sutomcat
2024 Iggy Award (ACC Tournament Record)
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- Aug 15, 2011
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Let me start by giving props to the UNC fans for coming out. They didn't really have an organized area where they sat; they were kind of distributed everywhere. But there were quite a few of them. Hard to say what the number was with the distribution but I bet they brought 1 or 2K all told. Talked to a bunch of them. Most were from upstate NY, lived an hour or two away and took this as a rare chance to see the Tarheels play nearby.
The crowd was a legit 32K and I thought they were in good form and loud most of the game. Props to the many students who came back to school early to attend the game. It is my understanding this game was not part of their season ticket package and they bought tickets separately to be here. Very commendable.
Another good day for girl power as SU only had 4 male cheerleaders there and a blonde female carried the E flag to led SU on to the court and of course for the traditional running of the flags. She held that E flag high and did females all over the planet proud. You go girl.
The NA was sung by a woman with a grad degree in French Literature from SU. She did a commendable job, highlighted by her nailing the 'land of the FREE!'. She received a rousing ovation from the crowd, and I think she even impressed the ever discerning Rrlbees. Solid.
As is their wont in big games, SU got off to a bad start and fell behind early. McAddo in particular hurt us in the paint, which prompted JB to insert BMK to counter this. That move, like just about everything JB did today, worked nicely and hard times soon ensued for the Tar Heels on the offensive end.
UNC has a big team but their forwards are not especially nimble. This led to regular mismatches as CJ and JG were able to blew by their men seemingly whenever they wanted. You would think UNC would offset this by rebounding the ball well, but you would be wrong. SU dominated the boards most of the game, highlighted by some stellar work by JG in the first half (I think he had 8 rebounds in the first half) and CJ in the second. RC and BMK also rebounded well today...given the size of the players they were going against, I think this was the best effort SU has had as a team on the boards in some time.
It is very easy to ignore or understate the importance of the role CJ fills for this team. He isn't spectacular and is unbelievably consistent, so when he makes 5 or 6 baskets each half, it is just kind of expected, and not given the attention it deserves. Anyway, another great effort for him getting big baskets, creating match up nightmares all game long, getting loose balls, rebounding well, and playing terrific defense.
But as good as CJ was, JG might have been a tad better. He continues to show improvement reboundingl that is two double digit rebounding games in a row for him. Drew a lot of fouls, got a lot of baskets inside, including a big dunk early to get the crowd into the game. Is starting to hit that mid range jumper with some regularity now, which makes me happy and sad at the same time (the only thing keeping him at SU for another year is him not showing the ability to hit the mid range jumper). But most of all, he played great defense. I continue to think he might be the best we have ever had at the weak side block. His freakish athletic gifts allow him to cover an enormous amount of ground and do something Top Ten Play-worthy each game.
Thought TE played okay but he was not at his best today. Made some uncharacteristic turnovers in the first half, missed a bunch of short shots he normally makes. But he was still pretty solid. TC also did not have a great day. The good news is that he was able to get open and get a lot of shots off against a good pressure defense. The bad news is that he had another bad day shooting 3s and it looked like today his form was affected for the first time all year (reminiscent of last year). He like TE did well on defense, as did Silent G, who hit another 3 and looked good out there, but didn't get a lot of PT because we had a less congested interior to beat when TC was in the game instead of Silent G (they at least attempt to cover TC tight at all times).
Also wanted to praise RC for being a major presence in the paint today. He blocked a bunch of shots, altered a bunch more and by the start of the 2nd half, the UNC big guys looked like they didn't want to take shots down lot any more. BMK was also dominating down low. Lots of rebounds, lots of blocks and lots of intimidation by the SU 2 headed center duo today (DC2 did not play meaningful minutes).
Why did this game get so ugly so early? SU did a great job getting back on defense, forcing UNC to have to work with half court offense, which is not good. SU did a great job on the boards, limiting 2nd chances for the Tar Heels on defense and getting a lot of 2nd (and 3rd) chances for SU on offense. If we rebound like we did today, we are going to be hard to beat. Really hard to beat.
At one point in the 2nd half, Williams got so desperate that he switched to a 2-3 zone. Not sure why did never tried to put pressure on SU, not sure why he didn't try to get smaller when it was clear his big, slow PFs could not cover the SU forwards. Not sure why Williams didn't call TOs during the SU runs and try to make some adjustments. I have to say that I am also not sure how Williams has ever won an NC.
SU got off to a good start in the 2nd half, the game became a blowout, UNC stopped trying and the refs stopped calling fouls (it looked like they had a plane to catch). At one point, UNC started to get some transition points as I think that the SU players, who didn't get a lot of rest, got a little tired. But JB called a TO, yelled at his players, did a little subbing and that ended pretty quickly.
