Back in Business: Now with More BARNES!

Harrison Barnes, the No. 1 prospect in the ESPNU 100 for the class of 2010 has chosen North Carolina. Go Heels.

FAIL: Early ACC Basketball Preview

The News & Observer’s JP Giglio and Robbi Pickeral published an early ACC basketball preview and an editorial on the league’s parity this year.  A few thoughts:

- It’s impressive the columns Giglio can churn out with K’s balls in his mouth and Wojo’s dick in his ear.  There are plenty of complete sentences and he almost got his facts right!

- No one knows exactly how the lineup will look come November, but the N&O’s projection seems a little, how do I say this?  Oh yeah- fucktarded.  The Heels are thin in the backcourt.  You know this.  I know this.  Roy knows this.  Even these boneheads say so in the breakdown.  So why would we start three guards (Drew, Strickland, Ginyard) and two big men (Davis, Thompson) on a team with shallow wings depth and too many post players?  You mean to tell me John “Will Make Singler Look Like A Muppet” Henson won’t be the first frosh in this class to start?  It’s not even funny.

- Giglio’s knock on Carolina’s experience is a bit exaggerated.  You’re going to judge this team’s mettle by the number of players with more than two starts?  Not by more significant numbers like minutes played or percent of offense (or defense)?  How about underlining the truth: the Heels are nowhere near as experienced as last year, but are loads better in that area than in 2006.  Between Ginyard, Thompson, Davis, Zeller, Drew, and Graves (sorry Copeland), they have a number of players with Final Four experience who made at least somewhat siginificant contributions on those teams.  Number of dookies who fit that criteria?  Zero.

- I guess the first lesson in sports journalism school is to follow an arbitrary statement with fact that completely undercuts the assertion.  How else to explain Giglio’s indictment of the Heels’ perimeter shooting this year?  In the same breath that he says the Heels’ backcourt has a different skill set that isn’t as strong in outside shooting as last year’s, he concedes “Roy Williams’ fast-break offense is not predicated on the 3-pointer.”  Does Giglio have any doubt there will be wide open looks with our stable of hosses down low?  Did a Polish cumshot in the eye blind him to his own contradictory statements?

- Here’s a tip, JP: if you think dook will be better than Carolina, that’s fine.  However, as a sports journalist who’s supposedly paid to offer insightful analysis, you should be able to support your assertions with facts and reasonable projections.  Reducing UNC’s experience to two guys with “more than two college starts” while swooning over dook’s “Singler, Scheyer, Nolan Smith, Lance Thomas, Brian Zoubek” as ” five ACC-tested veterans” is disingenuous at best and an assault on logic at worst.  Simply assuming dook’s coaching, experience, outside shooting and motivation (all monosyllabic “checks”) will be consistently stellar is nonsensical.  Stating that dook’s season comes down to “the ability of Singler, Scheyer, Smith and freshman Ryan Kelly to hit outside shots” while once again assuming that their weaknesses in the paint and at the point won’t be exposed by the ever-changing and improving ACC…that’s just laughable.  Carolina fans don’t mind a writer who picks dook- we just can’t stand a writer who sucks dook cock. – “I do know this – it will be different.”  Someone give Nostradamus here a fuckin’ cookie.  You’re a hack, Giglio.

- The only thing that’s changing in this picture this year is that Tyler’s making millions in the NBA.

Go Heels.

Vote for the Heels

If you’re looking for something to cure your mid-summer sports blues, head on over to ESPN.com and vote for the 2009 ESPYs.  Specifically, vote for the 2009 NCAA Men’s Basketball National Champion North Carolina Tar Heels for Best Team, and then rail against the ridiculous shutout the Heels received in all other categories.

Really, ESPN?  No nod to Roy for Best Coach?  You have the Tampa Bay Rays’ manager, but no Roy?

Really?  No nod for Tyler, or Ty, or Wayne for College Male Athlete?

