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(04/21/09 4:00am)
Believe it or not the tradition of these sports desk farewell columns goes back a ways. To give you an idea one of my journalism professors — who dates back to the Stone Age — was even in our office the other day rehashing that self-importance-laced final column he penned here back in the 1980s. And I've read more than enough of them during my time at the DTH to get a few ideas for material. I could tell you that it's extremely hard going to this university and being objective about covering its athletic teams. That having to tell your friends over and over that NO I SERIOUSLY DON'T CARE WHO WINS can drive you up a wall. And it is tough in case you're wondering. But it's more than worth it to be treated as a professional by the athletic department while covering the major sports — which is something I'll always remember. Or I could tell you how you're missing out on something special if you don't pay attention to Olympic sports and the athletes/coaches who are perhaps just slightly more in tune with the regular student body. And you are if you didn't know. My favorite interview of all time is wresting coach C.D. Mock. The man will literally answer any question without one second of trying to BS you or holding back his opinion because it's not PC. (You can physically feel the athletic department cringe sometimes.) But those columns have all been written by the seniors that came before me. Truth is I don't really know what to write. The Sports Desk has always been something of a different animal at the DTH. Other editors don't always like it but we've insisted on clinging to that uniqueness and originality that sets us apart — often in an arrogant way if we care to admit it.Maybe it's because some of the best pure creative writers out there today delve into the sporting world. Maybe it's because sports writing allows for a freedom of style and structure that other types of news often do not. Or maybe it's because we know and most people on this campus know (and whether they'd like to admit it or not most other editors know) that what happens on that 94-foot court is almost without fail the most important news on the entire campus on that particular day. But truth be told we're not that amazing. Oh we like to think we are. We scribble down our finely tuned prose often describing rather routine sporting events in a manner that would make one think they were reading about the Olympic Games or other such epic events. We act like we're cool but in reality we're kinda full of ourselves. We exaggerate too much we use adjectives that really don't make any sense sometimes and overwriting is our middle name.A story you saw in the paper was absurdly over the top? Yeah that was us.Sure once in a while we finally get it right. A perfect anecdote a flowing descriptive paragraph or — if we're really lucky — maybe even a feature that someone will remember down the road. After all why else would we keep writing down all of that pompous hyperbole?So perhaps this is a thank you.A thanks for putting up with us for four years. For sitting through that story I wrote as a freshman about a tennis match that came off sounding like an overtime Super Bowl game. I can only hope that we were a little better this year when this past March Madness rolled around. Maybe you'll remember something we wrote. Probably you won't.But thanks for reading anyway. It's been fun.Contact Jesse Baumgartner at Jesse.Baum@gmail.com.
(02/21/09 5:00am)
11:50 p.m." SATURDAY FEB. 21 COLLEGE PARK Md. – After a close call on the road against Miami last Sunday" the North Carolina Tar Heels finally pushed their luck too far against the Maryland Terrapins on Saturday afternoon as they lost 88-85 to snap a 10-game winning streak.
(03/27/08 4:00am)
When Washington State coach Tony Bennett took over the program last season for his father, Dick, there wasn't much reason for optimism.
An 11-25 record in the Pac-10 during the previous two years with a program historically mired in defeat typically will do that.
But using his father's groundwork - and recruits - the younger Bennett fashioned something of a miracle in 2007, carrying the Cougars to 26 wins and a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament with Dick's slow-down, defensive-minded style.
The team has backed that up this season with a preseason top-10 ranking and two dominating victories in the tournament.
So now Bennett, whose roster contains no Hansbroughs but a bundle of overlooked glue guys, will get his shot in the national spotlight with a chance to knock off the streaking No. 1 Tar Heels - who boast the All-Americans and superstars to go along with the legendary coach.
"I know nobody's giving us much of a chance," Bennett said Monday. "That's fine. But we're in a pretty good league."
The turnaround started and has continued with the various no-names, who still remain so - at least on the East Coast.
