Daily Tar Heel 2010 ACC men's basketball tournament preview

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ACCtournament preview

The Daily Tar HeelMarch 5, 2010

MAKING

AMENDShenson seizes challenges of a rocky

season and overcomes own adversity

So why iS thE Dth

DoiNg thiS Now?

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BY Joe McLeanSeNIor WrIter

In a season that’s been big on expectations andshort on experience, John Henson exemplifies bothsides of the Tar Heels.

The 6-foot-10 freshman, who came in as the No.

3 ESPNU 100 recruit in the country, once blockedtwo layups by Duke’s Jon Scheyer on the same posses-sion and sent the Smith Center into a frenzy. But theinexperienced Tar Heel was so pumped that he didn’tchase down either of the loose balls, and on the thirdtry, Duke finished with a basket.

It’s hard to blame him. In his first year, the 195-poundHenson — for whom “lanky” is an understatement —hasn’t had much stability. He switched positions at thestart of the season, only to switch back later.

And he’s been everywhere in coach Roy Williams’rotation, from first off the bench to finishing games withthe walk-ons. Now he’s a starter, taking opening tip-offs

while eye-to-eye with the ACC’s best. And with North Carolina on the tail end of an under-

achieving season and eyeing a difficult ACC Tournamentchallenge ahead, Henson’s development is a major con-cern for the Tar Heels — both present and future.

Don’t expect to be able to tell it by talking to him,though.

“He’s goofy, joking around, laughing,” sophomoreLarry Drew II said. “You walk around, you see some of

the guys smiling in here. He’s part of the reason why.”Henson has been a bright spot on the court and aneven brighter one in the locker room. And even in oneof the more trying years for North Carolina basketball,he still says he enjoys the atmosphere.

“You can’t be pessimistic, because then things really won’t go your way,” Henson said.

Swppig rls

In what Henson said was a “mutual decision” between himself, his family and Williams, Hensonagreed to switch from his natural power forward tosmall forward at UNC. He didn’t expect the move to

be easy, but given his build and his skill set, they allthought it was the right move for his future.

But for someone who had spent most of his playingcareer in the paint, being a small forward in Williams’offense required a lot of changes.

Not only was it a different offensive role, but it wasone that was often totally antagonistic to his instincts.Perimeter scorers need to stretch the defense out, so

they need to move to open spots on the 3-point line— while Henson was used to crashing the boards andgoing right into the middle.

“It was difficult, just learning the offense and learn-ing what to do as a perimeter player,” Henson said.“My mentality is to run to the front of the rim.”

The result was inconsistency. Given limited minutesto get a feel for his new position, Henson went back andforth between old and new. He’d lurk in the paint onepossession, then circle around the outside on the next.

“He had a difficult time remembering the plays,knowing when to be in certain spots,” Drew said.

Sometimes he would even start out a play in onerole and finish it playing another. Against GeorgiaTech, he once ran out to the 3-point line, received apass, then gave up a wide-open look and drove backinto traffic for a dunk.

Tkig rfug dfs

While his play is far from polished, it’s hard tounderestimate Henson’s impact on defense. His longreach and jumping ability have been on showcase allseason, providing spectacular highlights for fans andnightmares for opponents.

It’s been good for his mental health, too. His fur-rowed expression relaxes into an easygoing smile

when the subject switches from offense to defense.“I love blocking shots,” said Henson, who’s averaged

the most blocks per minute of any Tar Heel. “I’m going totry to go get anything that’s thrown up there soft.”

In front of a crowd of nearly 40,000 against Texas,the easily excitable youngster clearly benefitted froma rush of adrenaline. He swatted a 3-pointer within10 seconds of entering the game, and had two more

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blocks by the time he sat back down on the bench.

“a pprtuity”

The announcement that Davis would miss six weeks with a broken wrist was grim and sudden news forthe Tar Heels. Henson didn’t have time to dwell onthe negatives for the team — he had to get ready t o fillDavis’ spot and move back into the position he’d beingtrying to unlearn all season.