I’m all for spreading things out and including a variety of sports, teams, and players.  But considering the narrative you and your pseudo-analysts promoted following the Final Four (that of total and imminent domination by the Heels, the best team in college basketball), wouldn’t you expect North Carolina to yield more than one fucking nomination in your pathetic beauty contest?

Suck it.

Staring at the Sun

Carolina lost to Arizona State last night in stunning fashion, 12-5. After taking a 4-0 lead to the 7th inning, Brian Moran decided it was time to hand the Sun Devils another victory and gave up a game-tying Grand Slam to the exact same batter as who hit a game-winning 10th inning 3-run home run against him on Sunday.

Now, it was a terrible chain of events for Moran, but why was he even in the game? Facing the same batter that embarrassed him less than a week ago? Mike Fox should bear the responsibility for this loss. The pitching decisions with and without the lead were dumbfounding and showed Carolina was willing to squeak by instead of going for the kill.

For a team that had so many factors in it’s favor, it will be facing a lot of questions this offseason. It’s looking more and more likely that instead of building a Carolina program based around success, the Diamond Heels represent monumental failure and consistent disapointment. With the amount of talent that has passed through in the past four years, four straight trips to the CWS shouldn’t be out of the question. The accomplishment is admirable, for sure, but this is a University that values the postseason a little differently. Sure, you can show up for a test, but if you fail, why’d you show up in the first place?

Now after four failed tests, the Heels look to regroup and make fifth straight CWS. With the squad that’s returning, it’s not terribly unlikely. The departure of Dustin Ackley will sting, no doubt, but after losing Chad Flack and Chris Iannetta, the Heels have reloaded, and Levi Michael certainly looks like he’s capable of stepping up.

Regardless, four years later here we are. Expectations met with errors, wins countered with losses to Oregon State (twice), Fresno State, and Arizona State, and zero championships. The only thing about next year that I’m sure of, if the Heels make it back to Omaha, I think they’ll want to avoid playing a “State” school.

Rematch: ASU/UNC – Don’t Let the Devil In

The familiarities in this image are chilling, but perhaps their deal with the devil is nearing it’s end.

UNC gets a chance at revenge against Arizona State Thursday Night for handing North Carolina its first opening-round CWS loss since 1989. The Heels, who lost 5-2 in 10 innings on Sunday should feel encouraged coming off a 11-4 thrashing of Southern Miss.

#1 Texas awaits the winner.

SI says #4, ESPN says #5 – We’ll See

Gary Parrish unveiled his Post-Deadline-To-Withdraw-From-The-NBA-Draft Top 25 (and one) and he has the Heels listed at #4.  I mean they lost four starters from a championship team, and a former POY, so obviously they’re still in the Top 5.

Andy Katz also dropped his rankings post-withdraw deadline and has the Heels at #5, claiming that it still might be too high.

This is how Roy Williams does things these days.  A lot of people are comparing this team to the 2006 team or to last year’s Kansas team, but in a lot of ways I think this team will be better. With Ginyard and Thompson anchoring a group of freshmen and sophomores that is ranked so high, I think over half could end up as NBA first round picks.

People are touting Ed Davis as the reason North Carolina won’t have too many more L’s, but most forget that Tyler Zeller actually beat him out for the starter position at the beginning of the season when Hansbrough was out with an injury. Zeller never really returned to form, and I’m sure he will use this year as a springboard to show why he wasn’t worried about losing a year of elligibility and coming back for the NCAA Tournament.

With both rankings, Kansas, Michigan State seem to be obvious Top 5 choices based on incoming talent, returning talent, coaching situations, and last year’s performance (with Kentucky being a unqiue case everyone seems to be jumping to inane conclusions about).  And with the field wide open, schools like Texas, Villanova, and Purdue will obviously creep into discussions, but despite UNC’s personnel losses it has to be listed up there as a national title competitor yet again. If nothing else, this is a Roy Williams coached team, wearing light blue.

