http://aboverim.blogspot.com/

Quote :

"5 reasons UNC won't win national title The talent North Carolina coach Roy Williams has put together is nothing short of amazing. That was the assessment of an assistant coach with a top-25 team last week, offered as an observation during a discussion on a different topic. This assistant fell in love with the character and skills of North Carolina guard Marcus Ginyard during recruiting. He couldn’t believe the Tar Heels are so good that Ginyard is playing just 16 minutes per game. He is part of a chorus whose membership grew after North Carolina’s 92-64 thumping of Arizona in Tucson. A lot of experts consider the Tar Heels the favorite to win the NCAA title because Williams has recruited excellent players and expertly uses his depth to wear down opponents. It says here that those predictions are off base. Here are five reasons North Carolina won’t win the NCAA title: 1. Lack of experience. Gerry McNamara and Carmelo Anthony of Syracuse demonstrated in 2003 that it’s not impossible for a team to win an NCAA title with freshmen in leadership roles. But experience is extremely valuable in the NCAA tournament. Nobody knows that better than Williams, who was asked Monday to compare this team to the 2005 NCAA champions. “This team is very gifted,” he said, “but boy, that team was really gifted and had great experience, also, and I’ve always thought the way to be great is to have experienced talent.” Williams needed the experience of senior Jawad Williams and juniors Sean May, Raymond Felton and Rashad McCants to edge senior-dominated Illinois in the NCAA title game in St. Louis. Reyshawn Terry, Wes Miller and Quentin Thomas aren’t in the same category as the 2004-05 team’s upperclassmen. 2. Three-point woes. North Carolina is best when it bangs the ball into the post to Tyler Hansbrough and Brandan Wright, and Roy Williams does a great job making sure the ball goes inside. But the Tar Heels eventually will run into an opponent that can at least slow down Hansbrough and Wright and force North Carolina to shoot jump shots. After last weekend’s games, North Carolina ranked sixth in the ACC in 3-point percentage (.370). That’s not bad, but the Tar Heels get more wide-open 3-point shots than almost anybody else because overmatched opponents are doubling down on Hansbrough and Wright. North Carolina eventually will run into somebody with big men who can hold their own defensively to allow pressure on the Tar Heels’ perimeter. 3. Point problems. The return of sophomore Bobby Frasor from an injury to his right foot is critical to this team. Freshman Tywon Lawson is a tremendous talent with remarkable speed and has been a better perimeter shooter than expected. But he still has been turnover prone in some big games, notably the loss at Virginia Tech, and there are times when North Carolina needs a steadying influence in the backcourt. Some fans and media members think Thomas is that steadying influence. They ought to watch more carefully. He makes some highlight-caliber passes, but turns the game into a helter-skelter affair while he does it. Frasor is the steadiest point guard on the team and a valuable perimeter shooter. The Tar Heels need him. 4. Enigmatic leader. Reyshawn Terry, North Carolina’s only senior starter, disappeared in last year’s NCAA tournament after earning third-team All-ACC honors by averaging 15.1 points. Terry is the best athlete on the team. He makes acrobatic dunks on the fast break and is a good 3-point shooter at 6-foot-8 and 232 pounds, causing matchup problems for small forwards who aren’t as tall or strong. He is the type of guy who should want the ball in important situations during close games, but he rarely demands it. 5. Florida. The Gators aren’t as deep as North Carolina, but they’re deep enough. They will lose some regular season games because they are bored. They even lost to Florida State. Don’t be fooled. Joakim Noah, Al Horford and the rest of Florida’s players are better than last season, and their experience should make them the favorite in the NCAA tournament. It was popular for experts to pick against Florida during the preseason because no team has repeated as NCAA champion since Duke in 1992. Using that reasoning to pick another team demonstrated a ridiculous lack of understanding about statistics. The probability that Florida will repeat is slim because there will be 64 other teams in the NCAA field with a chance to win. So don’t listen when the experts tell you how smart they are if Florida doesn’t win. Instead, ask them which one team they would choose if their life savings were at stake. Under those circumstances, it would be difficult to choose anybody but Florida. The same logic that applied to Florida at the beginning of the season applies to North Carolina now. Pick the Heels? Or pick the field? Even Tiger Woods has only won about a quarter of his golf tournaments. Take the field. Every time. -- Ken Tysiac "

kinda interesting read

[Edited on January 31, 2007 at 11:02 AM. Reason : .]

