UNC's Marshall in Shoot Around - Right Hand Man or "A-Team!"

Kendall is testing the hand, more so than resting the hand. Give him an "A" for toughness, but will that prolong his healing, and keep him out of future games, should they get past Kansas today? This is where you (as a team not just a few individuals) have to play error free "A" game basketball. When you can persevere through an injury plagued season and play deep into tournaments you can say you're "a" good team. If you win the tournament you can say you're "a" great team. Therefore, Mr. Barnes, Mr. Zeller, Mr. Henson, Mr. Bullock, and Mr. Underclassman (all of you) had better bring your "'A'-Game" today because when you're "a" great team playing "a" good team it's just "a" game!

Kendall is in the shoot around again, but can he play through the pain, and be productive? I'm praying he doesn't push himself too early, and we have a Carolina victory. Expect a Willis Reed type performance from a gutsy sophomore if the game is close coming down the stretch! My money says he plays limited minutes especially down the stretch if the Heels are close to finishing the Jayhawks or close enough to catch them and finish on top. Either way I just hope Kendall doesn't over do it. Go Heels!

Ugly Is To The Bone!

Was it an intentional (flagrant) foul, and should Creighton's coach, and players get the Sean Payton treatment? You make the call.

If you are Coach Williams, do you play Kendall Marshall on Friday if Kendall says he's ready to go, or do you keep him on the bench? You make the call.

Here's my call...
The cast came off earlier this week according to Kendall Marshall's Twitter update, and he's pretty up tempo about things. On that note, Kobe Bryant played days after having repairs made to his shooting hand, so who's to say that Kendall will not play at least against Kansas/NC State on Sunday barring they continue the path and defeat Ohio? I can say this... if I am Coach Williams (and I am not, and Roy's been winning for years without me!) I bring to the attention of Fridays ref's the UNC - Creighton game and the Syracuse - UNCA game.

A good (clean) hard foul on a drive to the basket means the defensive player does not allow the offensive player (shooter) to extend his arms, and make an attempt at a possible made shot. Anyone that's ever had the ability to dunk a basketball, and has been undercut, knows that a push is not acceptable. Being hacked, or held is one thing, but you don't dump a player on his head with a cheap foul, and push him. The refs can't catch everything, but this year has shown that the striped shirts are very human, and very flawed! Get a grip, bite your lip, and let'em rip! Eject a few dirty players please, and send a message! Henson got his technical, and he deserved it, but it should go both ways. The shove from double nothing on Zeller, and the extending of the right arm that sent Marshall to the floor were deserving of flagrant foul calls, if not ejections! 

Regardless of the then's and that's, this is now, and I, Coach Williams and UNC faithful am a BELIEVER! Two down and four to go! GO HEELS!!!

Marshall's X-Ray Misread, Not Broken!?

OK let's get the ugly out of the way first. Creighton was a very physical team, and were allowed a few too many cheap shots. One could say that's all on the players because at that level they know better, or one could say it's mostly on the refs for missing the calls (especially to double thrust up near the neck and throat area of Carolina's Tyler Zeller delivered by Creighton's big man who with that play characterized his thought processing and age to match his number: double zero), or one could say it's on the coach for encouraging dirty pool, which went above and beyond playing physical, and tough. You can be physical, and even mentally tough, without being dirty. It was a dirty played game at times! OK that's the ugly.

Now onto the bad... the bad is that an injury is an injury. There is no pretty side to that. Not being able to play at 100% is horrible for a competitor, period! Bad is having a crack so tiny, that you can't see it with the naked eye, but it shows up on an enlarged x-ray.

The good... Kendall Marshall doesn't have to score like Kobe Bryant, he only has to be as tough as Kobe! Kobe broke his shooting wrist earlier this season and is still playing, He missed a little time after surgery, but still played. They have Marshall's wrist in a cast, but no ligament damage, so Kendall could still be cleared to play! Football players play in cast all the time. Kendall's presence would be enough to bother a lot of opponents. Plus Kendall only needs to distribute the ball and avoid turnovers, so the wrist may not completely keep him out.

Also on a good note, some hater was just rushed to the hospital psych ward after reading the title to this blog. That same hater that rushed to read the title, then rushed to share with all of his/her hater pals on Google+, and Facebook, and a few more went with him/her. I am not totally morbid! The good in that is that the haters missed their self-diagnosis thinking they were having a coronary, and it was just a panic attack, so they will be fine by the time someone with sense reads the blog through it's entirety, and tells them that the title was a hoax.

To conclude:
The good, Kendall could still play in a few weeks, this is a long tournament. The bad, we have to survive without him, and for even a few minutes without Kendall could prove fatal to the title shot we had hoped for this season. The ugly, got put out in the first round by a school from Bethlehem, PA. Gone now is Lehigh, but thank you for your first round devil removing services, and congrats on a brilliant first tourney win. Go Heels!

