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14 Feb 2013
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UNC-Duke- The Day After

While the Tar Heels didn’t pull out a victory, they showed a lot of promise and energy, which is a good sign for the rest of the season. They met and exceeded all three of my expectations by playing hard and keeping the game close. Duke wasn’t able to jump out to a big lead at the start of the game because of an improved level of defense, and Carolina actually led the entire first half before going cold offensively. The substitution of PJ Hairston for Desmond Hubert in the starting lineup, proved to be a big boost for the team, and will hopefully be a permanent change. Only time will tell.

While the Tar Heels have the most difficult schedule of any team in the conference (facing all top four teams- Miami, Duke, NCSU and UVA twice), they have the potential to make a good run to close out the season and make a good case for the NCAA Tournament. Their three highest ranked opponents (Duke, UVA and NCSU) are all at home in the Smith Center, as well as their second meeting with FSU who has given them problems in the past. Games with Clemson and GT shouldn’t be overlooked, but despite the current standings, the Tar Heels away game at ACC-turncoat Maryland on March 6 should prove to be one of the toughest matches left.

If the Tar Heels can play with the energy and intensity that they brought to Cameron Indoor last night, they have the ability to have a special ending to an otherwise forgettable season.

Posted by Mr. Tar Heel in Uncategorized
13 Feb 2013

Duke-Carolina- The season begins or ends here for the Tar Heels

It’s been called many things. The “greatest rivalry of all time.” The “unofficial start of the basketball season.” College basketball’s only “national rivalry.” It’s seen Gerald Henderson throw his elbow into Tyler Hansbrough’s face, Austin Rivers make “the shot,” and future surprise NBA superstar Danny Green leap over a flopping Greg Paulus. But tonight’s UNC-Duke game represents so much more than that for the 2012-2013 North Carolina Tar Heels. It represents a chance at redemption. So much of the season has been characterized as a disappointment. Carolina fans just aren’t used to a 16-7 record and NCAA Bubble talk in mid-February, but this year it’s a reality. Carolina NEEDS to win this game. Is it fair to the team for fans to act so spoiled? Probably not. It’s one thing to expect excellence, but another to demand it on an insane level. After losing four first round draft picks to the NBA, another Final Four was not a realistic expectation. This is a YOUNG team.

So what are MY expectations for tonight as a UNC fan?

1) That the game will be competitive

We’re going into a hostile environment, much like we did on Saturday, and we got destroyed. Duke has great fans, I’ll be the first to admit that. Cameron Indoor and the Crazies give Duke one of the best home-court advantages in the country, despite what derogatory things their fans may or may not say. Condolences to NC State’s Tyler Lewis. The Tar Heels need to learn from their mistakes and play at a high-level the WHOLE game. Second-half runs against Butler and NC State show that they can hang with the big guys if they try. They have the talent, and what they lack in experience, they should make up for in effort. Carolina can’t get behind early, or its chance at a competitive edge will be gone.

2) That the UNC lineup will start to reflect real-game results, not practice performance

I love Roy Williams, and I’m a big believer in what he does. Fans can criticize him for being stingy with his timeouts, or not putting certain players on the floor, but he knows the team better than any of us do. We’re not in the locker room. We’re not in practice. He’s loyal, and to be honest, he’s not the one playing the game. It’s the players. So when he takes credit for each and every loss I really respect that because it’s fundamentally not his fault. At the same time, I’ve watched so many games this year where lineups just haven’t worked. For whatever reason, this year’s team seems to have a hard time getting started. This has led to big deficits early on. Roy has experimented a lot and that’s okay because these are young players who are adjusting to their own individual roles on the team. But this is the Duke game. This is not the time for experimentation. The best players need to be on the floor as much as possible. And the best players during the game may be different than the “best players” in the last practice and the “best players” so far this season. Roy needs to stick to the hot hand tonight. There’s too much on the line for anything less.

