Some ACC action going on and a big one tonight at 9 PM on ESPN between #1 Duke and Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. Any hope UNC has of winning the ACC regular season outright can most simply be broken down into two parts.
1. Virginia Tech beats Duke
2. UNC beats Maryland, FSU and Duke
That is not an easy road and given UNC’s consistent trouble beating Maryland teams coached by Gary Williams, it is probably better to take it one game at a time.
Comments if you are not out enjoying the nice day in North Carolina.
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“javi gonzales is pound for pound the toughest kid in the acc”.
hmm, didn’t know that.
here’s a thought:
Watching the byu-sdsu game, I’m really scared of our chances in the tournament after the first round. These teams are fast and tough jimmer could easily light up our team for 40
If State could ever get all of their players to play well in the same game, they’d be unstoppable. Scott Wood scored neat the rim (wow!) and played well inbounding and even dribbling (wow!) and Tracy Smith was a monster. But CJ Leslie regressed back about four weeks or more, taking bad shots and lollygagging on plays. I don’t know what they’ve been feeding Vandenburg - whatever it is, he’s turning into a beast. Big men can be funny that way, slowly developing and suddenly getting it. If they could have added the CJ Leslie from their two recent wins to this mix, rebounding and taking good shots, they’d have blown GA Tech out. Seems like no matter what particular game, someone disappears and the game is more “exciting” than it needs to be.
John Kuester appears to be having some trouble in Detroit, http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/Detroit-Pistons-skip-practice-in-protest-of-coach-John-Kuester-022511. Anybody know what’s going on? I can’t tell from the news story.
Well, Va Tech has their NCAA Tournament Play In Game tonight. Lets hope they make the most of it.
^^^^ ‘Jimmer’ was a UNC fan in high school (NYTimes), but no UNC offer. Why can’t Roy spot these relatively slow, late-blooming, improbably-hot shooting white guys who want to come to UNC? He’s losin’ it.
Do you have to be mormon to play at byu?
Really, are you are going to complain about Roy not offering an outside the top 100 recruit, when if he did you would be the first one up here bitching about it.
No, you don’t have to be Mormon to play at BYU.
Jimmer Fredette is a special talent, but would have he come in to be Wayne Ellington’s and Ty Lawson’s caddy?
With Texas giving up 91 points today, I think we might wake up to the Heels being the most efficient defense in the country. Of course, if Duke shuts down Va Tech tonight, it could be them. All the more reason to pull for Malcolm Delany to go nuts tonight.
You don’t have to be Mormon to go to BYU, but Jimmer is, making me doubt that he would have gone anywhere else. Remember Steve Young?
Remember Jim McMahon? He went to BYU and said you couldn’t do anything there, not even ….
I am not sure about Danny Ainge, but I daresay he was a bigger deal than this new guy at BYU, whom I have now seen play once, which is probably about the number of times I saw Ainge play in college given the limited coverage back then.
Somehow I think BoyWilliams’ comment about offering Jimmer was tongue-in-cheek. At least I hope so.
jimmer can freaking shoot though. And the onion’s varied coverage on him has been great
http://www.onionsportsnetwork.com/articles/jimmer-fredette,19241/
when did getting inside position on a rebound become meaningless?
was it the 90s?
or 2000s?
someone should do a study.
Against Duke is apparently has never mattered. Had to love how Plumlee goes over the back, knocks VT player down then turns to the ref to complain when he didn’t come up with the ball.
Heck, Dick Vitale ever aid Plumlee got away with one.
THF, re: your Allen tweet; I’d say to wait a bit. He has always struck me as a guy whose emotions get the better of him. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some ugly shots from him in the second half. Although I’d much prefer to see him go 8-9 with 13 rebounds in the half and see roughly 10 camera shots of him waving his arms to hype the crowd up.
Virginia Tech is going to have to make a free three at some point tonight if they want to win this game.
Nolan Smith just took one of the more egregious dives I’ve seen on this side of soccer.
Smith looks like he has the bone structure and strength of Grover (not even Supergrover) with all those flops. To the refs credit, despite their love affair with calling charges, they haven’t call it yet. Yet.