March, Why Do I Love Thee So?

1. I get to pass gas and not get in trouble, or freeze my toocus off!

2. The UCI gears up, and I get to watch my favorite Trek riders win races! Fabian won the last stage an ITT (individual time trail not a computer) at the Terrino-Adriatico, and his teammate Daniele Bennati finished in second behind him. American rider and teammate Chris Horner placed second in the overall GC (General Classification), so a decent start so far. Waiting on the Grand Tour and State side races now.

3. March Madness!!! NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament! GO HEELS!!!

4. The Grass is greener in March for me, because of seasoned Grass! IBMA winners, Dove nominees, and hopefully a few winners there also, and don't even get me started if a Grammy comes this way!

5. The Daytona 200!!! Sepang Testing!! And nearing 200hp on a 250lb machine! Exhilarating is an understatement! Bring on the AMA, & Moto GP baby!

The down side of March:

I'm not on any of these lists as a pro, or an artist, and fans also have to deal with the drama of the NBA Trade Deadline (March 15th), and deal with whining politicians. Although, I have to admit it is fun watching the politicians squirm! (At least in NC at this time they are usually campaigning heavy for May elections!) So any players with a mouth big enough to stick their foot in it? I know of at least one!

"I want to go somewhere, where I can win it all! I will exercise my options and see what gives! Oh wait, I am not Kobe Bryant am I!? I do have some leverage, but not like that yet, or do I? Hey wait we have beaten up the so-called 'Bigs' of the Eastern Conference! We took down Miami, and Chicago... hmmm, hey wait Mr. Owner Meign! I know trade deadline is today, but I don't want to be traded until after I see whether or not we can win it all this year!"

Then there is your politician:

So and so, is scum! You can't trust him/her! I will change everything but your name, and social security number to make things better for you, if you will just vote for me! Don't listen to them! That is a liberal/conservative new broadcast, you can't trust them! (A day later and several $100's later) Watch me on this great liberal/conservative broadcast! Oh and don't forget to pick up a copy of that paper (God I hope-because I forgot how to pray, that they don't remember me bashing that paper too!) that I placed that add in this week!

Yes, March is almost as entertaining as watching a ghetto Christmas!

Enjoy the sunshine!

How (Not) To Gain A Starting Position

As a youngster in a large city, you are the fastest kid on the block or perhaps even the school. The you graduate preschool, and move up to grade school, and you're still the fastest kid in your class. Then you advance to middle school, where nothing much has changed and yep you still run faster, jump higher, and are more athletically gifted than the rest. In high school you are the standout point guard. Your dad was a decent player, and he's worked with you over the years, so no shame in your game to this point. You are sought after by some prestigious universities, and the recruiters are calling daily, and desire to sport their colors on your back. You are on top of the world and feel sooooooo important! You just know that no school can make it without your services.

Let me say that I believe in confidence, but arrogance sucks wind, and blows chunks. Don't get me wrong, I believe we could all be a little happier every now and then, but we could also be a lot more pitiful! Whatever the situation, that is still no excuse to act like a Cry Baby!

Where is the whole "Cry Baby" drama stemming from? Larry Drew II, or as the Tar Heel faithful affectionately refer to him as, SOK (Some Other Kid)! Well SOK was quoted by Ben Bolch of the LA Times as saying in the May 28th article, "When you're winning, everything's good. When you're losing, it's opposite. Going to a school like that, I was aware of the potential for how things could be. I wasn't aware to the extent."

Yes, it's "Man Up" time! Not, "They booed me mama, I can't go back there," time! You can't handle that at the collegiate level, then how in the world can you believe that you are good enough to go pro!? Living in LA have you ever been to Chavez Ravine as a kid? Well I was blessed and fortunate enough to visit there plenty. I heard guys boo Enos Cabell, and yell false accusations of his drug abuse, before his drug abuse was ever brought to light. OK baseballs not your thing, how about a date with the NBA? Ever been to MSG? They booed John Starks, and even NBA legend, and Hall of Famer Patrick Ewing! Yes on their home floor!!! What's even worse than being booed? Being on a team where you can hear a mosquito in the rafters fart, because your fans can't even muster up the strength to stomach a boo! Then you see the twenty-thousand plus dwindle to about two-thousand, as the seats empty. Sadly enough that's the most noise you hear all game, is when the fans are leaving! Welcome to the early years of Sedale Eugene Threatt, and company. That's booing my friend. When your fans are used to big things, and winning, they get a little cranky when that's not happening. Go ask Reggie Miller about Spike Lee at courtside. Check in with Nicholson as he throws up a choke sign atcha!

