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Transcript of Basketball preview 2009-2010: Out of the shadows
Out of theSHADOWS
The Daily Tar Heel
Basketball Preview 2009-2010
PAGE 6: One year after winning a national
championship, new faces lead North
Carolina.
tuesday, october 20, 2009
Basketball 1009-102 tuesday, october 20, 2009 The Daily Tar Heel
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3Basketball 2009-10 tuesday, october 20, 2009The Daily Tar Heel
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Table of conTenTs
Will GraVes Graves looks to pick up the pieces from a turbulent sophomore season and rebound in his junior year.
DTH FILE PHOTO
Deon Thompson (21) and North Carolina enter the season ranked in the top 10, despite losing four of five starters from the 2008-09 NCAA national championship team. The Tar Heels open their season with Isaiah Thomas’ Florida International team at 7 p.m. Monday, Nov. 9.
2009-10 Men’s baskeTball RosTeRNo. player Year pos. Height 1 Marcus Ginyard R-SR G/F 6’ 5” 2 Marc Campbell R-SR G 5’11” 5 Dexter Strickland FR G 6’3” 11 Larry Drew II SO G 6’ 1” 13 Will Graves R-JR F/G 6’ 6” 14 Terrence Petree SR G 6’ 1”21 Deon Thompson SR F 6’ 8” 24 Justin Watts SO G 6’ 4”30 Thomas Thornton SR G 6’ 1”31 John Henson FR F 6’10”32 Ed Davis SO F 6’10” 34 David Wear FR F 6’10”35 Kevin Gallagher SR F 6’ 4”43 Travis Wear FR F 6’10”44 Tyler Zeller SO F 7’ 0”Head coach: Roy Williamsdirector of Basketball Operations: Joe Holladay
assistant coach: Steve Robinsonassistant coach: Jerod Haase
daTe Time OppONeNT TV
Mon. Nov. 9 7 p.m. vs. Florida International espNu
Wed. Nov. 11 9 p.m. vs. N.C. Central espNu
Sun. Nov. 15 4 p.m. vs. Valparaiso fss
Thu. Nov. 19 9:15 p.m. vs. Ohio State (NYC) espN2
Fri. Nov. 20 TBA vs. TBA (NYC) TBa
Mon. Nov. 23 7:30 p.m. vs. Gardner-Webb fss
Sun. Nov. 29 6:45 p.m. vs. Nevada fox Net
Tue. Dec. 1 9 p.m. vs. Mich. State espN
Sat. Dec 5 12:30 p.m.at Kentucky espN Sat. Dec. 12 7:30 p.m. vs. Presbyterian TBa
Sat. Dec. 19 2 p.m. vs. Texas (Arlington) espN
Wed. Dec. 22 7 p.m. vs. Marshall fss/NesN
Tues. Dec. 28 8:30 p.m. vs. Rutgers espN2
Thu. Dec. 30 7 p.m. vs. Albany NY espNu
Mon. Jan 4 7 p.m. at College of Charleston espNu
Sun. Jan. 10 7:45 p.m. vs. Virginia Tech fox Net
Wed. Jan. 13 9 p.m. at Clemson espN
Sat. Jan. 16 2 p.m. vs. Georgia Tech espN
Wed. Jan 20 7 p.m. vs. Wake Forest espN
Tue. Jan 26 9 p.m. at N.C. State raycom
Sun. Jan. 31 7:45 p.m. vs. Virginia fox Net
Thu. Feb. 4 9 p.m. at Virginia Tech raycom
Sun. Feb. 7 2 p.m. at Maryland fox Net
Wed. Feb. 10 9 p.m. vs Duke raycom/espN
Tue. Feb. 16 9 p.m. at Georgia Tech raycom
Sat. Feb. 20 Noon at. Boston College raycom
Wed. Feb. 24 7 p.m. vs. Florida State espN
Sat. Feb. 27 2 p.m. at Wake Forest cBs
Tue. March 2 8 p.m. vs. Miami espN
Sat. March 6 9 p.m. at Duke cBs
2009-10 Men’s baskeTball schedule
expectations still high for uNcBY pOWell laTimerSPORTS EDITOR
In the weeks leading up to the start of the 2009-10 men’s basket-ball season, Roy Williams did a series of double takes.
North Carolina’s head coach looked at three magazines that published preseason rankings, and in each one, there North Carolina sat: No. 4 in one, No. 4 again and No. 5 in another.
Williams didn’t know what to think.
“It ’s unbelievable to me,” Williams said. “That was where I would expect us to be picked in our league, and that’s where we were picked in the nation.”
That’s a North Carolina team that lost four starters — its top four scorers from last year’s national championship squad.
The leading returning scorer is Deon Thompson, with just 10.6 points per game.
After UNC won the nation-al championship in 2005, the national media predicted that the Tar Heels would experience a massive championship hangover the next season.
In that season, the Tar Heels had even fewer returning — an unproven Reyshawn Terry, a David Noel who had never shown scor-ing potential, and some freshman named Tyler Hansbrough.
Picked sixth in the ACC to start the season, the Tar Heels went on to share the ACC regular season title.
With that memory still fresh, many publications are putting
expectations on UNC that Williams wouldn’t.
“I told our kids it’s probably because we made everybody look so bad in 2006 that they don’t want to get caught that way again,” Williams said
Maybe ol’ Roy’s just mad he won’t get to use the low expecta-tions of the national media as a motivational technique.
“It’s really hard to beat that drum when you go in there Saturday morning and say, ‘Alright guys, nobody thinks we’re going to be any good. We lost four starters,’” Williams said.
“And some freshman says, ‘Coach I thought we were ranked fourth in the nation?’
“I used that card a little bit in 2006, but can’t use that card any-more.”
And while Williams plays down his team’s considerable talent, that talent overshadows his dismay at the high expectations.
“I mean, people respect us regardless because we’re North Carolina, and just the program has that respect,” Larry Drew II said. “And I mean we’re young this year, but we’re still going to go out and play Carolina basketball, and we’re going to compete.”
Thompson returns as a double-figure scorer, Tyler Zeller is back as a seven-footer who showed real promise before breaking his wrist early in the season and Ed Davis spurned a possible lottery pick in last year’s NBA draft to come back for his sophomore season.
Marcus Ginyard, a lockdown defender and senior who redshirt-ed last season with a stress fracture, returns for his final year.
And there’s also a talented five-player freshman class of shoot-ing guards Dexter Strickland and Leslie McDonald and three long and capable forwards in John Henson and twins David and Travis Wear.
All told, things look surprisingly similar to 2006 — except with the tremendous talent of Davis in the post thrown in.
And it helps for certain that Ginyard is still around. The fifth-
year player was one of the fresh-men in 2005.
“There’s no doubt, to hear from someone who’s been through pretty much exactly what they’re going to go through, it probably makes it a little easier for them to see some of the things that we’re going to try to tell them and try to get in their heads” Ginyard said.
“And to see that coming from someone they know has been through it is always good.”
But at any rate, it is probably safe to say that North Carolina won’t be underestimated by any opponent this season.
4TYler Zeller UNC’s seven-footer is ready to take up some of the slack left by his former teammate, Tyler Hansbrough.5cOVer sTOrY: OuT Of THe sHadOWs The Tar Heels are highly rated, mostly because of large and untested talent.6fresHmeNUNC’s talented five-player freshman class will have plenty of chances to see action in 2009-10.8cONNecTicuT Game preVieWAfter being blown out last season, UNC women’s basketball is eyeing their rematch with the Huskies.9
frONTcOurT Roy Williams has lots of big men to keep happy, but he doesn’t mind the burden. 10BacKcOurT Larry Drew II is the only known starter, but the wings are up in the air.11
TimeliNe acc Team preVieWs:
14-21
WOmeN’s BasKeTBall: seasON preVieW UNC lost five players from last season, but Sylvia Hatchell still has high goals.16
14 100 years timeline & maryland 15 Georgia Tech & clemson 17 duke 18 Boston college & Nc state 19 Virginia Tech & Virginia 20 miami & florida state 21 Wake forest
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Basketball 2009-104 tuesday, october 20, 2009 The Daily Tar Heel
Will Graves refocuses after his suspension
dth File photo
Will Graves needs to add outside scoring, as he is the main candidate to fill in for the departed Wayne ellington’s shooting in the starting lineup.
By AnnA KimSenior Writer
Will Graves keeps his national championship ring within arm’s reach of his pillow.
It also reminds him of the oppor-tunity he allowed to slip through his hands.
“From a fan’s perspective, I’m in the best position ever because I don’t think any other fan in the world has a ring,” Graves said. “And then from a player perspective, it’s humbling. I would have loved to have been out there on the floor to earn it.”
Last February, the backup guard received a suspension from the team after violating an undisclosed team rule. Coach Roy Williams issued a statement citing that Graves “did not maintain the
standards we expect of a Carolina basketball player.”
When asked about the specifics of the violation, Graves declined to offer any more details.
“I did some things that a Carolina basketball player is not supposed to do,” he said.
So he missed out on what North Carolina players very occasion-ally get to do — play for and win a national title.
“I was there with the team in spirit,” he said. “But I wasn’t able to be on the court with the team.”
While continuing to practice with the team, Graves spent the final 18 games of the season on the bench.