I don’t think Jeff Allen knows you’re allowed to pass the ball.
this is only the 2nd dook game i’ve watched any part of.
K is calling timeouts like theyre candy. is that unusual for them this season? or just on the road?
sounds like Allen came to play and Delaney came to sulk a bit.
dude, this is your last chance. fire up!
I know it’s a tough call, but I absolutely despise when two refs blow the whistle and then just look at each other for 5 seconds waiting for the other to decide block/charge.
holy cow! hand in the back on a fast break is now legal, too.
phenomenal.
***
^thats because they dont want to get caught making two DIFFERENT calls.
what would be a better choice by a ref is not calling something not in his area, say, from 30 ft away. might want to give that a shot.
the guy with the best angle, usually, on seeing a block/charge in the lane, is the baseline ref.
ANOTHER goaltend by Plumlee. Will he ever learn?
Mason Plumlee is a born F-up. I have been telling my best friend (Duke fan) that since MaP set foot on campus. He can’t help himself, he’s just an idiot.
^i guess goaltending isnt on the SAT.
Singler either over the back or push in the back, take your pick. not called.
Here it is. Green has been awful tonight from the line.
I said push.
FREE.
Free.
So miserable.
My dog is a better FT shooter.
Goodness gracious this single game is a microcosm of Va Tech’s attempts to get into the NCAA tournament over the past 4 years.
VT is trying to do their best to lose this game
back in business….. door is wide open now!
Finally, ONE clutch free throw!
The main thing this proves is that you can be even worse at free throws than we are and still beat Dook.
its up to you, Heels.
one game at a time.
but its time to start a mission.
Way to go VPI!
Door is open! Who’da thunk it after the loss to GT?
he has a daughter who’s a cheerleader? boy, talk about waving the tryout.
The other thing this means is that Maryland will be even more eager than it was going to be anyway to muck things up for us tomorrow. Gary Williams is always bad news. I hope we’re ready.
Singler and Smith combined for 40 of dook’s 58 shots…. Thats dook basketball
Duke shot horribly from the foul line too. UNC first has to get it done tomorrow for this to mean what it means.
Singler and Smith took 37 shots.
the other 6 players were reluctantly permitted to split the other 21.
must be fun for them!
“Door is open! Who’da thunk it after the loss to GT?”
It’s a different team now. HOW different is something we’re going to get a lot of information about in 24 hours.
Heels could easily lose four in a row. Let’s go game by game.
Hopefully the Dean Dome will be rocking, a young team could really get a huge lift from the crowd
10/13 is horrible FT shooting?
its just that 2 came late.
I know Seth Curry had a bad game and that is why Duke won, basically, but it is interesting to see that Seth’s daughter gets taken care of by VPI, but no spots for Curry’s sons. Yeah, Tech won tonight but imagine if Tech had had 6 years of the Curry brothers. You might be looking at a program at the level of Maryland.
“Heels could easily lose four in a row…”
Probably not. We are inconsistent, but better than that at this stage. The team does have some grit and spirit, for all its shortcomings.
“Let’s go game by game.”
Nailed that one.
dook met some resistance, and in a challenged game, they revert to form. 6 assists. its Smith and Singler all day long. very little sharing of the ball.
william, I think a spot on the dance team is a little different from one on the basketball team. I understand that Dell Curry went to VPI and that should carry some weight, but what about every other team that missed on St and Se? VPI certainly isn’t the only one.
Down goes Dook! Down goes Dook!
Pssstttt…..hey Roy, a 2-3 zone can be a good thing sometimes!
When big men get recruited by K, does he tell them that their never going to get the ball in the post, and better work on their screens skills… 37 shots from 2 guys is crazy.
PS it was good to see that the RBC was back to being empty today… UNC is the only reason that place sells out….
We talked about that four game stretch earlier this year, but this is even tougher. Maryland usually plays us tough in Chapel Hill; we have FSU on the road, and no, they don’t particularly seem to miss Singleton (he did nothing against us anyway), and then we have Duke at home, followed by a 2nd round tourney game. We should probably win 2 of these on average, given the way we have been playing. We are, however, undefeated at home and I still think we can shoot better. I just do.