1/31/2007 11:01:43 AM

i cannot express to you in words the magnitude with which i hate that institution.

1/31/2007 11:04:54 AM

I bet the people who have taken the field against Tiger Woods his last 7 PGA events feel retarded.

1/31/2007 11:06:29 AM

Quote :

"Lack of experience."

that's the only reason needed. They're damn good, but they've been up and down all year....all it'll take is one down game in the tourney...they don't have the experience to overcome an off night.

1/31/2007 11:11:36 AM

^ They certainly do in the first three rounds. Yes, the tourney is 6 games, but UNC can play like dogs in the first two, as each team won't even be in the top 25. The third game will be against a decent team, but they still do not need to bring their "A" game to win. Yes, stranger things have happened early in the tournament and more talented teams than 07 UNC have lost (Duke 99 comes to mind). To me, they will have a 3 game tournament. I think they get tot the final four and lose the semifinal game, Lawson is the key for them, and I think the semi's is where he implodes. I think it would be better if UNC rolls to the final four so that all the hype goes to the youngsters heads. If they have a close game, where they go to OT, or comeback to win, I think that gives them a tremendous advantage should they make the final 4.

[Edited on January 31, 2007 at 11:17 AM. Reason : .]

1/31/2007 11:16:02 AM

^5 reasons UNC won't win the NC

not why they won't make it to the final four.

1/31/2007 11:18:12 AM

^, well I guess you're right, but isn't it pathetic when we have to resort to "you won't win the NC" because obviously, there is a legitmate chance they will if everyone and their brother is saying they won't, the fact that it's a hot topic says it all. I'd love for us to get to the point where we have our rivals saying "well you won't win the NC" in January, means we have a great team.

1/31/2007 11:20:44 AM

when Jim Boeheim, Gary Williams, and Roy Williams have all won titles in the last 6 years, you can't count anyone out in the NCAA tournament

1/31/2007 11:25:57 AM

everybody excited about the UNC v Florida NC ?

1/31/2007 11:28:32 AM

I can count Gary williams out, I'll give you 20:1 odds Maryland doesn't win the national championship

1/31/2007 11:39:12 AM

at their current rate, they won't make the dance.

1/31/2007 11:40:10 AM

6. Their plane crashes on the way to a game and they make a movie about it 20 years from now.

1/31/2007 11:50:30 AM

^lord willing

1/31/2007 11:52:41 AM

Quote :

"Take the field. Every time."

No shit, Ken...any other ingenious tips?

Less experienced and talented teams have won the NC in the past 10 years (Arizona, Syracuse, Florida).

Quote :

"They're damn good, but they've been up and down all year"

I guess having only two losses means you're up and down all year. Besides that, UNC doesn't win close games because almost all the wins were over double digits. Right now, UNC is playing the best basketball of any other team out there.

[Edited on January 31, 2007 at 12:23 PM. Reason : ]

1/31/2007 12:08:50 PM

Quote :

"i cannot express to you in words the magnitude with which i hate that institution."

1/31/2007 12:27:01 PM

Quote :

"Right now, UNC is playing the best basketball of any other team out there. "

that quote right there implies up and down play. If they weren't up and down they would have always been the best, right?

1/31/2007 12:28:57 PM

^^^ did you really pay the $5 just to talk about your basketball team? or even worse, do you go to state?

1/31/2007 12:33:24 PM

he saw this thread and had to show the true Carowhina spirit........

......always say were playing the best in the country right now.

