After debating my boss at work about U of L and UK, I have come to the conclusion that U of L fans known nothing about facts.
U of L basketball is not Elite anymore. In reality, they were only the 1980s. You take away that decade, and what do you have? A team with two Final Fours, no championships and barely 1,000 school wins.
U of L was unheard during the 1990's. They have had minor success during the past 8 years. However, they have one Final Four and no Championships. How can they call themselves elite and compare their program to that of UK, UNC, KU, UCLA or even Duke's?
All of those teams have been great for decades. UK for instance won a Helms National Championship during the 1920s. They also won one the first year Rupp coached in 1931. UK owned the 1940s and 1950s. Even though UK didn't win a championship during the 1960s, UK still had major success. During the 1970s UK made a few Final Fours and won a Championship (1978). UK made a Final Four during the 1980s and won the mass majority of their games. UK along with Duke, dominated the 1990s.
UK has been down the past few years, much like UNC was when Dean Smith left. UNC however, hired the right fit and have won two National Championships under Roy Williams. U of L with a new Coach has none. Again, U of L cannot call themselves elite. Even since Ricky-boy took over U of L, UK has dominated them in head to head matchups. U of L fans seem to forget facts - nothing new.
UK will rebuild much like UNC did. UK has always been better and more elite than U of L and that is how things will always be. U of L, like Duke, will always be second best in the state. U of L fans, learn to live with it. Duke has.
Showing posts with label UNC Basketball. Show all posts
Showing posts with label UNC Basketball. Show all posts
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
UNC wins 5th title
http://www.voanews.com/english/2009-04-07-voa5.cfm
In front of a tournament record crowd, the favored University of North Carolina has claimed the men's national collegiate basketball title.
North Carolina, which was making its record 18th appearance at the Final Four, started Monday night's title game in high gear. Unfazed by the wildly partisan Michigan State crowd, the Tar Heels hit six of their first seven shots and jumped out to a 17-7 lead. The 72,922 fans set a new record for the tournament championship game.
Michigan State helped by turning the ball over 14 times in the first half. North Carolina Coach Roy Williams gave credit to his defense and Ty Lawson's record eight steals.
"Down the stretch this year, we've been pretty doggone good," he said. "And, Ty was a huge part of that tonight. When he is really active, it is the front line of our defense and he is fantastic."
North Carolina continued to dominate, getting 17 points from Wayne Ellington to go up by as much as 24 points before ending the first half, with a 55-34 lead. The team's offensive explosion broke the old NCAA record of 53 points in a half. Michigan State's Travis Walton talks about falling behind early.
In front of a tournament record crowd, the favored University of North Carolina has claimed the men's national collegiate basketball title.
North Carolina, which was making its record 18th appearance at the Final Four, started Monday night's title game in high gear. Unfazed by the wildly partisan Michigan State crowd, the Tar Heels hit six of their first seven shots and jumped out to a 17-7 lead. The 72,922 fans set a new record for the tournament championship game.
Michigan State helped by turning the ball over 14 times in the first half. North Carolina Coach Roy Williams gave credit to his defense and Ty Lawson's record eight steals.
"Down the stretch this year, we've been pretty doggone good," he said. "And, Ty was a huge part of that tonight. When he is really active, it is the front line of our defense and he is fantastic."
North Carolina continued to dominate, getting 17 points from Wayne Ellington to go up by as much as 24 points before ending the first half, with a 55-34 lead. The team's offensive explosion broke the old NCAA record of 53 points in a half. Michigan State's Travis Walton talks about falling behind early.
Monday, January 12, 2009
UNC loses second straight ACC game
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?entryID=3827187&name=katz_andy
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — North Carolina isn’t in trouble — yet.
Losing to Boston College at home was unexpected. Falling to Wake wasn’t. But when it’s added on to the BC loss, it makes the Tar Heels’ task of winning the ACC a bit more daunting.
The 0-2 hole isn’t insurmountable, considering that Duke hasn’t played Wake Forest or North Carolina yet, and it plays them both twice. Clemson hasn’t played Duke, Wake or Carolina, yet, either.
There are still plenty of losses to pass around. Still, being 0-2 in the ACC brought out some raw emotional responses Sunday night.
“I’m stunned,” Carolina junior guard Ty Lawson said. “I’m competitive. I love to win and it hurts right now, losing to BC and losing to Wake. We’ve got a lot left to play, but we’ve got to change something.”
“It’s shocking honestly,” Carolina senior forward Tyler Hansbrough said. “We’re a veteran team. We have to bounce back, stop the careless mistakes and make shots we usually make.”
Lawson said the Tar Heels didn’t set screens for each other. They forced too many shot, and they didn’t defend as well as they could have in the 92-89 loss to Wake Forest on Sunday.
Hansbrough and fellow forward Deon Thompson were a combined 6 of 25 from the field.
If those had been the numbers known to Hansbrough prior to the game, did he think the Tar Heels could win Sunday? “No I don’t think so,” Hansbrough said. “We have to play better. That’s on us to get better shots and get better looks.”
Carolina junior guard Wayne Ellington didn’t get into his offensive flow until late in the game when there was a sense of urgency for the Tar Heels.
Why? “We sometimes go out there and we just expect to win, instead of realizing that nobody is going to roll over for us,” Ellington said. “We’ve got the target on our back. We’ve got to be a little bit hungry. We’ve got to want it more and take it. We can’t think someone is going to give it to us.”
Ellington said toughness was an issue Sunday night, too. The 0-2 start left him struggling for answers, too. “I’m stunned,” said Ellington, offering up a similar refrain. “But I’d rather it be now than in March. It’s a long season, and we’ve got to be hungry and expect a fight from the beginning.”