3) That UNC will do a better job of guarding the three-point line

Duke lives and dies by the three, it’s a fact. They were off at Miami and we all know what happened then. But this is Duke-Carolina and it’s on an entirely different level than that, no matter what Miami’s ranked and what UNC’s not. UNC needs quality wins and a postseason berth IS at stake tonight whether the team will admit it or not. Since the game is at Duke, I don’t expect them to be off tonight. Duke has great fans. So it’s extremely important that Carolina does a better job of covering the three. Our perimeter defense is notoriously bad and it has been for years. But this year’s team is a guard-oriented group which gives us the opportunity to change this for the better. Mason Plumlee is a force inside, but Seth Curry earns more points each time he scores. Our focus needs to be on Curry and the other Duke three-point shooters, not Plumlee. With Joel James out we just don’t have the size to do that anyway. The Tar Heels NEED to commit to better perimeter defense or they cannot be competitive.

I’m cautiously optimistic about tonight’s game. Yes, it is a long-shot that Carolina wins. On paper, Duke just has a better team, even without Ryan Kelly. More experience, more size, a home-court advantage. But this is Duke-Carolina and anything, I mean ANYTHING, can happen. If the Tar Heels can pull out the win, then they’ll have a lot of momentum going into the last half of conference play.

Posted by Mr. Tar Heel in Basketball, March Madness, UNC Correspondent, Uncategorized
10 Feb 2013

Southerland’s Return Caps a Good Week for the Orange

When snowstorms hit the northeast and your team is down to seven scholarship players, panic sets in.  When senior sharpshooter James Southerland returns in time for the St. John’s game, a huge sigh of relief is let out.  This was an important week for the Orange to win both home games after stumbling the week before.  After a great win against Notre Dame early in the week the Orange took care of business today by beating St. John’s.

Southerland was reinstated after sitting out due to an undisclosed reason.  He provides both great depth and balance.  Without him, the Orange became more predictable.  With him, a deep postseason run becomes more viable as the Orange also hope for a speedy recovery from Freshman Dajuan Coleman. 

This week for the Orange are two road games at UConn on Wednesday and Seton Hall on Saturday.  No Big East road game is easy, but two wins here could propel them to where they want to be as the regular season starts to wind down.  Also, the win today was the 37th home win in a row.

Posted by tjcuseacc in Uncategorized
09 Feb 2013
2 Comments

Krispy Kreme Challenge 2013

2400 calories, 12 doughnuts, 5 miles, 1 hour

The Krispy Kreme Challenge was started 9 years ago as a dare between a few NC State students. Run 2.5 miles from the bell tower, eat a dozen doughnuts, run back. Since then, the event has exploded. It’s been featured in places like Sports Illustrated, and has inspired dozens of other food-themed races across the country. The 2013 winner was Timothy Ryan of Madison, Wi. with a time of 31 minutes, 32 seconds. Pretty impressive. This year, there was even a costume contest. Pac-Man, the ghosts and the little white ball were all present. So were Mario and his crew, fairies, Krispy Kreme cups with lipstick, sumo wrestlers, and giant costumed hamsters. It was awesome. The Krispy Kreme Challenge was not a race, it was a spectacle.

But it’s not just fun and games. At this year’s event, 8,000 runners raised $177,000 for the North Carolina Children’s Hospital. Total donations since the beginning total over $500,000, and all proceeds for any past and future races will always go to this cause. It’s amazing.

I was lucky enough to be one of those runners and competed in the challenge for the first time. It was a great experience. Not only do I feel honored that I was able to take part in such a great event, but somehow, I ate all 12 doughnuts and didn’t get sick. Even though NC State is not my ACC school, I’m proud to have been a part of this event. The ACC is more than a conference. Its members are more than schools. And this event is a great example of the type of impact that we can all have on the world around us.