SOK later said that while he was at his party, he was venting, not "dissing" anyone. He just had to get the following off of his chest, but again allow me to remind you, he's not dissing anyone... SOK said, via rapping at a party, "They tried to tell me just to play my role, but who's really trying to stick to a script full of typos?"

Where did he see typos? And even for a rapper, he is grammatically off! OK on that note, here's a quick survey... All of those who truly feel that SOK deserved starting time over Ty Lawson raise your hand. None of you!? Wow! Was he good enough as a freshman to be the back up even? Oh but wait, an even better question! Who thinks SOK deserves a start over Kendall Marshall? WOW! Same results as before! My opinion isn't much so let's go to the facts. Here's the fact sheet on SOK:


In the '08-'09 season he averaged a little over nine and a half minutes a game. So who's lying, the kid who cried about not getting to play, or the coach that gave him limited playing time based upon his (poor) decision making, and inability? Wow! So he (SOK) did play some didn't he? That last question was rhetorical, and moving right along... with his playing time, those non-existent (according to SOK) 9.6 minutes he averaged a very impressive 1.9 assists, and 1.2 turn overs. Even with limited play, or a better term for you freshmen, "especially" with limited playing time, turn overs can change your nickname from "Driving Larry Drew II," to "Driving Miss Daisy II!" The road traveled by a turn over king is a very short, and rocky road to the pines, right next to coach, or even worse to the end of the bench where you are ostracized! Let's look at it this way, two to one in the assist to turn over ratio department is OK if you are averaging 12 assists per game. Even if you give up six baskets with your six turn overs on fast break points you're only sacrificing as many points as you have in your 12 assists that have earned your team double the points at 24 or possibly but not probable 36 points. So unless you crack under pressure with your team down 12 in the last minute and a half of the game and you yield your six turn overs then, you are in good shape. It's not likely that is going to happen, but again possible, although not probable. So if in the game you surrender the ball six times, but have twelve assists to cover you, the opposition with six three point goals still trail you by six or eighteen points! That's three trips to the foul line on two point baskets or nine trips on three point baskets. Bad shot decisions on your teams behalf, or no defense could be the blame, but it's not all on you if the team loses. Two to one assist to turn over ratio with two assists, and one turn over, is four points in your favor, and the possibility of two or three points against you. That's a shot away from defeat! Which in most every coach, player, and fans mind is no bueno!  So with numbers like 3.9 assists, and 2.0 in turn overs, there is no room to cry. When you play against mediocre teams, and have 6 assists and 3 turn overs, you shouldn't go away feeling like you are an all-star. When you have more turn overs than assist in big games and your team loses by a basket, or twenty points (see the GA Tech game) that should tell you something! It told Coach Williams something, "START KENDALL MARSHALL!" See the 2010-2011 Vanderbilt, Minnesota, and Texas games just for beginners.

So SOK, have fun in the sun, and keep working on that individual game, Barnes, Marshall, The Twin Tar Heel Towers, and supporting cast will be working together to make this season just as successful as last season. To conclude, thank you SOK for bailing, it ranks as the second best thing to happen to Carolina in the last decade! The #1 thing would be getting a great coach that knows how to bench a Cry Baby, and win!

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Don't Mourn A Thumbnail, Celebrate The Masterpiece!

What is the Big Picture in all of this? The t-shirt says, "Carolina Victory," and the wine compliments it. I like the Scuppernong whether anyone else does or not. Many of y'all are probably guessing that I drank the entire bottle, all by myself, after the Carolina game against Kentucky, on Sunday. Well for the record I did not! I did have one celebratory glass, however. Celebrate a Carolina exit from the NCAA Tournament, you ask? Yes, celebrating indeed, and here's why...

1. Doubt is a sin. Never allow a the haters and naysayers influence your faith!
2. It's a really great feeling to see your squad advance beyond the enemies camp. (We usually do, but in the rare occasions that we don't you can hear from the obnoxious camp that needs a moment to cheer.)
3. Reaching new heights, and doing the unexpected, so later you can say, "That's my family!" and "I told ya so!!" is just priceless!

UNC had a great season, period! They manifested the essence of what it is to be a Tar Heel! The displayed heart! Heart that makes a unit beat as one! Heart that thrives on being resilient, strong, and not willing to accept wearing the badge of failure. 2011 is not 2010, it is a new year with a new team, and a new outlook on whom it is they need to be, and whom it is that they represent. And represent they did! The 2011 team knew that they were better than an NIT team, even when the media and naysayers tried to ingurgitate the fear of last seasons mediocrity into them at the beginning of this season.

North Carolinian's are a proud people. We excel in the heat of the battle. We dig in, and we give our all. So let me go back in time a bit, and divulge where THE University gets its name from, and how the most fierce rivalry in all of sports got started...

