Thursday, March 31, 2016

Tar Heels--- Final One?


      Hey-- I've been following the Tar Heels since 1967 or '68.  I remember going to Carolina Basketball Camp and watching Charlie Scott and other Tar Heel stars play pickup games in Carmichael Auditorium.  I remember the early 70's NIT Champions, and the first NCAA title in '82.  And there's been a few down years too-- like '77 or '84-- and more recently 2011.  But here we are, in 2016-- back in the Final Four.

      A lot of you Tar Heel fans have "analyzed until you're paralyzed" all of this basketball stuff, and I appreciate all of it-- I really do-- but gosh-- I think it will all come down to our team's heart and soul on Saturday and Monday.       I think the Tar Heels have a keen sense of ebb and flow in the game, and when the outcome is on the line, I think they are capable of making a run, or getting a stop--- and securing the win.

     Some-- not all-- but a few think that the Tar Heels are unbeatable now.  They've had a couple of ups and downs, but they hit their stride in the ACC Tournament and now they're rolling along, and no one can stop them.  As I've said before of the Panthers, and they possibly set the example-- It's Okay if EVERYONE ELSE thinks that-- but I just hope the TEAM won't buy into it. You see, there are three very good other teams in Houston-- and any of the three COULD beat us.  Fortunately, we only have to play TWO of them-- but we better not lose sight of what got us here-- and we also better be ready to play for forty minutes-- and not come out lackadaisical, or get a lead and get lazy or proud, and sit on it.

     One reporter said, "These are the Tar Heels we've been waiting for all year."  YES-- they are playing well.  It seems that most, if not all, of the players are contributing-- the stars and starters, as well as the subs and role players too.  They are giving it their BEST.   And it will probably take their BEST to win this thing.   One of the best things about this year's Tar Heel team has been their balance and sense of teamwork.  Lately, somehow they've also grabbed hold of the concept of stingy defense too, and their "D" has won them a few ball games down the stretch.

    Even though I recognize and admit that either Villanova, Oklahoma, or yes -- even our ACC rival Syracuse-- all could win the title this year, I believe the main ingredient is NOT the focus on the other teams-- but that OUR team play their absolute BEST.  If UNC plays their honest BEST game, I don't see how they can be beat.  And then-- even if they lose-- I'll somehow find a way in my heart to accept them as the champions that they really are.

     But heck-- or as Coach Ray says it, "Doggone It!"  Why win the Bronze or the Silver-- when we can win the GOLD ?

So--let's do it!



Tuesday, March 29, 2016

(YAY YAY) TAR HEELS IN FINAL FOUR (ALL THE WAY)

    Sometimes I feel a little less than enthusiastic posting blogs about Tar Heel victories.   Of course--- the Tar Heels are in the Final Four.   If you didn't see it on TV or in the newspaper, you heard it on the radio, or from a rabid Tar Heels fan on the street.   So-- what's the big deal?   Maybe it's NOT-- for you.   But it's been SEVEN years since the Tar Heels made it to the Big Dance the last time--- and for some college basketball teams, it's a great accomplishment to just get there--- ever.    

     I feel a bit for the players and coaches of UNC and the other schools in the Final Four--- Oklahoma, Villanova, and Syracuse--- because often fans and sportswriters expect their teams to go "all the way" and win a championship.   Unfortunately, only ONE team can win it all each year.   There will be three teams that go home a bit disappointed-- no, a LOT disappointed--- as "losers".   And in a bigger sense, there are 64 other teams that have already gone home with their heads hanging low.

Roy cutting down the Net
    I'm proud of what the UNC Tar Heels have accomplished already this year.  They are 32-6 and ACC Regular Season --and--- Tournament champions.    Not many teams can say that they've won 30 games and achieved first place in their league.   I know though that the Tar Heels as a team, and each individual player, want MORE.   It's been their dream all season, and for the seniors, all four years, to get to this point.   Now that they've "arrived", the desire to win a championship is burning even deeper inside of them.   


They can almost taste it now.


    Hey-- what these guys achieve (or don't) this year cannot be overshadowed or compared to the Dean Smith years, or the Michael Jordan years, or any other coach, player, or team.  It's their special year.   They have risen to the top.   It's been a year of some ups and downs. 