There's Derrick Low, the Great Hawaiian Hope with the sweet stroke who Roy Williams saw as more of a point guard while recruiting him at Kansas. And Kyle Weaver, the athletic, do-everything guard from Wisconsin who slipped under everyone's radar.
Then came Taylor Rochestie, the junior point guard from Tulane who ended up at Wazzu after Hurricane Katrina. Plus the Cougars went overseas to haul in 6-foot-10 Aron Baynes from Australia.
Somehow this mix-and-match combination bought into the Bennett philosophy - defense 24/7 and an offense based on patience and open looks.
The Cougars have become the ultimate style team, winning games by forcing their opponents to adjust to them and averaging 67 points a game while giving up a mere 56.1 - second best in the country.
"On the defensive end, they guard you," Williams said in Charlotte on Wednesday. "You don't get an easy shot. There's a lot of teams that their defense is really strong for the first pass and the second pass or the third pass, then all of the sudden it starts breaking down. I think each time Washington State is prepared to guard you for 35 seconds."
But while the Cougars are different from most teams, tonight's game will accentuate those features even more.
UNC comes in averaging 89.9 points a game while the Cougars give up 56.1 - a 34 point difference to be reconciled on the hardwood between a coach who loves to control the pace and another who thrives on a wicked speed up and down the court.
"The only thing I can probably relate to (UNC's scoring) is UCLA," Low said Monday. "I don't know if UCLA scores as much as they do, but they definitely have the same type of athletes and players that North Carolina does. They get a lot of transition baskets."
And while the Cougars ponder how to slow down UNC's vaunted fast break and the ever-improving health of Ty Lawson, the Tar Heels might be forced to win a game where they don't completely dictate the pace - a problem they haven't faced too much this season.
"I like to win in the 80s and 90s, but to be the team and reach the dreams that we have, be the team that we want to be, you've gotta be able to win at somebody else's different tempo," Williams said.
"It can't be your own comfort zone all the time."
Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu
(03/24/08 4:00am)
Slideshow: Heels reach 100 mark twice
March Madness page
RALEIGH - In Friday's opening round of the NCAA Tournament against a severely overmatched Mount St. Mary's squad, it took North Carolina until the start of the second half to push its lead to 20 and begin the blowout.
(03/20/08 4:00am)
RALEIGH - A No. 1 seed's opening round game isn't necessarily a walk in the park. Sure, a No. 16 has yet to win in the NCAA Tournament, but North Carolina coach Roy Williams almost broke that streak while at Kansas when an inspired Holy Cross team had the Jayhawks worrying about an unthinkable defeat in 2002.
"I think it's going to eventually happen," Williams said Thursday. "Whether or not it's going to be tomorrow or not, that's what I hope doesn't happen."
That said, Williams and his Tar Heels certainly are hitting their peak at the right time.
While Tyler Hansbrough has been at the top of his game - and college basketball - all season long, sharpshooter Wayne Ellington and the hobbled Ty Lawson finished off the ACC Tournament strong as UNC appears to be back at full strength to some degree.
Ellington averaged 19.3 points a game in Charlotte last weekend, including 24 in the championship win against the Clemson Tigers. And rather than settling for his oft-mentioned jumpshot - not the worst choice - he continually penetrated to the hoop and made Clemson pay multiple times with lay-ups on the fast break.
Ellington traced that added aggressiveness back to UNC's regular season-ending win on the road against Duke.
"I think really I wanted to be more aggressive after that game," he said. "I set up for a lot of jumpshots, and shots that I didn't really want to take. From that, I just learned."
That added versatility to Ellington's game has made him more difficult to guard, as evidenced by Clemson guard K.C. Rivers' comment that defenders pick their poison with all those weapons.
Of course, the outside shot is still crucial to freeing up space down low for Hansbrough to operate, especially on a team that doesn't shoot too many threes.
And Ellington's ever-pure stroke from the outside lately has caused his scoring average to approach 17 points a game while shooting 47.1 percent from the field and 41.8 percent from downtown - extremely productive numbers for a perimeter player.
Since the loss to Duke on Feb. 6, Ellington has gone 29 for 59 from the three-point line (49.2 percent) and 72 for 142 (50.7 percent) from the field overall, scoring 18.4 points a game during those 11 games.
