ACC Hoops Blog

Heels take the title

2005-04-05T10:23:00.000-04:00

How many different ways did Sean May beat Illinois last night? How about running the court on fast break dunks and dishing off to his teammates? How drawing a double team and kicking it back out to Rashad McCants for a three-pointer? How about his good hands under the board? And, oh yeah, he just powered his way to the basket, maybe once or twice. With another college season refining his skills, May will be the best big man entering the NBA since Tim Duncan. He simply did it all last night.

The N&O's Luciana Chavez:

"...May kept delivering; in one three 3 1/2 miunute stretch, it was all May all the time."

The Kansas City Star's Jason King, (via the Charlotte Observer):

"..May saved his best performance for the game's most crucial moments. Illinois..whittled North Carolina's 15-point lead to 52-50 after Roger Powell Jr.'s layup with 12 minutes, 43 seconds remaining. But May responded with a three-point play on North Carolina's next possession. Illinois failed to score on its next trip down the court, and May made them pay again, this time using a power dribble to break free under the basket. Just like that, the Tar Heels surged back ahead by seven, 57-50."

May's contribution wasn't just physical, as WSJ's Lenox Rawlings points out:

"Every time the Tar Heels started to demonstrate joy, May and Coach Williams ordered them into calm seriousness, even with 9.9 seconds left. That intangible effort supplemented May's compelling show..."

ESPN's Pat Forde:

The Heels "couldn't have gotten done without May. The powerhouse center had a Bill Walton Lite stat line, making 10-of-11 shots, scoring 26 points and pulling down 10 rebounds. But his stats actually bore an even stronger resemblance to his dad's performance in leading Indiana to the 1976 national title. Both scored 26 points, and both were named the tournament Most Outstanding Player."

I'll give Illinois credit for making the game as close as they did. I don't think I've ever seen a team play "three-ball" the way Illini do, with crisp passing and quick shooting.

But is there now any doubt that success on the basketball court "centers" around a quality big man?

1-2 punch

2005-04-03T08:38:00.000-04:00

Jawad steps up, Sean May hunkers down.

So Carolina knows what it has to do. The question is, will Illinois, which has lived by the three-point shot, be able to handle the Heels inside?

Did you hear?

2005-04-02T16:53:00.000-05:00

Roy Williams has never, ever, won a national title. Never. Ever.

The hype builds......

2005-04-02T16:35:00.000-05:00

ESPN's experts make their picks.

Charlotte Observer poll on which team will win the Final Four. Go ahead and click on the results.

Crash the glass

2005-04-01T20:54:00.000-05:00

It's going to be rough for Sean May under the boards.

At least May knows it. He said this about Michigan State:

"These guys attack the glass better than anybody. Their guards attack the glass."

With this in mind, May will be Carolina's most important player on Saturday.

Bad barbeque

2005-03-31T10:54:00.000-05:00

Duke fan David Jackson grudgingly gives Carolina its due for making it to the Final Four. That said, he'll be pulling for Michigan State on Saturday.

'Fess up, Carolina fans: How many of you were pulling for Connecticut in last year's semifinal?

Relax and worry

2005-03-28T10:30:00.000-05:00

Two different columnists offer radically different analyses of Carolina's return to the Final Four.

As only he can, the N&R's Ed Hardin pooh-poohs the Tar Heels' party. Fair enough: In 13 trips to the Final Four, the Heels have one only three titles, and in all his trips to the Final Four, Roy Williams has zero titles.

Hardin:

"His players know that...and they'll add that baggage to their pile of pressure before the trip later this week."

On the other hand, the N&O's Caulton Tudor says that while the pressure to win titles at Carolina is in the coach's job description,

"Williams should be allowed to relax and enjoy the ride that he's earned. Getting (to the Final Four), in this case, was the ultimate journey for the Carolina program that Williams was handed."

I was also struck by the fact that Matt Doherty's name came up in both columns, although in very different contexts.

Hardin says the Doherty era is now officially forgotten:

"There was no mention of Matt Doherty in the postgame celebration."

Tudor, on the other hand, pays homage to Doherty:

"Doherty's last team, even without (Sean) May most of the season, began to show signs of recovery and finished a competitive 19-16.

"But equally true is the fact that under doherty, the devotion to detail had slipped. Much of it wasn't his fault as coach. He had what amounted to a freshman and sophomore team that was grasping for direction. Doherty just didn't have the experience and coaching background to set that direction properly."

So is the monkey off the Tar Heels' back, or will nothing short of a title restore the faith of the Carolina blue crowd?

2005-03-27T08:18:00.000-05:00

I know I'm slack, but a man has to visit his mother once in a while. All she has is dial up......

Heels under the microscope

2005-03-25T07:53:00.000-05:00

Marvin Williams is profiled by the N&O and the N&R.