     Several players have especially improved this year.   
  • G Marcus Paige has come back from a bad injury at the start of the year that obviously hampered him, and finally managed to regain some of his previous greatness, and shooting touch from the perimeter.  
  • F Brice Johnson  has become a real dog inside.   He's become a great scorer, but I believe his greatest contribution to the Heels successful season, even more than his point production, has been his tenacious rebounding and defense inside.   He's a real ball hawk, and has consistently defended the basket. 
  • F Isaiah Hicks and G Theo Pinson have really come into their own as valuable bench players who perform on the court as if they were regulars.   In the regional final against Notre Dame, they made several big plays down the stretch, including one momentum shifter when Pinson fed Hicks on a fast break for a slam dunk.
_______________________________________________________________________ 
  F Justin Jackson, along with Paige and Johnson, made the Eastern Regional all--tournament team, with Johnson being named the Most Outstanding Player of the tournament.
_______________________________________________________________________ 

      All players on the Tar Heels team, especially the top 8--10 in rotation, contributed greatly to the Tar Heels success so far in the postseason.    It's been an obvious metamorphosis in their team play from the regular season to the tournament.    Especially noteworthy has been the upgrade in their intensity on the defensive end of the court.   UNC opponents in the ACC and NCAA tournaments have only averaged 65 points, while the Tar Heels are averaging 90 points.

       Okay-- here's the Million Dollar question, although (of course)--- if I answer it right, I will NOT stand to inherit or win a million dollars.   

       Will the Tar Heels win the Final Four?   Defeat Syracuse on Saturday, advance to the Championship game on Monday night, and win it all?

In a word--- YES!
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Order your 
Undisputed National Champions
TEE SHIRT or CAP

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Saturday, March 26, 2016

Tough & Tenacious Tar Heels Triumph in Tournament

     Hey.  I'm sorry.  But I just had to.   Those of you that know me well know that I have an extreme appreciation and love of alliteration and rhyme.  I just plain like it.   But even I sometimes get sick of the constant use of it.

    Sweet Sixteen.  Elite Eight.   Final Four...   Sexy Six..  ha ha..  on and on and on.. I just had to go crazy with Today's Titillating Title.   Sally Sells Seashells by the Seashore.  Okay.  I'm done with that now.

ELITE EIGHT

   The excitement and anticipation is over... at least for another day.   The Tar Heels beat Indiana and advanced to the "Elite Eight", just ONE STEP away from the illustrious Final Four.   The first weekend of the tournament, there were 34 games.   After this weekend, which features only four contests, there will be only four teams remaining.   The big question is: will our Tar Heels team be one of them?


     I admit-- I'm a diehard Tar Heels fan.  I've followed them ever since around 1967 or 1968, when legendary coach Dean Smith led them to three straight Final Fours.  But even I had some reservations about Friday night's game with Indiana.   I mean, after all, we had NEVER beaten Indiana in the NCAA Tournament.  We had met twice before, in 1981 and 1984, both times also in Philadelphia. Both years, the Tar Heels were the #1 seed and the favorite to win.  And both years, the Hoosiers ended Carolina's dream for a championship and sent them home early.

   In 1981, they were 29-7 and coming off a convincing win over Virginia in the national semifinals.   Indiana and sensational point guard Isiah Thomas beat them, 63-50.   In 1984, it was an even greater upset in the regional semifinals, as the Tar Heels were not only the #1 seed, but the #1 rated team in the country.  At 28-2, they sported the #1 player in the country, budding superstar Michael Jordan, but they also had a recovering point guard, Kenny Smith, who had his wrist broken earlier in a January game against LSU, and never quite regained his form.  The Tar Heels shot poorly, and Jordan, plagued by foul trouble and harassed by Indiana defenders, had a miserable performance with only 13 points.

    Fortunately, for the Tar Heels and their fans, sandwiched in between these two disappointing season-ending games, was the 1982 championship season, which ended in dramatic fashion in New Orleans with Jordan's game-winning jump shot with only 17 seconds left on the clock.

    Why all of this retroactive analysis of past games?  I don't know, except it somehow made me leery of facing them again.   But-- even though it was the same location, these were different teams, and a different season.   And thankfully, it was a different result.