Prior to his suspension, Graves had a meager impact on the team, averaging 4 points and 2.6
rebounds a game. But this season, Graves is in position to step up as an integral player on the perimeter in the absence of Wayne Ellington, Danny Green, Ty Lawson and Bobby Frasor.
Graves added that he would also like to focus on maturing into a defensive stopper to aid senior Marcus Ginyard on the other end of the court.
“I’ve been playing basketball since I was 4,” he said. “I just go out there and try to live for the moment. And it sounds like a great opportunity for Carolina basketball to need a shooter.”
As a redshirt junior, Graves’ experience has the potential to be an otherwise scarce asset on the young team.
That is, Ginyard said, depending
on what comes from Graves’ expe-rience off of it.
“I just hope that he learned when you’re a part of a team like this, even your individual choices and your individual actions have effects on other people,” Ginyard said.
“And for this team to be able to do what we want to do, everybody’s got to be on the same page.”
Graves assured his teammates that he had turned a page and recommitted himself to a new ending. Forward Deon Thompson could understand why.
“Having to sit on the side-lines and watch us win a national championship, things like that can maybe light a fire in him to want to help this team this year,” Thompson said.
“I definitely hope he learns from that experience and just doesn’t go back down that road he went down.”
Graves’ suspension never seemed to muffle his vocal presence around the team. For expectant fans at the Smith Center, Graves’ hoots, barks and cries of, “Here we go,” often heralded the team’s arrival at every home game.
The same upbeat attitude, he said, is one that will persist as he seeks to earn the trust of a new team by play-ing and by leading.
“I always try to come out with a smile on my face and move for-ward,” he said. “Learn from my mistakes.”
Ginyard said that Graves is still earning back the trust of his teammates. Thompson said he could not imagine being in Graves’ situation.
“I don’t think anybody from the outside looking in could put them-selves in his shoes,” he said.
But just as nobody can place themselves in Graves’ shoes, nobody can walk in them for him either.
Or take him where he wants to go.
“It added fuel to the fire to come out here and lead a young team to another national championship,” Graves said.
With his suspension behind him, he knows there is only one way there.
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5Basketball 2009-10 tuesday, october 20, 2009The Daily Tar Heel
after injuries, Zeller ready for larger role“It just happened today — somebody yelled ‘Tyler’ and I didn’t look for a second. And I’m like, ‘Dang, that’s me.’”Tyler Zeller, Sophomore center
dth file/colleen cook
Sophomore big man tyler Zeller is looking to prove he is fully recovered the wrist injury he suffered against Uk, which sidelined him until feb. 18.
By DaviD reynolDsSenior Writer
Even six months removed from North Carolina’s final game of 2009, center Tyler Zeller is still hav-ing trouble adjusting to life without one of last year’s departed stars.
Well, not quite that player in particular, just his dominating popularity.
Namely, Zeller’s still unfamiliar with responding to something that seems like second nature to just about everyone — his first name.
“It jus t happened today. Somebody yelled ‘Tyler,’ and I didn’t look for a second. And I’m like, ‘Dang, that’s me,’” Zeller said.
It’s easy to forgive him for his deference to that other Tyler.
After all, Tyler Hansbrough left North Carolina as one of the greats in program and college basketball history, ranking first in the UNC record books in points, rebounds and free throws. That’s not to men-tion his national player of the year accolades as a junior, or his four first-team All-ACC selections.
And for an encore in his senior season, Hansbrough cemented his legend by capturing the Tar Heels’ fifth NCAA title.
Zeller, meanwhile, hasn’t proved
much of anything just yet.He broke his left wrist in
UNC’s game against Kentucky in November, costing him most of his freshman season. He didn’t return until late February in a game against N.C. State.
And even after he came back, Zeller never seemed to get comfort-able in the offense the rest of the way, and he played only a minor role in UNC’s championship run.
Zeller averaged just 3.1 points and two rebounds per game in limited minutes.
“Going back to last year, it was a great experience, and I learned a lot. But I never felt in the flow of the game,” Zeller said. “When I did, it was kind of one of those things that I would get in the flow for a little bit and then I’d get out of it.”
But with a full offseason of pickup games in Chapel Hill, Zeller said, he feels much more integrated within the team’s framework, and he’s com-fortable again on the court.
UNC’s other big bodies down low have noticed the change.
He received praise from Sean May, Deon Thompson and Ed Davis for his work in the offsea-son. They also talked about his threat in the Tar Heels’ up-tempo
offense.“I think people just got a little
glimpse about how good he really is,” Thompson said. “He’s really tal-ented, being seven-foot and to be able to run the floor and be able to score as quick as he does with jump hooks.”
Davis said that Zeller’s more than back to where he was before the injury and that his frontcourt partner should be able to contrib-ute significantly to the offense.
“He’s gotten much better since the first day,” Davis said. “He got that much better at everything. His shots are getting better and his explosiveness is getting better.”
But Zeller worked on more than just honing his basketball skills in the time he had away from orga-nized team activities. Weight gain was also a priority for the 2008 Mr. Basketball out of Indiana, who weighed just 212 pounds when he arrived on campus.
After a full year of tutelage from UNC’s strength and conditioning coach Jonas Sahratian, Zeller’s
build is up to a muscular 241, more befitting of his 7-0 frame.
That weight gain should pay dividends establishing his posi-tion against some of the talented post players in the ACC, such as Clemson’s Trevor Booker or Wake Forest’s Al-Farouq Aminu.
Zeller admitted he was pushed around last season when going for rebounds but added that he feels much stronger on the court now.
But defense isn’t the only place Zeller’s extra muscle should help.
“It ’s going to help him be able to hold guys off in the post,” Thompson said. “Seal guys off, get deeper post position.”
But as for being the “other” Tyler, Zeller’s not sweating it.
Besides, he’s already used to being the “other” somebody — the other Zeller.
“I’ve always been compared to my older brother, so I’ve just kind of always been used to it,” Zeller said. “It means something to me, but at the same time I’m also my own person.”
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Basketball 2009-106 tuesday, october 20, 2009 The Daily Tar Heel 7Basketball 2009-10 tuesday, october 20, 2009The Daily Tar Heel
By mike ehrlichsenior Writer
For seventh-year head coach Roy Williams, the 2009-10 North Carolina basketball
season will not begin with the first game (against Florida International on Nov. 9).
Or with the first exhibition, or even with Late Night with Roy.
This season began long before any of that, with a conversation and a con-clusion.
Actually it was an extended series of conversations with no players, no opponents and no wives. Williams and his staff took a three-day retreat for some uninterrupted discussion about defending his team’s latest national championship.
“We talked for 18 hours, just basket-ball, and the biggest conclusion was: We don’t know,” Williams said. “We don’t know what we have.”
It might be uncertain exactly what the Tar Heels have this year, but it is glaringly obvious what they do not have. All you’ll have to do is look up into the rafters for a reminder.
“For the last four years, one thing that we did come to expect was that Tyler (Hansbrough) was going to get after it harder than anybody else out there,” senior Marcus Ginyard said.
Replacing a guy that the folks at The Sporting News named college basket-ball’s athlete of the decade will be a tall task for UNC’s post. In fact, the Tar Heels haven’t even gotten accustomed to his absence.
“I actually keep looking for him,” Williams said. “You know, where’s Waldo? Where’s Tyler?”
Hansbrough isn’t the only Tar Heel gone M.I.A. UNC is also missing Final Four Most Outstanding Player Wayne Ellington, an excellent defender and 3-point shooter in Danny Green and the catalyst to the 2009 title, Ty Lawson.
All in all, nearly 75 percent of UNC’s scoring from a year ago has been erased. That leaves some pretty large shoes to fill.
It is a scenario that begs com-parison to the 2006 team, which was charged with the
similar task of defending a national championship without its four best players from the year before.
N orth Carolina’s 2009 team left behind an NCAA title trophy, a
retired jersey and an impressive legacy. The 2009-10 squad now gets to follow that act.
DtH FiLe PHotos
ED DAVIS
5 22.6 ppg 905 games 13 92%number crunchingAt the outset of the 2008-09 season, North Carolina’s out-
look on paper seemed downright rosy. After losing four of
five starters, the Tar Heels have a host of question marks to
start the 2009-10 season.
1 10.6 ppg 438 games 7 28%
retUrninG stArters
Average points by
LeADinG retUrninG
sCorer
team’s previous
CoMBineD GAMe
eXPerienCe
total number of
UPPerCLAssMenPerCent oF
sCorinG retUrninG
MARCUS GINYARD
Out of the
But upon a closer look, there is a major difference between 2010 and 2006. In ’06, it wasn’t just that Williams and the Tar Heels didn’t quite know what they had; they hardly even knew who they had.
Their most dependable return-ing player was a forward — David Noel — who averaged 3.9 points per game, and nobody else had logged any crunch-time minutes. The result was three freshmen named Marcus, Tyler and Bobby starting in their very first collegiate game.
Ginyard, the only player to be in Chapel Hill for both title defenses, said the team is better equipped this time around.
“It’s definitely a completely differ-ent situation,” Ginyard said. “There’s no doubt that there’s a lot of pieces missing from last year’s team, just as there was from the 2005 team. But there’s no question we are return-ing more contributors to this team from the national championship last year.”
