University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: UNC Basketball Mailbag December 2
December 2, 2003 | Men's Basketball
Dec. 2, 2003
By Adam Lucas
OK, we can handle it when readers criticize Raymond Felton. We can handle it when readers criticize Roy Williams (just check out the question at the bottom of the column). But we've got to draw the line at criticisms of Brad Daugherty, who is just possibly one of the nicest human beings on the face of the earth, not to mention a guy who could probably play 10 minutes a game for the Heels right now as a backup center. After all, as we all remember--it was one of the most over-repeated Tar Heel anecdotes ever, along with Ronald Curry and Julius Peppers "also playing football," Hubert Davis being "Walter Davis's nephew," and Jason Capel's "brother, Jeff, playing for Duke"--Daugherty entered Chapel Hill as a 16-year-old freshman, so he still has youth on his side.
I am curious, is Brad Daugherty really a former Tar Heel or is he a Dukie in disguise? He appears to be a fair weather alum of UNC at best. Throughout the telecast of the UNC vs. Davidson game Daugherty continued to bash the Heels until a long scoring run came about or an excellent play was made, outside of that he repeatedly made negative comments about the Heels. He said in the opening minutes of the game that "Carolina isn't a top 10 team by any means."
Ryan Martin, Wabash, IN
Over the past few years, I've interviewed numerous Carolina basketball alums. Brad Daugherty may have a stronger passion for the Tar Heels than any of them. In informal conversation, he refers to the Heels as "we" and "us," just like you do around the water cooler at the office. It's not just basketball, either. He keeps a close eye on football as well.
It's important to remember that Daugherty doesn't work for the Tar Heel Sports Network, so he is required to provide his commentary in an unbiased fashion. Digger Phelps picked Carolina to go to the Final Four last week. Does that mean he loves the Heels? No, it means he loves the Heels' chances this year, just as Brad is skeptical about them at this point in the season.
If it makes you feel any better, almost all other ACC fans think Daugherty is biased towards UNC rather than against them. He undoubtedly endures a heightened level of scrutiny because everyone knows he played for Carolina and listens with an ear tuned to hear what they expect to hear from him--whether that's positive or negative. In our opinion, he's one of the most entertaining announcers on the air for one simple reason--you can tell he loves what he does, and that translates into his broadcasts.
I beseech thee Adam Lucas, purveyor of Carolina basketball wisdom, to remark on the question of DEPTH. Every announcer, article, pundit and casual fan can't seem to speak of the Blue and White this year without saying the word DEPTH. If I hear it one more time I may lose it. Could you please dispense some wisdom regarding the D-word, particularly with regard to the 2003-2004 Tar Heels?
Bryan L. Brown '95, Hanover, NH
With an intro like that, you had to know this question would make it into the column. "Purveyor" and "beseech" all in the same question? That's a keeper.
In case you haven't heard, Carolina doesn't have much depth this year. It's been an element of every story about the Heels. But just how shallow are they? Once David Noel returns, Carolina will go a legitimate seven deep and if Justin Bohlander continues to improve, they'll have at least an eight-man rotation. In today's college basketball world, that's not just deep, it's almost bottomless. It's worth remembering that during the 1982 season, there was only one NCAA Tournament game in which a substitute played double-digit minutes, and in 1993, the seventh man was Henrik Rodl, a solid contributor but not an NBA All-Star. That's not even mentioning depth-shy teams like 1998 and 1995, both of which were Final Four squads.
A popular sentiment seems to be that Carolina is in trouble in case of an injury to Sean May or Raymond Felton, because they can't replace those players. No kidding. Show us a team in college basketball that has two Feltons or two Mays and we'll show you a team that should apply for the NBA's Western Conference. With Jackie Manuel and Jawad Williams questionable for tonight's game against Illinois, depth will once again be a much-talked about factor. But how many teams in the country could lose three of their top seven and still be successful?
ut depth does matter, and keep in mind that Carolina is 3-0 but hasn't played a ranked team yet. For every team you can cite like '95 or '98, there are also squads like '99, which went seven deep and was upset by Weber State, or '01, which also went seven deep and was upset by Penn State. It would be nice if the Heels had some additional talented players to push the starters in practice, especially at point guard, where Roy Williams has noted that this is the only team in his coaching career that has included just one player at that position (Wes Miller, a transfer, will be eligible for the 2004-05 season and have three years of eligibility left). And in the case of injuries, as with Jackie Manuel's on Saturday night, it requires Williams to scale back his attack when he uses his subs. A makeshift lineup that included Reyshawn Terry, Damien Price, and Bohlander against Cleveland State had to play several possessions of zone, something Williams despises. And just like '95 and '98, the Heels are very susceptible to one off shooting night ending their seasons in a one-and-out situation like the NCAA Tournament, because there is very little relief help available on the bench.