The N&R's Jeff Carlton takes notice of Williams' locker room manner:

"A reporter introduces himself to an 18-year-old in the North Carolina locker room who quickyl has buitl a reputation as one of college basketball's most remarakably gifted players. Many of the game's celebrities-in-training might acknolwedge the visitor with a quick sideways glance, if that. Not this one.

"'Hey, I'm Marvin Williams,' the long-limbed freshman said, looking up from his seat and politely extending his hand. 'Nice to meet you.'"

Meanwhile, Scott Fowler wonders if Sean May is the forgotten man in the middle. I don't think so. May knows when to assert himself. At least that's what Tar Heel fans hope.

But May can't assert himself without a little help from Raymond Felton, who posseses a God-given talent to push the ball up the court.

May:

"Raymond's my best friend this time of the year. He loves dishing the ball off. This year, more than eve, he understands what it means to lead the team. He's doen a great job of sacrificing himself more than anybody. I don't think he gets enough credit for that."

20-20 hindsight

2005-03-23T15:42:00.000-05:00

Lenox Rawlings pens a long post-mortem on Wake Forest.

Rawlings suggests says we should have seen the Deacons' premature end coming, starting with the Illinois game:

"Teams that intend to win the national championship don't fall 32 points behind anybody, because pride won't let them."

Other ominous signs: The Deacs peaked too early with their win over Carolina in the teams' only meeting; the 102 points Wake gave up to Georgia Tech in overtime; and of course, the head games, which "created conditions ripe for the victim mentality to spread."

I did wonder how the Deacons could possibly live up to all the hype. I mean, Chris Paul was everywhere. With media surrounding them eveywhere they went, Prosser and Paul probably felt comfortable sounding off about perceived slights from officials on and off the court. Such a comfort level with the media often reflects overconfidence on the court.

While sportswriters recognized Wake's defensive lapses, it seemed to me like they never really had an organized offensive scheme all season. They had talented players who were very quick to the ball, excellent 3-point and free-throw shooting, and a big man who always had three opposing jerseys taking him on. Yet it seemed like their offense was never set. In my mind, that would have cost them somewhere down the road to the Final Four.

Just my thoughts. To show you what I know, I thought Kansas looked pretty damn good. Then again, they got boned on their tournament seeding, too.......

Back to the future

2005-03-23T15:14:00.000-05:00

The N&O's Caulton Tudor says it could be 1983 all over again.

Easy, State fans. He doesn't go quite that far.

Job security

2005-03-22T15:04:00.000-05:00

So Bobby Lutz is no longer in the running for Herb Sendek's job?

Fans

2005-03-21T15:33:00.000-05:00

N.Y Times' William Rhoden gives Julius Hodge the hero treatment:

"I'm not a Julius Hodge fan because he hit a game-winning shot or scored 17 points or passed for 6 assists yesterday. I'm a fan because he has been able to maintain focus on his classes and the college life."

Rhoden quotes State assistant coach Larry Harris, who more than vouches for Hodge's talent:

"He's meant everything for our program. Up intil that time, we hadn't had a guy like him, who was a high school all-America, but who was unbelievably unselfish and willing to do things to make other guys better, along with being good himself.

"What he brought was a lot of ability, but what he also brought was that cohesiveness and togetherness. When you listen to him, that's what he's all about: winning first. Kids like him are different. He's a throwback. He's one of those guys who likes Magic Johnson. Michael Jordan, he could care less."

Pretty strong testimony.

Are we really looking at a State-Carolina regional final?

No Black Sunday

2005-03-21T11:58:00.000-05:00

Carolina cruises past Iowa State, while Duke takes a tough win over Mississippi State:

"The Blue Devils rejoiced because they knocked off a team more talented than most No. 9 seeds with a team not as talented as many of the Blue Devils' No.1 seeded-teams."

K:

"We feel honored to win this game, I'm telling you. I've been in a number of second-round games, and this one was as though (as I've had)."

K has said before that this was his most talented team defensively, and I think this showed as the game went down the stretch. The Devils realized they were matched inside:

"The Bulldogs also dictated the inside game after figuring out early that the Devils were more concerned about containing Mississippi State's guards and had chosen to let Williams guard (Lawrence) Roberts one-on-one."

While Shelden Williams certainly stepped up to match Roberts, the Devils didn't panic and kept the pressure on the Bulldogs' backcourt. Though Duke had more turnovers than Mississippi State, down the stretch they were constantly on the ball, showing the kind of hustle that produced the game's biggest play: J.J. Redick's breakaway layup that was blocked from behind, only to be followed up by Daniel Ewing.