For this year’s Tar Heels, the uncertainty is less funda-mental and therefore more
complex.Sure, they return two senior leaders
in Ginyard and Deon Thompson. But one hasn’t participated in a real game since early January, and the other one has never been top dog.
And sure, North Carolina’s got a seven-footer who can run the floor. But Tyler Zeller missed 13 weeks with a broken wrist and, justifiably, appeared lost upon his return midway through the ACC slate.
The best returning shooter was suspended from the team in early February for violating team rules and had to watch from the bench as his teammates stormed through the NCAA Tournament.
And the guy slated to direct all of these parts from the crucial point guard spot might be the biggest ques-tion mark of them all, as he looked overwhelmed as a backup in his first year.
“Previous teams before, you kind of could look and see what you were going to get,” Thompson said. “You could see how the team was going to score, how they could get defense, where the points are going to come
from.“But with this team you just don’t
know. It’s just ’cause it’s so wide open, and so many different types of talents and different types of players.”
But wait, how can there be this many question marks on a team that all the experts are still expecting to be among the top five or 10 teams in the nation?
Well, that same question has Williams baffled this preseason.
“I picked up three magazines and we’re (Nos.) 4, 4 and 5. That was where I would expect us to be picked in our league, and that’s where we were picked in the nation.
“So I told our kids, it’s probably because we made everybody look so bad in 2006, that they don’t want to get caught that way again.”
The real basis for the preseason hype is probably a little more concrete than that. It’s likely
because for every question mark North Carolina has, it’s also got its fair share of exclamation points.
Forward Ed Davis was projected to be a top-five pick in the NBA Draft, but he elected to return for his sopho-more season, and he spent the sum-mer working on improving his inside scoring.
Ginyard was able to overcome his injury and some taunts about his old age to be what Williams called “the star of the show” in the offseason fit-ness tests. He worked on his outside shooting stroke during the offseason, which, if improved, would make him a much more complete player.
And Larry Drew II said he’s approaching the season with more confidence in a role that he knows is his to lose.
Plus, there are three very talented freshman bigs who are champing at the bit to get on the court. And they know that their older teammates have been to the promised land.
“You just lead by example, people will follow,” Thompson said.
“I’m definitely going to bring the effort every day on the court, in the weight room. But definitely just being more vocal … on a team like this one with so many younger guys that are willing to listen to someone that’s older.”
This rare mix of returning talent and nagging uncertainty makes this preseason unique.
So where will the points come from this year for the Tar Heels? Will Drew take care of
the ball? Can freshman John Henson be effective on the perimeter? Can Will Graves be both effective and reliable? Does UNC even have a true shooting guard?
The truth is, Williams was right. The biggest conclusion that can be made about these Tar Heels is that it’s too early to know.
But that only leaves room to learn as the season begins.
“I think it’s very exciting,” Ginyard said. “One because yeah, we don’t know. But two, we know we’re good enough to get it done.”
’08 -’09TEAM
’09 -’10TEAM
DEONTHOMPSON
LARRY DREW II
We talked for 18 hours, just basketball, and the biggest conclusion was: We don’t know.”
-roy Williams
SHADOWS
MOVED ON
Basketball 2009-108 tuesday, october 20, 2009 The Daily Tar Heel
three forwards highlight freshman class
DTH File/Jessey Dearing
UnC’s freshmen (from left, Dexter strickland, David Wear, John Henson, Travis Wear, and leslie McDonald) will get plenty of chances to play.
“They’re not expected to come in and win a national championship. So, the pressure on the young guys isn’t that heavy.”Deon Thompson, senior ForWarD
By JorDan masonsTaFF WriTer
The last time North Carolina won a national championship, the Tar Heels were rewarded the fol-lowing season by dropping com-pletely off the preseason Top 25 Associated Press Poll.
The team did lose 91 percent of its scoring and 184 of 185 games started from the season before. Its top returning scorer, David Noel, averaged only 3.9 points and 2.6 rebounds in the Tar Heels’ cham-pionship run in 2005.
Yet UNC was able to surprise America with a run to the second round of the NCAA Tournament behind significant contributions from four freshmen, includ-
ing one from Poplar Bluff, Mo., who led the team in scoring and rebounding.
UNC’s newcomers will not be primary contributors like Tyler Hansbrough and Bobby Frasor, who started 30 and 31 games respectively as freshmen.
“They’re not expected to come in and win a national championship,” senior forward Deon Thompson said. “So, the pressure on the young guys isn’t that heavy.”
Not that these freshmen won’t play. Williams already has plans to play 6-foot-10 forward John Henson on the perimeter and cause matchup nightmares for opposing coaches. “He is one that we’re defi-nitely looking at, and we’ll start,
not start the game, but we’re going to start practice with him on the perimeter,” he said. “But I wouldn’t be surprised for David (Wear) or Travis (Wear), either one, to go out there.”
The Wears and Henson have range that extends beyond the arc. The Wears combine that range with a fundamentally sound face-up game while Henson is often going to the rim in an up-tempo style that defies his frame.
And Williams did not even mention explosive guards Dexter Strickland and Leslie McDonald who both may have the opportu-nity to spell Marcus Ginyard and Larry Drew II in the backcourt.
The depth of the class is one reason Williams is not the only one anxious to see the freshmen on the
court. “These guys are very talented,
and I’m just ready to get these guys in practice and start getting them on the same page as everybody else,” Ginyard said. “They’re going to be an exciting bunch to watch and, hopefully, stick together for a long time.”
But Ginyard is not expected to just watch and enjoy the talents of his young teammates. As the old-est player on the team, Ginyard is expected to lead this young team as the Tar Heels defend their title.
And the senior had a fine exam-ple to follow on that team in then-senior David Noel.
“David Noel, to this point in my career, is the best leader I’ve ever been around,” Williams said.
“The freshmen just bought
into everything David Noel said. Whatever he said was good. No question, no second thoughts.”
Williams believes Ginyard and Thompson will be up to the chal-lenge even if they are not Noel.
“This is my favorite time of year whether it’s a veteran team or what-
ever,” Williams said. “As coaches we get to teach and the players get an opportunity to learn, and it’s their classroom and that really is a fun part.”
Whether he will have as much fun as he did with the freshmen in 2006 — only time will tell.
Henson, Wear twins add post depth
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9Basketball 2009-10 tuesday, october 20, 2009The Daily Tar Heel
uNc looking forward to Husky rematch
dth file photo
Connecticut came to the Smith Center last season and ripped North Carolina, 88-58. this season, UNC plays UConn in Storrs, Conn., and Chay Shegog (20) wants a second chance at the huskies’ formidable front line.
By Powell latimerSportS editor
It was supposed to be the big game of the 2008-09 North Carolina women’s basketball schedule.
In the preseason, the story ran in the last basketball preview section: UNC vs. Connecticut.
The powerhouse Huskies were coming to the Smith Center to take on North Carolina, the pro-gram that hadn’t lost an ACC Tournament game in four years.
And as the game inched closer, the hype built.
UNC sat at 17-0, ranked No. 2 in the nation. UConn was 17-0 as well and brought the No. 1 overall ranking into the game.
And if there was any doubt as to the Huskies’ dominance before the game, there sure wasn’t any after UConn’s epic thrashing of the Tar Heels, 88-58.
“They came into our house and showed us how to play,” coach Sylvia Hatchell said after the game.
After that game, UNC’s season went quickly downhill. The Tar
Heels lost the next two games at Georgia Tech and at Maryland, and bowed out in just the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
After going undefeated through the first half of its season, UNC finished the final 18 games with an 11-7 record.
“We didn’t get the leadership,” Hatchell said.
“As times got tougher, our lead-ership didn’t get tougher and step up, and I was disappointed in that. Usually, as we get closer to tourna-ment time, we’re a better team. We always do well tournament time, but I was disappointed in some of our losses.”
And this season, UNC again will face Connecticut — this time in Storrs, Conn. — at the start of January, in a matchup that could define its season.
A chance for a season-long redemption with a young North Carolina team is exactly what Hatchell wants.
UNC will be facing lowered expectations after its two leading scorers from last year’s team either
graduated (Rashanda McCants) or will miss most of the season recov-ering from Hodgkin’s lymphoma (Jessica Breland).
But as a whole, North Carolina will have a to find its place in the shifting landscape of the ACC.
The once-dominant big three of Duke, UNC and Maryland all lost substantial contributors, and upstart Florida State carved out its spot, finishing second overall last season.
“In the past it ’s been us, Maryland and Duke, and a little bit of a gap there,” Hatchell said.
“Last year, Florida State and Georgia Tech closed that gap, but this year, there is no gap. And I just don’t think there’s much distance between any of the teams.”
Even with a young and unproven team, it’s apparent that UNC will have ample chances to re-establish itself at the top of the ACC.
The matchup against UConn will go a long way toward prov-ing just how legitimate North Carolina’s run at the conference title will be.
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Basketball 2009-1010 tuesday, october 20, 2009 The Daily Tar Heel
tar Heels’ frontcourt is filled with height
DTh file phoTo
Senior Deon Thompson will help shoulder some of the scoring load left by departing forward Tyler hansbrough, the ACC’s all-time leading scorer.
DTh file phoTo
Sophomore ed Davis, above, will start for the Tar heels. he hopes to improve his already high lottery status with a strong season this year.
