Mitch Trubisky's Break Out Game

Quarterback Mitch Trubisky finally put his stamp on the 2016 North Carolina Tarheels football team. Trubisky led two fourth quarter drives with the Tarheels trailing Pittsburgh 36-23 with nine minutes to go in the fourth quarter and threw the game winning touchdown pass to Bug Howard with two seconds on the clock and the ensuing extra point gave the Tarheels a 37-36 win. Trubisky converted four fourth downs on these two drives with his pinpoint passing. He also set career highs with 35 completions, 453 yards, and five touchdowns. This was in spite of the absence of a runn9ing game that only mustered 18 yards on the day.

The North Carolina Tarheels offense had been stale for most of the second half. They had only scored seven points to that point, getting a touchdown on their second drive of the second half. The Tarheels running game was non existent (only netting minus yardage in the second half), Trubisky was sacked four times as Pittsburgh blitzed a lot more in the second half and he was hit on several different occasions. Trubisky put the team on his back, drove the field twice, stayed poised in the pocket, and his wide receivers helped him out with some big catches.

The Tarheel Party Moves To Philly

The Brice Johnson block party moves to Philadelphia Friday night when the North Carolina Tarheels go up against the Indiana Hoosiers. The Providence Friars were the latest guests that were invited to leave and sometimes in a rather rude fashion. Johnson sent one Providence shot into about the third row. He also had his 21st double-double on the season with 21 points and 10 rebounds as the Tarheels place five players in double figures. The Tarheels outrebounded the Friars 42-24 and had 16 second chance points to Providence's one in the Tarheels 85-66 victory.

Block Party

Brice Johnson had an old fashioned block party last night and Florida Gulf Coast University were the guests of honor. Johnson blocked six FGCU shots in the second half and eight for the game. A nickname that was used by FGCU a few years ago, "Dunk City", was referenced early in the game and Johnson had a party at the rim on the offensive end as well. FGCU was only down by a point at halftime but the Tarheels were able to turn up the defensive pressure in the second half and were able to secure the 83-67 win.

I was listening to the Tarheel radio show before the game with Jones Angell and Eric Monross and a statement that was made by Roy Williams was brought up where he said that this season's team was one of the most criticized and under appreciated teams that he had ever had. The press has really gone after the Tarheels this season whether they win or lose. The Tarheels have been the popular punching bag in college basketball by the sports media. No matter the upsets that occurred yesterday the Tarheel win was greeted with a ho hum attitude.

Getting Defensive

The Tarheels rode their defense to the ACC Championship. The Tarheels only gave up 58.3 points per game in the tournament and held their three opponents to 37.1% field goal percentage. The Tarheels forced 39 turnovers, blocked 13 shots, had 22 steals in the three games. The defense played lights out basketball against Notre Dame and Virginia, two of the best shooting teams in the ACC. Those two teams only shot a combined 30.2% from the three point line. The Tarheels won a grind it out game against Virginia and they out defensed the best defensive team in the ACC.

A Complete Game

As a former high school coach, I know there is no such thing as a perfect basketball game especially when you are playing in the ACC. In the ACC Semifinals, the North Carolina Tarheels 77-48 victory over the Notre Dame Fighting Irish may not have been a perfect game but it was the most complete game the Tarheels have played all season long. The 'Heels went on a 24-0 run that was spread over the end of the first half and the beginning of the second and lasted over 11 minutes of game time to build a 25 point lead and coasted the rest of the way.

The Tarheels defense was the key as they held Notre Dame to 30% shooting for the game and outrebounded the Irish 49-31. Marcus Paige led the way with 16 points and seven assists as the Tarheels had five players in double figures. Leading scorer Brice Johnson had 12 points in spite only playing 15 minutes because of foul trouble but ACC Sixth Man Of The Year Isaiah Hicks came off the bench to score 11 points and grab a career high 15 rebounds.