Though Wake Forest and Georgia Tech are gone, we have an interesting mix left: A team on a a mission, a team that looks like it could cruise to the Final Four, and the gutsy conference champions running on fumes but who still find a way to win. Though Wake was on the losing end, they were a per of one of the better games of theseason, period. Again, this will be very interesting. Our conference is representing us well.

Backdoor cut

2005-03-21T10:55:00.000-05:00

State 65 Connecticut 62

N.Y. Times' Pete Thamel:

"The perpetually embattled N.C. State coach Herb Sendek, for whom saving his job in March is an annual event in Raleigh, will lead the Wolfpack to its first Round of 16 since 1989.....

"The Wolfpack, which uses a modification of the offensive system that Princeton made famous under Pete Carril, struggled most of this season after starting in the top 10. But just like its offense, North Carolina State stayed patient and is taking a backdoor cut into the Round of 16."

Thamel focuses on Julius Hodge's heroics while noting that Connecticut was exposed as "a team with only one guard capable of handling the ball.......For every rainbow jumper Williams hit, he would follow it by spinning into a double team and turning the ball over."

The N&O's Chip Alexander similarly focuses on Hodge's take charge attitude:

"N.C. State's Ilian Evtimov saw the look in Julius Hodge's eyes before Hodge took the shot, sensing what was about to unfold.

"'It was a look that said 'we're not giving up, we're not letting go, we're not losing.'

"And Hodge was not about to let anything go — the ball, the game, his last NCAA Tournament, his senior season."

But in a sidebar, Alexander focuses on Pack's teamwork, including the neutralization of UConn's inside game.

Especially key was Andrew Brackman's three-pointer off an Engin Astur feed, before which Astur put a little shoulder action on the UConn defender. The game announcers said it was a blatant foul; I personally liked the physicality.

Brackman:

"I didn't hesitate. I just put it up, and I knew it was going in when it left my hand. It's hard to describe how it feels to hit a shot like that. If you make it, you're hero. If you miss it, Coach is going to get on you. If you take it, you have to make it."

The N&R's Todd Graff focuses on State's play inside:

"So much for the vaunted UConn front line.....By neutralizing Connecticut's big front line with a mixture of man-to-man and zone defenses and by hitting a barrage of 3-pointers with that pulled the Huskies' huskies away from the basket, the Wolfpack knocked off the second seed and defending national champion..

"N.C. State's starting front line of Evtimov, Hodge and and Andrew Brackman closed with 38 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists."

State's finally found the magic formula: accurate outside shooting combined with strong inside play. True, that's every team's magic formula, but State has the variable few teams have: the backdoor cut. This will be very interesting.

Is Herb Sendek's job officially safe?

Black Saturday

2005-03-20T08:17:00.000-05:00

West Virginia 111 Wake Forest 105 2 OT

Though Wake did everything it could offesively to save its season, the Deacs broke down defensively, save Eric Williams' block on the back-door pass in the first overtime.

Skip Prosser:

"The hard thing to figure out is how well we played defensively in the first half. It was as well as we've ever played probably defensively, in terms of forcing turnovers and holdiong a team that can score like West Virginia to 27 points."

Trent Strickland:

"To be honest with you, I thought in that second OT we were going to come out and defend like we were supposed to and get the win. But we didn't."

Eric Williams:

"You've got to guard. I mean, if you don't have defense, you don't have nothing."

Taron Downey, who silenced the critics by saving Wake not once, but twice:

"We had so many high expectations for ourselves. Anything less than a national championship, I think for this whole team, was unacceptable."

Lenox Rawlings:

"The season ended in shirtsleeves, and it ended prematurely because (the Deacons) never roled up their sleeves on the defensive half of the 94-foot court. .....Wake Forest couldn't stop five soccer moms from dribbling into the lane."

Chris Paul:

"It started slipping through our fingers whgen they started getting basket after basket after basket. And it wasn't just 2's and 3's. It was drives for fouls and baskets."

When all is said and done, was Wake's defense really that bad, or did West Virginia just give the Deacs a lesson on how basketball is supposed to be played: Accurate three-point shooting mixed in with drives to the basket and back-door passes?

I have to admit I was impressed with the way Wake kept themselves in the game in both overtimes. Downey nailed the threes to keep the Deacs alive, Williams' nice hands to block a potential game-winning layup, the way Paul didn't panic by gunning threes when there was still plenty of time on the clock. The better team simply won.

Battle test

2005-03-19T09:23:00.000-05:00

Wake Forest played a tough nonconference schedule to get themselves battle tested for the NCAA tournament......and to get a higher seed, says Skip Prosser:

"I guess one out of two's not bad."

While Duke and Carolina bask in the relative warmth of Charlotte, Wake has been banished to Cleveland, where they will feel a slight chill.

Today's forecast for Cleveland: 48 degrees, mostly cloudy. Could be worse.