I almost feel sad for the UNC fans who attended. The ones I talked to didn't talk any trash, showed great respect for the SU basketball program, were wowed by the Dome and were embarrassed by what happened on the court. I hope the Tar Heels can turn it around and get back in the top 25 by the end of the season. It is not good for the conference for them to be a whipping boy for everyone.
The crowd was a legit 32K and I thought they were in good form and loud most of the game. Props to the many students who came back to school early to attend the game. It is my understanding this game was not part of their season ticket package and they bought tickets separately to be here. Very commendable.
Another good day for girl power as SU only had 4 male cheerleaders there and a blonde female carried the E flag to led SU on to the court and of course for the traditional running of the flags. She held that E flag high and did females all over the planet proud. You go girl.
The NA was sung by a woman with a grad degree in French Literature from SU. She did a commendable job, highlighted by her nailing the 'land of the FREE!'. She received a rousing ovation from the crowd, and I think she even impressed the ever discerning Rrlbees. Solid.
As is their wont in big games, SU got off to a bad start and fell behind early. McAddo in particular hurt us in the paint, which prompted JB to insert BMK to counter this. That move, like just about everything JB did today, worked nicely and hard times soon ensued for the Tar Heels on the offensive end.
UNC has a big team but their forwards are not especially nimble. This led to regular mismatches as CJ and JG were able to blew by their men seemingly whenever they wanted. You would think UNC would offset this by rebounding the ball well, but you would be wrong. SU dominated the boards most of the game, highlighted by some stellar work by JG in the first half (I think he had 8 rebounds in the first half) and CJ in the second. RC and BMK also rebounded well today...given the size of the players they were going against, I think this was the best effort SU has had as a team on the boards in some time.
It is very easy to ignore or understate the importance of the role CJ fills for this team. He isn't spectacular and is unbelievably consistent, so when he makes 5 or 6 baskets each half, it is just kind of expected, and not given the attention it deserves. Anyway, another great effort for him getting big baskets, creating match up nightmares all game long, getting loose balls, rebounding well, and playing terrific defense.
But as good as CJ was, JG might have been a tad better. He continues to show improvement reboundingl that is two double digit rebounding games in a row for him. Drew a lot of fouls, got a lot of baskets inside, including a big dunk early to get the crowd into the game. Is starting to hit that mid range jumper with some regularity now, which makes me happy and sad at the same time (the only thing keeping him at SU for another year is him not showing the ability to hit the mid range jumper). But most of all, he played great defense. I continue to think he might be the best we have ever had at the weak side block. His freakish athletic gifts allow him to cover an enormous amount of ground and do something Top Ten Play-worthy each game.
Thought TE played okay but he was not at his best today. Made some uncharacteristic turnovers in the first half, missed a bunch of short shots he normally makes. But he was still pretty solid. TC also did not have a great day. The good news is that he was able to get open and get a lot of shots off against a good pressure defense. The bad news is that he had another bad day shooting 3s and it looked like today his form was affected for the first time all year (reminiscent of last year). He like TE did well on defense, as did Silent G, who hit another 3 and looked good out there, but didn't get a lot of PT because we had a less congested interior to beat when TC was in the game instead of Silent G (they at least attempt to cover TC tight at all times).
Also wanted to praise RC for being a major presence in the paint today. He blocked a bunch of shots, altered a bunch more and by the start of the 2nd half, the UNC big guys looked like they didn't want to take shots down lot any more. BMK was also dominating down low. Lots of rebounds, lots of blocks and lots of intimidation by the SU 2 headed center duo today (DC2 did not play meaningful minutes).
Why did this game get so ugly so early? SU did a great job getting back on defense, forcing UNC to have to work with half court offense, which is not good. SU did a great job on the boards, limiting 2nd chances for the Tar Heels on defense and getting a lot of 2nd (and 3rd) chances for SU on offense. If we rebound like we did today, we are going to be hard to beat. Really hard to beat.
At one point in the 2nd half, Williams got so desperate that he switched to a 2-3 zone. Not sure why did never tried to put pressure on SU, not sure why he didn't try to get smaller when it was clear his big, slow PFs could not cover the SU forwards. Not sure why Williams didn't call TOs during the SU runs and try to make some adjustments. I have to say that I am also not sure how Williams has ever won an NC.
SU got off to a good start in the 2nd half, the game became a blowout, UNC stopped trying and the refs stopped calling fouls (it looked like they had a plane to catch). At one point, UNC started to get some transition points as I think that the SU players, who didn't get a lot of rest, got a little tired. But JB called a TO, yelled at his players, did a little subbing and that ended pretty quickly.
I almost feel sad for the UNC fans who attended. The ones I talked to didn't talk any trash, showed great respect for the SU basketball program, were wowed by the Dome and were embarrassed by what happened on the court. I hope the Tar Heels can turn it around and get back in the top 25 by the end of the season. It is not good for the conference for them to be a whipping boy for everyone.