Since he’s entered the starting lineup, Henson haslooked much more comfortable while playing at his oldposition, power forward. He’s also shown immediatepromise: he averaged 10.4 points, 8.4 rebounds, 2.8

blocks and 52 percent shooting in his first five gamesafter moving into Davis’ spot — numbers comparable

to some of the better players in t he conference.More importantly, playing long minutes shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of Gani Lawal of Georgia Techand Al-Farouq Aminu of Wake Forest has given Hensonan idea of the work it takes to be successful in the ACC.

“He didn’t have a lot of experience at getting intothat game-type mentality,” Tyler Zeller said. “So he’sgained a lot.”

Not all the results have been good, though. His inex-perience in crunch time has sometimes hurt the team,like in a road loss to Boston College. As the Tar Heelscut the lead to single digits in the closing moments,Henson missed three crucial free throws — includingthe front end of a one-and-one opportunity — and gotcalled for goaltending when trying to block a layup.

Still, that’s to be expected for a freshman whodoesn’t even have a dozen starts under his belt.

He undoubtedly would have rather gotten big min-utes to get a feel for his role back in December, whenthe stakes weren’t quite so high. And maybe it wouldhave been easier if he could have stayed at power for-

ward instead of trying to switch to the outside.

But Henson isn’t the type to have regrets. He’s happy to have playing time, eager to keep learning and moti- vated more than ever to improve his game — and hismuscle — during the coming months.

“I can’t even explain how much more appreciative Iam of the opportunity,” he said.

“Nothing was given to me here … and I pushedthrough, had my rough days, things started turningaround a little bit and hopefully we can start winningand getting back to the Carolina way.”

Contact the Sports Editor at [email protected].

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2 ACC Previewfriday, march 5, 2010 The Daily Tar Heel

Wake Forest appeared to be a

lock for the NCAA Tournament,

but that was before a four-game losing streak

that included defeats to ACC bottom feeders N.C.

State and North Carolina. The Demon Deacons

still have one of the nation’s top post players in

likely lottery pick Al-Farouq Aminu, but they

need to find a way to stop their late-season slideto avoid another quick exit in postseason play. W

a k e F o r e s

N. 6 (18-9, 8-7)

WroNg directioN

Surprise wins at home against

Duke and at Florida State showed

N.C. State had promise. But even

when the tough got going for UNC,

the Tar Heels could always count on a win against

their Raleigh foes. After the Duke game, the

Wolfpack lost seven straight ACC matches, essen-

tially dooming their chances in the conference and

making coach Sidney Lowe’s seat warmer. N . c . S a e

N. 12 (16-14, 4-11)

oN the hot SeatMiami started the season 14-1

— then the ACC happened. The

Hurricanes’ only loss in the first 15 games of the

season came to Boston College while The U racked

up wins against South Carolina State and Nova

Southeastern. Miami never even registered a road

win in conference. It seemed midway through the

season that coach Frank Haith’s team didn’t know

how to operate without Jack McClinton. M i a m i

N. 11 (18-11, 4-11)

acc BlueS

Duke took advantage of UNC’s

absence as a conference power

this season, soaring to the top of the ACC stand-

ings behind the strength of a trio of scorers. Jon

Scheyer, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith all aver-

age better than 17 points per game and play thelion’s share of the Blue Devils’ minutes. Duke is

undefeated in non true road games and should

have little trouble thriving in Greensboro. d u k e

N. 1 (25-5, 12-3)

claSS oF accPowerhouse guard Greivis

Vasquez’s play should speak for

itself this season for Maryland.

Averaging 19.5 points and 6.4 assists, Vasquez has

led the Terps to the very top of the ACC, head-

to-head with Duke. Wednesday night’s matchup between the two left Maryland on top, 79-72,

leaving the Terps fueled with momentum and the

Blue Devils with their sights set on revenge. M a r y

l a n

N. 2 (22-7, 12-3)

poWer Struggle

A series of conference losing

streaks left the Eagles struggling

to find consistency in their sea-

son. But is it too late for a comeback? Boston

College scored big wins against North Carolina,

Virginia Tech and, most recently, Virginia.