Surprise, surprise

2005-03-19T08:27:00.000-05:00

Carolina beats Oakland; Duke beats Delaware State.

Even though the game was never really in danger, the Devils looked a bit shaky, as Luciana Chavez points out:

"But even when it looked like the Devils had worked themselves into crusing position with that 55-35 lead, they couldn't cruise."

K:

"You should never assume it's your birthright to be in this great tournament."

Meanwhile, Tech pulls away from GW.

State 75 Charlotte 63

2005-03-18T14:28:00.000-05:00

The Wolfpack overcomes hot shooting by the 49ers in the first half by tightening up on defense.

Cowboy up

2005-03-18T10:58:00.000-05:00

JamesOn Curry is making the most of his second chance with Oklahoma State. He's a major reason why many, myself included, think the Cowboys will be dangerous in the NCAA tournament.

I thought UNC did the right thing by rescinding Curry's scholarship. The Heels an image to maintian, an image carefully crafted by Dean Smith. Does anyone doubt that Smith advised Roy Williams to pull the scholarship?

Funny, Cowboys coach Eddie Sutton agrees with me (and Williams):

"Sutton....said the right decision was made by North Carolina and Roy Williams to rescind Curry's scholarship. He said he talked with Williams about Curry and believes that for Curry, playing in the ACC may have hurt more than helped."

Sutton:

"I think it would have been very difficult for him to go up and down Tobacco Road. The fans would not be quite as forgiving. I think it would have been hard on Carolina. When they released him, I thought it was a real blessing for us."

Curry "talks about the incident but doesn't dwell on it.

"I went through that for a reason. Maybe I can help other kids out....I take full responsibility like a man."

I saw Curry against Kansas, and he looked great, especially driving to the hoop for a key shot down the stretch. I'll look forward to seeing more of him as OSU makes its tournament run. Yes, it would have been nice to see him more in ACC action, but as Curry said, he went through it all for a reason.

Which is it?

2005-03-18T10:20:00.000-05:00

That's always the question when a top ACC team plays poorly against a lesser-ranked team, as Wake Forest did in the first half against Chattanooga.

Skip Prosser:

"..We have to figure out if the first half was Chattanooga or if it was us, because we will not be able to — as the tournament ensues Saturday — to afford a performance like that. Or else we will be on a plane back home."

Let the games begin.........

2005-03-17T11:53:00.000-05:00

Black Sunday?

2005-03-16T11:14:00.000-05:00

Frank Dascenzo says don't worry about another Black Sunday.

But Dascenzo's comparing apples and oranges. Of course Duke and Carolina aren't going to lose to their first-round opponents. But while the infamous doubleheader in Reynolds Coliseum on March 11, 1979 were openers for the Devils and Heels, they were second-round games:

"All the ingredients were in place for the two ACC powers to advance to the NCAA Tournament East Regional Sweet 16 that was, conveniently, in Greensboro. Both earned a bye and seemed well-rested, although Duke was without forward Kenny Dennard and guard Bob Bender, both out with injuries."

Dascenzo goes on:

"Black Sunday happened not because the two ACC superpowers were overconfident but because Penn and St. John's were pretty good teams with quality players who simply weren't awed in the least by the environment of ACC country."

Look at the potential second-round opponents: For the Heels, we're talking Minnesota or Iowa State; for Duke, we're talking Stanford or Mississippi State. All teams from major conferences where the competition is hot. Is there any reason to believe they would be intimidated by playing in ACC country? (Yeah, I know we're talking about Charlotte.)

Iowa State could be considered the most dangerous of all. They started weak and finished weak, but had an incredible four-week stretch where they beat Oklahoma Texas, Texas Tech and Kansas. So the Cyclones definitely aren't afraid.

Another Black Sunday? Not impossible.

Meeting of the minds

2005-03-16T10:56:00.000-05:00

The Heels were expecting a K-style butt-kicking when they got to practice on Sunday.

Instead, as Robbi Pickeral writes they got what Roy Williams called a "meeting of the minds — and it was mostly my mind meeting theirs."

Pickeral breaks down what UNC needs to do start a six-game winning streak: Play better defense, speed the game up and dish out more assists. I would add stronger rebounding to the list. Sean May did all he could during a furious run, but he can't do it all himself. Georgia Tech was just quicker on balls coming off the boards.

In great shape

2005-03-15T21:19:00.000-05:00

Perhaps an overlooked aspect of Duke game: its physical condition.

Last summer, K implemented "the most demanding offseason conditioning program of his coaching career.

"After answering questions about fatigue all season, the Blue Devils proved once and for all at the ACC Tournament that fatigue will not be a factor for this team, winning three grueling games in three days — a scenario they won't face in the NCAA Tournament."

J.J. Redick, who played all but four minutes in the tournament:

"I think we're in better shape than any team in the conference. We're in great shape."