UNC ROLLS OVER INDIANA
Tar Heels dominated Indiana
     The Tar Heels, who came out of the gate fast and furious, running up and down the floor, hit their first seven three-pointers, led by guard Marcus Paige, who started 4-for-4 from the arc, and finished with 21 points, passing the legendary Michael Jordan in career points scored at UNC.  Big man Brice Johnson also added 20 points and 10 rebounds for his 22nd double-double of the season.   Paige and Johnson were not without help, however, as the other Tar Heel starters Kennedy Meeks, Justin Jackson, and Joel Berry II all scored in double figures.

    Balanced scoring and tenacious defense has been the norm lately for the Heels, and these good tendencies continued in the game against Indiana.   Although Coach Roy Williams said that Indiana just "missed a lot of shots", a good part of that was the Tar Heels, including their big men, chasing and harassing shooters out on the perimeter.

    The Tar Heels made their shots at over 60% in the first half, and ended the game with better than 50% shooting.   One very glaring statistic is that Carolina had a 50% rate on offensive rebounding-- in other words, the Tar Heels got second chances on over half of their missed shots.   The national average is around 30%.

FINAL FOUR?
     Carolina should be the favorite to reach the Final Four, and then win the National Championship.   History has proven however, that the favorite does NOT always come out on top.   As many analysts and pundits have speculated, --if-- the Tar Heels play up to their potential, there is no one else who can beat them.   In other words, if UNC does not win it all, they will most likely beat themselves, rather than being beat by another team.

     The Tar Heels face a familiar foe in the Eastern Regional Final in Notre Dame, a "new" ACC team which beat us on their court 80--76 at the beginning of February.   The Tar Heels had won 20 of their first 22 games, and an even dozen in a row, but lost two games in a row on the road at Louisville, and then at Notre Dame.  But a month later, it is the team that they literally whipped in the conference tournament, 78--47.

     Like Indiana, the Fighting Irish are a good team that deserves to be in the Regional Final.   But we-- all pride to the side-- are a better team... that could be a great team. Can we rise to the occasion?   We can... but more importantly, perhaps... we have to. We need to.   Great teams see the potential for greatness, and rise to meet it head--on.

     Carolina is riding high, averaging 90 points per game as a team in the tournament, while only allowing opponents an average of 65 points in the postseason.

     After Notre Dame (do I dare even contemplate this?)-- looms either Virginia or Syracuse, another two familiar ACC teams, and then Oklahoma or Villanova, two powerhouse teams that have 59 victories between them.

     It's only three more games.  Let's ALL rally around our team, and enjoy their success!
Here's to a victory against Notre Dame in the Eastern Regional final... and a trip to Houston... for a chance at the 2016 NCAA Basketball Championship.
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SUNDAY,  MARCH 27
@ 8:30 pm

Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Sweet 16---in 2016

     It's 2016 and the Tar Heels are in the Sweet Sixteen--- again.   Last year, they were whipped by Wisconsin in the Sweet Sixteen.   This year they're back again-- after an up and down year-- and looking as good as a team as they've looked all year in beating Florida Gulf Coast and Providence.   The point could be made that these two teams weren't exactly in the same league as Carolina.    No blockbusters here.   They stayed with the Heels for a short time, but UNC blew both of them out in the second half.   But some have said that if Carolina plays the same type of game that we've seen in the ACC Tournament and the first two NCAA games, it would be difficult for them to be beat by anybody--- that's right--- anybody.

   Speaking of the Sweet Sixteen, here are the 16 teams that are left in the tournament, and they include six--- (yes, six!)--- ACC teams.




      UNC blew by Florida Gulf Coast in the first round, leading only by one point at halftime, but opening up the game in the second half.    Then they led Providence by only four at the half, but poured it on again to win in convincing fashion.    


    The Tar Heels were led by their star, Brice Johnson, with 18 and 21 points, and an amazing eight blocks against Gulf Coast.   However, the team was not without other contributors--- including Joel Berry II, Justin Jackson, Marcus Paige, and incredible performances off the bench by reserve forward Isaiah Hicks, who scored in double figures in both games.  ____________________________

    Perhaps the Tar Heels are hitting their stride at the right time.


