University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: UNC Basketball Mailbag Jan. 16
January 16, 2007 | Men's Basketball
Jan. 16, 2007
By Adam Lucas
Break out the posterboard signs and limber up for your best calls of "Huuuuuuuu..." ESPN Gameday is coming to the Smith Center on Saturday, and you're invited. The show, which features Rece Davis, Digger Phelps, Jay "Duke-boy" Bilas, Hubert Davis, Dick Vitale, and Andy Katz, will broadcast live from the Smith Center Saturday morning at 10 a.m. Doors (at Entrances C and D) open at 9 a.m. The first 500 fans receive a coupon good for a free Chick-fil-A sandwich and drink. We'll be watching for signs referencing the Mailbag and/or TarHeelBlue.com and Carolina Basketball and have a few prizes for anyone who pulls it off. Take it easy on Bilas, as he's a great guy despite his pedigree. Of course, he can only dream of having the smooth jumper possessed by Davis. Hopefully the ESPN audience won't think the crowd is booing when they hear the trademark chants of "Huuuuu..." that used to accompany every Davis three-pointer (sort of like the current incarnation of chants of "Q" after every good Quentin Thomas play) in the Smith Center.
If you're kicking yourself for missing out on last night's women's game, it's probably a good idea to buy your tickets for the Duke game right now. Really, right now. There's a good chance the game on Feb. 8 could be a 1 vs. 2 showdown. It will absolutely be a sellout, so reserving seats now assures you won't be out of luck during game week.
Speaking of tickets, guess what starts one month from today? Carolina's 2007 baseball season. The Diamond Heels will try to follow up the most exciting season in school history when they open the final season at "old" Boshamer on Feb. 16 against Seton Hall. Both season and individual game packages are available. Jones Angell and I look forward to joining you on the radio for every game when the men's basketball season is completed.
Before we move on to the questions, a quick Bobby Frasor injury update. The good news: his foot isn't broken. Although it looked bad in Blacksburg on Saturday when he came down limping, his foot is just sore.
"It's not broken. That's the only information we have," Roy Williams said Monday on the ACC teleconference. "They did look at it when we returned Saturday night, and they did the X-ray (Sunday). It is not broken, it's just sore. We'll have to back off a little bit and see what happens. We have no set timetable."
I've been yelling at the TV all season asking (rhetorically, apparently :) ) why we don't consistently employ the pick and roll on forward/guard-with-the-ball high picks and finally saw it a few times in the FSU game. It helped generate some clean back-door cuts vs. FSU (which we converted beautifully) and I wondered if there were a back story around the pick and roll - is it one of Coach's fundamentals that he teaches that we had just not been executing, does it generally interfere with the set play being run or is it just not top of mind for either the coaches or players?
Lane McDonald
New York, New York
If the TV starts yelling back, that's when you need to let me know. Which reminds me of a good idea for a future Mailbag: what's the most physical damage you've ever done while watching a Carolina game on TV? I'll even admit to one to get you started: March 1, 1989, Carolina at Georgia Tech in the Thrillerdome. The Tar Heels have a 74-73 lead with five seconds remaining. Inbounding from under the Tech basket, Scott Williams triggers the inbounds play...and the pass is promptly intercepted by Dennis Scott. The beefy sharpshooter makes the steal and begins his shooting motion all at the same time. His 3-pointer (of course) finds the net, and Tech wins 76-74. Dennis. Freaking. Scott. The television at my parents' house took some serious damage that night. We had a room that these days would probably be called a bonus room, and that's where I liked to watch games so I could walk around during the game if things got tense. Unfortunately, when Williams threw the pass I was crouched in front of the television and, well, let's just say my response was more Bobby Knight than Dean Smith. Anyway, let us know your best story and we'll have a little something for the winner.
Back to Lane's question. The high pick-and-roll isn't as integral a part of Carolina's halfcourt offense as, say, some NBA teams that use it almost exclusively. But you will see a lot of the high pick for the point guard as the shot clock gets to 12 seconds and under. At that point, it becomes one of the Tar Heels' favorite scoring plays, with the guard giving the option of penetrating into the lane, hitting the big man who is slipping the screen, or driving and dishing for a perimeter jumper.
Who is the older lady at the ballgames that always has a stuffed ram? She gets the students going and I always see her on TV?
