WRAL Sports Fan

WRALSportsFan

UNC: Round 1 Is Not the Challenge

By Barry Jacobs

Mar 14, 2007

Raleigh, N.C. — North Carolina played well in Tampa, well enough to win its 16th ACC title, tying Duke for the most in conference history. The talent-laden Tar Heels are far from a finished product, but that’s to be expected of a squad dominated by underclassmen.

UNC saw its freshman starters—Brandon Wright, Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington—voted first team all-tournament, a first for the event and indicative of their continuing emergence as solid performers.

Wright, the tournament MVP, impressed with his scoring, rebounding, and defense against All-ACC forward Al Thornton. Lawson showed maturity as a playmaker, accomplishing 20 assists compared with four turnovers.

Ellington, a surprisingly inaccurate marksman during the ACC regular season, made six of 12 from 3-point range and had 44 points in three games, second only to Wright’s 47.

All-American Tyler Hansbrough, the Heels’ season leader in scoring (18.8 points per game) and rebounding (8.0), struggled to get comfortable at the ACC Tournament. Hansbrough fidgeted repeatedly with the clear-plastic mask he wore to protect his broken nose and was defended at each post-game press conference by his coach as if somehow the bullish sophomore was an object of criticism.

That was hardly the case. In three days, Hansbrough contributed 30 points, got 20 rebounds and made 12 of 14 free throws, including all 11 he tried in the tournament finals. Equally important, he remains the focus of opposing defenses, leaving teammates more freedom to operate.

The Heels have many parts and looks with senior starter Reyshawn Terry, early substitutes Danny Green and Marcus Ginyard, backup playmaker Bobby Frasor, reserve big man Deon Thompson, and others. Their offense attempts to put constant pressure on opponents, and their defense continues to improve.

Florida State made 30.9 percent of its shots against UNC in the ACC Tournament, Boston College 34.5 percent. Only the disciplined, deliberate approach perfected by N.C. State successfully weathered the Heels’ defensive storm.

Opening-round opponent Eastern Kentucky, which won the Ohio Valley Conference tournament and that league’s automatic bid, should not present too many difficulties.

The Colonels, winners of 11 of 13 entering the NCAAs, are essentially a six-man team that uses no one taller than 6-8 post player Darnell Dialls. They lost decisively to the big boys whose courts they visited, Ohio State and Kentucky, and will be playing the Tar Heels in Winston-Salem. They have had trouble dealing with pressing defenses.

Eastern’s scoring relies heavily on underclass guards Mike Rose and Adam Leonard, who combine to attempt about two-thirds of their team’s 3-pointers. The Colonels’ only other double-figure scorer is 6-4 forward Julian Mascoll.

Coach Jeff Neubauer, formerly an assistant at West Virginia and Richmond under Jim Beilein, was not with the program in 2005 when it last played and lost in the NCAAs as a 15th seed.

Next up for the Tar Heels would be the winner of the 8-9 game between Marquette and Michigan State, both Final Four entrants in recent years but not at their best in 2007. North Carolina will determine its own fate, going far if it generates concentration and passion, which it sometimes lacked in losing three of five games from mid-February through the first of March.