But Lawson will be just as vital when UNC opens its run at San Antonio today. After laboring at times during the first couple games after coming back from a sprained ankle, he looked much better running through the Clemson press Sunday - he said a particular cross-over and lay-up in the second half made him feel like his explosiveness was returning.
"It felt a little sore going hard on it, but playing three (straight) game, that's strengthened it," he said. "Right now it feels good and hopefully it can keep holding up for the next three weeks."
And the Tar Heels are definitely set on playing ALL of those three weeks, as Ellington made clear.
"You know, we've been through this before and we know what it takes, so for us not to get farther than we did last year, yeah, it would be a disappointment for our team."
Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu
(03/20/08 4:00am)
RALEIGH -- There was really only one statistic to pick on for North Carolina during its dominating 113-74 win against Mount St. Mary's Friday night.
Forty-one.
The Mount, a team that averaged 69 points this season against the likes of powerhouses Quinnipiac and Robert Morris, put up 41 points during the first half. While UNC scored at will (60), the scrappy No. 16 seed exposed the Tar Heels by running the ball right back down their throats, catching them napping more than once.
"In the first half we didn't get back on defense the way we could have," defensive specialist Marcus Ginyard said. "We were allowing them to get some easy shots."
Williams has stressed defense all season long, even with a historical emphasis after the ACC Tournament on how hard the 2005 national championship team buckled down on defense during the NCAA Tournament.
UNC has been lackadaisical in that area at times this season, even during a win in Charlotte against Florida State last week when they seemed content to just trade baskets with the Seminoles in the second half.
But in general, after giving up more than 80 points six times during a nine-game stretch in the middle of the season, the Tar Heels have bought into their coach's philosophy - most noticeably by holding Duke scoreless during the last 5
(03/19/08 4:00am)
On a 2007-08 North Carolina team full of talent and skill players, Marcus Ginyard fits in somewhere as the jack of all trades.
After a sophomore season that saw him average just 16.9 minutes a game - 2.2 less than in his freshman campaign - the junior forward played himself into a starting role and 28.3 minutes a game this year thanks to his ability to do a little bit of everything and a lot of one thing.
(03/17/08 4:00am)
All season Tyler Hansbrough has been climbing up in the North Carolina record books - free throws, points, rebounds. Now, after winning the Sporting News Player of the Year award Tuesday, he will finally be looking down.
Down from the rafters of the Smith Center as only the eighth retired jersey in North Carolina history.
"I look at them often," Hansbrough said Wednesday. "Even when I got here, it's kind of a little bit of a dream to imagine one day that my jersey would be up there - it's an honor."
(03/17/08 4:00am)
Slideshow: Tar Heels win ACC title
CHARLOTTE - North Carolina point guard Ty Lawson straggled into the locker room Sunday afternoon sporting his brand-new ACC Championship apparel, the last player to reach the room.
"Run," Roy Williams commanded, and Lawson quickly jogged through the door.
(02/21/08 5:00am)
Photos from the game
RALEIGH - With 10:44 to go in Wednesday's game against N.C. State, Tyler Hansbrough got his shot blocked - badly - and committed a quick foul. On his way back down the floor he made an angry face and had to be calmed by senior Quentin Thomas.
(02/20/08 5:00am)
Tyler Hansbrough's junior season is defying the natural rise and fall of a typical collegiate career. At some point, even a great player is supposed to trail off a little bit.
But a season after posting 18.4 points and 7.9 rebounds a game and earning second team All-America honors, Hansbrough has somehow come back even better this season in almost every department.
(02/20/08 5:00am)
We're now past the halfway point of the season, and it's about that time when the National Player of the Year talk really heats up.
With his consistent production, North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough has put himself as one of the hands-down favorites to win the award. But he has plenty of competition from the nation's best freshman, Kansas State's Michael Beasley.
It figures to be a choice between these two at this point, and it's interesting to pit a college veteran in Hansbrough against another stud rookie - a la Texas' Kevin Durant last season.