1/31/2007 12:35:26 PM

Sports are about the present...what happened half a month ago has no effect on what happens now or how you play a game. It is the goal of the coach to get the team better as the season progresses. UNC lost a game in December and one a little over two weeks ago. I guess that's up and down. If a team is up and down...then they probably aren't in the top 5 in the polls, more like floating around 20-35.

1/31/2007 12:36:15 PM

Quote :

"^^^ did you really pay the $5 just to talk about your basketball team? or even worse, do you go to state?"

From Raleigh and taking a class at State for pharmacy school...sorry I got an e-mail account. But I graduated from UNC last May.

1/31/2007 12:37:57 PM

^^that's all fine and good, but tarholes always say that

I would agree that they are presently playing the best, but NC's aren't won in Jan/Feb, bud.

[Edited on January 31, 2007 at 12:40 PM. Reason : .]

1/31/2007 12:39:30 PM

When did I say anything about winning a National Championship? I said UNC was playing the best right now and that less talented and experienced teams have won the title.

1/31/2007 12:41:12 PM

That blog is the dumbest thing I've ever read. No one in their right mind is taking UNC against the field. Most people, including myself, are saying they are good enough to be grouped in the 5 or so teams that have the best chance to win it. All 5 of those points are easily refutable.

1) Syracuse with GMac, Warrick, and Melo all freshman. Florida was inexperienced last year. Plus Terry and QT have been through the wringer. Hansbrough is not your typical sophomore being that he was the the best player on the team last year.

2) Woes? Maybe they are a hot and cold team but they seem to be shooting a lot better recently. I don't have the numbers offhand but they certainly aren't a horrible outside shooting team. They can beat you in a number of ways. The 3 ball was a big factor in the UofA drubbing.

3) Lawson, while only a frosh, has proven he can handle it. Turnover problems? He has a fine Assist:TO ratio. Not a big concern I don' think.

4) Yeah, I guess you can say they have no true leader. But teams have won without one guy being a vocal leader.

5) A healthy UCLA is the frontrunner to me. Shipp and Mbah A Moute have been nowhere near 100%. I like their chances before Florida honestly regardless of the trip up at Stanford Sunday...

1/31/2007 12:47:38 PM

Quote :

" 5 Reasons UNC won't win the NC "

1/31/2007 12:48:12 PM

n/m

reference to the article

[Edited on January 31, 2007 at 1:08 PM. Reason : zxfs]

1/31/2007 12:55:12 PM

I support any thread/article that in some way or another puts down those brokeback hill tarholes

1/31/2007 4:42:50 PM

laughable

1/31/2007 4:46:06 PM

1. UCLA
2. Florida
3. Ohio State
4. Wisonsin
5. pitt


5 reasons UNC wont win the NC

[Edited on January 31, 2007 at 4:52 PM. Reason : f]

1/31/2007 4:52:00 PM

and you can make a lot of those same points about those teams as well

This is just an article by a guy hoping to bash UNC and didnt have any ammo this week and they took apart Arizona Wake Gt and Clemson recently

not that a lot of those points arent true, but I think Florida is going to walk to the Final Four

and they could always LOAD the tarheels' bracket

1/31/2007 4:53:57 PM

I think this is really silly. Everyteam has weaknesses but they won't necessarily be exposed during the tournament. Who says they will play a team with a few great post defenders like florida? the road you are given in the tournament is the main thing that determines if they will win it all or not. Will they run into teams like arizona oregon marquette then they could easily run through all of those teams.

Tournament is all about matchups and there are less teams that match up well with unc than there are most teams.

1/31/2007 4:55:17 PM

i found this article on charlotte.com, typically biased towards UNC. thats why i found it so interesting.

1/31/2007 4:55:32 PM

exactly

i dont think they will make it past the round of 8

but they wont go out to a team like GM this time

1/31/2007 4:56:28 PM

Quote :

"6. Their plane crashes on the way to a game and they make a movie about it 20 years from now."

Now I don't wish something that bad on them...maybe just really bad flu. For the whole team. Or mono. Maybe they'll all get the herp like those wrestlers in in the midwest.

