The Missing Piece of the Puzzle

      UNC's Tar Heels started off the season looking like a potentially great team, winning two games by double digits over weaker teams, but recognizably missing the presence of All American senior guard Marcus Paige.

     Behind great inside play from center Kennedy Meeks, and consistent outside shooting from guard Nate Britt, Carolina turned away a tempestuous Temple team and a better-than-fair Fairfield team.  Both teams stayed too close in the first half, before Carolina pulled away in the second stanza.  C Meeks (25 & 11) and F Brice Johnson (16 & 10) combined for 41 points and 21 rebounds in the Temple game, while G Britt shot an accurate 11--17 in both games and scored a career high 17 points against Fairfield, while backcourt partner G Joel Berry II also scored 29 points in the two games.

    UNC was able to dominate the boards and score many easy baskets against these weaker opponents.  Whenever the defense collapsed or the score got too uncomfortably close, the Tar Heels turned to three-point shooting to open up the margin.   There were significant fast breaks, but the team's breaks did not seem to flow as freely as they do with the ball in Carolina's starting point guard's hands.

Marcus Paige: Missing Piece of Puzzle ?

    Carolina will no doubt maintain their #1 Ranking in most of the nation's college basketball polls, but will face several severe tests over the next two weeks as they patiently await the return of Paige to the starting lineup.  Originally from the Hawkeye state, Paige will most definitely miss his "home" game against Northern Iowa on Nov. 21.   But the Heels' biggest challenge, with or without him,  will most likely come on Dec. 1, when they will play #3 Maryland in the ACC--Big 10 Challenge.   

    With the return of Marcus Paige, we will get a glimpse of how good the Tar Heels can really be this year, for he will not only be improved, but will also make all of Carolina's players better. The pundits have spoken, and give the Tar Heels the nod for chasing another national title this year.  There will be many hurdles before then, but with the team intact, they should be able to face and overcome them.

NEXT TAR HEELS BLOG :  Tar Heels Turn The Paige

Getting Ready for 2015

DOUBLE TROUBLE

   It's just about that time.  Football starts back in the fall, then you get a glimpse of basketball starting in October.  By November, we're in full swing with both sports.  In some ways, it's a favorite time of the year for me, although I'd much prefer a milder climate in the winter.  But if I moved to-- say Arizona or back to Florida-- I could still have my football and basketball, only I'd have to always watch on TV rather than in person.

  Speaking of live sports, I do enjoy going to games.  I'm hoping to go to both Panthers football and Tar Heels basketball games this year.  It would be nice if a fellow sports fan and friend {I honestly do NOT have any one person in mind} would read this, and think of me when they are ordering their tickets.  But either way, I still enjoy watching the games, even if it is on television, and as my dad used to say, "you've got the best seat in the house, without leaving yours."

BAD AND SAD MEMORIES

  I find it quite ironic that Wisconsin beat the Tar Heels in the Sweet Sixteen earlier this year, and then the Charlotte Hornets selected their center Frank Kaminsky III in the NBA draft.  It's sorta like watching Steve Kerr play with Michael Jordan on the Bulls' championship teams, or at one point, seeing Glen Rice play for the Hornets, after Kerr's Arizona and Rice's Michigan teams ousted the Tar Heels from the NCAA tournament in 1988-89.  At least Rick Mount (Purdue) or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (UCLA) never played pro ball in Carolina after they devastated UNC in the tournament.

   I'm thinking of writing an essay or article on all of the various "if's, and's, and but's" in Tar Heels' basketball history.  These would obviously include the two aforementioned examples, as well as UNC point guards Phil Ford's (1977), Kenny Smith's (1984), and Kendall Marshall's (2012) key injuries on the road to potential championships.

SUBJECTIVE PROSPECTIVE
   
   It looks as though the Tar Heels are looking fairly optimistic this year, with all but one (J.P. Tokoto) of their five starters returning.  However, that does NOT mean that all four of the returners will be starting for the Heels.   Remember several years ago, when UNC was forced, due to injuries, transfers, and personnel, to start three or even four guards in their lineup?   Well, last year was like a flip-flop year, in which they had 6'9" Kennedy Meeks, 6'9" Brice Johnson, and 6'8" Justin Jackson all playing with 6'1" point guard Marcus Paige.  

   This year brings in two highly touted freshmen, local native (Huntersville, NC) Luke Haye, a 6'7" forward, and 6'4" shooting guard Kenny Williams (from Virginia).  Ever since the advent of P.J. Hairston, the Tar Heels have lacked an accurate outside shooting threat, and Williams just may be the answer this year.  In addition, Haye, while not a guard, also won a three-point shooting contest at a Florida high school all-star game.  Look for the new freshman Williams to join senior Marcus Paige in UNC's backcourt this year, along with Meeks, Johnson, and Jackson in the frontcourt.  Carolina's key reserves this year will be Joel Berry II, Isaiah Hicks, Theo Pinson, and Joel James.

JUST HOW GOOD ARE THE TAR HEELS?