Logic says that voters won't be too eager to hand the nation's most prestigious award to another young guy, but Beasley's eye-popping numbers warrant the consideration.
Check these out: 25.7 points, 12.6 rebounds, 54.8 percent shooting from the floor and 41.9 percent 3-point shooting from a guy who measures in at 6 feet 10 inches. The scoring and rebounding rank fourth and first in the country, respectively.
Beasley has even increased his 3-point shooting to 50 percent in conference play, and he just put up a monstrous 40 points and 17 rebounds against Missouri - the second time he has recorded at least 40 points and 15 rebounds in a game this season.
Hansbrough has been equally impressive in putting up 22.8 points and 10.6 rebounds while shooting 55.2 percent from the floor and 81.4 percent from the line. He has upped that production with the recent injury to point guard Ty Lawson and willed North Carolina to several impressive wins.
Both players have pulled their teams to a higher level. Hansbrough has UNC sitting pretty at 24-2, while Beasley has carried the Wildcats to a 18-6 record with a win against powerhouse Kansas.
It can be argued that Hansbrough has more offensive weapons around him in Lawson and Wayne Ellington, forcing defenses to not solely focus on him. In reality, however, Hansbrough's statistics might be higher if he only had one marquee teammate like Beasley has in Bill Walker.
While Beasley is a threat from the outside, Hansbrough can cause even more damage to the other team because he gets to the free throw line so often - 269 times in 26 games - resulting in both points and problematic foul trouble for the opposing team.
When push comes to shove, Beasley's numbers are unmatched by anyone in the country. But Hansbrough is awfully close, and his superior team combined with his status as a blue-collar upperclassmen might be the deciding factor if voters don't want to see a Durant scenario play out for a second consecutive year.
At this point in the season, it's just too early to pick between these two dynamic players. If Kansas State fades out of the Top 25, Hansbrough could be an easy selection.
But if Beasley and Walker make a run in the Big 12 and build upon the Wildcats' already impressive 8-2 conference record, it won't be easy to say no to what might be the country's best pure talent - even if he's a freshman.
Contact the Sports Editor at sports@unc.edu.
(02/19/08 5:00am)
The first slam, a routine two-hander off a baseline cut, drew a stunned reaction.
Something to the tune of - hold up, was that just Quentin Thomas?
But that play was merely a precursor to the second dunk, a combination of athleticism, timing and showmanship that the senior has rarely meshed together during his UNC career and another sign of his growing confidence at the point.
Covered on the perimeter by multiple Virginia Tech defenders Saturday, Thomas executed a check-those-ankles juke to get into the lane. Nearing the hoop at full speed , he took off and, rather than just laying it up, kept rising to force the ball home with his left hand as the crowd's "Quuueee" cheers reached a potential record level.
While teammates had seen such feats in practice, Thomas couldn't remember the last time he dunked in a game.
"I just tried to be aggressive and split," he said. "At the last minute I said, 'I think I'm high enough to try to dunk it.' So I tried to throw it down with my left. It was a good feeling."
Some critics said UNC would struggle after the loss of Ty Lawson, who "feels better" but is still not expected to play Wednesday at N.C. State, coach Roy Williams said Monday.
But the polarizing Thomas has repeatedly pulled his weight while filling the shoes of one of the nation's best point guards.
Finishing Saturday's win against Va. Tech with six points, seven assists, a career-high six rebounds and only three turnovers, he improved his record to 4-1 in games where he's played at least 20 minutes this season.
While Thomas obviously hasn't supplied everything - most notably Lawson's 3-point shooting and roadrunner ability to produce mayhem in transition - the statistics certainly aren't worlds apart.
When Lawson left, he was averaging 13.6 points, 5.7 assists, a 2.4-to-1 assists to turnover ratio and was shooting 54.3 percent. While Thomas is averaging only 7.2 points in the five games since Lawson's injury, he has 6.4 assists per game, a 56 percent shooting clip and a 1.8 assists to turnover ratio in 33 minutes a game.
"I think with each and every game, Quentin's gotten more comfortable," Williams said Saturday. "Rebounding it, passing it, defending."
