University of North Carolina Athletics
Tar Heel Basketball Notebook
October 5, 2005 | Men's Basketball
Oct. 5, 2005
By Adam Lucas
Carolina fans who start their Late Night day with the Roy Williams Fast Break Against Cancer breakfast won't have quite as long a day this year as they would in years past. An NCAA rules change means practice can start earlier than midnight on Oct. 14. Doors open to the Smith Center next Friday at 5:30 p.m. A volleyball game against Georgia Tech will take place at 6:30, and the full menu of Late Night festivities--including the debut of the 2005 national championship banner--will begin at approximately 9 p.m. Parking is limited, but buses to the Smith Center will run beginning at 6:30 from University Mall and the Friday Center. Using the park-and-ride is encouraged...Good news for fans who can't make it to Chapel Hill for Late Night or the two preseason exhibition games. All three events will be broadcast live on Carolina All-Access. Signup is easy and also enables viewers to obtain a wealth of basketball-related content, including Roy Williams press conferences when the season begins. Other Late Night coverage here on the site will include the return of the popular Live From Late Night feature that we ran last year, as I try to chronicle a full day's worth of activities while also demonstrating how hard it is to talk on the All-Access broadcast while simultaneously updating the website...
Tar Heel players are currently in the midst of Jonas Sahratian's preseason conditioning program. But David Noel--now a wise old senior, even though it seems like he just arrived in Chapel Hill--says Carolina's five freshmen will still be in for a shock when games begin. "Our tempo is a style that if you haven't done it before, it takes a little while to get used to," he says. "Our conditioning program prepares them for it, but it's different in a game when the adrenaline is pumping, people are screaming, and you're getting tired faster." To try and simulate that tempo in preseason pickup games, the rule on taking the ball out of bounds after made baskets has been relaxed. That enhances the need for the rookies to pick up Carolina's defensive system, which requires players to run to the paint and then find their man; most freshmen are used to the traditional "run beside your man on the way down the court" variety of defense...
The Carolina Basketball Mailbag won't get started for another month or so, but we've already received quite a few questions about Bobby Frasor's playing style. Roy Williams thinks Frasor can play both spots in the backcourt and Noel agrees. "He can handle the ball and set up, but he's also a shooter," the senior says. "He's good at coming off of screens."...The offseason task was simple for Byron Sanders. "When we met in the spring Coach told me I had to do three things: box out, rebound, and defend," Sanders says. "If I do those things I'm going to play." Sanders thinks that of those three categories, he's most advanced defensively and still needs the most work on his rebounding...
The ping-pong wars continue. "I think I'm the best player on the team without a doubt," Wes Miller says. "I haven't lost to anyone on the team yet but I don't play as much as some of those other guys do."...Miller, a reliable spot-up perimeter shooter, saw some time at the two-guard position in the Bahamas exhibitions. If he joins Quentin Thomas in the backcourt on occasion during the season, the pair will likely switch defensive assignments, with the 6-foot-3 Thomas guarding the opposing two-guard and Miller defending the point guard. "I have no problem guarding the two," Thomas says. "I'm around the same height as most of the two's in the ACC and college ball, so I'll guard whoever Coach needs me to guard." Thomas arrived at Carolina weighing 173 pounds and now weighs 193. He thinks the added weight will help him handle some of the bumping--both offensively and defensively--inherent in playing the point guard position in the ACC...Three of the four new video boards in the Smith Center are operational and have already been wowing people with the vastly improved displays...
One of the biggest questions about the 2005-06 Tar Heels is their defensive prowess, as the squad loses ace defenders Raymond Felton and Jackie Manuel, plus the underrated (defensively) Sean May in the post. One possible source of defensive effort could come from Reyshawn Terry, who has the frame to be a quality defender. "Reyshawn has to understand in his head that he's a great defensive player," Noel says. "He's 6-foot-9, he's athletic, and he can go get it. He can bother anybody's shot because he's long, and he can lock down on defense when he wants to. He's going to have to do it night in and night out."...Marcus Ginyard is progressing as expected and should have a soft cast placed on his hand next week...
After a year of high expectations, the Tar Heels are anticipating an underdog role this year. "I think it's fun that people aren't expecting us to be that good," Miller says. "They're looking down on us and that's a good spot to be in. We'll surprise people. We'll be a fun team to watch and we're going to do some good things."...Exhibition game tickets are now available online...Don't forget that the Rams Club needs your input for the Carolina Basketball Museum...The Tar Heel Monthly basketball preview issue begins shipping to subscribers next week.
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly and can be reached at alucas@tarheelmonthly.com. He is the coauthor of the official book of the 2005 championship season, Led By Their Dreams, and his book on Roy Williams's first season at Carolina, Going Home Again, is now available in bookstores. To subscribe to Tar Heel Monthly or learn more about Going Home Again, click here.