By Mark ThoMpsonSenior WriTer
North Carolina may not be the best team in the nation this year, but it will be one of the tallest.
The Tar Heels’ towering front-court has an average height of a little more than 6-foot-10.
To accommodate the loss of for-ward Tyler Hansbrough and for-ward/guard Danny Green, UNC has brought in a trio of forwards to add to returning players Deon Thompson, Tyler Zeller and Ed Davis.
“We sat here last year, and half of the questions were, ‘How are you going to make everybody happy because of all the players?’ And we needed every single one of them,” coach Roy Williams said.
“I told you I didn’t mind having all of those players, and I would much rather have too many than not enough.”
Depth is not an issue for UNC’s frontcourt this season. Joining the returners is a talented group of freshman headed by John Henson, a top-five prospect according to many scouting sites. Alongside Henson are the 6-foot-10 twin tow-ers David and Travis Wear.
Henson will likely start at small forward, and at 6-foot-10, he’s a matchup problem for any team. Both Henson and the Wear twins have a variety of skills — some of
which extend to the perimeter. All three have the ability to play small forward, and it’s likely all three will.
“The big key is who can slide their feet defensively to guard the 6-foot-6-inch, 6-foot-7-inch guy on the other team,” Williams said. “I think all three of those kids poten-tially could do it offensively, but who can play it on the defensive end?”
Many questions surround the abundance of new faces this year, but the freshmen are just a portion of the UNC frontcourt nucleus.
In the absence of Hansbrough, Thompson, Davis and Zeller will anchor the paint.
Zeller, a 7-foot sophomore, scored 18 points in his first game last season before injuring himself in the following game.
“Ty Zeller gets up and down the court,” Thompson said. “Those long legs, and he uses his little baby hook that’s so quick to score the basket.”
Thompson, the 6-foot-9 senior power forward, emerged last year during Hansbrough’s injury as a double threat, and many will expect the same from him for the whole season this year.
He is also likely to take a leader-ship role this year alongside fellow senior Marcus Ginyard.
Thompson averaged 10.6 points per game while shooting slight-
ly less than 50 percent. But in Hansbrough’s absence, he scored 16.8 points per game and made 60 percent of his shots. He also raised his rebounding total from 5.7 rebounds per game to 6.8 with Hansbrough out of the game.
Also returning is 6-foot-10 soph-omore Davis, the swat-team captain who passed up a potential top-five pick in the NBA draft to return.
Davis’ long arms and reach enabled him to lead the team with 65 blocked shots last season, and his role should increase this year as a starter.
UNC may not have a national player of the year on its team this year, but there will be no lack of tal-ent in the frontcourt.
Although it’s unclear who will take the reins as the leader in UNC’s frontcourt, the team will certainly have quite a few options.
“With Deon and Tyler Zeller and Ed Davis and even with these young guys, the Wears and John Henson, it’s going to be great to see all those guys working together out there on the court, and they’re going to be able to do some big things for us,” Ginyard said.
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11Basketball 2009-10 tuesday, october 20, 2009The Daily Tar Heel
drew brings a revamped game to uNc
“I didn’t feel like he had the greatest confidence level. (Now) he doesn’t question what he’s doing.”Tyler Zeller, Forward, on drew
By Chris hempsonassistant sports editor
Back in May, Larry Drew II returned to California for the off season. After only a week, his father, Larry Drew, took Drew II to dinner at a nearby T.G.I. Friday’s. During the meal, the elder Drew left and went to the car. When he returned, he wasn’t empty-handed.
“He came back with a folder and dropped it on the table,” Drew II said. “It was like, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. It was like everything that I would do all day, he just had a schedule. He basically had it all planned before I even got there.”
Drew didn’t have a lengthy moti-vational speech planned out for his son, though. He simply said, “This is what you’re doing this summer. Get committed.”
And committed Drew II was.After arriving in Chapel Hill in
2008 as a heralded high school recruit and a fairly prolific three-point shooter, Drew underwent a rocky freshman campaign. He scored only 1.4 points each contest. His field goal percentage was 35 percent, and his percentage from long range was much worse: a dismal 23 percent.
Drew II recognized this fact and entered the summer ready to change the perceptions about his jumper.
Under his dad’s workout plan, the now-sophomore woke up every day at 6 a.m. He’d shoot for two hours and then do some conditioning. After lunch, it was back to shooting.
“A lot of the stuff that we did actu-ally was close-range,” Drew II said. “Working on my form, trying to get my touch right. All my mechanics were OK close to the basket.”
By the end of the day, Drew II would usually hoist close to 1,000 shots — a workout that hasn’t gone unnoticed by his teammates.
During the team’s media day, forward Tyler Zeller acknowledged how well Drew II has been shoot-ing in pickup games.
“Last year, I didn’t feel like he had the greatest confidence level,” Zeller said. “(Now) he doesn’t ques-tion what he’s doing. He just goes and makes a move right away.”
North Carolina coach Roy Williams will certainly hope this is the case. After losing his two back-court starters in Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington to the NBA draft, the Tar Heels’ current crop of guards brings an aura of uncertainty.
Drew II will likely be the open-ing-game starter at point guard but
not much else is known. Redshirt senior Marcus Ginyard is a lock-down defender but has never been known as a go-to scorer at UNC.
Still, much like Drew II, such perceptions didn’t stop Ginyard from tailoring his offseason toward a specific part of his game.
“Definitely more shots, more shots, more shots. More shots, no question,” he said.
Redshirt junior Will Graves returns, after being suspended for a large portion of last season. Graves brings a sweet stroke from deep and could be the team’s best chance at outside scoring. But he averaged only 11.2 minutes last year and has never been an established scorer in the UNC rotation.
And there are the two freshman guards, Dexter Strickland and Leslie McDonald. Both are highly acclaimed, but they are freshman. Williams probably won’t heavily rely on the pair at first.
“If you’re not patient, you’re only cutting your own throat,” Williams said. “I don’t mind the uncertainty as long as the guy that does start plays really well.”
backcourt looks to replace stars
dtH File pHoto
larry drew ii figures to get more minutes with the departure of ty lawson to the nBa, and he enters the season as UnC’s starting point guard.
dtH File pHoto
Marcus Ginyard is back for his fifth campaign in argyle and blue and will once again assume the role of UnC’s best perimeter defender.
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Basketball 1009-1012 tuesday, october 20, 2009 The Daily Tar Heel
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Essay by Coach Roy Williams Rare Tar Heel Photographs The All-time Carolina Team
Articles from the SI Vault on the Heels’ title games and greatest players
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13Basketball 2009-10 tuesday, october 20, 2009The Daily Tar Heel
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Basketball 2009-1014 tuesday, october 20, 2009 The Daily Tar Heel
A timeline worthy of 100 years of basketball
Powell latimerSay word
In The Daily Tar Heel’s editor’s meeting before the start of the school year, I made a huge
mistake.When my bosses asked the
desk editors for our desk’s major issues for the year, I spoke up.
“It’s the 100th season of basket-ball at UNC,” I said.
Everybody in the room agreed that was, in fact, a pretty big deal.
Unfortunately, that meant that the next question was “What are you gonna do for it?”
I blacked out for the next part and don’t remember my exact response, but two weeks later the bosses came to me and said we were going to do a timeline docu-menting all 100 years of UNC basketball.
You know, since we’re journal-ists and stuff, we like to occa-sionally document important histories and take a look at the big picture.
Most of the time reporting is remarkably dull — stories that looked juicy turn to naught, and the ones that do turn out don’t ever really come together the way a writer’s mind envisions it.
Endless hours of research and looking through old records feels like wading through molas-ses. You never seem to actually get anywhere, just more bogged down.
But not so with the history of
basketball at UNC. Imagine the same history that
epic movies like “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” or “Forrest Gump” encompass — except with basketball.
There’s two world wars, the Civil Rights movement, racism, equality, guys in shinguards, guys with short shorts, guys with baggy shorts and a series of coaches with decreasing amounts of hair product as the years pass.
There’s UNC’s only major NCAA sanction, national titles, moments of triumph and heart-break, great teams, crappy teams.
It’s reflective of our national history, and even more so, the his-tory of this University — and as a result, completely fascinating.
That type of history makes reporting easy. Every page is something cool and exciting. In this case, we stumbled onto a never-ending gold mine of old images, great moments, fantastic
stories and legendary players.It started in 1910, when a stu-
dent named Marvin Rich lobbied for an official team in this new sport, a fad that was sweeping the nation called “Basket-ball.” And now, Roy Williams is coaching the 100th men’s basketball team in the history of the University of North Carolina.
By 3 a.m. last Friday when the timeline launched, it had bal-looned to contain more than 200 photos from a wide variety of sources and about 13,000 words of text. When we finished the print version it was between 350 to 400 column inches. To give you a rough idea, this column is just more than 15 inches.
And yeah, this whole column is, on some level, a giant pat-on-the-back to us. But it’s also more than that, it’s a perspective that you can have as you explore a program that arguably has had a more important role at North Carolina than anything else. It certainly is more enduring than anything save the University itself.
So take some time to look through the DTH’s timeline (dailytarheel.com/100years) and get a dose of the history of a pro-gram that shaped the face of your University.