To learn more about the Krispy Kreme Challenge, and to find information about next year’s race, visit http://www.krispykremechallenge.com/

Posted by Mr. Tar Heel in Non-Serious, UNC Correspondent, Uncategorized
09 Feb 2013
1 Comment

Syracuse Football Recruiting Class

The rankings are not kind to this year’s SU recruiting class and rightfully so.  However, Syracuse, even when good, has made a living out of developing the 3 star players.  As I noted last week, the coaching change was creating havoc.  On the negative side, Syracuse lost some verbal commits to Marrone and company such as Augustus Edwards RB/NYC (Miami), Malik Brown DE/Florida (Tennessee), Devan Carter LB/Rochester (Rutgers), and Zach Allen QB/Texas (TCU).  These were all highly sought players and are losses that certainly hurt.  However, kudos to the new staff, and especially new OC George McDonald who pulled in some fine players from various parts of the country all at the last minute.  Notables added late thanks to the new staff are Mitch Kimble QB, Brisly Estime WR, Corey Cooper  WR, and Corey Winfield WR. 

It looks like Scott Shafer’s new staff avoided disaster, because had they not been so good with the late additions, it could have been worse.  They get the benefit of the doubt here.  Unfortunately, it looks like SU fans who were just starting to see recrutiing getting to another level, have to accept the pitfalls of the current HC leaving for the NFL. 

I think the new staff’s success cherry picking these fine players late is a good sign.  However, as noted in last week’s posting, the core of the recruiting area has to be the 250 mile radius around the school.  This class only got one player from the coveted NYC metro area and SU still has not added a coach with ties to this area. 

SU and Boston College at one time owned NYC and NJ and now neither program is getting players from the area.  For either SU or BC to get back to their glory days they have to get their base area back. 

New Jersey has several national powerhouse programs – Don Bosco Prep, Bergen Catholic, St. Peter’s Prep (Jersey City) and St. Joseph (Montvale) outside NYC that churn out Division 1 players.  These players are going to Rutgers and to schools outside the area.  BC and SU used to be in the running for these players.  Ironically, Steve Addazzio has ties to the area from his days as a Syracuse assistant and now more recently at Temple so I wouldn’t be surprised to see BC make a comeback in NYC/NJ.

The ideal situation for Syracuse will be for them to take advantage of the “national” reputation of George McDonald to supplement their core base.  The challenge is going to be getting back into the core northeast programs that Marrone had just started to accomplish. 

 

Posted by tjcuseacc in Uncategorized
03 Feb 2013

Syracuse Hoops

The Carrier Dome needs to rock the next two games after a second straight defeat with a loss to Pitt today.  While it could be argued the ‘Cuse could have won the Villanova game, this game was not the case.  The Orange were outrebounded 39-24 and are certainly finally feeling the impact of the loss of James Southerland.  To make matters worse Freshman Dajuan Coleman is out with a knee injury so they are down to seven scholarship players active.

The Orange have four games in a row coming up against teams with winning records (Notre Dame, St. John’s, UConn, and Seton Hall).  The next two are at home so they need to right the ship before heading on the road for the other two.

Syracuse fans typically start to panic around this time  (remember when Fab Melo got suspended last year).  A two game losing streak in upstate NY does not sit well.  But this is nothing that a nice bounce back on Monday night at the Carrier Dome won’t cure.

Posted by tjcuseacc in Uncategorized
30 Jan 2013
2 Comments

What’s up?/ACC Winter Meetings

Hey guys, what’s up? I just wanted to introduce myself. I’m the new UNC correspondent for Atlantic Coast Confidential. Born in Raleigh, NC to two Virginia Tech grads, I was raised on Tobacco Road and loved every minute of it. Growing up, I actually had pretty much no loyalty to any team at all, cheering for UNC, NC State, Duke (I regret that) and even Wake since VT wasn’t in the ACC yet. But by the time they joined in 2004, I had decided to go to UNC and my loyalties were set for life. I still cheer for VT when they’re not playing Carolina, but when they do, it’s all Carolina all the time. That means that this Saturday’s upcoming game will be pretty fun. But I’m realistic. I know that a stronger ACC makes us all look good, so come tournament time I’m cheering for everybody except Duke (the Lehigh game was great). So while I love Carolina, I’ve always loved the ACC first and am extremely excited about sharing that passion with you.

