WRAL Sports Fan

North Carolina

Dick Vitale picks UNC to win it all, Dick Baddour gets ready for it

By Tim Hall

Apr 1, 2009

It's widely known that college basketball analyst Dick Vitale has an affection for the ACC.  He never misses the chance to call a Duke vs. North Carolina game on ESPN, and he frequently has triangle hoopsters as his "diaper dandies" of college basketball.

So to no surprise Vitale sees the favored light blue as the last team standing late Monday night in Detroit.

"I gotta get a TO baby and I gotta run," Vitale told Mike Maniscalco on 99.9 The Fan's Sports Lunch on his way out the door. "But I think Carolina will celebrate and I think Roy Williams and North Carolina will win the national title."

Tar Heel point guard Ty Lawson has certainly played well in his three NCAA Tournament games so far, averaging just a shade over 20 points per game.  Tack on 20 assists and only two turnovers in those games played.  Vitale said a Lawson with a healthy right big toe is like sticking an engine back in the Rolls Royce car.  Surprisingly, it isn't big man Tyler Hansbrough who is most reliable on Lawson.

"I think personally he affects the game of Danny Green," Vitale said. "Green goes up a big notch with the presence of Lawson who creates space for him because of his penetration ability.  We saw Green in the ACC Tournament where he shot 3-25 and there was no doubt they missed Lawson."

Athletics Director Dick Baddour joined the show to talk about what goes into planning Final Four week.  Logistically, Monday and half of Tuesday the department looks at the big picture and develops an overall plan on how to get the team to Detroit.  Then on Tuesday and Wednesday more details are focused on.

"I'm glad I don't have to play because Saturday morning I start to get a little up-tight," Baddour joked on 99.9 The Fan on Thursday. "I don't know that I'm the most fun to be around come Saturday afternoon but it's okay, my family can deal with it!"

Baddour and his colleagues actually began to prepare for the team's run through the NCAA Tournament as soon as the brackets came out on selection Sunday.  

"Coach Williams wouldn't want me to say this but once we're in the tournament we start doing some planning, we can look ahead and say it's Memphis, we know it's this hotel, we know we'll have these kinds of issues," Baddour said.  "When we were in Memphis we were doing a series of meetings thinking about the Final Four...what we can do to make the transition better."

It turns out for Dick Baddour planning on the Final Four ahead of time was the right call.  The Tar Heels are there for the 18th time, more than any other school in history.