Hubert Davis is a sneaky smart analyst, at least when it comes to Duke. He said, at halftime tonight, that Duke really needed to work the ball more inside to Plumlee to establish some balance…..all the time knowing full well it would never happen.
So little respect for the Dance Team, CotaFlota, lol. I mean, come on, Seth blew it on Steph, so he should have sucked it up and given his brother a scholarship. Dean gave Walter Davis’s nephew a scholarship and the kid was no good at all. Remember Hubert Davis? He improved. He improved a lot.
I am not impressed with Plumlee I or II. I knew for sure last year that the Wears were a true washout when I started reading on THF that Roy should have recruited the Plumlees instead of the Wears. Yeah, right.
Oh, I don’t mean to give VPI any more credit than they deserve, they are #1 in the line of people that missed on both Curry’s. However, my main point is that that is a very long line.
William, I couldn’t agree with you more about the Plumlees. They are the Tim Thomas’s of college basketball. Great athletes that are absolute idiots and that fold like a napkin under pressure. I hope there really are 15 more Plumlees in the duke pipeline.
I will say, I don’t know what happened exactly, but the Currys seem to have taken it very personally.
A tough day at the office for the upper half of the Top 25 .
Mason Plumlee is sort of adequate. Miles is still aspiring to be Zubek, but won’t make it.
I guess my other question is why a parent would name his kid “Miles Plumlee” or “Mason Plumlee.” Every time I hear those names, I can’t help of thinking of Chadsworth Osborne Jr.
Very surprised to see Nolan Smith lose track of Delaney for the dagger!
^i dunno. why do grown men wear cloth belts with pictures of pheasants? its a mystery.
not to go all Dickie V and ignore Maryland, but i have to disagree that FSU doesnt miss Singleton, and him not playing isnt a big advantage for us.
FSU, in games not against WF, since his injury 10 minutes into the VA game, where they scored 63, have scored 62 and 65.
Singleton is/was their top scorer and rebounder, and led FSU with 15 vs us the first time.
i’d say he matters.
back to Maryland. they are a Top 20 team, statwise, in scoring, rebounding, assists.
i’m glad the game is here.
For some reason, I thought Duke shot 10/23 from the line.
Rath: you mean like Larry Drew II?
I still don’t know which of those Plumlee dorks is Miles and which is Mason. By the way, Virginia Tech shot 8-19 from the free throw line.
The Dell Curry situation was interesting. I wonder how much the lack of a basketball tradition has to do with that. Curry was the first player in VT history have his number retired. To put it in context, can you imagine MJ showing up if Central Fla played at UNC wearing a UCF shirt? Would not happen. I know Jason Capel was wearing a Oklahoma shirt at the regional final in 2009 with his brother coaching against the Heels but that is different.
Apparently Duke only wants big men who rebound, play defense and score as little as possible. Been that way since Shelden Williams left and obviously they like it.
Tomorrow’s game scares me. Anytime the Heels have a game with so much on the line, the opposing coach I want to see them face the LEAST is Gary Williams. Coach Kay is third on that list, behind Paul Hewitt, who beats us WAY too many times.
THF, spot on with the Dook big man comment. Last year’s championship was, for Kay, the ultimate validation of every tactile approach that he emplores. You know, utilizing Wojo as a big-man coach? That is idiotic. I’m not one of those people who looks at the two titles Dook have won (since Wojo has been on the sidelines) and says, “but it’s working.” No, it’s not. Last year’s title had more to do about good fortune for Dook (in every possible way) than Zoubek’s “emergence”, or anything that the Dook coaching staff have done to develop him. Please. The 2001 title was derived more of Dook simply having more talent than anyone else, plus Boozer was pretty darn good down low. The other tactile approach that Kay sticks with is that he simply plays guys to death. He wants to play them as long as possible, and that might help them beat the lesser teams when guys like Nolan Smith and Kyle Singler can pass the ball around. But when those guys have to carry the load, for 35 plus minutes, it takes its toll.
I would be surprised if Dook make it pass the Sweet 16.
That is interesting, THF, although we have never pondered much why MJ’s sons never flirted with UNC as recruits. In a sense, Dell Curry may be/have been a bigger thing relatively at VPI than Jordan was at UNC.