No Respect

Comedian Rodney Dangerfield's routine was always highlighted by a bit where he would say "I get no respect, I tell ya..." as he straightened his tie and shook his head. The North Carolina Tarheels are this season's college basketball version of Rodney Dangerfield. Before North Carolina's game against Notre dame started, the lead story on ESPN.com's webpage was "The North Carolina Tarheels are the only one's that consider Notre Dame the underdog." After North Carolina's 78-47 thumping of Notre Dame, the only place that the score is mentioned is on the header at the top of the page with the rest of the scores. Kansas is mentioned, UConn gets a mention, Michigan gets a story, but no North Carolina Tarheels. They get no respect, I tell ya!

Not The Same Hokies

I have to admit, I know nothing about this years Virginia Tech basketball team except what I have seen on the scoreboard and in the standings. A 4-2 record in the ACC with those two losses coming at Duke and at Notre Dame is impressive enough and throw in a win against a highly ranked Virginia team at home, and the Tarheels have a game on their hands. Virginia Tech's statistics do not jump off the page. As the saying goes, the game is not played on paper and Virginia Tech has taken those lackluster stats and consistently won with them. The Tarheels always have problems with teams that play a slower tempo and play primarily a zone defense. Marcus Paige is in a slump and the Tarheels are only shooting about 25 percent as a team from the three point line in ACC play so you can't depend on the Tarheels to shoot them out of the zone. The Tarheels under Roy Williams have never relied on that philosophy anyway.

It Is Time

This season marks Head Coach Larry Fedora's fourth season in Chapel Hill. This is the season that he has to show that the North Carolina Tarheels are headed in the right direction. He took a major step in the off season by hiring Gene Chizik as his defensive coordinator. Chizik Immediately switched the Tarheels defense to a more traditional 4-3 and the "bend but break like a twig" 4-2-5 of Vic Koenning is gone.

The biggest questions the Tarheel football team faced coming in to this season was their defense and special teams. Both performed well enough to win the opener against South Carolina. The defense gave up 394 yards, 254 yards of those were rushing yards, but only 17 points. That point total already best last season's lowest points allowed of 20 against Duke. The Tarheels were facing a South Carolina Quarterback that had only thrown two collegiate passes coming into the game.

The kicking game for the Tarheels was among the weakest in college football last season. The Tarheel kickers did not have a field goal longer than 29 yards last season. Nick Weiler had two field goals (47,30) longer than that in the first game. This was another critical improvement for the Tarheels.

What was not expected to be a problem for the Tarheels was the offense. Their high scoring offense was expected to be even better this season. They have weapons at all of the key positions- Quarterback, Wide Receiver, and a stable of Running Backs that run four deep. The veteran offensive line had several penalties and outside of his touchdown pass to Bug Howard, Starting Quarterback Marquise Williams could never seem to get untracked. He threw three interceptions against South Carolina, two of those in the end zone. Running Back Elijah Hood had 13 carries for 138 yards but was conspicuously absent at key moments in the game.

Coach Fedora's play calling, the fact that he stuck with Williams for the entire game, and the fact that he did not use Hood more was all called in to question after the game. The bottom line is that the Tarheels need to win the games they have a chance to win and they should have won the South Carolina game. The team showed critical improvement in two of the three phases of the game, but the team's strength, their offense, let them down.

The 2015 Draft

Jean Pierre Tokoto's gamble to enter the 2015 NBA Draft a year early paid off as he was drafted in the second round, #58 overall by the Philadelphia 76ers. Writer Shamus Clancy, in a Draft preview for the Philadelphia Daily News, described Tokoto as "an athletic wing who can hit threes, attack the rim and eschew midrange jumpers is the idea role player" and as an ideal fit for the 76ers system.

In his post draft analysis of the 76ers draft picks on libertyballers.com, Clancy said that "Tokoto could be a steal here and should provide some Vine-worthy highlights for the Sixers as soon as next month's Summer League."

