UNC hoops on top in 2008

It’s been quite a rocky road to No. 1 for the North Carolina men’s basketball team.

In May, forward Alex Stepheson transferred in order to be closer to his ailing father. And for nearly two months, Wayne Ellington, Danny Green and Ty Lawson toyed with entering their names into the 2008 NBA Draft before ultimately deciding to return to Chapel Hill.

But once the trio announced that they’d be back, there was little doubt that the Tar Heels would begin the season as the clear-cut favorite.

“I enjoy it a lot more than no targets being on your back,” said coach Roy Williams of the high expectations surrounding his team during UNC’s October media day.

“I like having the target on our back. It think it makes us play to a higher standard each and every day, concentrate to a higher standard, can’t take any days off.

“I’ve said many times, if everybody’s saying you’re gonna be pretty good, you’ve probably got a chance to be pretty good.”

But in the months leading up to UNC’s unanimous No. 1 ranking in the preseason polls, the injury bug hit North Carolina in a big way.

In early October, forward Marcus Ginyard had surgery to repair a stress fracture in his left foot. The senior is not expected to play until next semester.

“You know, you’re losing your best defender,” Williams said. “A guy who gets more little cheap baskets, offensive rebounds, steals than anybody on your club.”

Then Tyler Hansbrough sat out the first few games because of a stress reaction in his right shin. The reigning national player of the year now has played in three games and sat out two others since his return.

To make matters worse, UNC lost one of its top freshmen — forward Tyler Zeller — to a broken left wrist Nov. 18 against Kentucky.

With or without their key injured players, the Tar Heels haven’t missed a beat and have rolled to a 7-0 start to the year.

Each win has been by double digits, and none of the opponents  looked capable of beating the Tar Heels.

UNC crushed its three opponents — Chaminade, Oregon and Notre Dame — en route to a Maui Invitational Championship by a combined 89 points.

Lawson was named to tourney’s MVP after putting up 22 points and 11 assists against the Fighting Irish.

“It was just basically my teammates making shots for me and taking care of the ball, not putting it in jeopardy,” Lawson said after the game. “I’m playing real well right now.”

Along with Lawson, the Tar Heels are led by two vastly improved players — Danny Green and Deon Thompson.

After stepping into a starting role, Green is averaging 14.6 points per game and is showing off a newfound stroke from beyond the arc.

Thompson has emerged as a force down low and is averaging 15.6 points and 8 rebounds per game.

As North Carolina gradually incorporates Hansbrough — and eventually Ginyard — back into the rotation, it will be paramount that Green and Thompson keep up their high levels of production.

Because judging by how UNC’s season has gone so far, there’s no telling what might happen next.

UNC’s ‘08 run ends in Final Four

APRIL 7, SAN ANTONIO —

North Carolina came to the Alamodome with dreams of a national title.

But after 14 minutes of play that Saturday, those dreams were dashed. Instead, UNC saw Kansas Jayhawks who stole the ball, raced downcourt and dropped in layup after layup.

Try as they might to mount a comeback, the Tar Heels tired out before they could complete the task, falling to Kansas 84-66 in the Final Four.

“This bunch did some great, great things,” coach Roy Williams said. “But we’re extremely disappointed right now, because we had a bigger dream.”

- 40-12: Kansas’ largest lead, with 6:48 left in the first half

- 29 percent: UNC’s shooting percentage in the first half

- 54.5 percent: Kansas’ shooting percentage in the first half

- 42-33: Kansas’ rebounding advantage against UNC


Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.