Duke-UNC Game Round-By-Round: Live, Die And Live By The Long Ball

http://www.sbanation.com ^ | February 9, 2012 | Bill Connelly

[NKP_Vet]

"The Carolina defense made so many plays in the middle portion of the game, but the Heels' inability to generate consistent offense down the stretch opened the door for the late-game silliness and, in the end, converted Zeller from the game's most valuable player to the game's goat. The ability to stomp on the throat (or, since we're talking boxing, land the knockout blow) is a key trait in basketball, and UNC did not possess it last night. Rivers and Duke deserve credit for their incredible late-game heroics, but it was North Carolina's fault for letting them off the ropes in the first place".

[NKP_Vet]

How Roy Williams' teams never get up for the challenge I will never know. They had this game in the big and let it slip away. Duke is the most one-demensional team in college basketball. They live and die by three ball and still Roy Williams' tells his players to never contest the three. Both Duke and UNC (after being topranked to start the season), go out in the early rounds of the NCAA tournament. UNC will end up being the being disappointment of the season. How a team with 4 NBA picks in the starting lineup can't dominate inferior teams is a mystery. But all teams need an enforcer, a player with an attitude, and this is something UNC lacks and hasn't had since Tyler Hansborough.

[blueunicorn6]

I had a mentor for coaching basketball (think Gene Hackman in HOOSIERS). I’ll never forget his truly inspirational advice......

“Score more points than the other team.”

I have that written on cards that I hand out to the players before each game. I’m thinking about writing a book about this philosophy.