The Confidential

The ACC Sports Blog

Archive for the tag “Kendall Marshall”

04 Mar 2012

North Carolina Wraps Up ACC Regular Season Title

The game of the day in the ACC on March 3, 2012, was the matchup between #4 Duke and #6 North Carolina.  Both teams were tied for #1 overall in the ACC with their identical 13-2 conference records and 26-4 overall records.  But North Carolina dominated Duke on Saturday, winning 88-70.

Not only was it an 18-point victory, but North Carolina led by 24 at the half.  The Tar Heels out-rebounded Due–normally a good rebounding team–42 to 22.  North Carolina shot 54.5% from the field and limited Duke to a mere 41.3%.  As is the case whenever Duke is at home, the Blue Devils had more free throw attempts than the visitor.  But Duke only made 57.1% of their attempts, compared to North Carolina’s 80%.  Simply domination.

The numbers jump off the page.  All five North Carolina starters finished in double-figures:

  • Kendall Marshall: 20 points, 10 assists, 4 rebounds
  • Tyler Zeller: 19 points, 10 rebounds
  • Harrison Barnes: 16 points, 4 rebounds
  • John Henson: 13 points, 10 rebounds
  • Reggie Bullock: 12 points, 6 rebounds

While North Carolina’s depth is questionable, no team has five starters that can do that kind of damage.  With a nice showing in the ACC tournament, the Tar Heels may yet end up with a #1 seed.

For Duke, it is a disappointing effort ending an otherwise decent regular season.  There have to be concerns about the defense.  But this is a Duke team that lost to Florida State and Miami at home.  Mason Plumlee had 17 points, while Miles Plumlee added 16 points and 11 rebounds.  Austin Rivers also had 15 points.  All told, losing to North Carolina in this fashion is not as disturbing as North Carolina’s undressing by Florida State.  This is not a vintage Duke team, but it can do some damage in March.

The Confidential will have a weekend recap Monday morning…

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Game Review and tagged , , , , , ,
13 Nov 2011
1 Comment

North Carolina Goes to 2-0

Perhaps you were wondering whether the 2011-2012 North Carolina Tarheels could win an indoor game?   The answer to this silly question is “yes.”  Admittedly, today’s win over North Carolina-Asheville tells the country absolutely nothing.  At least nothing it did not already know.  Frankly, even if they had lost, that would not have caused anyone to move them out of their Final Four projections.

But just look what they overcame.  Less than 48 hours after playing a first-of-its-kind game on an aircraft carrier… outdoors… in the twilight… with no student section… with the President making a pregame speech and watching… against physical Michigan State… they hopped a plane and played a road game against North Carolina-Asheville.  Had the Tarheels lost, there would have been a built excuses.  But they won.

The easy post-game review is to credit Harrison Barnes, Tyler Zeller, and John Henson for scoring 64 of the 91 points.  But take a look at what Kendall Marshall did.  15 assists!  All too often, talented teams suffocate under the pressure of keeping everyone happy.  If Marshall is willing to keep the big 3 happy by dishing the ball, that will only add to the dangerousness of this team.

If someone wants to nitpick, they can point out that Marshall had all but one of the team assists.  Or that the team had 17 turnovers against an overmatched foe.  But most elite teams don’t even play road games against this type of foe, so The Confidential is more inclined to simply give credit where it is due.

What do you think–is there ANY reason for North Carolina to not be #1 in the country right now?

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball, Game Review and tagged , , , , , , ,
09 Nov 2011

Harrison Barnes, Consensus Pre-Season All-American

The basketball elite at ESPN have made their votes and Harrison Barnes of North Carolina was deemed a consensus Preseason All-American.  All fifteen voters agreed that Barnes should be a first-team All-American.  Three of the fifteen even voted him as the Preseason Player of the Year.

It should also be noted that a few other ACC players received some recognition too.  Barnes’ teammate, Tyler Zeller, was named to the second-team on several ballots.  Two more Tarheels, Kendall Marshall and John Henson, appeared on a second-team ballots as well.  It is easy to see why North Carolina is a consensus preseason #1.

No other current ACC team placed any players on the list.  Instead, it was the North Carolina show.

But in terms of future ACC members, Syracuse and Pitt were represented.  Kris Joseph (Syracuse) and Ashton Gibbs (Pitt) each appeared in several ballots.  Joe Lunardi even placed Gibbs on his preseason first-team.

Congrats to all of these players.  Let’s hope that they all stay healthy and have the opportunity to prove the voters right in providing these accolades.  The pressure is on to live up to the hype.

Posted by acaffrey in ACC only, Basketball and tagged , , , , , , , , , , , ,

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