University of North Carolina Athletics
Droschak: Anatomy Of A Comeback
February 16, 2006 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 16, 2006
by David Droschak, TarHeelBlue.com
CHAPEL HILL -- How do you accomplish a 20-point comeback in the Atlantic Coast Conference?
Let me count the ways after North Carolina came roaring back in the second half Wednesday night to beat a stunned Georgia Tech team 82-75.
First. There is a fire and brimstone halftime speech by the coach. Check.
Roy Williams let the Tar Heels have a piece of his mind at the break, ranting about poor defense and too many outside shots. He also told his young team they had to play every single possession in the second half if they wanted a chance to get back into the game. He also pointed out other big comebacks in his coaching career as some positive reinforcement.
"I didn't talk about a lot of good things at halftime," Williams admitted.
Williams even broke his routine of heading into his locker room first before talking to the team.
"You know how a Tasmanian Devil has his little thing where he just destroys everything, that's about how it was," said senior David Noel. "That's my best analogy for it. But we already knew what to expect because we were down 13. I was prepared for it."
Second. Get the ball to the Beast. Check.
Tyler Hansbrough put on a show that won't be equaled soon -- by any class -- let alone a freshman. His 40 points were the most by any player in the 20-year history of the Smith Center and most ever by any freshman in an ACC game. He also had 10 rebounds in his 32 minutes as the Yellow Jackets sent player after player to pound him, but to no avail.
"The big fella was unbelievable," Williams said.
Third. Run, run and run. Check.
The Tar Heels couldn't get their fastbreak going much in the first half since the Yellow Jackets were on fire, hitting 9 of 10 3-pointers. In the second half, Georgia Tech missed all seven of its shots beyond the arc, UNC was able to get plenty of long rebounds and the rest is history.
"Give North Carolina credit, they really got out on transition and their offensive rebounding really hurt us," Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt said.
Fourth. Play relentless defense. Check.
North Carolina extended its defense big-time after coming out of the locker room and the Yellow Jackets got back on their heels and failed to stay aggressive. It took the Tar Heels just 11 minutes and eight seconds to erase the 20-point hole and erase any thoughts the Yellow Jackets had of winning the game.
"Instead of taking them off the dribble we got a little tentative," Hewitt said.
Fifth. Show character. Check.
Most teams would have folded after falling behind by such a wide margin, but this group of underachievers just got mad and made a statement in front of a raucous Smith Center crowd.
"I never think this team is out of a game, not with the kind of guys we have in this locker room," Wes Miller said. "But as coach said, when you get down 20 you can't look at the score, you've got to think about playing your hardest possession by possession and let things take care of themselves."
If it was only that easy. But this Carolina team made it look that way in lightning fashion, accomplishing the third-best home comeback by the Tar Heels in two decades.
"Two great things," Miller said when asked which was more impressive, the 20-point comeback or Hansbrough's 40-point night.
David Droschak is the former sports editor for the North Carolina bureaus of the Associated Press, the largest news-gathering organization in the world. In 2003, Droschak was named the North Carolina Sportswriter of the Year. He currently works in public relations at Robbins & Associates International, based in Cary.