Contact Powell Latimerat [email protected]
Vasquez rallies terps for a return into acc elite
MARYLANDreCorD ‘08-’09 21-14 aCC reCorD 7-9 HeaD CoaCH Gary williams StaDiUm Comcast Center PlaYerS to watCH
Greivis Vasquez Landon Milbourne Jordan williams
dTH FiLe pHoTo
Greivis Vasquez (21) spurned NBa riches to return to College park, which is good news for the Terrapins, as he averaged 17.5 ppg.
BY anDY riveSSTaFF wriTer
The Maryland Terrapins were the only team to beat both nation-al championship finalists last sea-son and are returning eight of its top nine scorers. Fear the Turtle.
After beating three top-10 teams last season, the Terps are primed for a successful regu-lar season and another NCAA Tournament berth.
With the third-winningest coach in ACC history in Gary Williams, this talented squad could be as dangerous as any team in the country.
The Terps’ hopes hinge on the play of ACC Player of the Year can-didate Greivis Vasquez. Vasquez is the ACC’s seventh-leading return-ing scorer and is third in assists.
North Carol ina fans may remember Vasquez’s career-best 35 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in last year’s victory against the Tar Heels.
The 6-foot-6 point guard became only the sixth player in ACC history to lead his team in scoring, rebounding and assists for a season.
The Terps addressed their big-gest weakness from a year ago: frontcourt depth. At times last season, 6-foot-4 Sean Mosley had to play in the paint due to the lack of size and skill at the two forward positions.
Freshman Jordan Williams,
ranked as the 85th best player in his class by Rivals.com, will pro-vide the low-post scoring and rebounding the Terrapins desper-ately need.
The 6-foot-9, 245-pound cen-ter will be joined in the front-court by returning starter Landon Milbourne. Milbourne played out of position at center last year but still managed to average 11.4 points and 5.2 rebounds per contest.
With the senior back at his natural power forward position, his production should improve. Incoming freshman James Padgett should also provide size and quality minutes for Terrapins.
If Maryland’s other key role play-
ers such as Mosley, Eric Hayes, Cliff Tucker and Adrian Bowie improve upon what they did last season, a top-five finish in the ACC seems likely for the Terps.
After proving how dangerous they can be at times last season, consistency must be the focus of Vasquez and Co. this year. This Maryland team has the talent to compete with any team in the ACC. No one will want to play these Terps in March.
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15Basketball 2009-10 tuesday, october 20, 2009The Daily Tar Heel
Hewitt, Jackets turn to frosh Favors to produce
DTH file pHoTo
paul Hewitt is excited for his returning players, as the Yellow Jackets expect for key starters to continue the maturation process.
GEORGIA TECHRECORD ‘07-’08 12-19 ACC RECORD 2-14 HEAD COACH paul Hewitt STADIUM Alexander Memorial Coliseum PLAYERS TO WATCH
Derrick favors iman Shumpert Gani lawal
tech hopes to erase 2-14 acc recordBY MORgAn HICkSSTAff WriTer
Coach Paul Hewitt and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets look to reverse their fortunes and forget about a 2008-09 basketball season that left them last in the ACC with an overall record of 12-19.
The good news is that Georgia Tech will be returning several of its starters from last season and has secured Rivals.com’s No.4 ranked recruiting class in the nation.
The Yellow Jackets will not be short on experience — especially since junior forward Gani Lawal decided to return to the team after originally declaring for the NBA Draft.
Their inside game is solid with the return of Lawal and the addi-tion of the top-ranked big man from the class of 2009, Derrick Favors.
Favors earned MVP honors at both the McDonald’s All-American game and the Jordan Brand Classic. He is one of the most highly ranked and sought-after high school play-ers ever to enroll at Georgia Tech.
Favors has the potential to be one of the best big men in the con-ference and has been predicted by some as the preseason ACC fresh-man of the year.
Depth should not be a problem with the return of fifth-year senior guard D’Andre Bell, who missed all of last year after undergoing sur-gery to address a spinal issue.
S o p h o m o r e g u a r d I m a n Shumpert is also returning. As a freshman, Shumpert averaged 10.6 points per game and shot 31 percent from 3-point range while leading the Yellow Jackets in steals and assists.
Shumpert will have to step up this game this year following the departure of Lewis Clinch, who averaged a team-high 15.5 points per game last season.
Georgia Tech won only two ACC games last year, with surprising home wins against Wake Forest and Miami. But that hardly negates a stretch of 13 games where the Yellow Jackets lost 12.
But Georgia Tech was a tough team to beat — playing in four
overtime games last year — and can be expected to be in the top half of the ACC this season.
With the apparent talent of this year’s team, Hewitt and the Yellow Jackets should make the NCAA Tournament after missing out the last two seasons.
With talented post players as well as guards, Georgia Tech could do a complete 180 degrees from last season and compete well in the ACC.
clemson reloads, eyes title
DTH file pHoTo
The Tigers will go as far as big man Trevor Booker (45) can carry them. The All-ACC forward averaged 15.3 points and 9.8 rebounds last year.
BY gRAnT FITzgERALDSTAff WriTer
Since his arrival in 2003, coach Oliver Purnell has turned a new page in Clemson basketball history, but he hopes the best days are still to come.
The formula that has catapulted the Tigers into the upper echelon of the ACC and to two straight NCAA tournaments includes a stifling full-court press, tough on-ball defense and consistent outside shooting.
This year, Purnell is looking to build on his recent success by add-ing his strongest recruiting class yet to a strong nucleus of return-ing players.
The star and undisputed leader of the team is All-ACC forward Trevor Booker. Booker led the team last season in three major categories including points per game, rebounds and blocked shots.
Returning with Booker are point guards Demontez Stitt and Andre
Young, forwards David Potter and Tanner Smith and center Jerai Grant.
Stitt is entering his third year as a starter for Clemson and should replace departed senior K.C. Rivers as the vocal leader in the backcourt.
Young wi l l be f requent ly counted on to spell Stitt, who has a propensity for getting into foul trouble, as he led the team in per-sonal fouls last season.
Potter and Smith both played reserve roles last year but will have to produce more with the gradua-tion of Rivers and the departure of sharpshooter Terrence Oglesby to Europe.
The loss of Rivers and Oglesby also leaves the Tigers without a consistent outside shooter. The duo made a combined 161 3-point-ers last year. The next closest player
made just 30.A talented class of incoming
freshman led by McDonald’s All-American Milton Jennings should help out in that department.
Jennings, a 6-foot-9 forward, can step out and hit the three and his length and athleticism should give opposing teams trouble in the full-court press. Jennings is the highest-rated prospect Oliver Purnell has signed to Clemson.
Small forward Noel Johnson, a late addition, is a good outside shooter who is said to have a range of out to 25 feet.
If the freshman can acclimate quickly to Purnell’s full-court press defense, it is expected for Clemson to make their third straight NCAA tournament appearance and vali-date themselves as one of the con-ference’s premier teams while chal-lenging for the ACC title.
CLEMSONRECORD ‘08-’09 23-9 ACC RECORD 9-7 HEAD COACH oliver purnell STADIUM littlejohn Coliseum PLAYERS TO WATCH
Trevor Booker Demontez Stitt David potter
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Basketball 2009-1016 tuesday, october 20, 2009 The Daily Tar Heel
North carolina rebuilds for another title run
2009-10 WoMen’s BasketBall RosteRNo. Player Year Pos. Height 00 Nyree Williams FR F 6’ 1”1 She’la White SO G 5’5”3 Trinity Bursey SR F 5’10”4 Candace Wood FR G 5’11”5 Nicole Powell JR G 5’ 10”20 Chay Shegog SO F/C 6’ 5”21 Krista Gross FR G 6’ 0”22 Cetera DeGraffenreid JR G 5’ 6”30 Martina Wood SR F/C 6’ 2”32 Waltiea Rolle FR F/C 6’ 6”33 Laura Broomfield SO F 6’ 1”42 Cierra Robertson-Warren FR F 6’ 4”44 Tierra Ruffin-Pratt FR G 5’ 10”50 Italee Lucas JR G 5’ 8”51 Jessica Breland SR F 6’ 3”Head Coach: Sylvia HatchellAssistant Head Coach: Andrew Calder
Assistant Coach/Director of Recruiting: Tracey Williams-JohnsonAssistant Coach: Charlotte Smith
2009-10 WoMen’s BasketBall schedule
DAte time OPPONeNt tVThurs. Nov. 5 7 p.m. vs. Francis Marion (exhibition)
Tues. Nov. 10 7 p.m. vs. Carson-Newman (exhibition)
Fri. Nov. 13 7 p.m. vs. College of Charleston
Wed. Nov. 18 7 p.m. vs. Coastal Carolina
Sun. Nov. 22 5 p.m. at UNLV the mtn.Wed. Nov. 25 1 p.m. vs. Presbyterian
Sun. Nov. 29 12:30 p.m. vs. Charleston Southern
Thurs. Dec. 3 8:30 p.m. at Michigan State BtNSun. Dec. 6 4:30 p.m. vs. St. John’s
Tues. Dec. 8 7 p.m. vs. Radford
Sun. Dec 13 3 p.m. vs. Gardner-Webb Sun. Dec. 20 3 p.m. South Carolina (Myrtle Beach, S.C.)