And Duke being ranked in the Top 10 in both lists? Come on.

Tweets this Week

• tyler hansbrough at #11 in chad ford’s latest. what a gritty move – he works so hard to climb those draft boards. #

Chad Ford is Seeing the Light

My view on Tyler Hansbrough has been well stated on this site. Lately, others have been coming to grips with the fact that Psycho T is a legitimate talent with skills to go with his work ethic.

In Chad Ford’s latest Mock Draft, both Tar Heels he has projected in the first round made some moves. Tyler Hansbrough from 20 to 11, and Ty Lawson from 22 to 23.

His analysis for the #11 pick is as follows:

“Analysis: Rod Thorn has said he needs a moose, but it won’t be easy to find one here. The Nets have needs at both forward positions but the three best candidates, DeJuan Blair, Earl Clark and James Johnson, all have issues. Blair’s medical reports have created major red flags about his knees. Johnson is carrying around some baggage from Wake Forest. And Clark isn’t the physical player they’re really looking for.

That has caused two new players to emerge on their list — Tyler Hansbrough and Terrence Williams. Williams has his own set of issues that teams are sorting through which gives Hansbrough a legit shot at going this high. He isn’t going to be a dominant player in the league, but he’s been productive, is as tough as nails and has measured better, in size and athletically, than people predicted.”

Some weeks ago, Ford claimed that Chicago taking Hansbrough at #16 was probably too high, now it seems that it’s becoming acceptable to consider Hansbrough a Top 15 player.  With two recent articles analyzing the impact of the high school Class of 2005 on this 2009 Draft, it seems like there is no reason not to consider Hansbrough in the Top 15, if not Top 10.

If nothing else, this further proves Hansbrough’s grittiness, and the fact that no matter the situation, he’ll do whatever he can to climb to the top. The team that eventually drafts him will enjoy finding this out firsthand.

Will Psycho-T get the last laugh?

Tyler Hansbrough is becoming a hot topic at the NBA draft combine. Chad Ford writes in his most recent post on ESPN.com that Hansbrough is the big winner and could see his stock jump into the lottery.

Now I’ve been saying all along that this should be the case, that Tyler measures up with top lottery picks in recent years in stats and measurements, and it’s only now that NBA execs and media members are seeing this. Yet, no one mentions that he’s been overlooked because he’s white. Ford says, “The concern was always about his lack of size and athleticism.” But, how can that be a concern when he’s been playing athletic basketball pretty visibly for four years? Even Hansbrough agrees.

Please see pasted below for the portion of Chad Ford’s article referencing Hansbrough:

For all of you who wrote me all season furious that I didn’t have Tyler Hansbrough in my mock draft lottery … now’s the time to yell, “I told you so!”

I think it’s time to declare Hansbrough the big winner of the 2009 NBA draft combine. Although he was what you would expect him to be in the skills portion of the combine, he came out better than expected in the measurements and strength and agility testing.

Hansbrough measured a legit 6-foot-8¼ in socks and 6-9½ in shoes. He also had a surprising 6-11½ wingspan and a standing reach of 8-10 — one inch better than Blake Griffin.

He basically measured the same size as Kevin Love, Drew Gooden, Paul Millsap and David Lee.

But that’s just half the tale.

His vertical-jump numbers weren’t terrible, either. At 34 inches, he matches up with the combine scores of Emeka Okafor, LaMarcus Aldridge and Nene. And better than Chris Bosh.

His no-step vertical was a little more troubling at just 27½ inches, but that equaled or bettered Carlos Boozer, Aldridge and Charlie Villanueva.

Lateral quickness? His 11.12-second score was stellar for a big man. He bested Tyreke Evans, DeMar DeRozan, James Johnson and Earl Clark from this draft class. And he also was better than Amare Stoudemire, Bosh and Tyrus Thomas.