In Colonial days, North Carolina was a heavy producer of tar, pitch, and turpentine. It was nearly a century later during the Civil War that a fellow from a Duke regiment asked of a fine but battle weary UNC regiment, "Any more tar down in the Old North State, boys?" Even in colonial times they talked trash, and tried to taunt us, and are not considered North Carolinian's just property holders.

A UNC man said unphased by his arrogance said, "Not a bit. Jeff Davis bought it all up."

The Dookie then asked, "How's that, what's he going to do with it?"

The UNC man replied with the final answer to the over confident and arrogant Dookie, "He's gonna put it on your heels to make you stick better in the next fight!"

Gerneral Lee, was so inspired by this story, that his said remark was: "God Bless the Tar Heel Boys."

When the non-believers taunted the Tar Heels this year, the Heels responded in a positive way unlike last seasons squad. Credit Coach Williams who made the appropriate changes, and saw his team turn a lackluster start into a marvelous season! The other kid (name unmentioned for obvious reasons) was given a chance to improve, and just was not the man to lead the point, so Coach Williams brought in Marshall law! So cut to the chase man! Why did you celebrate after the loss to Kentucky?

In a nutshell, a very good Kentucky team humbled, what will be not only, a good Carolina team, but if healthy and focused next season, will be a "great" Carolina team. The momentum swing and game changer for me was when the refs missed a travel call, and allowed John Henson to pick up his third foul at the end of that same play. Not to take anything away from Kentucky. But at that moment, I knew it was going to be a long day for my Heels. Kentucky won, no excuses, and our guys made a valiant effort to advance, we just came up a little short to a very good Kentucky team. Without questioning, Kentucky played well, they shot from the perimeter well. They hit key three point shots, and got the job done. Kentucky played the D they needed to, in order to win, and they did so in the round of the Elite Eight! And again cut to the chase and make your point please...

My point is: Carolina was there! Not only was Carolina there, in the NCAA Tournament, and not the NIT, they were there with a team that had two freshmen, and a Sophomore in the starting line up when only they felt like they belonged there! So, Mr. & Mrs. Naysayer from early November, how's your crow taste now! Well I have four words for you: "Get used to it," because Coach Williams and crew will have another batch ready for you this fall as well! GO HEELS!!!

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Blowout's & Comebacks

OK first things first, college hoops (Carolina basketball). I have to start by saying the Heels advanced. However, and I hate to point it out, it was a sloppy victory. They have proven that they can persevere and chip away at a huge lead. They have made some great comebacks this year. However, when you give a great team a huge lead, they can usually close even against another great team. Both Carolina and Washington played sloppy and turned the ball over way too much today. The long lead passes are wonderful, when you have an open man, but the great ones no when "not" to force a pass. Magic Johnson threaded the needle in college and as a pro, but understood what ball management was about. That's why he was a National Champion, an Olympic Champion, NBA World Champion and most of all a smart and legendary winner. The Heels must play with more discipline, fewer mistakes, and still have fun! Henson has to ditch the Garnett block the dead ball mentality! He must play bigger and stronger in the paint and he must play smart! Thomas' foot was on the line, so even with a goal tend it would have only been a two point field goal instead of a three pointer. One more time with my redundant word of the day; "However," Henson should have been nowhere near that last shot. He also took a major risk going after the previous shot. He didn't even have a player close enough to him to have to box out. The worse thing that could happen did. His hand-eye/foot coordination let him down in such a way that gave the opposition one last breath, and in doing so, almost took the last from his team. They are young and they are tough and get high on emotion, but that needs to harnessed. Self discipline will make or break you.

Duke gave up a huge lead. Very uncharacteristic of a Coach K team. Congrats on win 900 Coach Ksnarls! Again that's all the good I have in me, and I don't know how long, if ever again I can say anything good about the bad guys.

Wisconsin and the Bucky-Bo express! Coach Ryan is going to find an athletic big man one day and when he does, Coach Matta, Coach Izzo lookout! He's already boasting one of the highest home game winning percentages in the land, so lookout if Bucky gets not only smart coachable kids, but athletic ones as well! Can you imagine a UW team with a dominant big man, a shooter, defensive stoppers, and a couple of leapers!? Yeah 100-0 at home again over the next 5 years, and probably close to the same record on the road! Seriously, trade one of his bigs for UNC's Zeller/Henson (a mature Henson), or OSU's Sully. Bo's guys would be where Thad's guys are... in the #1 overall!

Speaking of #1 overall, I was so disinterested in the thrashing that OSU put on George Mason that I did some research for NASCAR. Yes OSU is very deserving of the #1 overall and I have them taking it all. But I pray that my Heels prevail and shake up the college hoops world! Oh back to NASCAR, word on the street is that according to the experts the new Buick Regal is to heavy and a tad off pace with its competition, however, I say put her on the track, she's one fine ride! I think the Regal belongs! Hope Buick's back!

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