• North Carolina senior forward Marcus Ginyard sat out his second straight game since coming back for limited minutes (he played in three games) from an October stress fracture in his left foot. Ginyard said he’s not sure when he’s coming back this time and couldn’t say whether it’s going to be a week or weeks. Ginyard’s defensive prowess on the perimeter and leadership on the court is a huge lift for this team.
• Hard to believe this is the same Carolina team that absolutely embarrassed Michigan State by 35 in Detroit on Dec. 3. But the Spartans are hardly the same squad, either. Carolina still had a shot, despite not playing its best, to beat Wake in the final few possessions. So, the Tar Heels are hardly that far away from resuming their run.
• Wake Forest is one of the classiest institutions in the nation. Credit the Demon Deacons for acknowledging Mugsy Bogues in the crowd — and more importantly — for signaling out former coach Dave Odom, who was in attendance as an announcer for the ACC ISP radio network.
• It was interesting to see how the Wake Forest security detail handled the oncoming rush of students onto the floor. I was next to them and each security officer made sure they had a specific North Carolina player to protect going off the court. They were well organized and carried out their No. 1 priority: safety for the players and coaches of the opposing team during a crush of fans streaming onto the court.
• Maybe I’ll be wrong, but pity Virginia. The Cavaliers are next up for North Carolina Thursday.
• Very impressive win by UCLA at USC Sunday night. Senior point guard Darren Collison had 18 points and six assists. The Bruins have now swept the first three road games of the Pac-10 schedule (at the Oregon schools and SC). Is there any doubt that the Bruins own the Pac-10? By the way, I don’t understand why the UCLA-USC game was put on late night, Sunday. That matchup has to be featured more.
• I didn’t give up on Alabama. The Tide opened up the SEC slate with a home win over LSU by six.
• Purdue was facing a must win on Sunday, and it beat Wisconsin at home to avoid an 0-3 Big Ten start.
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — North Carolina isn’t in trouble — yet.
Losing to Boston College at home was unexpected. Falling to Wake wasn’t. But when it’s added on to the BC loss, it makes the Tar Heels’ task of winning the ACC a bit more daunting.
The 0-2 hole isn’t insurmountable, considering that Duke hasn’t played Wake Forest or North Carolina yet, and it plays them both twice. Clemson hasn’t played Duke, Wake or Carolina, yet, either.
There are still plenty of losses to pass around. Still, being 0-2 in the ACC brought out some raw emotional responses Sunday night.
“I’m stunned,” Carolina junior guard Ty Lawson said. “I’m competitive. I love to win and it hurts right now, losing to BC and losing to Wake. We’ve got a lot left to play, but we’ve got to change something.”
“It’s shocking honestly,” Carolina senior forward Tyler Hansbrough said. “We’re a veteran team. We have to bounce back, stop the careless mistakes and make shots we usually make.”
Lawson said the Tar Heels didn’t set screens for each other. They forced too many shot, and they didn’t defend as well as they could have in the 92-89 loss to Wake Forest on Sunday.
Hansbrough and fellow forward Deon Thompson were a combined 6 of 25 from the field.
If those had been the numbers known to Hansbrough prior to the game, did he think the Tar Heels could win Sunday? “No I don’t think so,” Hansbrough said. “We have to play better. That’s on us to get better shots and get better looks.”
Carolina junior guard Wayne Ellington didn’t get into his offensive flow until late in the game when there was a sense of urgency for the Tar Heels.
Why? “We sometimes go out there and we just expect to win, instead of realizing that nobody is going to roll over for us,” Ellington said. “We’ve got the target on our back. We’ve got to be a little bit hungry. We’ve got to want it more and take it. We can’t think someone is going to give it to us.”
Ellington said toughness was an issue Sunday night, too. The 0-2 start left him struggling for answers, too. “I’m stunned,” said Ellington, offering up a similar refrain. “But I’d rather it be now than in March. It’s a long season, and we’ve got to be hungry and expect a fight from the beginning.”
• North Carolina senior forward Marcus Ginyard sat out his second straight game since coming back for limited minutes (he played in three games) from an October stress fracture in his left foot. Ginyard said he’s not sure when he’s coming back this time and couldn’t say whether it’s going to be a week or weeks. Ginyard’s defensive prowess on the perimeter and leadership on the court is a huge lift for this team.
• Hard to believe this is the same Carolina team that absolutely embarrassed Michigan State by 35 in Detroit on Dec. 3. But the Spartans are hardly the same squad, either. Carolina still had a shot, despite not playing its best, to beat Wake in the final few possessions. So, the Tar Heels are hardly that far away from resuming their run.
• Wake Forest is one of the classiest institutions in the nation. Credit the Demon Deacons for acknowledging Mugsy Bogues in the crowd — and more importantly — for signaling out former coach Dave Odom, who was in attendance as an announcer for the ACC ISP radio network.
• It was interesting to see how the Wake Forest security detail handled the oncoming rush of students onto the floor. I was next to them and each security officer made sure they had a specific North Carolina player to protect going off the court. They were well organized and carried out their No. 1 priority: safety for the players and coaches of the opposing team during a crush of fans streaming onto the court.
• Maybe I’ll be wrong, but pity Virginia. The Cavaliers are next up for North Carolina Thursday.
• Very impressive win by UCLA at USC Sunday night. Senior point guard Darren Collison had 18 points and six assists. The Bruins have now swept the first three road games of the Pac-10 schedule (at the Oregon schools and SC). Is there any doubt that the Bruins own the Pac-10? By the way, I don’t understand why the UCLA-USC game was put on late night, Sunday. That matchup has to be featured more.
• I didn’t give up on Alabama. The Tide opened up the SEC slate with a home win over LSU by six.
• Purdue was facing a must win on Sunday, and it beat Wisconsin at home to avoid an 0-3 Big Ten start.
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