    Speaking of time--- the Tar Heels meet Indiana on Friday night in Philadelphia--- sound a bit familiar?   To most of you Tar Heel fans, you are too young to remember.   But in 1981-- yes, 35 years ago--- a President was shot and the Tar Heels' title hopes were shot too-- by Isiah Thomas and the Indiana Hoosiers--- at the Spectrum in Philadelphia.   An assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan that afternoon had almost cancelled the game, but it went on as scheduled, and nothing else went quite right for the Tar Heels that night.

      Enough said, right?   It's a different year--- a different Tar Heels team--- and a different Indiana team.   True--- But don't look past this matchup.   

     One ESPN sports reporter labeled the UNC--Indiana game a "true Final Four type" game.   Since our last blog, several highly rated teams have been knocked off, including Michigan State, Xavier, and West Virginia.   The word on the street is-- if the Tar Heels get by Indiana, then their Regional Final game may be an EASIER game.   Possibly so--- although it's always difficult to beat a conference foe twice in one season (Notre Dame) and the other team is the one that sent the Tar Heels packing last year (Wisconsin).


     The Indiana Hoosiers are a good team.   We are also a good team--- with the potential of being a great team.    This will undoubtedly be a tough contest.   What we do in the next game-- or four games-- will contribute to the Tar Heels team's legacy.    I'm expecting a BIG STEP up in each successive game.   The stakes get larger as each opponent surfaces.   Bottom line is--- we win (however we do so)--- and we move on.    We lose--- and we go home.   It's one--and--done time.   

     I look for a very close game.   I also believe we have what it takes to win in the closing minutes (or seconds) of a game.   I'm looking for the Heels to step up and make a statement, and then close out the East Regional and earn a trip to the Final Four.
_________________________________________________________________
UNC vs Indiana
Friday, March 25 @ 9:45 pm

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Aspirations and Maturation

   By
HOWARD PLATT


Howard Platt
       


     
    
    The North Carolina Tar Heels have been a maturation process throughout the season.   At the start of the season they were ranked Number One in the polls, but they were overrated at that time.  Marcus Paige was injured and no one was really stepping up in his place. 
  • Kennedy Meeks was a disappointment with his knee problems and then he missed a number of games because of that.  Then even when he became healthy, his play and intensity was inconsistent, especially with the high expectation that UNC fans had for him. 
  • Paige came back to underperform in the eyes of the fans and the media, considering what he had done in past seasons.  He had a shooting slump that seemed like it would never end, and although it has never completely come back to the amazing Sophomore year he had, it is now more acceptable and he became a leader again both on and off the court. 
  • Brice Johnson became the on court leader with his numbers while others were searching for their proper roles.  He has become a consistent double-double producer and a better defender.  He is the only Tar Heel, amazingly enough for a team that won the regular season title, on any of the All-ACC teams. He is now certainly one of the best players in the ACC, but also in the country. 
  • And Joel Berry II has become perhaps the scoring leader and one of the top point guards now in the country in the latter stages of the season.  He was particularly outstanding in the ACC Tournament run and now there are new and higher expectations for him in the NCAA Tournament.
        Perhaps the greatest strength is the depth of players that now contribute to Carolina's success.  
  • Meeks is getting to a higher level again, although he can do better.  
  • Isiah Hicks has surfaced as an outstanding inside presence offensively and has improved as a defender.  He was rightly named the best "Sixth Man" in the conference and may be the best offensive option for the Heels over Meeks as they play around the same amount of time and even play at the same time sometimes.  
  • Also Britt coming off the bench has been an outstanding defender and a spark for the team when he comes in.  
   Role players also play  a part.  
  • Joel James is one of the Senior Leaders and although he doesn't score much, it seems he gets clutch points.  
  • Almost forgot about Justin Jackson.  He's like a glue to the team functioning at top efficiency.  When he is in top form, whether on defense or with the teardrop floater he has made a great part of his game, the Heels are almost unbeatable.  
  • Even the Freshmen like Luke Maye and young Kenny Williams have become good defenders. 
     In fact the biggest difference for UNC and what has now made them a top contender for the Final Four and even a National Championship has been the team defense That has not been a secret to anyone who has watched them in the last few games.  Too many times in the past there had been the wide open threes allowed or the opening of the middle of the lane much too often.  They changed all that during the ACC Tournament and it seems they now know what they can do from here on out in that all important part of the game.  

