Larry Drew II has enrolled at the University of California at Los Angeles and will finish his collegiate basketball career as a Bruin. Drew started class at UCLA on Monday, the first day of the university’s spring quarter. “We are very excited about the addition of Larry Drew II to our program,” UCLA coach Ben Howland said in a teleconference.
After taking Kentucky down to the wire in its Elite Eight matchup, North Carolina will seek a return to the NCAA tournament next season. But will the Tar Heels have three of their best players in their 2012 tournament run?
The women’s basketball team arrived in Spokane, Washington last night, where they’ll face a No. 1 seeded Stanford for a shot to move on to the Elite Eight. Here’s what to expect: Backcourt The Tar Heels are deeper at the guard position. Cetera DeGraffenreid’s passing accuracy has given her one of the best assist- turnover ratios in the nation, and putting the ball in the hands of leading scorer and shooting guard Italee Lucas is what the senior does best. Edge: UNC Frontcourt UNC’s towering forwards gives the Tar Heels the height advantage, but Stanford’s Ogwumike sisters could spell double trouble for North Carolina. Senior Nnemkadi Ogwumike’s 59 percent field-goal percentage is one of the best in the country. Edge: Stanford Bench Laura Broomfield leads UNC in rebounding, and Tierra Ruffin-Pratt has been a spark for the Tar Heels off the bench all season. But the tournament experience of Stanford’s underclassmen bench players is unmatched, thanks to UNC’s first-round exit in 2010. Edge: Stanford Click through to see our final score prediction.
Tonight’s game is shaping up to be quite the match between the Marquette Golden Eagles and UNC’s Tar Heels. Here are our predictions: Backcourt The matchup between UNC shooting guard Dexter Strickland and Marquette’s leading scorer Darius Johnson-Odom could be crucial. Strickland was able to hold prolific Washington guard Isaiah Thomas II to 33-percent shooting, but DJO has been too much to handle lately. Edge: Marquette Frontcourt The Marquette frontcourt is led by small forward Jimmy Butler, who ranked in the top 20 of the Big East in scoring, rebounding and steals. But UNC has Harrison Barnes to match him and a pair of All-ACC big men. Expect Mssrs. Zeller and Henson to get their grown men on. Edge: UNC Click through to see our final score prediction.
Michael Jordan has his fingerprints — and footprints — all over North Carolina basketball. As the Tar Heels take the floor at Time Warner Cable Arena on Friday in their first round game against Long Island, UNC will be sporting custom Air Jordan 2011 shoes.
Dexter Strickland has been playing on a faulty knee for the past few weeks, UNC coach Roy Williams said at a press conference Wednesday. Strickland, who will still play in the NCAA tournament, has had an unspecified knee problem for the past few weeks. “I haven’t talked to the doctors or anything, but that kid is fighting a lot of things right now,” Williams said.
Former Louisiana State special teams coordinator Joe Robinson has been hired as the new defensive line coach for North Carolina football. The program announced the hire in a press release Friday afternoon. Robinson is the third person to hold the position since UNC’s first game of the season on Sept.
The last time North Carolina lost to North Carolina State, Harrison Barnes was a freshman in high school. For as long as Roy Williams has been courting the freshman forward, Barnes has never known the Wolfpack to have an edge on the Tar Heels in basketball. So when he was asked after the game if this game felt more like a rivalry than January’s 20-point shelling at the Smith Center, Barnes didn’t quite feel the UNC-N.C. State game constituted a rivalry. “Ah, I wouldn’t say it’s a rivalry, but they’re probably the most competitive game we’ve played all year,” Barnes said. The follow-up question: “What was the atmosphere like to play in? Their fans are pretty rough on Carolina guys.” “Uhh yeah… they’re very competitive and we just wanted to play at their level,” Barnes said.
Based on new information provided by the University of North Carolina, the NCAA has determined that no violation has occurred in the case of football student-athlete Devon Ramsay. As a result of this ruling, Ramsay is immediately eligible to return to competition. “We are delighted for Devon,” UNC athletic director Dick Baddour said in a statement. “He is an outstanding young man and this is the right decision. Devon and his family never wavered in their belief that he did not commit a violation as we worked through this process. We appreciate the time and attention given to this case by the NCAA staff.”
The North Carolina football team will play on a Thursday night for the second time in three years in 2011. The Tar Heels released their schedule on Monday and it features three straight home games to open the year and home contests against Virginia, Louisville, Miami and Duke. UNC will travel to Virginia Tech on Nov.
After 22 years at North Carolina, men’s soccer coach Elmar Bolowich resigned Wednesday with an announcement by UNC athletic director Dick Baddour. The 2010 ACC Coach of the Year will be assume a head coaching job at Creighton University in Omaha, Neb., after leaving Chapel Hill on Feb. 28. “I’m ready for a new challenge in my life, and Creighton has committed itself to making their men’s soccer team a national powerhouse,” Bolowich said in a press release. “I’d like to help take them there as I have done at Carolina.”
North Carolina redshirt sophomore A.J. Blue was arrested early Sunday morning on charges of driving while impaired and violating open container laws. Blue was arrested in Burlington at 2:31 a.m.
As National Signing Day continues, national letters of intent are being faxed into the University from across the country.
The North Carolina junior varsity men’s basketball team defeated King College 94-55 on Saturday behind a double-double from junior forward Kyle Holland. Holland finished the game with 21 points and 10 rebounds to help lead the Tar Heels to an easy victory.
The athletic department announced this morning that it will be promoting Amy Herman to associate director of athletics for compliance, effective Feb. 1.
The aircraft game hasn’t taken flight yet, but the plans are on the runway. A historic basketball game on an aircraft carrier between North Carolina and Michigan State has been rumored to take place next season. On his radio show Monday night, Roy Williams said the game will take place in San Diego, Calif., on Nov. 11, 2011.
The North Carolina junior varsity men’s basketball team barely missed extending their win streak to three games, instead falling to Guilford College 68-66 in overtime Thursday night.
Four seniors from the North Carolina men’s soccer team parlayed their run to the NCAA semifinals into professional careers Thursday. Defenders Jalil Anibaba and Eddie Ababio were selected in the first round of the three-round MLS SuperDraft, while midfielders Stephen McCarthy and Michael Farfan were selected in the second.
After being suspended for this coming season due to academic reasons, North Carolina sophomore outfielder Brian Goodwin has decided to transfer to Miami Dade College, a community college in Miami, Fla., team spokesman Dave Schmidt confirmed.
North Carolina football coach will remaining at the helm of the program for 2011, according to the team’s official Twitter on Sunday. “Butch Davis will be UNC’s coach in 2011. Lots of false rumors circulating in wake of Carolina’s recruiting success,” the Twitter page @TarHeelFootball said on Sunday night. Team spokesman Kevin Best said the revelation is nothing new and was confirmed on Nov. 18 at a UNC Board of Trustees meeting.
