The Texas Free Throw Massacre

Every one seems to have an answer for the Tsrheels Free Throw shooting woes. 24-47 against Texas in an 86-83 loss to Texas the other night. If they would have hit their season average of slightly over 60% they would have won the game. The fact that the Tarheels got killed on the boards mostly got lost in the shuffle. They were outrebounded 51-42 for the game and 29-15 in the first half. Roy Williams was not happy with the "effort" and scheduled a 5 AM practice the next morning. That should get some players' attention. The Tarheels had 3 players in double figures- Marcus Paige with 23, Leslie McDonald with 15, and James Michael McAdoo with 11. Leslie McDonald got reinstated by the NCAA before the game and came off the bench and hit 4-9 three pointers. The word on the street is that P.J. Hairston will miss the entire season. That is for an entirely different post. The "heels take on an always tough Davidson team on Saturday night.

A Bluegrass Beat Down

I do not like Kentucky. Plain and simple. I was really nervous about the game yesterday because Kentucky keeps bringing size at you from the Guards on up. The 'Heels Guards barely hit six feet tall. Statistically, the 'Tarheels should not have won this game. They got killed on the boards (44-32), they only went 26-45 from the free throw line, and one of the few statistical categories they did win was in Turnovers (9-17). As Jim Bouton once said in his Baseball epic Ball Four "tell my statistics to shut up." The ultimate stat that is the only one that counts is the final score and that one the 'Heels had an advantage of 82-77. That improves their record to 7-2 on the season with three wins over top tier teams. Marcus Paige's Alley Oop to Brice Johnson brought back memories of Ed Cota to Vince Carter, James Michael McAdoo got back on track with 20 points and led the team with 4 assists and more importantly,drove to the basket hard and shot 19 free throws. He did not settle for the jump shot and took a very aggressive offensive approach. Marcus Paige led the way with 23 points and J.P. Tokoto scored a career high 15 points on 7-10 shooting and displayed the athleticism that will only become more prominent as his basketball skill set grows.

Brice Johnson And Kennedy Meeks

Brice Johnson and Kennedy Meeks may not start for the Tarheels but they are turning into the two most valuable big men the 'Heels have. Johnson provides that offensive punch off the bench as well as providing a few highlight worthy Blocked Shots that go sailing into the third row of the Dean E. Smith Center. Meeks provides points, rebounds, and may be the best passing big man the Tarheels have had since Brad Daugherty. Johnson is second on the team in scoring at 13.6 per game in only 20 minutes per game and Meeks is averaging 8.5 in only 14 minutes per game and he is 4th on the team in Assists. They are both leading the team in Field Goal Percentage by a wide margin, both well over 60%, and and they provide quality minutes and energy off the bench.

The Twilight Zone

Watching the 2013-14 version of the North Carolina Tarheels basketball team has been like watching an episode of The Twilight Zone. They lose to mid-Major teams Belmont and Alabama-Birmingham, games they easily should have won, and yet they beat #3 Louisville and last night defeated #1 Michigan State on the road in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, 79-65. After the loss to UA-B, they even fell out of one of the Top 25 polls. The 'Heels had five players in double figures led be Freshman Kennedy Meeks 15 points and 7 rebounds in only 18 minutes, Brice Johnson 14, Marcus Paige and Nate Britt 13, andf J.P. Tokoto 12 points and 10 rebounds. If the Tarheels want to go very far into the NCAA's this season, they have some fundamental problems that can be fixed. They have problems at the free throw line (22-48 against Belmont), they have a lack of an outside threat besides Marcus Paige (he has hit 18 out of the 21 Tarheels three-pointers this season), and they have a hard time guarding against dribble penetration. The 'Heels resume this season has the two biggest upsets in college basketball thus far, but two bad losses tempers that and with the ACC super conference this season, it should be a very interesting rest of the season.

A Bright Future

If the past 5 games, all Tarheel victories, have proven anything it is that the Tarheels have a bright future. The majority of the big plays on Offense, Defense with the exception of Defensive End Kareem Martin), and Special Teams in this five game winning streak are Freshmen and Sophomores. Marquise Williams took over at QB, T.J. Logan and Khris Francis have gotten the majority of the carries at Running Back, Wide Receiver Quinshad Davis is only a Sophomore even though it seems like he has been there forever, and Mr. Excitement, Ryan Switzer, has been passing, receiving, and returning his way into the national spotlight. On Defense, Brian Walker and Dominique Green have been batting away or intercepting most everything thrown their way, and if it moves with a ball in its hands, Jeff Schoettmer tackles it.

Eric Ebron

North Carolina Junior Tight End Eric Ebron announced he was turning pro after this season and I was pretty sure when the season started that this would be his last year in Tarheel Blue. He has broken just about every Tarheel Tight End receiving record in the books and is one of the top ranked Tight Ends in college football and is a probable top 20 pick in next year's draft. I really hate to see him go because he was a true gamebreaker. His 199 receiving yards against Miami earlier in the season was the highlight. A Tight End with size and Wide Receiver's speed that was a perfect fit for Larry Fedora's offense and I would love to see him end up with the Carolina Panthers or the Seattle Seahawks. Hopefully he has got at least two games left in his college career.

Bowl Eligible

North Carolina won their sixth game of the season against Old Dominion by a final score of 80-20 and became bowl eligible in the process. It was also their fifth win in a row. Old Dominion was not a bad team. They were 8-3 coming into the game, they played the same up tempo style that the Tarheels do, and their Quarterback had thrown for almost 4,000 yards. There were too many stars and outstanding plays in this game to mention all of them. QB Marquise Williams passed for over 400 yards and 5 TD's, Freshman RB T.J. Logan ran for 137 yards on only 14 carries and scored 3 TD's as well as returning a kickoff 99 yards for a TD. Freshman Wide Receiver Ryan Switzer had a career day receiving with 5 receptions for 118 yards and 2 TD's and he returned another punt for a TD giving him 4 in three games tying an ACC record, Wide Receiver Quinshad Davis had over 100 yards receiving and a TD, and Freshman Running Back Khris Francis scored his first rushing TD on the season. On defense, Senior Defensive End Kareem Martin continued his stellar play adding two more sacks giving him 11 on the season. The Old Dominion Head Coach asked Coach Larry Fedora to cut the 4th Quarter to 10 minutes and Fedora readily agreed. It was a class move by both coaches and nothing was going to be gained by playing 5 more minutes. The Tarheels were driving for another score towards the end of the game when Larry Fedora called off the dogs and had Caleb Pressley take a knee on 4th down at the 10 yard line after taking a delay of game from the three on the play before. As a UNC fan, it would have been nice to see the 'Heels set the ACC record for points in a game (the record is 82 by Clemson in 1981 against Wake Forest) although the 'Heels did set a school record for points in a game but I applaud the sportmanship shown by both coaches. That is rare to see at any level of football any more.