And his 3.23 three-quarter-court sprint? Another strong score for a big man. His numbers were better than Griffin, Jordan Hill and Michael Beasley.

In fact, if you want a good physical and athletic comparison to Hansbrough, try Beasley, the No. 2 pick in the draft last year. They are within an inch and a few half seconds of each other in virtually every category.

What does all this mean? We already know Hansbrough is a terrific basketball player. There was never a question about what he does on the court. The concern was always about his lack of size and athleticism.

Now that he has physically proved he’s a solid NBA-caliber athlete, will the objections to drafting him in the lottery start to fade?

Some early signs point to yes. I think a number of teams, including the Bucks, Nets and Pacers, will all give Hansbrough a closer look.

“I think we have to re-evaluate him,” one lottery-team GM told me. “You get used to seeing a guy through a certain set of glasses. This forces you to rethink and ask yourself whether you misjudged him. I think if you need a big, you have to consider him.”

The concern now for Hansbrough is to take this momentum and capitalize on it when he gets to the league. The luxury before was that there was no way he could have disappointed as an NBA player because there were no expectations for him, now as the general public builds expectations for him to be a Blake Griffin or Michael Beasley he’s going to need to live up to those expectations. But if there was one thing that I’m sure Hansbrough isn’t worried about,  it’s other peoples’ expectations.

The last time somebody expected Hansbrough to do something, he went and did it.

Jawad Williams Sighting!

Jawad Williams was spotted alive and well on the Cleveland Cavaliers bench yesterday holding a clipboard. Why wasn’t he dressed, is he injured? Coaching? Will he get a ring with LeBron? Even if he wears a suit through the playoffs, his ring would be worth as much as Danny Ferry’s ring. (The only Duke player who happened to appear on an NBA Championship team. And yes, he’s no champion — he just happened to be there.)

UPDATE: Check out this profile of Jawad’s D-League and NBA life.

Tudor: Wall picks UK over UNC

Caulton Tudor of the Raleigh News & Observer has seen a lot more ACC games than I probably ever will.  He’s met and shaken hands with and received tips from more college basketball insiders than I could probably name.  So it’s with great humility that, regarding his column analyzing John Wall’s decision to attend UK, I declare him to be dead wrong.

Let’s take a look at his points:

- UNC, dook, and State are in dire need of point guard help.

- All three “lost out” on John Wall when he chose UK.

- The talent Calipari is bringing to UK is imposing for UNC, dook.

- Reviving a dynasty is easier than building one, so the drawing of talent to UK could easily wake up the sleeping Wildcats (and their sleeping beauty, Ashley Judd).

- Not only will this talent help immediately on the court, it alters the recruiting landscape that UK, UNC, and dook share.

- If Wall happens to stay for more than one season, the pain of losing him will be compounded exponentially for UNC, dook.

I should caution that I’m not usually a fan of speculative journalism.  However, there’s plenty of value to be found in “what if” columns, as long as those columns are based on facts we know, not more speculation.  That’s Tudor’s first mistake: he assumes that UNC needs point guard help, that Roy made a concerted effort to recruit Wall and lost, and (essentially) that the recruiting landscape hasn’t changed since 1957 and is still heavily regional.

It’s difficult to argue that dook and State are set at the point- it’s difficult to argue that they’re set anywhere.  The idea that UNC has a hole at point guard is short-sighted.  First, Larry Drew II may not be Ty Lawson, but he’s not Quentin Thomas, either.  As Drew’s minutes grew late in the season, especially when Ty was out nursing his toe, you could almost see lights flickering on with each pass.  An improved, more mature Drew coupled with a healthy Ginyard and wildcard Strickland leaves UNC with a much better point guard situation than in 05-06.  The team did ok that year and could have done better; to lump UNC’s point guard situation with State and dook is absurd.