Tues. Dec. 29 2 p.m. vs. Kennesaw State
Thurs. Dec. 31 2 p.m. vs. East Tennessee State
Sat. Jan. 2 2 p.m. vs. Winston-Salem State
Wed. Jan. 6 7 p.m. vs. Georgia Tech
Sat. Jan. 9 4 p.m. at Connecticut CBSThurs. Jan. 14 7 p.m. at Virginia Tech
Sun. Jan. 17 5:30 p.m. vs. Maryland RSNFri. Jan. 22 8:30 p.m. vs. Clemson RSNMon. Jan. 25 7 p.m. at N.C. State RSNMon. Feb. 1 7 p.m. vs. Florida State RSNThurs. Feb. 4 7 p.m. at Miami
Mon. Feb. 8 7 p.m. at Duke eSPN2
Thurs. Feb. 11 7 p.m. vs. Boston College
Mon. Feb. 15 7 p.m. at Virginia eSPN2Thurs. Feb. 18 7 p.m. at Wake Forest
Sun. Feb. 21 2 p.m. vs. N.C. State
Fri. Feb. 26 6:30 p.m. at Georgia Tech RSNSun. Feb. 28 3 p.m. vs. Duke FSNThurs. March 4-7 TBA ACC Tournament (Greensboro)
Sun. March 14 3:30 p.m. vs. North Carolina Central
DTH FILE PHOTO
Chay Shegog (20) dedicated herself in the offseason and lost 20 pounds in an effort to become quicker and more durable for UNC.
BY megAN WAlSHSTAFF WRITER
While the rest of her teammates run suicides and worry about their jump shots, senior Jessica Breland can only sit and wait.
After five months of chemo-therapy for Hodgkin’s lymphoma, she has no idea what to expect out of her senior season for North Carolina.
Though always a part of the team thanks to countless visits and words of encouragement, Breland has not practiced since her diagno-sis in May.
And while Breland goes in for her final treatment this week, North Carolina’s top returning scorer and rebounder will need several months to recover from the disease — if she plays at all this season.
Her absence leaves the team’s leadership in the hands of return-ing players and five highly antici-pated freshmen.
“This is a foundation team for the next few years,” coach Sylvia Hatchell said. “Even next year we don’t lose that much, especially if Jessica redshirts. This team can be as good as they want to be. They’ve definitely got the poten-tial.”
A strong 17-0 start in 2008-09 turned sour when an 88-58 loss
to No. 1 Connecticut in January broke the team’s chemistry, which Hatchell attributes to faulty lead-ership.
“We lost a lot of confidence, and when we needed our seniors to step up and be better leaders, we didn’t get the leadership. I was disap-pointed with some of our losses,” she said.
The team went on to finish fourth in the ACC behind Maryland, Florida State and Duke, and lost to Purdue in the second round of the NCAA Tournament with a final record of 28-7.
North Carolina lost a total of six players from the previous sea-son, including starting forward/guard Rashanda McCants, who led the team with 14.4 points per game, and starting power forward Iman McFarland.
Despite these losses, Hatchell has high expectations for the up-and-coming team.
“We’ve got a good nucleus, and we’ve got five outstanding freshmen. We’ve got some good size,” she said.“Everybody’s got to earn their spot, but we’ve got some freshmen that could get some playing time early on. It just depends on how quickly they adjust.”
J u n i o r g u a r d s C e t e r a DeGraffenreid and Italee Lucas,
who averaged 11.9 and 13.9 points per game, respectively, will return to their starting positions with sharper shooting skills and matu-rity.
Not that Lucas will need to hone those long-range shooting skills too much. As UNC’s most prolific shooter in 20-2009, she hit 70 3-pointers last season and shot nearly 40 percent from behind the arc.
Incoming freshman addi-tions Tierra Ruffin-Pratt from
Alexandria, Va., the No. 2 high school guard in the country, and Charlotte native and forward wing player Krista Gross will add to the depth of the team’s guard and for-ward play.
The team’s top defensive play-er from last season, sophomore She’ la White, will likely earn a substantial amount of playing time after an all-around improve-ment in play.
Center Chay Shegog enters her sophomore year with a summer’s
worth of experience playing for the gold medal-winning 2009 USA U19 World Championship Team and is moving up and down the court for conditioning about twenty pounds lighter and in bet-ter shape.
Her improvements will add to the success of North Carolina’s young post play, where fresh-men newcomers Waltiea Rolle and Cierra Robertson-Warren are expected to make their own con-tributions.
With a tough schedule ahead, Hatchell is unsure about what to expect in the ACC competitively — but she knows what her team will do.
“We’re going to run, fast break, trap, press; we’ll be very up-tempo both on offense and defense,” she said.
“With our facilities, the way we play, our talent and conference schedule, we’re without a doubt in the top-five teams in the country. Hopefully even better than that.”
Five freshman bring high expectations
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17Basketball 2009-10 tuesday, october 20, 2009The Daily Tar Heel
duke, Krzyzewski want to advance further
DTh File/AnDrew Dye
returning guard John Scheyer (30) will take over at point guard for Duke this year. Scheyer will be joined in the backcourt by nolan Smith. Andre Dawkins figures to back up the pair off the bench for the Blue Devils.
DUKERECORD ‘08-’09 30-7 ACC RECORD 11-5 HEAD COACH Mike Krzyzewski STADIUM Cameron indoor Stadium PLAYERS TO WATCH
Kyle Singler nolan Smith Mason Plumlee
BY AAROn TAUBESTAFF wriTer
By the expectations of almost any other college basketball pro-gram, the Duke Blue Devils had an outstanding season last year.
The team won 30 games, cap-tured a record-tying 17th ACC Tournament championship, and advanced to the Sweet 16 for the 10th time in the past 12 years.
But Duke isn’t any other college basketball program.
While the Blue Devils’ Sweet 16 appearance last season was an improvement over their first- and second-round losses the previ-ous two seasons, their elimination from the NCAA Tournament at the hands of Villanova came earlier than Duke fans expected.
In order to progress further, coach Mike Krzyzewski will need to get strong play from a highly touted freshman class.
Plagued in recent years by a lack of inside presence, the Blue Devils will be happy to welcome a pair of McDonald’s All-Americans to their frontcourt.
Mason Plumlee is listed at 6-foot-10, 230 pounds and is expected to be the team’s starting center.
Plumlee is extremely athletic and possesses strong ball-handling skills.
Further frontcourt relief comes in the form of Ryan Kelly, a for-ward known for his quickness and outside shooting touch, expected to contribute immediately off the bench.
The two will hope to provide other low-post options to comple-ment junior Kyle Singler, who has garnered preseason first-team All-America attention.
Singler and Plumlee will be joined down low by combination of seniors Lance Thomas and Brian Zoubek.
In the backcourt, reigning ACC Tournament MVP Jon Scheyer, formerly a shooting guard, will take over at point guard after Greg Paulus graduated and Elliot Williams transferred to Memphis to be closer to family.
Junior Nolan Smith will return to the starting lineup at off guard after a failed stint at point guard last season.
He’ll be expected to carry some of the scoring burden left in the absence of All-ACC swingman Gerald Henderson.
Henderson was selected by the
Charlotte Bobcats in the 12th pick of the NBA Draft.
Freshman guard Andre Dawkins will see playing time off the bench after graduating high school a year early to help fill the void left by Williams, Henderson and Paulus.
If things go well, the Blue Devils could make a run to the Final Four for the first time since 2004.
Anywhere else, such a dry spell would be unremarkable.
But at Duke, the five seasons without a Final Four berth repre-sent the longest such drought since 1985.
blue devils eye Ncaas expectantly
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Basketball 2009-1018 tuesday, october 20, 2009 The Daily Tar Heel
DTH FILE PHOTO
Biko Paris, above, will be leaned on to handle the ball in the absence of Tyrese Rice. His success in that role will play a huge part in deciding if Boston College can return to the NCAAs. Rice was the Eagles’ leading scorer.
eagles expect to fill rice’s shoes by group
Boston CollegeRECORD ‘08-’09 22-12 ACC RECORD 9-7 HEAD COACH Al Skinner STADIUM Conte Forum PLAYERS TO WATCH
Corey Raji Joe Trapani Rakim Sanders
BY EvAn MARLOWSTAFF WRITER
The Boston College basketball team looks to build off last season’s success after losing only one player from last year’s NCAA tournament team.
The Eagles earned a No. 7 seed in the NCAA Tournament and finished the year with a 22-12 record after losing to Southern California in the first round of the Big Dance.
They finished tied for fifth in the ACC with a 9-7 conference record, which was highlighted by an 85-78 win at UNC on Jan. 4, handing the Tar Heels their first loss of the year.
Second-team All-ACC guard Tyrese Rice, who led Boston College in scoring and assists, is the only missing link from last year’s team.
BC has only one senior, backup center Tyler Roche, on this year’s team, but they have experience in seven juniors.
Coach Al Skinner, who is enter-ing his 12th year leading the Eagles,
didn’t sign any freshman recruits to the team, which has four starters and 11 total lettermen returning.
The biggest issue for Boston College will be getting their returning players to step up and replace Rice, who was the clear leader of the team and the focal point of its offense.
It will be no easy task to replace his 16.9 ppg and 5.3 apg, but if the Eagles want to head back to the NCAA Tournament, they will need someone to pick up the scoring.