How is that possible? Well, I would put Dell Curry basically about at the same level as Muggsy Bogues as a talent. Bogues might be the fifth biggest personality from the Wake Forest basketball program. Curry is obviously the biggest from VPI.
Well, here are the guys I can come up with from UNC who are bigger deals than either Bogues or Curry: Billy Cunningham, Charlie Scott, George Karl, Bobby Jones, Mitch Kupchak, Walter Davis, Phil Ford, James Worthy, Sam Perkins, Brad Daugherty, Kenny Smith, Hubert Davis, Jerry Stackhouse, Rasheed Wallace, Antawn Jamison, Vince Carter….
I think when Dell Curry’s sons show interest in your program, you find a place for them, especially when they have the same name, to boot!. Seth Greenburg has done a good job over all at VPI. Somehow he botched this and to even hear Vitale say that Seth Curry wanted to be at VPI, indicates that Greenburg botched this and botched it badly. Dean Smith always knew how to handle these situations.
Va.Tech took care of your 1) by beating Dook.
2) and beyond is in the hands of the Heels. A season-ending 3 game win streak would be sweet!
Go Heels!!
Good Morning… big game tonight YES dukies lost…yahoo…
Anyway on cbssports.com great article by Parrish about duke -UNC game come saturday.as well as tonights game UNC-Maryland….actually stated Drew quitting made UNC better…loving it..
One game at a time.. if we can win out OY MY….
GO HEELS
Random thoughts:
* Heels “control their own destiny” Overused cliche but very true.
* Duke didn’t use Singler in the double moving screen formation where he curls in the lane for a short jumper. Instead he fired away from 25 feet. I must be missing something but I thought Coach K was the greatest coach in ALL of sports? Did anybody think Delaney looked like he might be sick?
* The emergence of Stoglin for Maryland raises them a level. I put Maryland on the level of “4 seed” in the NCAAT.
Hold Dook to 4/20 from the three point line, and you’ll win. I think the 2-3 zone had a little bit to do with it in that it took out Dook’s ability to perform the dribble drive and kick out. Dook’s bigs also looked lost. I don’t know how many times they’ve seen a 2-3 zone, but Kelly and the Uncoordinated Hack brothers looked clueless at times. I know K only recruits bigs to get boards, throw moving screens, sometimes throw your foot our to intentionally trip someone, and get away with over the back on every rebound opportunity, but outside of Singler, who really won’t beat you inside, they have NO inside game. We saw that in Durham when we played them, we just let Curry get hot and that’s what killed us.
Watching VaTech gives me hope, but we have to catch Dook on a night where they shoot around 20% from the three point line like we do.
Heels beat Seton Hall in baseball again.
i went Friday and was impressed with Michael, Moran and Stallings.
Michael does everything well. a switch-hitting SS with speed and a great glove. and hitting a tepid 12/23 for .522.
Stallings threw out two runners Friday, and made it look easy, frankly. he’s thrown out SEVEN of 11 would-be base stealers.
in 6 games.
Beat Maryland first. Its not time to think about Duke yet.
^what if i’m thinking about them negatively? thats ok, right?
agree with you andy.defensive rebounding is also a big factor in beating dook.plumlees’s cant score so they just kick it back out to the guards who are just hanging around the three point line.thats why zoubek was “so dominant”(give me a break.)he was the leader in offensive rebounding last year.
^^Yes. Its always ok to think negatively about Duke.
Kendall Marshall needs 6 assists tonight to tie Nolan Smith for the ACC leader in APG.
Unless something unexpected happens for the rest of the season (like Smith sharing the ball ), Marshall should be able to claim this individual stat and deprive Smith of becoming the first player to lead the conference in both PPG and APG.
Go Kendall!
I was looking at the highlights, the last bucket by Plumber was a complete walk, he took like 5 steps before dunking the ball. How can people miss that??
Marshall is ahead already in conference games.
the toughest thing about tonight is playing a team that wont have home distractions and is playing to get into the dance.
“Marshall is ahead already in conference games.”
That he is, and by a wide margin.
Yep, I noticed the Plumlee walk live.
Dell Curry was heads and shoulders better than Muggsy Bogues. Lights-out outside shooter.
Delaney was either sick or simply not trying.