Friday, December 22, 2017

Prima Donnas--- or Champion Wanna's?

My aunt Jayne and I have had an unscheduled routine over the last couple of months. Whenever the Tar Heels game comes on, we will habitually text each other, remarking on particular plays or the general feeling of a game. Some of our texts include "We need to play lights out to beat this time" and my witty retort, "We might actually play better with the lights out."

Dazed and Filled with Malaise

   My general feeling after the recent loss to Wofford is that we are still a good team, but not one that looks like a defending national champion, or a team that deserves to be ranked #4 or #5 nationally. Albeit, national rankings are only a weekly barometer of where teams are during a season, and the only ranking that really matters in the end is the last one. But when the new poll comes out, we will most certainly deserve that ranking more than the Top Ten ranking which we were just given this past week.


   Look at the reactions of the two team's coaches. Wofford's head coach, Michael Young, tempered the monumental win over Carolina, their first win ever over a nationally ranked team. After getting doused with a cooler by his team in the locker room, he pointed out in the midst of the wild celebration that it was only -one- regular season win. And Roy Williams, UNC's legendary coach, correctly pointed out that his team has to "be ready to play and not act like we're prima donna.. and we can walk out there and the other team is going to fold."


   Wofford was the typical blue-collar team that Carolina normally has trouble with (along with the occasional powerhouse teams like Kentucky and Duke), that is, ones like Princeton, or George Mason. Wofford beat UNC by utilizing tough defense and rebounding, and good outside shooting. It is fair to blame Carolina for shooting so poorly, but also fair to give Wofford credit for their part in causing that to happen.


   Most sports fans of any kind base their support not on facts and trends, but on pure emotion and dedication to their favorite teams. This is also true to a great extend of Carolina's fans. I'd just like to point out that it is extremely difficult to repeat as champions in any sport, and particularly in NCAA Division I basketball. There are over 350 men's basketball teams, and at least 15 or 20 that have a legitimate chance to make it to the Final Four and win a championship. We are only one of those teams.

Prima Donnas--- or Champion Wanna's?

   The term "prima donna" initially referred to the star singer in an opera. But Roy William's use of it would include "one who finds it difficult to work under direction or as part of a team." Wow! What an indictment of his own team. As previously stated, they are a good team. Somewhat inexperienced. Untested. Full of potential. Prone to mistakes and errors. Yes, a good team. But not yet a great team. Not like the '82 team, with Michael Jordan and James Worthy. Not like the '09 team, with Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson.


   The solid truth is that the 1982 team wouldn't have won without Sam Perkins and Matt Doherty, and Buzz Peterson. The 2009 team wouldn't have won without Wayne Ellington and Danny Green. UNC's beach also contributed greatly to their success.


   I can't read our players' minds. I don't know all of their thoughts and attitudes. All I, or anyone, can do is judge them based on their performances. For UNC fans, we will never be satisfied with a mediocre or even average performance from our team. In that sense, we are "prima donna." We expect more out of them. But the proper and correct way for them to live out this sense of expectation is to lay down their own high-minded thoughts and lower themselves to be able to dig out the tough wins at tough times. Every single team will be out to give us their best effort. Some of those teams will not succeed. Not because of a lack of effort. Some of our victories may be because we are so much more talented than our opponents. But at times, like with Wofford, we run into a team that may not be as talented, but may nevertheless eke out a win in spite of that gap due to an amazing effort.

Check Your Attitude...

   At this point, most would feel fortunate to be 10-2. It's a good record. But our glaring losses to Michigan State.. and oh, how difficult it is to say.. Wofford.. stand out as warning signs that our team will not compete for another title unless they can manage to "get it right" with supreme effort.


   We have some growing pains yet to experience. Our young players need time to develop. There may be more losses to overcome. But effort is not something one can grow into over time. It's just an attitude and determination to give their very best.. every minute of every game.


   Is that too much to ask? Not from UNC basketball. Not ever.


MORE LATER...

Thursday, October 12, 2017

Beginning & End --- New Year-- New Team


   A year-and-a-half has passed since my last post.  Seeing how the Tar Heels won it all this year (2017), it's hard to believe-- for me and for you, my reader-- that I went all year long in the 2016-17 season, and did not have the motivation to sit down and write even one blog about the team and its marvelous ride to the NCAA Basketball Championship.