Forward Joe Trapani, who averages 14.8 points

and 6.5 rebounds per game, needs to make an

impact to save face for the Eagles. B o s o n c o l l e e N. 8 (15-14, 6-9)

late SurgeNorth Carolina has struggled

to defend its national champi-

onship. The Tar Heels, ranked

No. 6 in the preseason, have fallen from the

top of the conference to the cellar, and only

an ACC Tournament win will get them to the

NCAA Tournament. UNC has been playing

well recently, but the consistency required to

win this tourney just isn’t there this season. N o r h c a r o l i n a N. 9 (16-14, 5-10)

Free Fall

The Cavaliers were living the

good life early in ACC play. They

had a 3-0 record against ranked

teams, perfect in conference and had their best

start in league play in 15 years. While the end

of the season didn’t pan out the way Sylven

Landesberg may have wanted, he still once

again captained the UVa. squad with 17.3 ppg,

which was good for fifth in the conference. V i r i n i a

N. 10 (14-14, 5-10)

SylVeN learNiNg

With Malcolm Delaney,

pulling in an easy 20.5 points

per game to lead the ACC in scoring, Virginia

Tech should have finished the season as a team

to beat, but inconsistency plagues the Hokies.

Three straight losses to Duke, Boston Collegeand Maryland have sent them into an end-of-

season tailspin, with their only win coming

against bottom-dwelling N.C. State. V i r i n i a t e h

N. 3 (22-7, 9-6)

loSiNg SteaM

Once Georgia Tech signed

Derrick Favors, the Yellow Jackets

and coach Paul Hewitt assured themselves of

climbing out of the ACC cellar. The freshman’s

presence inside has supplemented Gani Lawal

nicely, bringing in 11.7 ppg and more than eight

boards a contest. While Ga. Tech still remain in

the logjam at the middle of the ACC standings, it’s

a lot better than where they were last season. g e o r i a t e h

N. 7 (19-10, 7-8)

SaVoriNg FaVorS

As expected, senior Trevor

Booker served as Clemson’s bed-

rock this season, averaging 15.6

points and 8.4 rebounds per game. But his sup-

porting cast has done an excellent job this season

taking turns to help him shoulder the load. Only

one other Tiger averages more than 10 points —

Demontez Stitt (10. 9) — but four others chip in between seven and 10 points per game. c l e m s o n

N. 4 (21-8, 9-6)

oN the proWl After a 73-70 upset win

against North Carolina in last

year’s tournament, Florida State

asserted its recent dominance of the Tar Heels

with a 10-point win in the Smith Center last

month. Under the leadership of forward Chris

Singleton, the Seminoles bring one of the ACC’s

most threatening defenses to the tournament,leading in blocks and scoring defense. F l o r i a S a e

N. 5 (21-8, 9-6)

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3ACC Preview friday, march 5, 2010The Daily Tar Heel

March 11 chaMpionMarch 12 March 13 March 14

GaMe 2, 2 p.M.

No. 5

No. 12

Vs.winner of game 2

GaMe 6, 2 p.M.

No. 4

Vs.

GaMe 3, 7 p.M.

No. 7

No. 10

Vs. winner of game 3

GaMe 7, 7 p.M.

No. 2

Vs.

GaMe 4, 9 p.M.

No. 6

No. 11

Vs.winner of game 4

GaMe 8, 9 p.M.

No. 3

Vs.

GaMe 1, noon

No. 8

No. 9

Vs.winner of game 1

GaMe 5, noon

No. 1

Vs.winner of game 5

GaMe 9, 1:30 p.M.

winner of game 6

Vs.

winner of game 7

winner of game 8

GaMe 10, 3:30 p.M.

Vs.

winner of game 9

winner of game 10

Final, 1 p.M.