Mr. Tar Heel

– Watch the ACC Spring Meetings over the next few days. What happens will pretty much determine whether we even need this blog next year, or if the long-rumored (by WVU fans) Armageddon is about to begin. My take- The whole idea is completely overblown. There’s way too much potential in a conference with the best media markets, over 33% of the US population, huge football brands (FSU, ND, Miami, Clemson, VT, etc.), legendary basketball programs (UNC, Duke, NC State, Syracuse, Pitt, Louisville etc.), the best academics, most successful Olympic sports and unparalleled tradition for anything drastic to happen. Swofford will, as he always has, surprise everyone with something that will put the ACC on even monetary terms with the rest of the power conferences. ESPN has invested in the ACC way too much to see its product fall to Fox, or its other competitors. Plus, I just don’t see UNC forsaking its cultural roots for an all-around bad fit (Big 10), or FSU pulling a WVU and letting geographic sense fly out the window.

Posted by Mr. Tar Heel in Conference Realignment, UNC Correspondent, Uncategorized and tagged , , , , ,
29 Jan 2013
2 Comments

State of the Pack: Virginia Preview

Let’s take a moment, just one, to relish the victory over UNC.  The Pack got the Heels by the throat in the first half, but a Roy Williams team will never go away.  Still, this win was terrific.

However, as Dick Vitale reminded those of us taking it in on ESPN again…and again…and again, great teams don’t lose to Wake and Maryland on the road.  So tonight, we face Virginia.

The Cavs have had sucess of late after a shaky start. They are on a 3-game win streak including perhaps their signature win so far vs. Florida State. They hang their hat on defense and will likely be able to keep State from breaking out as often as they did against UNC.

However, if the Wolfpack can manufacture some intensity without the home crowd, they should be OK. I’m thinking they are just as tired as the fans of hearing about their road woes, and that they saw a little of what they can be in the first half Sunday night.

Here’s a look at the stat matchup:

Leading scorers: State:  CJ Leslie 15.4, Va:  Joe Harris 14.8

Rebounders:  State:  Richard Howell 11.1, Va:  Akil Mitchell 8.8

Assists:  State:  Lorenzo Brown 7.2,  Va:  Jontel Evans 4.2

Posted by mikemab2000 in Uncategorized
26 Jan 2013
1 Comment

State/Carolina Preview

It’s on tonight, State vs UNC.  So I thought it would be a good time to look at some stats, as follows:

All-time record: UNC 147, State 75

At Raleigh: UNC 57, State 44

Roy Williams vs State: 24-1, 19-1 at Carolina

Mark Gottfried vs UNC: 0-3, all at State

This decade: UNC 7, State 0

Last Pack win: 2/3/2007

And with the recent State loss combined with the resurgence of the Heels, the deck seems stacked against us.  However this cockeyed optimist believes that Coach Gottfried, the PNC crowd and our extremely talented players will rise to the occasion the same way they did against Duke and end the streak tonight.

From an overall perspective, this game has long been overshadowed by the UNC-Duke rivalry.  That at least is finally beginning to change, and however this comes out, the nation will pay attention.

Wish I could take credit for knowing all those stats by heart, but the numbers came from the Wikipedia page about the rivalry and the Yahoo! preview.

Hope we land a UNC blogger soon so we can get a little friendly back-and-forth going in the future.  Come on, Tar Heel Nation, step up!

Posted by mikemab2000 in Uncategorized and tagged , ,
24 Jan 2013
2 Comments

New Contributor: NC State

Hi all, my name is Mike and I will be the NC State blogger on ACC Confidential. I am a lifelong Pack fan who enjoyed both the ’74 and ’83 hoops title seasons, not to mention all the football action (no NCAA crowns yet, but not giving up…).
Like most of you, I am also a booster of the ACC; the gold standard for basketball and better than most think in football. Realignment is the hot topic right now for the league, but I am optimistic it will survive and thrive in the whatever the new normal turns out to be.
As for the Wolfpack’s current basketball season, what a rollercoaster! Beating Duke but losing to Maryland and now Wake…seems to me the Pack is loaded but not playing as a team. I have no doubt coach Gottfried can turn that around, though.
More about that next time. For now, just happy to join the community and looking forward to adding whatever I can to the conversation.

Posted by mikemab2000 in Uncategorized and tagged

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