First, let me say: I AM A TARHEEL....with that said, I can do what Roy Williams apparently forgot to do: provide an honest assessment of the talent and leadership (or lack there of) on the UNC roster. How a team that was ranked #4 in the preseason CNNSI poll, ended up begging to get into the NIT is beyond me. All the elements of a team that drive a basketball fan crazy were present this year. From Larry Drew kicking the ball around more than David Beckham, to Tyler "Charmin" Zeller's inability to finish a damn layup, it was a frustrating second half of the season. Embarrassing losses to the College of Charleston, Boston College, the University of Virginia (I forgot they had a basketball team), etc., marked a season with few highlights. I would probably take that Juwanna Mann looking chick from Baylor before I would take any of the big men (and I use that term loosely) that we put on the court. Seniors Deon Thompson and Marcus Ginyard provided little visible leadership to a team that desparately needed it. They can now move on to play ball in Europe and be the answers to obscure trivia questions ten years from now. Freshman John Henson (who looks like he transferred from the University of Ethiopia) and Dexter Strickland began to play better towards the end of the season, but considering how poorly they played in the first half of the season that isnt saying much. Things were so bad you would think Jordan owned a piece of the team. The only highlight is that Ed Davis sucked so bad, he killed any chance of being a lottery pick in the NBA draft, and will probably return next year.
And for those fans who say "well we lost four players to the NBA, we deserve to have an off year", I say (in the words of Dickie V) "are you kidding me?"....all of those guys were upperclassmen, and it is the job of Roy Williams to anticipate that and recruit accordingly. The onus of this years disappointment falls on many shoulders, but squarely on the coaching staff.
So to all you dye-in-the-wool Tar Heel fans, here is something to give you hope for next year...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pCL5c9zl-U
www.youtube.com
Here is #1 ranked 6'6 Harrison Barnes hoopin at King City, Nike Peach Jam, Pangos All American Camp, and the Elite 24. Barnes is a versatile and has solid fundamentals. At the moment Harrison is uncommitted. He will be playing his senior year at Ames High School in Ames, Iowa.
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UNC looked lost throughout the season and the coaching staff let those kids down. Often times you would see Roy's head buried in his hands as yet another loss was in the making. My only dissapoint is that NC State could not beat them when it seemed like everyone else did. Ah well, at least we (I can say that since I go there) are still playing Ball. Go State
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