  Yeah, I get it.  Actually, I don't get it.  But for whatever reasons, and there are some, I didn't.    So now, after the fact, I ponder what went on, and what lies ahead.   Here are some of my musings about this and that.
  • I feel really bad for Tar Heels PG Marcus Paige, and F Brice Johnson. They both had a marvelous ride during their careers at UNC, and for it all to go down to two last-minute and last-second shots was a bittersweet ending.   It seems that Paige probably won't make it as a starter or player in the NBA.  Did you see the replays of the double-clutch shot he made in the championship game?   Nothing short of spectacular.  But I guess the Villanova fans are marvelling over their player's last second shot to win the game and the title.
  • As much as I feel badly for Paige, I also feel great for Tar Heels PG Joel Berry II.   He also has had a great ride in Chapel Hill, and the Heels depended on him in large part to get to the NCAA Championship in 2017, along with the big play of insiders Meeks and Hicks.  He dominated the other point guards in the ACC and NCAA, and played best when it mattered most.   I was really proud and happy with the way he led our team.
  • Not to forget to mention Justin Jackson, who came into his own in a spectacular way this past season, and like Meeks and Hicks, left in the NBA Draft.  The Tar Heels are going to sorely miss players like Jackson, Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks this coming year.
  • After giving the starters their due, it would be amiss not to mention that reserve forward Luke Maye gave the Tar Heels some excellent play during last year, and even though Berry & Jackson led the way, UNC wouldn't have made it without his heroics in the last seconds of the Kentucky game.  We'll remember that shot for a long time to come, just like we'll remember Marcus Paige's shot the year before.  Only Luke's shot eventually had a happier ending.
  • It is difficult to REPEAT as a NCAA basketball championship team.  I can recall DUKE doing it in the 90's.  I don't think anyone else has repeated that repeat since then.   As a fan, I'd like to hope that the Tar Heels could manage this feat.  But with so many players leaving, it's going to be difficult for them to even win the ACC title, much less the national crown.
  • The Tar Heels will have Berry back for his senior season, as well as Theo Pinson, and junior Maye.  They will have talented shooter G Kenny Williams back after recovering from injury.   After those four, who are sure to be four out of the five starters, UNC looks very inexperienced.  Most of their frontcourt graduated or left for the pros.  They do have three new freshmen big's in Johnson (6'8), Brooks (6'10), and Manley (6'11).   And reserve PG Seventh Woods is back after showing some promise in his freshman year.
  • All in all, there are a LOT of questions surrounding this year's Tar Heels team.   Will any of the freshman BIG MEN step forward?   Will Kenny Williams have a great year from the 3-point line?   How will Luke Maye respond as a starter rather than a reserve?    The only player who is really NOT a question mark is returning PG Joel Berry.   There is no reason to doubt that he will have a breakout year in his senior season.   He could average 20 points a game, and he's also a great passer.
  • How will the Tar Heels do this year?   I look for them to win at least 20 games, but will they get back to the Final Four?    Hard to say.   Realistically, it looks doubtful.   But less talented Tar Heel teams have made it there before.   
  • Check out how they play in an early three-game span against Stanford (11/20), Michigan (11/29), and Davidson (12/1), and also in a holiday game against powerhouse Ohio State (12/23).  If they come out 3-1 or better in these games, it will spell out a good season the rest of the way.
  •  UNC will play in a Thanksgiving weekend tournament in Portland, OR and will draw either Arkansas or Oklahoma (11/24) and Connecticut, DePaul, Michigan State, or Oregon in the championship game (11/26).
  • And of course, my friends tell me that Virginia and Duke have remarkable teams on the court this year, ones they say may threaten to win a championship themselves.  So check out the conference games at the Cavaliers (1/6) and against the Blue Devils at home (2/8).
   Okay, hopefully, I will stay in touch better this year, but alas, my perennial warning, should the Tar Heels falter, I may lose hope, and also my motivation for writing.  If I got paid for this, I would do it more faithfully.   Once again, I apologize to Tar Heel fans and readers of this blog for my lack of dedication and blog posts this past year.   The Tar Heels performed a lot better than I did.. and I'm glad of that fact.

Congratulatons!
UNC TAR HEELS
2017 NCAA Basketball Champs