Pulling Out The Brooms

The Diamond Heels have not had a great season like they have in the past several years and might just be on the bubble for making the NCAA tournament. A weekend sweep of the Virginia Tech Hokies and a strong finish I believe will carry them through. All three were very close games, 3-2, 6-4, 5-4, as were the previous weeks games against #1 Virginia where they lost 2 of 3. The Diamond 'Heels have a much different team this year. They have to manufacture more runs and keep the pressure on the other teams defense. The pitching has been solid with a team ERA of 2.83 with Trent Thornton being the ace of the staff with a 7-2 record and a 1.85 ERA in 11 starts. On offense, there has been a power shortage on the 'Heels as Michael Russell and Tom Zengel lead the team with 4 Homeruns a piece. Russell also leads the team with a .352 Batting Average and is tied for the team lead in RBI's with 28 with Zengel so he is shooting for the Tarheel Triple Crown.

HBO Real Sports

HBO Real Sports just did an "expose" on the academic scandal that has been on going for about 4 years now at UNC. They interviewed two disgruntled ex-football players, Byron Bishop and Michael McAdoo, as well as academic advisor Mary Willingham (who is also trying to make money off a book she is writing about the scandal. I would have to say she got some free press out of the HBO interview). The Raleigh News & Observer has also jumped on the anti-UNC bandwagon and I would have to ask if they remember a program ran by Jim Valvano and and a book Personal Fouls written by Peter Golenbock? Michael McAdoo got expelled for cheating and ended up on the roster of the Baltimore Ravens for a short while while Bishop is reportedly in a "low-skill job". The business landscape is littered with college graduates with great GPA's that are in low-skill jobs. That is today's economic climate. Sometimes you have to take what you can get. I know a lady who double majored in Chemistry and Biology at NC State who ended being an exotic dancer just to make ends meet. You are given a scholarship as an athlete and an opportunity to get a college degree. There is such a small percentage of the college student population that is afforded that opportunity. What you do with that opportunity is up to the individual. The individual has to assume some responsibility in the outcome.

The College Basketball System Is Broke

The College Basketball System is broke and needs to be fixed. The era of "the one-and-done" college player needs to come to an abrupt halt. The number of college basketball players running to the bank via the NBA after their Freshman year is growing by leaps and bounds. Julius Randle from Kentucky, Jabarai Parker from SDuke, and James Michael McAdoo from North Carolina are just a few of the big name underclassmen that are bolting to the pro's this year. At least McAdoo made it to his Junior year.The most common argument is that college players need to be paid. They are being paid with a college education. At Universities like Duke that is probably worth $300-400,000 over the course of four years. A few years ago, high school phenom Brandon Jennings decided to even circumvent the one year rule by playing in Europe for a year before he turned pro. Kentucky brings in 5 to 6 Freshmen a year that all go pro after one year. These players are supposed to be "student-athletes", representative of the universities student population. If they know they are only going to be there for one year, I can only imagine what their class schedule looks like. I wonder if they even bother going to class after Spring Break is over with.

James Michael McAdoo

The decision finally came down right after the season was over that has been three years in the making. North Carolina Tarheel big man James Michael McAdoo decided to turn pro after his Junior year and he may have picked the worst possible time for him to come out. He had an inconsistent Junior year in which he was second on the team in scoring with 14.2 points per game and led the team with 6.8 rebounds per game. My belief is that he will be a Second Round Draft pick if he is drafted at all. After his Freshman Year he was projected to be a Top Ten Pick and I admire him for rolling the dice. It was all based on potential and as college basketball has evolved, McAdoo's game took a step backwards. He is rangy and athletic but he does not have a solid inside game or a mid-range game. McAdoo works best in the open court in a fast paced offense and I am hoping he is one of those players that will be more successful in the pros than he was in college.

Project Players

Dean Smith used to always have on his teams at least one "project player". These players were not that highly heralded coming out of high school but had some potential to turn into a valuable starter or a key reserve off the bench by the end of their four years. Warren Martin, Kevin Salvadori, and Hubert Davis come to mind. Warren Martin couldn't catch a pass without traveling when he was a Freshman but by the time he was a Senior, he was averaging about 10 points and a couple of blocked shots a game. This years team has several project players with tons of potential but probably shouldn't be starting and/or logging 20 to 30 minutes a game. J.P. Tokoto probably has the most upside of these projects. He is probably the most athletic player the Tarheels have had since Vince Carter. He glides up and down the court and he is definitely the highest flyer they have had since Vince Carter. He is working hard on expanding his basketball skill set and may already be the best passer on the team. Joel James is probably the biggest project. He is listed at 6'10" and 280 pounds but he only played 2 years of high school basketball before coming to UNC. He takes up a lot of space in the middle and also needs to work on his basketball skill set. The Point Guard position has always been the toughest to play at UNC and since Roy Williams started his tenure at UNC, the position has been amped up a little bit to run the Supersonic engine that is the Tarheel offense. Nate Britt was brought to UNC as an under study to Marcus Paige but got thrust into the starting role when Paige had to slide over and assume P.J. Hairston's position. Britt needs to develop an offensive game to go with running the show. All of these projects will probably all be good players by the time they finish their four years. The climate of college basketball has changed as the McDonald's All-Americans are only staying one year now. Teams need these project players to perform a lot sooner than usually expected and their learning curve gets very steep as a result.

Death, Taxes, And a Tarheel Victory Over Clemson

There are three sure things in life if you are a Tarheel basketball fan: Death, Taxes, and a victory against Clemson in Chapel Hill. The latest victory, an 80-61 victory last night, was the 57th in a row over Clemson in Chapel Hill, and was a very solid offensive showing against a Clemson team that was ranked 10th in the nation in total defense. James Michael McAdoo led the way with 22 points and played a great overall game and Marcus Paige chipped in with 15. Leslie McDonald had 12 points and Kennedy Meeks had 11 points and 3 blocked shots in his third start on the season. The 'Heels played with a "sense of urgency" is the phrase that Roy Williams kept using. The 'Heels played like their basketball season depended on it and at 12-7, every game might from this point on out. The 'Heels are 2-4 in the ACC and probably need to finish at 10-6 in the ACC and have a strong showing in the ACC Tournament to stand a chance at making the NCAA Tournament. They do have solid wins against Louisville and Michigan State in their resume and they will have several more opportunities against Top 25 teams.

Lineup Changes

Lineup changes made by Roy Williams last year helped to spring board UNC to a strong finish and he decided to make some changes to the 'Heels starting lineup before yesterday's win over Boston College. He went to a "small ball" lineup again. He inserted Jackson Simmons and Leslie McDonald into the starting lineup in place of Joel James and Nate Britt and the Tarheels emerged with their first ACC win of the year over Boston College 82-71. The Jackson Simmons experiment didn't lasdt long as he caught an errant elbow in the face from J.P. Tokoto and had to leave the game for an extended period. Simmons wasn't inserted into the lineup for his offense anyway, he was put there hoping to energize the Tarheels rebounding. Leslie McDonald was put into the lineup for his ability to score and shoot the ball and Marcus Paige was slid over into his more natural Point Guard position. The 'Heels placed 5 players in double figures led by Marcus Paige's 21 points and James Michael McAdoo with 17.