    They must continue to play that well in order to attain the goals they aspire to.  As a Tar Heel fan, I again have optimism as to what this team can accomplish.  Give Roy Williams credit too. Amidst criticism about not using timeouts properly and using his personnel differently than some of us wanted at the time, he has proven that his way is now the best way the team has developed.  

    I now am optimistic about this team having the chance to accomplish what many thought at the start of the year was a great chance.  A Final Four berth in Houston and a National Title is certainly within reach.  Now let's hopefully watch the path they take towards those goals.   

GO HEELS !
  _______________________________________________
     
Howard Platt Sports reports can be heard on Memories 1280 in Salisbury and 1410 in Concord and on 1490, Carolina Country.  He also does play by play of local American Legion Baseball, High School Baseball, High School Football and many High School Basketball games in the past. 

  --- I appreciate Bob Wingate allowing me to post on his blog --- 

 [ Ed. Note:  We appreciate you too Howard.  Let's do it again soon !]


Wednesday, March 16, 2016

A Wide Gulf Fixed

    Our Carolina Tar Heels take their #1 NCAA seed and travel 25 miles down the road to play their first game in the East Region on Thursday night against the Florida Gulf Coast Eagles.   UNC is fresh out of the ACC Tournament, where they arguably played three of their best games of the season, blowing past Pittsburgh and Notre Dame, and then holding on to beat a tough Virginia team to win their first ACC Tournament title in eight years.   

   FGCU has a new coach, but a recent history of causing trouble in the NCAA Tournament, going to the Sweet Sixteen just three years ago.  There has NEVER been a #16 seed to beat a #1 seed in the history of the tournament.  There have been some close calls, but so far, this kind of a major upset has yet to happen.  And it won't this year--- at least not for the Tar Heels.   

   Gulf Coast is a run--and--gun type of a team, and this will suit the Tar Heels' style just fine.   Their major player is Marc Eddy Norelia, a 6'8" swingman who can shoot and drive with the best, but I don't believe they pose a major threat as a team to North Carolina.   The Tar Heels will no doubt try to shut Norelia down, or else shut the rest of the team down, while letting Norelia have his points.   One way or the other, the Tar Heels just have too much, both quality and quantity, for the Eagles, and will put them away if they play the same intense game that they displayed in their conference tournament.


    UNC defeated Virginia by four points in the ACC Final, and the last couple of minutes was hectic for the Heels, but it really wasn't that close down the stretch.   Carolina had stretched it out to a seven--point lead with under five minutes to play, and only a missed one--and--one foul shot by Marcus Paige and a subsequent three--pointer brought the lead down to only two with less than a second to play.   UNC dominated most of the second half.  The closing of the margin in the last 10--15 seconds of the game just goes to show that almost anything can happen in a college basketball game.   All of a sudden, the Cavs got hot from outside, but the Tar Heels hung on to win.

    Lately, Carolina has had a different hero in each game.  This is actually a good thing for the Tar Heels.  Saturday night, Joel Berry II  stepped up to lead scoring with 19 points and won the Everett Case MVP award for the ACC Tournament.   Marcus Paige and Brice Johnson followed with 13 and 12 points for the Heels.  Paige scored 9 of the Tar Heels' 10 points during one stretch in the second half. 

    This team has several players that can lead the team in scoring.  Just look back over the past three years.   Paige has had many 25--point games.   This year, Johnson has been hot in many games, and has led the ACC in double--doubles (points and rebounds).   Yes--- this team can score points on the offensive end --- but their main focus in the NCAA Tournament must be to maintain the level of defense that they have been playing during the last week.   The Tar Heels held Notre Dame scoreless for almost ten minutes in the semifinal game, and then held Virginia without a field goal for over seven minutes.   

    Carolina is joined in the East Regional by such talented teams as West Virginia, Xavier, Kentucky, and Indiana, as well as Wisconsin, the team that knocked them out of the tournament last year.    Some pundits say that the NCAA Committee did the Tar Heels no favors, giving them what many call the toughest regional draw in the tournament.

   Basketball analyst and former Tar Heel star Kenny "the Jet" Smith surprised no one by picking his alma mater to win the East Regional and go all the way to the Final Four.   Actually, he is not alone.  There are many pundits and analysts favoring the Tar Heels to win it all.  They were the preseason #1 in the AP Basketball Poll.   But teams like Kansas and Michigan State might also be there to greet them in Houston at the NCAA Championship.