Junior forward Joe Trapani, who was second on the team with 13.4 points per game and led it in rebounding with 6.6 per game, and guard Rakim Sanders, who aver-aged 12.9 points, will return to lead the offense.
Trapani, who hit 52 3-pointers last season, stands 6 feet, 8 inches and can cause matchup problems for opposing defenses with his shooting range.
Juniors Corey Raji and Josh Southern, who also started last season, will lead the frontcourt
that will also rotate in lone senior Roche. The biggest question for the team is who will step in at the point in the spot vacated by Rice.
Sophomore Reggie Jackson and junior Biko Paris played well enough in a limited role last sea-son, but for Boston College to suc-ceed this year one of the two will have to step up to run the team.
If the returning players are able to step up in a big way the Eagles will have a shot to return to the NCAA Tournament.
Nc state finds new faces
DTH FILE PHOTO
The Wolfpack will need a boost in offensive production from Tracy Smith and Javier Gonzalez (10) after graduating its top three scorers.
N.C. STATERECORD ‘08-’09 16-14 ACC RECORD 6-10 HEAD COACH Sidney Lowe STADIUM RBC Center PLAYERS TO WATCH
Tracy Smith Javier Gonzalez Jordan Vandenberg
BY JOnATHAn JOnESASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
North Carolina isn’t the only university celebrating their 100th season of basketball. N.C. State kicks off its milestone season Nov. 12 against Georgia State with positions to fill and coach Sidney Lowe’s seat getting warm.
In his fourth year at the helm, Lowe finally has control over his team with the graduation of almost all Herb Sendek’s recruits.
The Wolfpack lacks senior lead-ership, with Farnold Degand and Dennis Horner as the lone elders, and boasts a five-player freshman class, including 7-foot-1 Australian center Jordan Vandenberg.
Lowe was hoping his freshman class would be one player larger, but Lorenzo Brown did not qual-ify academically. Ranked No. 37 in his class by Rivals.com, Brown is attending Hargrave Military Academy this year with hopes of joining N.C. State in the 2010-11 season.
Noticeably gone from N.C. State’s starting lineup are Brandon Costner, Ben McCauley and Courtney Fells. The trio com-bined for half of the Wolfpack’s offensive production last season. Costner had a team-high 13.3 points per game and chipped in six rebounds.
McCauley started all 30 games for the Wolfpack and led the team with nearly eight rebounds per game. Fells tied McCauley with 28 steals on the season for most on the team while adding 11.3 points per
game.Junior forward Tracy Smith
posted more points than any other returner from last year’s 16-14 team, with 10 points per game and 4.5 rebounds.
Sharpshooter Javier Gonzalez and his team-leading 72 assists return. Gonzalez, a junior guard, played in just 22 games last year and averaged 6.6 points per game with a .429 average from 3-point range.
When the Wolfpack traveled to the Smith Center on Feb. 18, Gonzalez led his squad with 18 points in the 89-80 loss to the Tar Heels.
N.C. State went an abysmal 6-10 in ACC play but had a 9-1 record
at home in out-of-conference play. The Wolfpack’s schedule this year is conducive to replication as they play the likes of Elon, Georgia Southern and Winthrop at the RBC Center with their toughest matchup coming Jan. 3 against Florida.
Lowe has yet to bring much success to Raleigh since he played point guard for the Wolfpack in their 1983 national championship year. He has accumulated a 51-46 record during his three years at N.C. State.
In fact, his team has not sniffed postseason play since losing in the quarterfinals of the NIT in his first year, where they lost to eventual NIT champions West Virginia.
Five freshmen step onto roster
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19Basketball 2009-10 tuesday, october 20, 2009The Daily Tar Heel
Hokies knocking at door of big dance
DTH FILE PHOTO
Malcolm Delaney posted 18.1 points per game last year for the Hokies. Virginia Tech and Delaney look to improve their seventh-place ACC finish.
DTH FILE PHOTO
Virginia Tech junior forward J.T. Thompson (33) averaged 6.5 points per game and 21 minutes per game for the Hokies’ last season.
VIRGINIA TECHRECORD ‘08-’09 19-15 ACC RECORD 7-9 HEAD COACH Seth Greenberg STADIUM Cassell Coliseum PLAYERS TO WATCH
J.T. Thompson Malcolm Delaney Jeff Allen
BY AnDY RIvESSTAFF WrITEr
Each of the past two seasons, Virginia Tech has seen its ACC Tournament run end at the hands of North Carolina. What followed were two consecutive berths in the National Invitation Tournament — just short of the Hokies’ goal.
The NIT is little consolation for a team that just missed out on an NCAA Tournament bid, and the goal of the Hokies’ 2009-10 campaign is to prevent that dis-appointment from happening for a third time.
Va. Tech will have to accom-plish this task without graduated swingman A.D. Vassallo, who led the team in scoring as a junior and as a senior. He notched 19.1 points per game last year.
But the Hokies return the next four top scorers from 2008-09, a core group of four juniors who will lead the team.
Guard Malcolm Delaney is the apparent heir to the team’s scoring crown.
The Baltimore, Md., native put up numbers very comparable to Vassallo’s last year, including 18.1 points per game.
Va. Tech’s other key contribu-tor hails from nearby Washington, D.C. Forward Jeff Allen, who led the Hokies in rebounds, blocks and steals last year, in addition to logging a third-best 13.7 points per game.
Rounding out Va. Tech’s expe-rienced core are forward J.T. Thompson and guard Dorenzo Hudson, a high school teammate of Allen’s.
If the Hokies manage to put together a winning conference record and a berth in the NCAA Tournament, they will begin to establish themselves as a program in the top half of the ACC.
Last year the Hokies finished 19-15 overall and tied for seventh in the conference with a 7-9 record.
Five years after defecting from the Big East, Va. Tech is 38-42 in the ACC. The program has
shown flashes of the potential to be NCAA Tournament mainstays but has been unable to procure a spot in the tournament in recent years.
This year will be an impor-tant one for the Hokies as they fight to earn their second NCAA Tournament bid since 2004 and prove that they can compete in the ACC.
Va. tech returns sans top scorer
bennett takes reins at uVa.
VIRGINIARECORD ‘08-’09 10-18 ACC RECORD 4-12 HEAD COACH Tony Bennett STADIUM John Paul Jones Arena PLAYERS TO WATCH
Sylven Landesberg Calvin Baker Mike Scott
BY MEgAn WALSHSTAFF WrITEr
The Virginia basketball team is hoping a fresh frame of mind under the direction of two new coaches will help rebuild its strug-gling program this season.
New head coach Tony Bennett will make his debut in the ACC after coaching for three seasons at Washington State. He led the Cougars to two NCAA tourna-ments, one NIT appearance and was named the 2007 Associated Press college basketball coach of the year.
Bennett, who takes over for for-mer coach Dave Leitao is going back to the basics with Virginia, focusing on one-on-one defense and solid fundamentals to slowly build the program’s respectability and power.
Ritchie McKay will join Bennett as the team’s new assistant coach after stepping down from his posi-tion as head coach at Liberty.
The Cavaliers finished last sea-son with an overall record of 10-18
and were 11th in the ACC with a 4-12 record. They failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament or the NIT after losing to Boston College in the first round of the ACC Tournament.
UVa. lost only two players, cen-ter Tunji Soroye and wing Mamadi Diane. The duo combined last year for an average of 7.8 points per game. All of the team’s starters and leading scorers will be returning to play for the Cavaliers.
Standout sophomore guard Sylven Landesberg, who averaged a team-leading 16.6 points per game last season, was named the 2009 ACC Freshman of the Year and remains the team’s main threat.
Junior forward Mike Scott and senior guard Calvin Baker follow Landesberg in scoring, with aver-ages of 10.3 and 8.4 points, respec-tively. Still, neither has stepped into major leadership roles on the team thus far. Baker will return to playing after recovering from two offseason surgeries for his foot and knee.
Three freshmen additions, Jontel Evans, Tristan Spurlock and Thomas Kody, round out the team’s roster.
Virginia’s program is undergo-ing a major transition this season, as Bennett and McKay look to reshape its foundations, pick up a top recruiting class and slowly climb their way up the ACC’s com-petitive ladder.
New coach looks to turn cavs around
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Basketball 2009-1020 tuesday, october 20, 2009 The Daily Tar Heel
’canes try to maintain strength
DTH file pHoTo
The Miami Hurricanes look to rebound with a stellar freshman class after the loss of three starters, including All-ACC shooting guard Jack McClinton.
MIAMIRECORD ‘08-’09 19-13 ACC RECORD 7-9 HEAD COACH frank Haith STADIUM BankUnited Center PLAYERS TO WATCH
DeQuan Jones Malcolm Grant Durand Scott
BY ZACk TYMAnSTAff WriTer
Miami heads into the 2009-10 season hoping its team will step up and overcome key roster losses. Year after year, the Hurricanes manage to hang around the top teams in the ACC.
And after going 19-13 (7-9 ACC), the Hurricanes — under coach Frank Haith — earned a trip to the National Invitational Tournament, where they lost to Florida in the second round.
Miami lost forward Jimmy Graham, guard Lance Hurdle, forward Brian Asbury and All-ACC guard Jack McClinton to graduation.