Barbara
Raeford, NC
Some fans know her simply as "the ram lady." To be honest, she probably wouldn't mind that identification. Rhoda's husband, Bob, was instrumental in the early days of The Rams Club. They became fixtures at games, and Rhoda has continued that tradition even after Bob's death. Some fans are there only for the spotlight that comes with men's basketball. That's not Rhoda. You'll spot her in her usual front-row spot at all men's and women's basketball games, and she's a well-known supporter of several other Tar Heel athletic programs (including swimming).
Say hello the next time you see her at a game. She may have the world's greatest collection of ram jewelry (when Rhoda and Bob were building a swimming pool for their home, they designed it in the shape of the Tar Heel foot logo), and she's extremely friendly. If you ever sit next to her at a basketball game, you'll hear, "Use your fingertips!" before every Tar Heel free throw. She's also been known to throw some wicked reverse mojo on opposing free throw shooters.
Adam, I noticed a woman who looked like an assistant coach for Penn, and I don't recall that happening at the Dome before. What's her story, and how common is it?
John Arrington
Greensboro, NC
Thanks for reminding me to look into that, John. It turns out that Julie Greger is Penn's coordinator of basketball operations.
Women coaching the men's game are far less common than men coaching the women's game. Probably the most famous example of a woman coaching a men's team was Ashley McElhiney, who was named the coach of the ABA's Nashville Rhythm in 2004. It seemed like a good idea at the time--McElhiney was a former Vanderbilt star and brought significant publicity as the first female head coach of a men's pro team. Unfortunately, it turned out that Rhythm owner Sally Anthony was a little difficult to work for. OK, maybe a lot difficult. It's not every day you see the team owner walk onto the court during a game and try to fire the coach. Even Mark Cuban hasn't tried that yet. McElhiney is now on staff with the Alabama women's program.
In 2003, Tennessee State athletic director Teresa Phillips coached a men's game for her school while men's coach Hosea Lewis was serving a one-game suspension (TSU lost 71-56 to Austin Peay). If you know of any other women coaching in the men's game, let us know.
This also bring up an interesting point about NCAA rules regarding coaches on the bench. Greger is Penn's basketball operations staffer. Carolina has someone in that same position--Jerod Haase and C.B. McGrath alternate each year, and this year it's Haase's turn to fill that role. As you've probably noticed, he never sits on the bench. He also never sets foot on the floor during practice. That's because NCAA Bylaw 11.7.4 limits men's basketball teams to four "countable coaches" on the bench. In most cases, that's the head coach and three assistants. But different programs define "countable coach" very differently. One recent visitor to the Smith Center, for example, had their head coach plus six other men in suits sitting at the front of their bench at last week's game in the Smith Center; all huddled together during timeouts before addressing the team. There are a couple other ACC schools also well-known for keeping a well-stocked bench.
How does the NCAA define a "countable coach"? Let's go to Bylaw 11.7.1.1.1: "An athletics department staff member must count against coaching limits as soon as the individual participates (in any manner) in the coaching of the intercollegiate team during a practice, games or organized activities directly related to that sport, including any organized staff activity directly related to the sport."
Keep an eye on opposing benches over the remainder of the season and see if you think some of the extraneous bench personnel are participating in the coaching of the team in any manner. You'll be surprised at what you see.
Am I imagining things or does the current squad commit substantially fewer fouls than our boys in blue from the last several years? If this is accurate, what might explain the (encouraging) change?
Randall Pekari
South Windsor, CT
The Tar Heels are averaging 15.9 fouls per game. That would be the lowest since the 1999 team averaged 14.9 fouls per game. The average over the last few years has been around 17 per game. Let's revisit this after the ACC wars and see if the average has increased.
My question regards NCAA regulations pertaining to clothing attire for basketball teams. UNC always wears coats & ties. Are these clothes paid for by the school, or do the students have to pay for them? I ask this because I seem to remember hearing that if a student athlete had to attend a funeral, the school could not pay for that ticket. And also, when the players go home for Christmas, are they responsible to pay for their transportation?
Ethan Benfield
Carolina's been dressing nicely on the road for years--dating all the way back to the Frank McGuire era, when the always stylish coach wanted his team to reflect that same natty image when they traveled.
