University of North Carolina Athletics
ACC Tournament Blog (Friday)
March 10, 2006 | Men's Basketball
March 10, 2006
For the weekend of the 2006 ACC Tournament members of the UNC Athletic Communications staff (Sean Alford, Adam Lucas, Kevin Best and Matt Bowers) will give Tar Heel Fans up to the minute coverage of the latest events from Greensboro.
9:51 a.m.: Let the tailgating begin. On the second morning of the 2006 ACC Tournament the parking lot is stirring. While it's not nearly full, small groups of fans from the in-state powerhouses like North Carolina, Duke, and NC State have staked their claim in Greensboro Coliseum's field of concrete. Traffic is not bad yet, but prepare for delays if you're getting here after 11:00.
Without a cloud in the sky, the smell of hamburgers and hot dogs is reminiscent of a football Saturday at Kenan Stadium
10:28 p.m.: Woody Durham, Jones Angell, Eric Montross and the rest of Tar Heel Sports Network gear up for another long day following their all-day coverage on Thursday.
"We probably have an average of about three, maybe three-and-a-half, hours of sleep between the three of us," says Angell. "I went to bed at about 5:15 and woke up at 8:00."
en Alexander, the network's producer/engineer, noted, "I've had two glasses of orange juice, a Diet Coke and I'm ready to go for the day."
Angell, on the other hand, has only had a half a bottle of water and a granola bar. No caffeine for you Jones?
"Oh, don't be surprised if I've got a Coke in my hand before the first game."
10:46 a.m.: Duke and Miami take the floor for a pregame shootaround with all eyes on Duke's J.J. Redick and Miami's Guillermo Diaz. We watched 20 shots from each player to see how they're feeling before the game. Redick - 11 for 20. Diaz - 13 for 20. Can Diaz and Miami hand Duke its third consecutive loss?
11:42 a.m.: Famous sports author, John Feinstein, arrives on the floor of the Greensboro Coliseum. Feinstein's works include A Seaon on the Brink, March to Madness, The Majors, and The Last Amateurs.
11:53 a.m.: Duke and Miami leave the floor for their locker rooms after their pregame warm-up.
12:55 p.m.: At the end of the first half the Hurricanes lead the Blue Devils 41-35. Guillermo Diaz leads the game in scoring with 11 points. Duke's J.J. Redick has 9.
2:11 p.m.: Duke clinches a victory over Miami, 80-76, after a very tight first half. Loud boos are heard throughout the Greensboro Coliseum after Miami is called for a foul in the final five seconds of the game, allowing J.J. Redick to secure the win from the free-throw line.
Wake Forest and NC State are set begin play at 2:30 p.m.
2:24 p.m.: The Tar Heels just finished a gameday shootaround at a "top secret" location in Greensboro. They are now on their way to eat a pregame meal.
2:44 p.m.: This just in from a UNC fan listening to the Duke radio call. Apparently, Duke sideline reporter Matthew Laurance referred to UNC SID Steve Kirschner in one of his last updates from the Duke sideline. Kirschner noted that Coach K had inquired of the referees where the ball would be inbounded following a timeout. That bit of news made Laurance's report who said something along the lines of "That's a good coaching move. Of course, Kirschner has seen some good coaching this year in Chapel Hill." Yes, Matt, he sure has.
2:53 p.m.: We had the chance to catch up with former Tar Heel and current General Manager of the Los Angeles Lakers, Mitch Kupchak, in the first half of the NC State-Wake Forest game.
Mitch Kupchak ...
On why he comes to the ACC Tournament:
"I'm here a little bit as a fan and a little bit as a scout. But officially I'm scouting the tournament. I was in New York yesterday for the Big East and I'm here today and tomorrow for the ACC."
On what makes the ACC Tournament different from all the other tournaments in the country:
"I played in this tournament, so it has special significance to me because of that. But, I try to be as unbiased as I can. I do think it's the best run tournament in the country. It's got the deepest basketball roots of any tournament in the country as well."
On his expectations for the Tar Heels:
"I think the Tar Heels have already exceeded everybody's expectations. I don't think they're going to sneak up on anybody because they've had a wonderful regular season. So, I think the tournament will be indicative of how good these teams are. Carolina has had a wonderful year. My guess, is we'll play well tonight too."
On Tyler Hansbrough:
"He's had a wonderful freshman year. I watched him last year when he was in high school in a lot of tournament and he played well then. So, I'm not surprised he's had a wonderful freshman year."
A big thank you goes out to Mitch Kupchak for taking some time to speak with TarHeelBlue.com
3:18 p.m.: TV analyst Billy Packer just revealed his all-time All-ACC Tournament team and two Tar Heels make the list. His team is Phil Ford, UNC; Tommy Burleson, NC State; Jeff Mullins, Duke; Larry Miller, UNC; Len Chappell, Wake Forest.
3:23 p.m. It's nearly halftime and Michael Drum and the Deacons are beating NC State like a drum, 37-20.
4:43 p.m.: Wake Forest trounces NC State, 82-68, ending the first session of the day. With about five minutes left in the second half, fans gave up and began to leave. The tailgating resumes outside while the Greensboro Coliseum cleaning crew goes into overdrive.
The Tar Heels are set to tip off against the Virginia Cavaliers at 7:00 pm.
5:45 p.m.: Six Carolina players come out to the floor to take shots in the empty Coliseum. The players include Reyshawn Terry, Mike Copeland, Surry Wood, Wes Miller, Thomas Wilkins and Will Robinson.
5:58 p.m.: Fan Fest is hopping. The area just outside the Greensboro Coliseum looks like a sea of Carolina blue. Fans enjoy the last hour of sunlight to the tune of an oldies cover band while sipping on $6.00 beers. For many fans, this is what the ACC Tournament is all about. Meanwhile, all of the Carolina and Virginia players are out on the floor warming up.
7:09 p.m.: North Carolina wins the tip off against Virginia.
7:11 p.m.: Heady play. On Virginia's first possession of the game, Sean Singletary takes a pass of the head - North Carolina ball.
7:23 p.m.: Former Tar Heel Sam Perkins arrives fashionably late to sit behind the Carolina bench with former players King Rice, Al Wood, and Mitch Kupchak.
7:37 p.m.: Virginia head coach Dave Leitao gets a technical foul. It appears that the referees do not appreciate the coach's repeated use of "the magic word."
7:57 p.m.: The first half ends with North Carolina ahead of Virginia by a score of 39-34.
8:16 p.m.: Virginia takes the ball out to start the second half.
9:18 p.m.: The Tar Heels take down the Cavaliers 79-67. Next up - Boston College vs. Maryland.
10:05 p.m. Did Maryland know the game started at 9:30? We've played half of the first half and Maryland has scored just six points, while BC has 25. Tim Brant, a Maryland grad who is calling the game for JP just said, "What is happening here." The Terps aren't doing much for their NCAA Tourney hopes, but we still have a long way to go in this one.
11:26 p.m.: zzzzzzzzzzzzz ... zzzzzzzzzzz ... zzzzzzzzzzz
11:47 p.m.: Boston College topples Maryland 80-66. If you didn't catch the game, see the recap for the Wake Forest-NC State game and subtract about 10,000 fans. Just make sure to substitute Boston College for Wake Forest and Maryland for NC State.
12:00 a.m.: Homeward bound. Once again we leave Greensboro completely drained from another day of great (and not-so-great) basketball.
Tune in tomorrow for more up to the minute coverage of news and events at the 2006 ACC Tournament.