   Okay, let's not get ahead of ourselves.  First things first. 

UNC vs Florida Gulf Coast
THURS MARCH 17 @ 7:20 pm

Friday, March 11, 2016

Turning the Paige ?

     It has been exactly 115 days since I last wrote a Tar Heels blog here.   Maybe I should feel a little guilty, but I don't.   As I've told you before, I don't get paid for THIS (yet!)    Not writing any blogs about UNC Basketball does NOT mean, however, that I haven't been watching the games and taking note of their progress (or lack thereof).

ACC Quarterfinal Game
     I've been somewhat encouraged, and at other times, downright disgusted with our team's play.    They've had games when they couldn't seem to BUY--a--BUCKET, and other games when they couldn't seem to CAPTURE a rebound.   But I haven't given up on them.   Somehow, I knew that they would re--capture the Heart and Soul of this team-- and it's happened--- just in the nick of time-- before they might have kicked the bucket in the NCAA Tournament..

ACC Semifinal Game
    Tonight, the Heels showed their best stuff against Notre Dame-- and maintained it the entire game-- much like they did against Pittsburgh on Thursday night.   They won by a whopping 31 point margin, and certainly avenged their earlier 80--76 defeat to the Irish on Feb. 6.  At one point, the Tar Heels ran off an incredible 24 points in a row--- unbelievable!--- spanning the end of the first (the last 6:10) and beginning of the second half (the first 3:22) for a total of almost a quarter of the game (9:32).  This was the result of a combination of the Tar Heels playing great defense, and Notre Dame missing easy shots and making stupid mistakes.

   The Tar Heels broke a bad streak.  Notre Dame had beaten UNC in 11 of the last 12 meetings between the two teams.   But the best thing about the win is that it landed Carolina a berth in the ACC Championship, against the winner of the Virginia--Miami semifinal game.  (and I'm picking Virginia, although Miami is a fairly good team too).

   Tonight's game was significant in at least a couple of ways.   The Tar Heels have an opportunity on Saturday to win the ACC Tournament Championship for the first time since 2008.   In 2009, even the eventual NCAA champion Tar Heels failed to win their own conference tournament.   In the seven subsequent years, the Tar Heels have been runner-up four times, but never won it.   Four out of seven--- umm--- I've heard that number somewhere else--- 

Marcus : On Fire Tonight
   Oh yeah-- that was Marcus Paige's three point shooting tonight-- 4 of 7-- The highlight and Hot Topic of tonight's semifinal game was the reemergence of Paige as the leader of the Tar Heels offense.   For the last 10--15 games, it has been Brice Johnson--- and the agile Johnson is still a leader on the team, especially in rebounding, but although Paige only scored 16 points tonight, they were quality points.  He was still the leading scorer for the game, and it was obvious to everyone that THIS was a different Marcus Paige than the player we have seen most of the year to date.

   Having suffered through an early season injury, he had spurts of excellence, but his shooting has been subpar for most games.   In this contest against Notre Dame, his eye for the basket was a laser focus, and his perimeter shooting was a key factor in the Tar Heels running away with the game.   

   Although Brice Johnson, Joel Berry II, Justin Jackson, and others have shined and contributed at one time or another, it has been a foregone conclusion that Carolina could not advance to the Final Four, or even make a decent run for it, without the reemergence of Paige.  Tonight--- that happened.   Yay!--- yeah, you can shout-- yell-- dance if you want-- it's good news for Tar Heel fans everywhere.

    One sportscaster said that "the Tar Heels had the game wrapped up at halftime"--- but while it was 41--22, the Heels still had to come out and play the second half to win, and PLAY they did, adding another 12 points to the final victory margin..

   "THIS IS THE NORTH CAROLINA 
WE'VE BEEN WAITING FOR"
---Sportswriter Dana O'Neil

    Uh--huh.  Are the Tar Heels "turning the Paige" ?   Will they win the ACC Championship, get a #1 NCAA berth, and plow through the opposition to make the Final Four ?   Will they become the team that they were predicted to be in preseason polls ?   We'll soon find out.  

    See ya again after the ACC Tournament Final--- hoping for another convincing UNC win and a #1 Berth in the NCAA Tournament on Sunday..

[It -WAS- Virginia...UNC vs. Virginia on Saturday @ 9pm]