Repeat after me: UNC did not recruit Wall.  Roy spoke with him a time or two, and what was discussed in those conversations may never be known.  I discussed my take on the situation more in the original post announcing Wall’s decision- there’s probably a reason Roy didn’t try harder.  To insinuate that it was a mistake or a loss to not recruit Wall is ludicrous and completely based on the wrong-headed idea that UNC is hurting at point.

The most puzzling assertion Tudor makes is that losing out on a high school star from the Triangle will hurt with recruiting in future years.  While snagging a homegrown hero is great PR, I have to imagine dook will be the first to tell you it’s overrated (sup Shavlik).  Technology, Caulton, has made recruiting internationally possible.  Last year, our best players were from Missouri, Maryland, Virginia, New York, California, and Pennsylvania.  Next year, our stellar recruiting class hails from California (twice), Florida, Tennessee, and New Jersey.  Would Roy want to get the next Michael Jordan?  Absolutely.  But the country’s filled with talent, and the UNC brand is strong everywhere.  Any school that becomes a recruiting force is a threat, whether in Kentucky or Cali. In that respect, Wall to UK is a blip on the radar, not armageddon.

Could Tudor end up being right?  Sure.  Even a broken clock’s right twice a day (unless, of course, by broken the clock runs slow or fast, meaning that it could be right only once a month or year).  Is Tudor likely to be right?  No.  His speculation is based on speculation and false assumptions.  And even if Wall ends up being a messiah for UK this year, there’s no reason to believe that UNC will be wringing its hands when Kendall Marshall and Reggie Bullock walk on to campus.  For all your idiocy, Roy laughs at you, Caulton.

Tar Heel NBA Draft Positions

In Chad Ford’s Mock Draft 1.0, he has Tyler Hansbrough going 20th to the Utah Jazz and Ty Lawson going 22nd to the Dallas Mavericks. At this point, neither Wayne Ellington or Danny Green have broken into the first round yet, but it is still possible for Ellington to jump up based on workouts.

Currently, this is what Ford is saying about both first-round Tar Heels:

“Hansbrough Analysis: It feels like destiny for Hansbrough to end up in Utah. His tough, blue-collar game should work really well for Jazz coach Jerry Sloan. And with the Jazz likely to lose either Carlos Boozer or Paul Millsap, or both, they’ll probably have a need at the 4.”

“Lawson Analysis: Jason Kidd will hit free agency this summer, and there’s no guarantee he’ll be back. J.J. Barea was good in the playoffs, but if Kidd looks to be leaving, the Mavericks will want a more classic point guard such as Lawson. Not only does he have the speed and perimeter shooting they crave, but he’s also a proven winner.”

You know how I feel about Hansbrough’s NBA potential. I also think Lawson will be able to transition to the NBA game very well, despite of (or because of his size). The NBA is a different game now more than ever, and guards like JJ Barea, and Aaron Brooks are making major offensive and defensive impacts on their teams. Overall, this could end being a good thing for fans who want to see Carolina players on a larger stage in the NBA. For the past 5 years, UNC NBA draftees have not been able to break into rosters on winning teams. Utah and Dallas play their young players and manage to remain competitive in the league, making it easier for a player like Josh Howard to improve while still winning, whereas you don’t hear much about Brandan Wright and Rashad McCants on their struggling franchises.

Dook Sucks Part 2: Henderson signs with agent

As if losing out on John Wall weren’t bad enough, dook fans were dealt a double dose of bad news when Gerald Henderson announced today that he’s signed with an agent, officially ruling out a return to UNJD.

Seems that Wayne and The Elbow are following each other once again.  Can’t say it’s a bad move by Henderson- it’s such a weak draft that scouts are starting to speak highly of Tyler again.  This move further weakens the Poo Devils, despite the annual chorus of “dook’s gonna be really good next year, I swear” echoing from the halls of SI and ESPN.

If you know a dookie, take a minute or two to remind them how much they, their school, and the team they follow suck like Reggie Love in his sleep.  It’s the least you can do.

John Wall: I want to lose in Kentucky for a year