Three of them were start-ers, leaving a huge void on the roster. The Hurricanes’ losses would have been more painful had Dwayne Collins stayed in the 2009 NBA Draft, but he pulled out and returned to school after garnering little attention from pro scouts.
Mc C l i n t o n r e c e i v e d t h e Hurricanes’ first All-ACC nod in school history during the 2007-08 season. He also finished as the ACC’s career leader in 3-point field goal percentage with .446 and sec-ond at the stripe with .893.
Miami countered its losses with the No. 24 recruiting class, accord-ing to ESPN.com.
That class includes Rivals.com’s No. 33 overall recruit, Durand Scott. He will attempt to fill the void left by McClinton and could earn himself a starting job by sea-
son’s end. Additionally, Villanova sopho-
more transfer Malcolm Grant will be in his first year of eligibility after transferring in 2008.
He will most likely begin the season as the starting point guard. Another sophomore — DeQuan Jones — has tremendous athletic skills and is expected to produce from the shooting guard position after playing in every game during his freshman year.
But he’ll probably go through a bit of an adjustment period after playing only 11 minutes per game last season.
Miami has some athletic talent. It also has some solid young play-ers in its 2009 recruiting class as well as its sophomores. Still, that would leave the Hurricanes a step behind last year, considering the departure of key seniors.
As for this season, Miami could hang with the top teams in the ACC.
In Miami, life after Mcclinton
Fsu climbing the conference ranks
DTH file pHoTo
Solomon Alabi averaged 2.1 blocks per game. Alabi and the Seminoles would love to return to the ACC finals again this season.
BY kELLY PARSOnSSTAff WriTer
The last thing the North Carolina men’s basketball team wants this season is a rehash of last year’s ACC Tournament shocker, when the soon-to-be national champi-ons fell from grace at the hands of Florida State.
But if the Seminoles’ drastically improved performance continues this season, the Tar Heels may have a reason to fear the spear.
Florida State, traditionally not known for its stellar basketball program, went to the finals of the ACC Tournament last year for the first time in school history after upsetting UNC 73-70.
The Seminoles lost the tourna-ment title to Duke, but their tour-nament performance — coupled with only 10 regular-season losses — sent them straight to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 1997-1998 season.
The Seminoles lost in the first round of tournament play, but ended the season with a 25-10 record and finished 10-6 in ACC play (fourth in the ACC).
The 2008-09 ACC Coach of the Year, Leonard Hamilton, will be looking forward to continued success from his team again this season. With sophomore Solomon Alabi on the roster, the Seminoles could likely achieve that and more.
Last season the 7-foot, 1-inch
Finished fourth in acc last year
DTH file pHoTo
florida State small forward Chris Singleton averaged 8.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game in 2008-09 while starting 34 contests.
FLORIDA STATERECORD ‘08-’09 25-10 ACC RECORD 10-6 HEAD COACH leonard Hamilton STADIUM Donald l. Tucker Center PLAYERS TO WATCH
Derwin Kitchen Soloman Alabi Chris Singleton
center averaged 2.1 blocks per game — good for tops in the ACC.
When the Seminoles downed UNC in the second round of the ACC tournament, Alabi was a critical factor. The freshman reg-istered two blocks and contested seemingly every shot UNC put up in the lane.
In that game, Alabi also dropped 11 points on 5-of-9 shooting — good for second on the team along with Derwin Kitchen.
Alabi was also the only freshman named to the ACC All-Defensive team.
In August, Alabi was named a pre-season nominee for the Wooden All-American team and National Player of the year award.
Alabi was second in points per game (8.4) behind Toney Douglas (21.5) last season, but led the team in rebounds, blocked shots and field goal percentage.
The Seminoles will lose only two starters, but coping with the loss of last season’s ACC leading scorer Douglas may prove to be an uphill battle.
With only one senior on this season’s roster, the Seminoles will depend largely on a young start-ing lineup to carry them through a tough conference schedule.
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THE_DAILY_TAR_HEEL_9.16"x10":Layout 1 7/21/09 3:04 PM Page 1
21Basketball 2009-10 tuesday, october 20, 2009The Daily Tar Heel
aminu to take more shotsWake looks to replace NbaersBy Jordan allenStaff Writer
The Wake Forest Demon Deacons enter the 2009-10 bas-ketball season looking to repeat the success that they experienced last season.
While the Demon Deacons will most likely not find themselves No. 1 in the nation, as they briefly did last year, they will look to make another appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
It wil l be somewhat of a rebuilding season for the Demon Deacons as they return without their two leading scorers from last season, Jeff Teague and James Johnson, who both left for the NBA.
Although they lost those two marquee players, Wake Forest has one of the deepest benches in the ACC, which it will depend on in order to continue contend-ing with local basketball power-houses.
The player to watch this season for Wake Forest is sophomore for-ward Al-Farouq Aminu. He enters the season selected as a preseason second-team All-America by FoxSports.com.
This year, he will look to improve on his very impressive freshman season, when he aver-aged 12.9 points and 8.2 rebounds per game.
Aminu was considered by many a lottery selection, but he ended any draft speculation by announc-ing a return to Winston-Salem.
And after an extremely successful high school career, it appears that Aminu will make good on all the expectations that accompanied him during his freshman campaign.
Another prominent player returning for the Demon Deacons is senior center Chas McFarland. Although McFarland isn’t as strong of an all-around player as Aminu, he is a consistent low-post scorer and rebounder who will help pull defenses off Aminu.
Rounding out the project-ed starting five is senior guard Ishmael Smith, returning starting guard L.D. Williams and freshman forward Ari Stewart.
The main weakness for the Demon Deacons this season will be outside shooting. The reserves and newcomers will have to step up in order to prevent Wake Forest from becoming a one-dimensional team.
This season, Wake Forest faces a difficult nonconference schedule, going up against Purdue, Gonzaga and Xavier.
But if Wake Forest can win a few nonconference games and post a winning record in the ACC, it can expect to reach the NCAA Tournament again.
dth file photo
Wake forest’s al-farouq aminu grabbed 8.2 rebounds last season as a freshman. the 6-foot-9 center averaged 12.9 points per game.
WAKE FORESTreCord ‘08-’09 24-7 aCC reCord 11-5 Head CoaCH dino Gaudio STadIUM lawrence Joel Coliseum PlayerS To WaTCH
ishmael Smith al-farouq aminu Chas Mcfarland
again, the tar Heels will rebuild
dth file photo
rasheed Wallace entered UNC in a similar situation to the 2009-10 freshman class — following a national championship team.
dth file photo
tyler hansbrough left a legacy that rises to the Smith Center rafters, but 2009-2010’s team won’t lack for excitement in his absence.
In case you forgot, let me bring you up to speed on a few things.
No, North Carolina doesn’t have anyone who is likely to break UNC’s all-time scoring record.
No, the Tar Heels don’t have a virtually unstoppable point guard to run the attack.
But that’s the excitement.Instead of expecting to win
every game — by 20 — this year’s team may drop a game to an underwhelming opponent or two.
When the Tar Heels of yester-year lost, it was almost embar-rassing to their fans. “They have all this talent, and they still lost to Greivis Vasquez?”
This year, expectations are off. The fans haven’t even bought all their 2009 national champion-ship gear yet. They’re still basking in last year’s championship win — especially when you factor in all the talent that was lost out of that championship team.
I know what you are thinking right now: ‘Did Louie just steal a column off the 2006 basketball preview and rerun it under his name?’
No. I didn’t. I don’t even know if the 2006 preview had a column in it.
At any rate, on this, the 100th edition of men’s basketball, that’s not even the team who most close-ly correlates to this year’s squad.
After 2005, Tar Heel fans were staring down a season of unknown freshmen mixed with David Noel, Quentin Thomas, Wes Miller and Reyshawn Terry.
While this opened the door for Tyler Hansbrough to get a great start on Phil Ford’s career scoring record, it wasn’t great for ol’ Roy’s chances of contending for the NCAA championship.
It sounds simple, but returning players are the currency of coaches. They pass along the lessons of seasons past to the freshmen, and
provide another perspective for the freshmen to listen to.
If I had to compare this year’s team to a previous UNC team, it wouldn’t be that 2006 team. It would be the 1993-1994 team.
While they lost the heart and soul of the national champion-ship team in George Lynch, they still had quite a few contributors to their national championship squad, along with a ridiculously strong freshman class.
They returned Derrick Phelps, Donald Williams, and Eric Montross, among many others.
But you’ve probably heard of those freshmen: Rasheed Wallace, Jeff McInnis, and Jerry
Stackhouse.For reference, that talented 1994
team swept Duke, won the ACC tournament and secured a No. 1 seed before falling in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
What does that all mean for UNC’s 2009-10 edition?
Between Marcus Ginyard, Tyler Zeller, and Ed Davis, there is a reasonably solid contingent of returners, and when those are paired with the highly touted freshmen, they should have the talent to beat anyone.
But with the inconsistency to potentially lose to anyone and everyone.
That is called “talent without the expectations.” And that, ladies and gentlemen, is as fun as it gets.
Contact Louie Horvath [email protected]
loUIe HorvaTHthe ChaMp iS here
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Basketball 1009-1022 tuesday, october 20, 2009 The Daily Tar Heel