Carolina

So Wednesday night I stayed up until 4am to watch all of Carolina's game at Clemson. It was the first game I have watched live all season, and the first since the national title game in Detroit last April. Despite following the young team through articles and blogs, it was an entirely different matter to actually witness these kids throw the ball away every 10 seconds. Yes, I know they're young (really young actually, with 9 of the 12 players being either Freshmen or Sophomores) but 17 turnovers in the first half is entirely inexcusable outside of Middle School rec league ball during the lockout year when the kids on the travel team weren't allowed to play. It wasn't even the rookies, however, who were making the most brutal of mistakes. The Waer twins were reasonably solid and Leslie McDatonald at least seemed like he had played the game before.

Meanwhile, Marcus Ginyard, who has been on this team since 2005, was about as confused and vulnerable as the stray dogs around here must be just before they're shot in the face as a method of population control. Also, where the hell were Deion Thompson and Will Graves? I would say that Graves must have snuck in a formerly traditional pre-game blunt, but no feasibly consumable amount of weed could cause such a veteran stoner/basketball player to shoot less than 20% from the field. With less than three minutes left, Carolina had more TOs than field goals. Read that stat again and try to keep your hand from creeping towards the nearest sharp object. Needless to say, listening to Jay Bilas emphatically enumerate the miscues did not help the situation.

I honestly cannot remember the last time I shouted "slow the fuck down" at a any Carolina team, and yet here I was, waking up my sitemate and her English-speaking neighbors with desperate pleas for Larry Drew II (R2D2) to hang on to the freakin ball. I mean this is Clemson we're talking about. Clemson. The same team that has started out 15-0 every year since the Truman administration, only to completely implode the second ACC play begins. This is supposed to be their cue to remember mediocrity and fullfil their destiny of dissapointment. As Clemson made three after three, I actually found myself indignant and insulted by their overall lack of failure. We were being completely outclassed and outrun, but even worse, they were tougher than us.

When the game finaly ended, the only bright spot in the whole evening seemed to be the emergence of Frosh Dexter Strickland as a legitimate warrior. Watch out for this kid. So as the orange clad hillbillies of South Carolina rushed the court against a 4-loss team less than 10 days removed from a downfall to College of Charleston (wow thats depressing to type), I was somewhat consoled by the fact that this isn't football, and that any team helmed by Roy Williams has a fighting chance in the big dance come March. That is as long as it doesn't continually break its own record for turnovers. Just please hang on to the ball, ok?



I wrote all of that before Saturday's loss at home to Georgia Tech. Now, after the second consecutive defeat (sixth of the season) it is abundantly clear that Carolina lacks a true and consistent on-the-court leader. In Clemson, Strickland showed some real poise; but Saturday came and he simply disappeared, failing to record either a field goal or an assist in scant minutes. Will Graves definitely stepped up against the Yellow Jackets, but only after a pathetic display on Wednesday. What ever happened to Marcus Ginyard anyway? After the victory in Detroit last April, I distinctly remember having the same conversation about his return approximately 20-30 times before the semester finished in early May. His medical red-shirt was a blessing in disguise, the logic went, because now he could return as a battle tested veteran just in time to teach the flock of talented rookies the same principles of dedication and passion he had acquired during his four years under Coach Williams. So much for that.

I am not saying the newbies are doomed to remain ignorant of these values just because Ginyard seems to be phoning it in right now, as this would be a serious insult to Roy who has clearly proven his abilities as a motivator countless times. I am also not blaming the many ills of this team solely on the 5th year guard. It does seem clear to me, however, that such a raw team would be remarkably better off if Marcus could rediscover the intensity he used to radiate before his injury last off-season. These 18 and 19 year old kids don't just need a swift kick in the ass, they need confidence. It's time for remaining members of last year's team to start acting like the defending champions that they are. The ACC is the roughest conference there is and if these tenderfoots can get their shit together for a legit run, they can build a base of cohesion for this Spring and for next Fall, when three more highly touted recruits will become Tar Heels.
Like I said before: it's a long season, and champions are made in March (and April technically), not in January. Go heels.