University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Nailbiter Stings Worse Than Blowouts
February 13, 2002 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 13, 2002
By Adam Lucas
TarHeelBlue.com
In Tuesday night's narrow defeat that went in the record book as a 10-point loss, North Carolina reminded everyone why it's so much easier to accept a blowout than a close, heart-breaking defeat.
Lose in a blowout and there are never any plays that deserve rehashing. There's no "What if," "But," or "If only." There were plenty of those for the Tar Heels in Charlottesville, as they staggered the Cavaliers before letting them off the mat in the 73-63 loss.
In fact, the Heels had it down to 65-63. But the 'Hoos deserve credit for scoring the game's last eight points.
Going into the game, there was little reason to expect a close game if Jason Capel shot 1-of-11 or if Carolina made 2-of-16 three-pointers as a team. But they also didn't expect for the guards to be so successful on their entry passes, at least for part of the game, or Adam Boone to have a 1:1 assist-turnover ratio against Virginia's frenetic press (he was 0:3 in the last meeting). Or even, and here's a shock after the early-season struggles, for free throw shooting to be a team strength.
"Our foul shooting kept us in the game," Matt Doherty said about his team's 27-14 advantage at the charity stripe.
Player performances can come and go. But somewhere, somehow, this team has rediscovered how to look like a team. It was just one week ago that they turned in perhaps the most dispirited effort of the year at Wake Forest. Six days later, they traveled to Charlottesville, where the Cavs have lost only two games all year, both to ranked teams. Their 11 home wins had all come by at least eight points.
In other words, this could've been uglier than a pair of those hideous orange polyester pants that Virginia fans seem to think look good.
It wasn't.
The pessimists, who seem to be multiplying like rabbits, will say that a loss is a loss. Poor execution down the stretch hurt Tuesday night. A typical Carolina team, it will be said, would've made those plays. But this isn't a typical Carolina team, because it doesn't have that one player who seizes games by the throat. In the past, the Tar Heels could occasionally win games just on a superhuman effort from one player. They don't have that one player this year. It takes a spectacular effort from at least two, and probably more, players for this team to win.
That's why a loss isn't just a loss. Losses like Wake Forest can't compare to the loss Tuesday night, when Carolina had a chance to pack it in trailing 19-3 but instead decided to play a little basketball.
That's what made the loss hurt. This was a typical Tar Heel defeat in that it stung immediately when it was over and will sting in the morning. Most of the losses this year have been atypical just because they've been the kind that you just shake your head about.
Only the simplistic could possibly say that a loss is a loss after watching the effort in the final 25 minutes in Charlottesville. To say that would be to ignore things like Joe Everett's solid one possession of post defense when he had to sub for Kris Lang. It would also ignore a subtle moment with two seconds left, when Jason Capel hit the deck under the Carolina basket. Last week, the Tar Heels were burned on three alley-oop plays, situations that require communication that was absent. But when Capel went down, the other four Heels on the court immediately were there to pick him up.
Sure, it sounds corny. But it's an improvement over where the team stood during some of the tougher stretches of this season.
That's what makes it hard to watch. After weeks of hoping that this team would begin to develop an identity, it did. And their willingness to scratch and claw made them almost seem endearing.
And it was enough to almost make you pine for a good old blowout.
Adam Lucas is the co-publisher of Basketball America. He is a lifelong observer of UNC sports and can be reached at JAdamLucas@aol.com.
