Senior-itis, a long memory and putting The Toe to rest
Mar 28, 2009
Tags: ACC
Bobby Frasor scored a grand total of six points against Gonzaga. But they couldn't have come at a better time.
After a Gonzaga rally pulled the Zags to within six of North Carolina, Frasor -- a senior whose minutes have been a fraction of his freshman year totals -- came off the bench to knock down back-to-back three point shots, and his Tar Heels never looked back.
You need those kinds of contributions from your seniors in the NCAA Tournament. And you also need your star players to rise to the occasion.
Enter Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson.
Hansbrough had clearly heard enough about Gonzaga's 2006 win over UNC -- a game in which the Zags did a great job of containing "Psycho T." In his postgame comments, Hansbrough admitted he had been thinking about that '06 game all week.
But revenge is sweet in the Sweet Sixteen, and Hansbrough got his revenge with 24 points and 10 rebounds.
As for Lawson, I think we can finally end the saga of the Big Toe. Lawson was absolutely tremendous against Gonzaga -- 19 points and 9 assists. And Gonzaga coach Mark Few even suggested Lawson may have gained a benefit from the injury because he's now playing under control. Lawson is so fast he can, at times, seem to outrun himself.
In all, an impressive win for Carolina over Gonzaga. Now we can look forward to a truly "elite" matchup in the Elite 8. UNC vs Oklahoma and Tyler Hansbrough vs Blake Griffin.