Vs. ACC CHAMPION

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4 ACC Previewfriday, march 5, 2010 The Daily Tar Heel

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aCC tournament sCheduleBY Louie HorvatH

Senior Writer

What is delayed is not denied.It’s a simple phrase, but one that

resonates deeply with both JessicaBreland and Sylvia Hatchell.

Those words of advice weregiven to UNC’s head coach Hatchell

by Kay Yow, the former N.C. Statecoach who last year died of can-cer. Even though the initial con-text has since faded away, Hatchellhas taken the words of her fallencolleague and applied them to herown player’s battle with cancer.

Breland was a preseason All- ACC pick, but this summer — thesummer before her senior seasonin Chapel Hill — she was diag-nosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma.On Feb. 25, she had her first pressconference with the media at-largesince she was diagnosed in May.

Breland had been slated to anchorUNC’s young frontcourt, a solitary senior along a frontline littered withunderclassmen. But instead of play-ing the “coach-on-the-floor” role,Breland has just been “coach.”

“I see things differently (on the bench),” Breland said. “Sometimesmy teammates will say something,and I’m still a part of them, so I canunderstand what they’re saying.

“But then I’m like, ‘OK, thecoaching staff is absolutely right,

but this is how they should havesaid it, and this is what you shouldtake from it.’”

It was easier to accept missingthe entire season and redshirting

when the wins were rolling in forthe Tar Heels, who passed into theNew Year 11-1 and carrying a No. 7national ranking.

But after UNC ran into a buzzsaw against the No. 1 ConnecticutHuskies, the young players aban-doned what they had done so

well before. The swoon led to afive-game losing streak and a 5-9stretch to end the season.

Left with no other choice,Breland bided her time, waiting toget back in the game.

“I hate to see my teammates

struggling,” Breland said. “I don’tlike losing at anything.”

The sitting wasn’t just hardon Breland. It was also tough forthe coach that had been bank-ing on being able to rely on hergo-to All-American for points andleadership.

“Eight of our team are freshmenand sophomores,” Hatchell said.

Without Breland’s production andleadership, UNC dropped from a No.4 seed in the 2009 ACC Tournmentto a No. 8 seed this season.

“They don’t have a lot of exam-ples. Coaches can tell them; we canshow them film and have peoplecome talk to them,” Hatchell said.

“But unless you’ve got juniorsand seniors out there who have

been through it, they’re just like,‘Okay, what do we do here?’”

Sometimes, Hatchell said, when Waltiea Rolle picked up cheap fouls

that only a freshman can pick up,or Chay Shegog would make the

wrong read against a double team,she would fantasize about the gameand how it would be changed if Breland were playing.

“We might have lost a couple of games, but there wouldn’t have beenmany we would have lost,” Hatchellsaid. “She is the perfect 4 player, andthat’s what we don’t have.”

This season would be very differ-ent if they had Breland from junior

year — and that season was while she was in the throes of the lymphoma.

Last season Breland’s stamina wasso sapped by running up and downthe court that she could barely han-dle two to three minutes at a time.

That didn’t stop her from put-ting up some impressive displays.

To start the season, she out-played Courtney Paris at Oklahoma

by racking up 31 points in 30 min-utes off the bench.

At the time, no one knew why Breland — who was otherwise an

All-American — could not play very long. But when she went to Las Vegas to train with the U.S. Nationalteam in the summer, they uncoveredthe Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

By next season, however,Breland will be all the way back, asher teammates are reporting heras close to 100 percent already inpractice with them.

“That’s my roommate, actually,so I was there when she needed any-thing,” guard She’la White said.

“As she’s recovering, she’s gain-ing more weight, she’s becomingmore fit. It ’s exciting.”

And, once Breland regains thelung capacity that dwindled duringher months of inactivity, she couldeasily be better than the numbersthat she put up during her juniorseason last year.

In which case, what is delayed isnot denied.

Contact the Sports Editor at [email protected].

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Daily Tar Heel 2010 ACC men's basketball tournament preview

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