Chris Morris
Chris Morris, a native of Harnett County, produces "The Adam and Joe Show" weekday afternoons from 3 to 7 on 99.9-FM The Fan ESPN Radio. He also covers ACC football and basketball as well as Hurricanes hockey for the Fan and 620 the Buzz.
By Chris Morris
Oct 1, 2011
Ever since the Atlantic Coast Conference officially admitted Syracuse and Pittsburgh to the league a couple of weeks ago, the reaction has been kind of mixed. If you are a fan of the ACC, you have to be intrigued by the move, even if you are not a fan of conference expansion.
We all understand the reasons behind the move, but now its time to take a look at what the newest members of the family bring to the table as far as what we will see on the field and the court.
The ACC is now solidified as the top basketball conference in America. Many long-time observers will claim that has been the case all along, but in the real world, the ACC as a whole has taken a backseat to the Big East for a few years now.
By bringing in 'Cuse and Pitt, the ACC not only struck a major blow to their main competition in hoops, they simultaneously started the chain of events which will most likely lead to that league's destruction.
The Big East is on the ropes, regardless of what Commissioner John Marinatto says. Their remaining football -playing members are openly flirting with other conferences, and when they leave, most of them will take pretty good basketball programs with them.
Meanwhile, the ACC, which already has arguably the two top hoops programs in the country in UNC and Duke, will add one of the banner programs from the Big East in the Orange, and a dynamic young coach in Jamie Dixon that has made the Panther program nationally relevant.
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By Chris Morris
Aug 3, 2011
Butch Davis was introduced as head football coach at UNC Nov. 27, 2006.
As the dust continues to settle following Butch Davis's dismissal as football coach at North Carolina, the discussion has begun to shift from what has happened in Chapel Hill to what will happen to the program in the future. Tar Heel supporters have been hungry for a nationally relevant football program since Mack Brown bolted for Texas in 1997. For many of them, Butch Davis represented an opportunity to return to that level, and his termination is viewed by many as a de-emphasis of the program.
They are right...but only to a point.
North Carolina has had good football teams before Butch Davis, and I venture to say that eventually they will have good football teams after him. Whether you thought Davis had direct knowledge of what was going on or not, the fact is that the program was broken under his watch. He either truly had no idea about what was going on, or he knew and simply did nothing about it. So which is better: ignorance or apathy? There is no right answer.
Chancellor Holden Thorp and the Board of Trustees felt that a change was necessary. I do not disagree. While having a successful football program is important, it is not the sole responsibility of the Chancellor and the BOT. Their main interest should be to protect the integrity of the university. Players receiving illegal benefits from agents is one thing. Academic fraud is quite another. Once the integrity of the institution was brought into question,
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By Chris Morris
May 13, 2011
I wrote in one of my blogposts a couple of months ago that the quality of basketball coaches in the ACC had gone through a significant upgrade over the last couple of years, and that I anticipated there would be more to come this offseason. At the time of that post, there were only two openings in the ACC (NC State and Georgia Tech). We saw two more jobs open up, as Frank Haith left Miami for the Missouri job, and Maryland's Gary Williams suddenly decided to retire.
So how much did the ACC's coaching fraternity really improve? Which school made the best hire? Here's how I think they stack up.
1. NC State- The Wolfpack made the biggest improvement in moving from Sidney Lowe to Mark Gottfried. For the first time in 5 years, State will have an honest-to-goodness COLLEGE basketball coach on their sideline. Gottfried has a track record of success at a high-level program, and he won't have to learn the game as he goes like his predecessor did. There will be immediate improvement in Raleigh, and he will have the Pack back in the NCAA Tournament within two years, and if Gottfried is able to get the ball rolling at State, I could see him staying there for a while.
2. Miami- As far as immediate impact, this is probably the best hire. Jim Larranaga is a HUGE upgrade over Frank Haith as far as a bench coach. Larranaga also inherits some talent at "The U". The issue I have with
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By Chris Morris
Mar 28, 2011
The Final Four will go on next weekend in Houston. For only the 7th time in the last 31 years, there will not be an ACC team participating. As I sit here in my hotel room, soaking up my final hours in "beautiful" Newark, New Jersey, I find myself reflecting on the season that was in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Now, I share these reflections with you.
More of the same- The banner for the conference was once again carried by Duke and North Carolina. Both teams had exceptional seasons. Who had the better year? I'll leave that for the fans of each school to argue about through the off-season. What I do know is that both teams had terrific years, and a masterful job was done by both coaches. While neither UNC or Duke achieved their goal of making it to Houston, it should not diminish all that they accomplished this season. But, while Duke and UNC were both great...
It wasn't a 2-team league- The conference got 4 bids to the NCAA Tournament, and although none made it to the Final Four, the conference acquitted itself fairly well. Each team won at least one tournament game, and 3 of the 4 made it to the Sweet 16. By the way, that is one more that the mighty Big East got to that round. There's no question that the Big East was a better conference this year, strictly from a depth standpoint. But when comparing the top of the ACC to the top of the Big East, they stack up pretty
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By Chris Morris
Mar 7, 2011
Clemson's Demontez Stitt during early action against Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Wednesday, March 2, 2011 in Durham, NC. (Photo by Jack Morton)
The regular season is in the books. While it certainly wasn't vintage ACC basketball this year, there is still a great deal of excitement for, as Roy Williams would call it, the "frickin' cocktail party" in Greensboro next weekend. Several teams will head to the home base of the conference with an awful lot on the line, as well as an awful lot to prove.