   How good will the 2015-16 UNC Tar Heels be?  Well-- if you're asking the so-called experts, NBC Sports and USA Today both list Carolina as the #1 team in their Top 25 preseason poll, and ESPN rates them at #3.  

   I'm sure Duke and Virginia, as well as an improved NC State, will have something to say, both on and off the court, about this, but my overall impression is that with a team returning most of their upperclassmen, and adding two find recruits in Haye and Williams, the Tar Heels won't be hurting at all.

   We may find out more about this year's potential for Carolina when they travel to play either Kansas State or Missouri on Nov. 24, and UCLA on Dec. 19.

   Until next time, I am your 'Couch Potato' sports analyst, signing off.

Tar Heels Face Wisconsin

  The Carolina Tar Heels rolled into the SWEET SIXTEEN by knocking off Arkansas, 87-78. The game was close in the first half, but then UNC star guard Marcus Paige scored 20 of his 22 points in the second half to pull the Heels ahead and allow them to break away in the closing minutes.

  Now UNC advances to the round of 16 for a record 26th time, but faces the #1 seed Wisconsin.  Even if Carolina upsets Wisconsin to play in the West Regional final, it will most likely face another behemoth in #2 seed Arizona.  Both the Badgers and the Wildcats sport identical 31-3 records, two of the best season records in the tournament.  

DAVID & GOLIATH

  The UNC-Wisconsin game measures up as a David vs. Goliath matchup, not only because of the Badgers' impressive record, but because of the stars of the respective teams.  While 6'1"guard Marcus Paige leads the Tar Heels, 7'0" giant Frank Kaminsky is the leader of the Wisconsin squad.  They also are their team's scoring leaders at 18.4 (Kaminsky) and 14.1 (Paige).  The underdog role is heightened by the fact that UNC big man Kennedy Meeks went down in the Arkansas game with a left knee sprain, and is considered unlikely to play on Thursday night against Wisconsin.

   It is my opinion that UNC will pound the ball inside, hoping to get Kaminsky in foul trouble;  while Wisconsin is loaded with big, tall players, none of them is as potent inside as is Frank Kaminsky.  So getting him into foul trouble early would greatly help the Tar Heels' chances.

   The Tar Heels will have to shoot well, and handle the ball better than they did against either Harvard or Arkansas, to be able to win against Wisconsin.

   While Carolina's record of 26-11 isn't as impressive as either Wisconsin's or Arizona's, they have come on strong lately, especially in the postseason, beating Virginia in the ACC semifinals and two hard-fought wins in the first two rounds of the NCAA's.   They are a definite underdog to Wisconsin, but not a huge underdog.  The Badgers are favored by a mere five points.

   If UNC gets out of the West region, I really like their chances in the Final Four.  Some of this feeling stems from my thoughts that more high seeded teams are likely to get knocked off before it comes down to Indianapolis.   In particular, I'm looking for Kentucky and Duke to fall, but that is not a certainty.  Either way, if the Heels get to that point, they will be playing good enough basketball to win it all.

   But that doesn't really help them this weekend.  More updates after the Wisconsin game.   Here's hoping for a victory on Thursday night, and advancing to the Regional Final.

  GO  TAR  HEELS!  

UNC vs. Harvard-- The Tar Heels Escape

   It's been awhile since I've written about Tar Heels basketball.  This blog was meant to be a game-by-game coverage of UNC's seasons.  As I've said before, I don't get paid for this, so sometimes other things take precedence, and lapses do occur.  I apologize to you for this.  

  This 2014-15 season for UNC basketball has been a series of ups and downs.  The team is 25-11 and should be about 31-5... in my opinion.  The only losses that I see as excusable are those to Duke, Virginia, or Kentucky.  The other losses were to weaker teams, and were due to poor and inconsistent play on the part of Carolina.  In many of these losses, the Tar Heels held a double-digit lead late in the second half, and managed to squander it away.

   The same was also true tonight in the opening NCAA Tournament game against Harvard;  however, UNC somehow held on to win the game, 67-65, and advance to the next round.  Carolina led by as many as 16 points in the second half, but allowed Harvard to claw its way back into the game, and actually take the lead at one point.

Justin Jackson

   Freshman Justin Jackson and Marcus Paige led the way with 14 and 12 points, while Isiah Hicks provided some good play off the bench.   UNC won despite allowing a game-high 26 points to Harvard ace Wesley Saunders.

   The bottom line in tonight's game was--- the Tar Heels played well enough to win... but barely escaped.  A three-point shot by Harvard with less than a second on the clock could have sent Carolina home for the season, but caromed off the back of the rim.   As is the usual case, the Heels played extremely well in spurts, but as Paige put it, (they) "got complacent" in the second half.  This changed a potential blow-out into a close game at the end.  For some fans, this would've been an entertaining game to watch.  For Tar Heels fans, we wish they would "put the nail in the coffin" when they have a game in hand.  

   If UNC is to advance much farther, they must play each game consistently for forty minutes.   These inconsistent lapses will not hold up in games against better teams in their WEST bracket like Wisconsin or Arizona, both with 31-3 records.   

NEXT UP :  WOFFORD or ARKANSAS

Saturday (3/21)