Tokoto was the fourth of five 76ers draft picks on the night and the only Tarheel taken in the draft. While he did not post big numbers at North Carolina, he did not average double figures in scoring in any of his three seasons, Tokoto is a tremendous athlete who has a big upside. I was not sure if he would be drafted at all, a la James Michael McAdoo, because of the lack of numbers but many experts thought Tokoto would go early in the second round.

Back To The Finals

North Carolina returns to the Finals of the ACC Tournament thanks to a 71-67 victory over Top-seeded Virginia last night. North Carolina built up a 13 point lead in the second half and held on.

I said before the game that it is much easier to hold a double digit lead over Virginia than it is to come back from a double digit deficit against their defense. The Tarheels ballhandling left a lot to be desired as they ended up with 18 turnovers in the game and the 'Heels defense was shredded in the last ten minutes as Virginia repeatedly drove to the basket and they ended up with with either layups or trips to the foul line.

Freshman Justin Jackson finally had the "breakout" game that all Tarheel fans had been expecting all season long with 22 points with four three-pointers in five attempts. This helped the Tarheels shoot almost 55% in the game, a season high for opponents against Virginia.

I don't believe any of the so called experts expected the North Carolina Tarheels to make it to the ACC Finals. The experts point to so called missing or injured players from both Louisville and Virginia but UNC has not been at full squad strength in about two months. The Tarheels are doing what they have to do and that is win one game at a time.

The Four Corners

Roy Williams and the North Carolina Tarheels honored Dean Smith by starting today's game against Georgia Tech running the Four Corners offense. Roy Williams had on a vintage Dean Smith Sports Jacket and as soon as Marcus Paige gained control of the basketball, Roy Williams held up four fingers. It took about five seconds for the Tarheels to score as Brice Johnson went back door and Marcus Paige fed him the ball for a layup. The Georgia Tech players were not sure what was going on because I am sure they have never seen that before.

Dean Smith installed the Four Corners offense as a means to control the ball and kill the clock and to create easy scoring opportunities with a lead late in the game. Phil Ford was the force behind the Four Corners in the days before the shot clock.

Many point to the North Carolina- Virginia game in 1982 pitting James Worthy vs. Ralph Sampson as to why the Shot Clock was instituted in the college game. North Carolina went into the Four Corners offense nursing a 2 or 4 point lead with about 9 or 10 minutes to go in the game. They ended up winning the game because of the Four Corners and most fans felt that when Dean Smith took the air out of the ball, it changed the competitive balance of the game and did not give Ralph Sampson an opportunity to win the game.

Versus San Diego State

San Diego State's Defensive game plan of sending six or seven men on every play with "exotic" blitz packages could be a recipe for disaster for the North Carolina Tarheels young offensive line. Marquise Williams, Starting Quarterback at North Carolina, promises a different result if San Diego State blitzes. SDSU gave up over 31 points a game last year so I don't know if they have a different Defensive Coordinator or a different defensive system but that is why they play the game. The chess match has already begun. The Tarheels use many running backs and they need to be well versed in blitz pick up. The 'Heels threw short last week- and then some. Ryan Switzer had 8 catches but only 43 yards receiving. The 'Heels only had 235 yards receiving on 29 receptions. They need to try to get the ball down the field. It was probably a tough week in practice. The 'Heels have a game under their belt, a lot of players saw their first collegiate action, and they have the #21 ranking in the country. The San Diego State game is what I like to call a "trap" game. The 'Heels should win but it is a game they will lose if they do not play better than last week.

On To the Elite Eight

The game against Marquette last night really surprised me. I thought Marquette would come out ready to play. From the opening tap, Marquette looked out of sync, they had a hard time getting into their offense, and defensively they were not as active or play with as much intensity they had in their first two games. North Carolina took advantage of their size inside on offense and got into the passing lanes on defense and combined with Marquette's poor shooting, led to many easy baskets and a 40-15 halftime lead. It was pretty much over at that point.