We all know that it has been a down year for ACC basketball. There are only three conference teams that are locks to be in the 68-team field selected for the NCAA Tournament next Sunday: North Carolina, Duke and Florida State. But while it's only a 3-bid league right now, there is hope for that number to improve if a few teams can make a little magic in Tournament Town.
Although they head to Greensboro as the 5th seed, I think Boston College has the best chance at getting the 4th invite to the Big Dance from the ACC. The Eagles have the highest RPI of any conference team outside of the top 3 (42), and do have a signature non-conference win (Texas A&M). BC should cruise over Wake Forest on Thursday, which would set up what would essentially be a "bubble elimination" game with Clemson on Friday.
The Tigers MUST win that game, and would probably need to win again in the conference semis to have a shot at hearing their name called on Selection Sunday. Clemson has a lower RPI (55) and no signature non-conference win to lean on. What the Tigers do have, though, is wins over fellow bubble teams Boston College
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By Chris Morris
Feb 25, 2011
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski (left) and North Carolina coach Roy Williams prior to the annual showdown at Cameron Indoor Stadium on Wednesday, February 9, 2011 in Durham, NC. (Photo by Jack Morton)
As the college basketball regular season winds down, the discussion starts about post-season superlatives. Who is the Player of the Year? Which players deserve to be named All-Conference? All-American?
How about Coach of the Year in the ACC? There are really only two truly deserving candidates this season: Mike Krzyzewski and Roy Williams. Both have done an outstanding job this year.
Too often over the last few seasons the COY has become the "Overachiever of the Year" Award. It has gone to the coach who got decent results out of a squad that had low expectations, pushing them to a finish in the upper-middle portion of the ACC.
Four times in the last 10 years, it has gone to a coach who finished FOURTH or WORSE in the league. Do you know how many times Coach K, arguably the best coach in the game right now, has won it in that time frame? Zero. Do you know how many times Roy Williams has won it in his eight years in Chapel Hill? Once – and even that falls into the "overachiever" category. Ol' Roy won it in 2006, when he led a team consisting mostly of freshmen and role players to a 23-8 record and a second-place finish in the conference. Heck, even Dave Leitao has taken home the trophy since the last time Roy or K has had their hands on it.
Just take a look at what these two Hall of Famers have done this year. Duke lost their most dynamic player, Kyrie Irving, eight games into the season, yet Coach K has kept them in the top 5 of the polls
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By Chris Morris
Feb 10, 2011
Duke's Nolan Smith during the Devils' 79-93 victory over rival North Carolina on Wednesday, February 9, 2011 in Durham, NC. (Photo by Jack Morton)
There are a few viable options for National Player of the Year in college basketball this season. There's Jimmer Fredette, the guy with the funny name and big-time game at BYU. There's Ohio State freshman big man Jared Sullinger, who is averaging a double-double for the nations top-ranked team. There's also Kemba Walker, the dynamic scoring machine at UConn. However, the best choice is right here in the Triangle.
Ladies and gentlemen...Nolan Smith.
Who would have ever thought that a kid from Duke would not be getting enough attention in the Player of the Year discussion? Smith has been fantastic this season.
He started the season as the off-guard, playing with freshman sensation Kyrie Irving. Then, following Irving's toe injury in early December, Smith had to take on more of the ballhandling responsibilities, while also still getting his points. He has managed to do that in very impressive fashion, leading the ACC in both points and assists. He would be the first player in conference history to accomplish that feat. Most teams would feel the sting of losing a player with the talent and skill of Irving, but with Smith at the helm, the Blue Devils have not missed a beat. They are now 22-2, in sole possession of first place in the ACC, and are in good position to claim a number one seed in the Big Dance. The Blue Devils can thank Smith for that success.
Wednesday night's game against North Carolina was a perfect example. It
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By Chris Morris
Dec 2, 2010
If you are a regular visitor to this website, (and I assume that you are), you have either heard, read, or been told about the Roy Williams diatribe against ESPN following UNC's loss to Illinois on Tuesday night. Carolina fans will tell you it was just Roy's frustration with his team boiling over, while ABCers will say is just Ol' Roy bellyaching again.
In reality, it is something all together different.
What Roy was doing is one of the oldest tricks in the coaching book. He has a young player in Harrison Barnes, who was facing unbelievable expectations coming into his freshman year. Barnes was hailed as the savior of a Tar Heel program that was coming off of an atypical 17-loss season, but his production has yet to match his hype. To say Barnes has struggled so far would be an understatement, and his struggles have only been magnified when compared to the remarkable play of Duke point guard and fellow superfrosh Kyrie Irving. By all accounts, Barnes is an extremely bright, hard-working young man, who obviously possesses all of the tools to be a great college basketball player. However, as talented as Barnes is, he is human. It's obvious that the pressure to produce in a big way, right away, has gotten to him. So what is a coach to do? Take the pressure and criticism off of the player and put it on yourself. Think about it. Roy could care less what people in the stands, in the media, or on the message
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