), UNC (120)   

  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)

   
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  shwineka 2:34 pm on December 17, 2009 Permalink | Reply
  Tags: beat dook (2), Carolina (33), chapel hell, Chapel Hill (12), cry-o-whine-a, Dean Smith (5), Duke (41), duke sucks (2), durham (9), NC State (5), NCSU (3), pastel pansies, Raleigh (4), rival, Rivalry, Tar Heel, Tar Hole, tobacco road (2), UNC (120), UNC > Duke, UNX   

  Never Argue with a State Fan 

  The other day I did something that I have done before, but regret every time.

  Now, before your mind starts wandering, I’ll just tell you. I commented on an online message board that was mostly an argument between UNC and NC State fans.

  Now these types of things don’t keep me up at night. I don’t suddenly think about the perfect comeback I should have used, or a relevant fact I forgot to point out indicating that Carolina is superior – which it is.

  No, when I post on these message boards it just frustrates me because I can’t believe I spent valuable time posting on them. I try to take a high-level approach. I try to just state something I’m confident about. Perhaps something like, “Yeah, UNC lost to State this year in football, but we beat Va. Tech and Miami and are heading to a bowl game. I’m OK with that.”

  Here’s where the trouble starts.

  Sure I said I’m “OK” with losing to State if UNC has a good season. Sure some might even take that as a Tar Heel admitting that yeah, UNC lost to State and that sucks, but hey I’m a fan and glad that UNC had a good season.

  No, no, no, sir. These are NC State fans we’re talking about.

  I have entered myself into their arena. I have been thrown to the wolves — pun intended. I have subjected myself to the rantings of fans whose sole purpose in life is to rebuke me, no matter how indifferent I am to their irrelevant school in West Raleigh.

  I let them know this, of course, already hating myself for continuing this charade. I don’t really care if they think they’re our rival. I really don’t.  But for some reason I find the need to say something to the effect of “You are not our rival. Duke is.”

  This is probably the single worst thing you can say to a State fan.

  That’s when the name calling starts. I think the average N.C. State fan tries to come up with a new nickname for UNC every day. I’ve heard many: Pastel Pansies, Cry-o-whine- uh,  UNX (which I’ve only seen online and am still not sure what it means), Chapel Hell and my personal (and most State fans’) favorite, the Tar Holes. They’ll also send you pictures like this:

  

  I’m sure an NCSU student somewhere happily spent hours on that picture.

  Anyway at this point, the State fans are in defense mode in regards to why they are UNC’s true rival, and you will not hear any coherent argument, just their tried and yet untrue platform. Yeah, we’re both public schools, and yeah, both schools have mostly in-state students. But no, you are not our rival. You will never be our rival. There is a sacred rivalry on Tobacco Road, and the road leads to Durham.

  They will not understand this. They’ll call you classless, though Dean Smith wrote the book on class. They’ll call you dumb, when many UNC freshmen also got into State and chose otherwise, as the joke goes. They’ll even insist that their gross, blocky, modern-looking bell tower is prettier than yours.

  

  But mostly, they’ll say that they are your rival. It’s at this point that I once again realize the terrible mistake I’ve made by joining the discussion and go about my business doing something else.

  I’ll check the board again to see what the State fans are saying about the Tar Hole who mysteriously stopped commenting on the message board.

  “He’s a pastel pansy! He went to cry-o-whine-a to his mommy!”

  Then I glance over all my “Beat Dook!”  and “UNC > Duke” and “Duke Sucks!” memorabilia, and I get this warm sensation.

  I’ll sleep well tonight.

  Guess Who’s Back? | The Rafters, DFlair, and lulu are discussing. Toggle Comments

   
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    lulu 4:05 pm on December 18, 2009 Permalink

    laughed til I let out a long wolf howl—–had to stop so my voice could “heel” over before the next UNC/Duke game -Go Heels.

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    DFlair 4:06 pm on January 5, 2010 Permalink

    The best part about UNC-Raleigh’s bell tower, if I remember correctly, is that it doesn’t have bells in it. Due an inability to raise the neccessary funds over the last 50 years to purchase some bells, state resorted to installing a stereo at the top to make bell sounds. If this isn’t the best way to describe this institution I’m not sure what is. Build a large, imposing structure from the outside but forget to give it a heart.