Marquette cut it as close as 14 points with about 4 minutes to go in the second half but the game was never in doubt. The 'Heels had a little bit of a letdown in the second half with their defensive intensity and offensive execution but I believe they just wanted the game to be over.

Tyler Zeller has had a monster tournament. He had 27 points and 15 rebounds against Marquette and is playing the best basketball of his career by a long shot. UNC's "big three" of Zeller, Harrison Barnes, and John Henson combined for 61 of the 81 points and 36 rebounds. Henson has come alive in the tournament as well but I do not know why he thinks he needs to be shooting from the perimeter.

The 'Heels still cannot hit from the perimeter on a consistent basis and Barnes and Leslie McDonald are their only legitimate outside threats but McDonald has been in a shooting slump that has lasted for about 15 games. Dexter Strickland will never be a scoring threat from the outside but he is much better in a transition game and he even nailed a 15 foot jump shot in transition last night.

John Henson has turned into a multi-faceted defensive presence that has caused problems for every team they have played in the tournament. He might be the best shot blocker in the history of the North Carolina Tarheels but to watch him guard the inbounds pass is a thing of beauty. He defelected another one last night in which the 'Heels gained posession.

Charles Barkley described the Tarheel big men as "soft" last night in the pregame segment of the CBS telecast and I would have to disagree with that. It is no secret that they are not physical but Zeller and Henson are extremely effective in the college game. The officials chose to "let them play" last night and in almost any situation like that the 'Heels are not going to be as effective.

When I refer to let them play, the officials chose to let the big men on the inside beat and bang and that definitely gave Marquette an advantage that they probably didn't take enough advantage of in the first half. Zeller did do a good job of denying the entry pass in the middle, picking off several and deflecting several more.

When the officials do choose to let them play, the play is much more physical, and the play always seems to be on the verge of out of control. It came very close last night. The foul committed on John Henson right before the end of the first half when he had a breakaway and the Marquette player wrapped his arms around Henson and spun him around before he made an attempt on the ball was when the officials started to lose a little bit of control of the game. Even announcer Clark Kellogg said it should have been called an intentional foul.

The physical play only escalated in the second half and I believe the only reason that Jae Crowder of Marquette had a technical foul called on him was because he called Henson a "mother------" and it was plainly audible on the broadcast. I took great satisfaction when Henson later blocked one of his shots into the third row (although Crowder later hit a three-pointer with Henson guarding him) and Henson and Crowder were woofing at each other then. I noticed from that point on, anytime Marquette's players had the opportunity to get in an extra shove or an elbow, they took full advantage of it because the officials were not going to call any of it. I chalk it up to the big lead and the composure of North Carolina's players that it didn't get out of control then. The officials weren't about to make a stand.

North Carolina vs. Marquette

On paper #2 seed North Carolina should not have a problem with #11 seed Marquette. They are really not that impressive nor did they have a particularly good season. Their record is only 22-14 (just 9-9 in the Big East Conference), they were in the lower end of their conference in almost every offensive and defensive statistical category, and they probably shouldn't have even made the tournament.

As I have heard so many times, they do not play the game on paper, it is played on the court. Marquette is a dangerous team for North Carolina. They are on a roll having taken out two higher seeds already, including #3 seed Syracuse. They are playing well defensively and with intensity, they are hitting the big shots when they need them, and they are playing with a chip on their shoulder.

Marquette probably has a slight quickness advantage over North Carolina but will it be enough to combat the 'Heels size advantage and strength in the middle. Marquette's leading scorer, Darius Johnson-Odom, is a Raleigh, NC native and they usually try to play their best against a Tobacco Road team because they did not get recruited by them.

North Carolina had better take care of the basketball tonight and take advantage of their size in the middle if they want to win this game. It would be kind of nice to build an early lead because the longer Marquette stays in the game, the more dangerous they become.