But while the Thomas-Lawson numbers game is comparable, their styles are not.
There's no doubt that Thomas has a streetball element to his handle that sets him apart from other point guards. Every play has a little stutter-step or a crossover followed by a twirling spin.
Part of that comes from Thomas' time growing up in Oakland, the home of point guards Jason Kidd and Gary Payton.
"Growing up, everybody would be like - 'Be simple, be simple.' And I try to be simple, but I think that's just a part of my game," Thomas said. "I loved watching Magic, Isaiah Thomas, Jason Kidd, Gary Payton. Those were just a few guards that I really idolized growing up. And I just tried to put parts of their game into mine."
Of course, there are still those times when Thomas' tricks cause Williams to look to the heavens, such as a sequence Saturday where he tried to get past two defenders and nearly threw a pass away.
"Hey, hey, hey! Q! Come on!" Williams yelled after the play, pointing to his head.
But unlike earlier, when he might have been yanked after a bonehead decision, Thomas now can view the game as an ongoing process, one where he can rectify mistakes and change his tactics.
"It's different because, you know, I would go in there, and either I would play well for a small amount of time, or even if I played poorly. And when I come out, I would just be concentrating on that last play," he said.
"When you're out there for a little more, you can just concentrate on the next play and the next play, and that's how it should be."
Contact the Sports Editor
at sports@unc.edu.
(02/18/08 5:00am)
Photos from the game.
North Carolina coach Roy Williams cracks his fair share of jokes during his weekly news conferences.
Such as the one Friday, when he mentioned that redshirt freshman Will Graves and junior Mike Copeland needed to "get their butts in gear" for Saturday's game against Virginia Tech.
(02/14/08 5:00am)
The No. 5 North Carolina Tar Heels will have three full days of rest under their belts when they play Virginia Tech at 1 p.m. Saturday in the Smith Center - and boy, do they need them.
UNC is beyond just "banged up," with injuries affecting what seems like the majority of the team.
Ty Lawson remains sidelined by his troublesome left ankle; Marcus Ginyard sprained one ankle and has turf toe on the other; Deon Thompson hyperextended his left knee against Virginia on Tuesday; and key substitute Bobby Frasor is out for the season.
(02/13/08 5:00am)
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Thanks to additional injuries, foul trouble and players testing out new positions, No. 5 North Carolina was anything but conventional Wednesday night at Virginia.
But as has become the norm the past two games, the Tar Heels (23-2, 8-2 ACC) were able to embrace the new identity and piece together a nail-biting 75-74 victory on the road at John Paul Jones Arena.
(02/11/08 5:00am)
View photos from the game and video.
With no Ty Lawson for a second consecutive game, No. 3 North Carolina had to turn to a different offensive formula in Sunday's stunning 103-93 comeback victory against Clemson.
(01/28/08 5:00am)
A letter from 1980 sits in the Michael Jordan showcase at the newly constructed Carolina Basketball Museum, a fairly insignificant part of the many artifacts relating to His Airness.
The wording on this document is sure to draw a smile, maybe even a laugh or two, from the average UNC fan who takes a closer look when the museum opens for the first time at 10 a.m. today.
"Dear Mike: I'm sorry to hear that you no longer have an interest in learning more about Duke University. . Sincerely, Mike Krzyzewski."
(01/23/08 5:00am)
Get the lowdown on tonight's game
The 2007-08 Miami Hurricanes are just another piece of evidence for the "why preseason media polls are worthless" campaign.
Picked by the press as the second worst team in the ACC, Miami enters tonight's contest against UNC at 14-3, with quality wins against Virginia Commonwealth University, Mississippi State and Georgia Tech. Plus, the 'Canes easily could have come out on top against N.C. State on Saturday in an overtime thriller.
(01/22/08 5:00am)
View the video
View the slideshow
They had been pushing the limit for the past two weeks, edging ever closer to untouched territory - playing the role of that kid in sixth grade who loved to see just how far he could push the teachers before they snapped and whipped out the pink detention slip.