1/31/2007 5:10:36 PM

It all comes down to how easy of a matchup they have in the tournament

in the past Duke and UNC always have a pretty easy bracket

we will see if they do once again

1/31/2007 5:13:44 PM

duke's had the hell region 3 of the last 4 years. 04 was a cakewalk.

1/31/2007 5:15:29 PM

Quote :

"in the past Duke and UNC always have a pretty easy bracket"

You're kidding right? It was said by all the experts that UNC's bracket in '05 was the toughest (with Villanova, Connecticut, Kansas, Florida). While it didn't shape out that all those teams got as far as they should have, it was still the toughest bracket.

1/31/2007 5:18:30 PM

i think this column just comes as such a surprise to state students because we all expect the worst when it comes to Carolina... Read: As a result of what they've done to State the past three years and what they've done a few other teams this year in national spotlight games, the heels storm through the remainder of the regular season, acc tournament, and the rest of the ncaa on their way to a second title in three years

if one can get past that irrational and (mostly) unmerited fear of how badly it would suck if Carolina were to accomplish this, there are many arguments (see above) that can be made to suggest that this team is not head and shoulders above the entire rest of the country, at least right now

and all it takes is one game where things just don't go quite right or where the other team has everything going

1/31/2007 5:19:12 PM

^they are clearly not above the rest of the country but they are definately one of the best and a clear frontrunner talent wise as well. to list reasons why they won't win it all is pretty comical.

1/31/2007 5:22:10 PM

Quote :

"You're kidding right? It was said by all the experts that UNC's bracket in '05"

thanks for keeping it to one year in particular when I mentioned more than one


wtf dude, get that UNC bias mess out of here, stick up for your fags.

1/31/2007 5:24:16 PM

and it fits into what i'm saying

that state fans are so desperate that carolina doesn't win it all again (i know i sure as hell don't want to see it for a second time during my tenure here) that they'll eat up any reasoning and/or justification that says they can't or won't

1/31/2007 5:26:23 PM

^^You're trying to act like there's some conspiracy where UNC and Duke get the easier brackets. Get a clue man! Selection committee doesn't give a rats ass about that.

It's refreshing to be hated again because that means we're at the top. Wouldn't have seen an article like this five years ago.

[Edited on January 31, 2007 at 5:27 PM. Reason : ^]

1/31/2007 5:27:22 PM

carolina shouldn't have beat villanova in the first place. terrible travel call in the last few minutes won them that game

1/31/2007 5:39:53 PM

Quote :

"It's refreshing to be hated again because that means we're at the top. Wouldn't have seen an article like this five years ago."

if being hated by the media means you're at the top, then the ncsu football must be at the top of the world. its been a while since i've seen such negative press for a craptastic team than this past season. completely off the wall stuff too, just to keep it entertaining.

1/31/2007 5:52:49 PM

^There's a difference between being hated and looked down upon, don't you think?

Quote :

"carolina shouldn't have beat villanova in the first place. terrible travel call in the last few minutes won them that game"

That's funny coming from State fans. Not like they weren't lucky to beat Houston on a botched play.

[Edited on January 31, 2007 at 6:30 PM. Reason : ]

1/31/2007 6:28:42 PM

gay ram fuckers oh
and
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1582336,00.html

1/31/2007 6:31:43 PM

I'm 23, not 14. Homosexuality jokes aren't as funny or as offending to me considering I'm not gay, but keep having your juvenile jokes at "gay UNC." Come up with something new.

1/31/2007 6:34:51 PM

aww don't get mad. Hey I'll bet you the holes don't make it to the final four.

1/31/2007 6:35:49 PM

Carolina has a better chance of making the Final 4 than State does of making the NIT.

1/31/2007 6:37:56 PM

Quote :

"^There's a difference between him betting unc wont make it to the final four and nc state making it to the nit, don't you think?"

1/31/2007 6:43:24 PM

^^ hey hey...

you're awesome.

1/31/2007 6:48:34 PM