When Doherty was coach, much was made of his efforts to get students closer to the action in the Dean Dome. I'm curious, has Coach Williams expressed any interest in taking additional steps to "strengthen" our home court advantage?
Adam Burns, Bethesda, MD
First, a small point. Doherty doesn't get as much credit as he deserves for other things, but this is one instance when he's getting too much credit. The seating change was going to happen no matter who was the coach, because the Rams Club and the CAA had been working on it for several months.
With that said, there's not much else that can be done. Original donors to the Smith Center have the rights to their tickets for the life of the building--that's an important distinction that is frequently misstated elsewhere--and aren't going anywhere. Faculty aren't going to easily give up plum seats, either. The best solution is to find a way to increase the volume with the seating plan already in place, and you'll be glad to know that Carolina's sports marketing staff is already working on a few wrinkles to the game day experience that will debut later this season. If you attended the opener against Old Dominion, then you've already seen one example of the ramped-up atmosphere--the intro video that includes a clip from House of Pain's "Jump Around," which seemed to energize much of the crowd.
I'm a little concerned about Coach Williams' habit of criticizing Rashad McCants in media interviews. You would think that Rashad is the only player on the team that has not played well at times. I'm beginning to think that all the talk about a "clean slate" was just that - talk.
Frank Rizzo, Charlotte
You'd think that if you only paid attention to the comments about McCants. At various times this year, Williams has singled out Raymond Felton for needing to take better care of the ball (and even more pointedly, for missing a key boxout against CSU), Jackie Manuel for being a suspect outside shooter, Reyshawn Terry for general freshman mistakes, and the entire team's effort and defense after Saturday night's close game against Cleveland State.
This is a part of the new coach's personality that Carolina fans need to adjust to. Williams is fond of saying, "Some people tell me I'm brutally honest, but I don't think there's any such thing as brutally honest. I'm just honest." But it's also important to pay attention to when and how Williams makes his comments. All the remarks suggesting improvements in McCants's play have come after Tar Heel victories. Carolina obviously hasn't experienced a loss during the Williams tenure, but it's a safe bet that when it does happen, his observations will be much more centered on himself--as they were Saturday, when he said he was outcoached by Cleveland State coach Mike Garland--than on his players. "I'd rather get mad at them now because we won," Williams said after Saturday's victory. "If we'd lost I wouldn't be saying those kinds of things in front of [the media]. I'd be saying them behind closed doors." That's a key distinction that ensures his players know he is trying to make them better players rather than trying to blame them for the shortcomings of the team.
Will football player Jesse Holley make the team?
Don Byrd, Kingston, NY
Carolina fans seem to be fascinated with Holley, a 6-foot-3 point guard. The good news, then, is that he went through his first varsity practice on Monday afternoon. The bad news is that unless he can grow to about 6-foot-9 by 9 p.m. tonight, expectations for him may be a bit outsized.
"Jesse has talked to Coach Haase," Williams said Monday afternoon. "I told him to go home for Thanksgiving. Right now I'm worried about guys who have already been through 33 practices. I don't think he can take Jawad's place [Tuesday]."
Holley is joining the team at a good time. After tonight's game, the Heels play just four games in the next 25 days, which gives them plenty of dedicated practice time. If he is serious about making a contribution, he'll need to have some outstanding practices during the month of December.
Adam Lucas will answer your questions about the Carolina men's basketball program this season in an exclusive column published each Tuesday on TarHeelBlue.com. Lucas, editor of Tar Heel Monthly, will answer your questions on personnel, strategy, opponents and anything on your mind about the Tar Heels other than recruiting specifics. You can email your questions to Adam--please make sure to include your first and last names and hometown.