In the old days, schools could provide a team-issued blazer. That's now firmly against NCAA rules, so players wear their own suits and ties. It's one of the paradoxes of the NCAA that the organization allows teams to furnish sweatsuits...but not actual suits.
Christmas transportation is a different matter. Scheduling a road game as the last game before the holiday break is often an efficient way to get everyone home for the holidays. If a team is on the road, NCAA rules permit the program to pay for the air transportation to a player's hometown as long as it's not within driving distance.
Brownlow's Down Low
Because there always has to be a nice difficult correlation question for Lauren, is there any history which shows that the teams that had a grueling road schedule before ACC play did really well or poorly in the NCAA's?
Adam Kendall
Johannesburg, South Africa
Lauren writes:
Last year's Tar Heel team only played two road games before ACC play, and went 1-1 (losing to Southern California and beating No. 10 Kentucky). However, the Tar Heels went on to have a better record on the road in the ACC (7-1) than they did at home (5-3).Out of conference, the 2004-05 team went 12-1 overall, 2-1 on the road (including the Santa Clara loss, the tough Indiana win and a win over No. 19 Connecticut) and 3-0 on neutral sites. In ACC play, the Tar Heels went 8-0 at home and 6-2 on the road, going 0-2 against ranked ACC teams on the road (losses to Wake and Duke). That team knocked off four ranked teams on its way to a title.
The 1993 team went 12-1 overall and 8-1 outside the Smith Center in non-conference play. The Tar Heels faced just two ranked teams outside of conference, beating No. 10 Seton Hall on the road and losing to No. 6 Michigan on a neutral court. The Tar Heels went 6-2 on the road in league play on their way to a 14-2 league record, beating three ranked teams away from the Smith Center. The Heels then knocked off four top-20 teams on their way to a national title.
The 1982 national championship team faced just two ranked teams outside of conference (wins over No. 9 Tulsa and No. 2 Kentucky) and played just one real road game before league play began. They did go 8-0 on neutral courts. In ACC play, the Tar Heels went 6-1 on the road and 3-0 on a neutral site, beating four ranked teams outside the Smith Center. They knocked off two ranked teams on their way to the title.
The 1998 Final Four team went 14-0 outside ACC play and 9-0 away from the Smith Center, including wins on neutral courts over No. 7 UCLA and No. 6 Purdue. The Tar Heels went 13-3 in the league, including a 6-2 road record that included wins over No. 17 Florida State and No. 21 Clemson. That team went 3-0 in the ACC, beating two ranked teams and proceeded to knock off two more top-20 teams on its way to the Final Four.
The 2000 squad was road-tested, to say the least. In non-conference play, the 2000 team went 9-5 overall, including 7-3 away from the Smith Center, losing on neutral courts to No. 1 Cincinnati and No. 20 Indiana, but knocking off No. 24 Purdue. The Tar Heels went 4-4 in the ACC on the road. This experience against ranked teams helped the Tar Heels knock off the No. 3, No. 11, and No. 18 and No. 13 teams in the country on their way to the Final Four.
In terms of the ACC, I looked only at seasons in which an ACC team reached the Final Four and checked out their non-conference schedule. If you want an example of a team that fits your theory, check out Duke's two national championship squads in 1991 and 1992. Duke's 1991 team got a lot of useful road experience, going 5-4 away from Cameron Indoor Stadium, including losses to No. 9 Arizona on the road and to No. 2 Arkansas and No. 6 Georgetown on neutral sites. It also beat No. 11 Oklahoma on the road and No. 19 Louisiana State at home. Those games, in addition to seven regular-season battles with ACC ranked teams, resulted in good experience for the Blue Devils on their way to knocking off three ranked teams en route to the national title. The 1992 Blue Devil squad that went on to win a national championship went undefeated out of conference and faced one ranked team at home, three on the road and one on a neutral site.
Most ACC teams that have done well in the NCAA Tournament don't play a lot of road games. The truth of the matter is that ACC play is so grueling that there's really no point in penciling in an overly-challenging non-conference schedule, unless you want your team to possibly miss the post-season altogether. The challenge that all teams must face is how to schedule a non-conference slate that adequately prepares your team for conference play, is strong enough in the eyes of the NCAA selection committee to warrant selection and/or a high seed, and yet is also not so difficult that your team could lose a significant amount of games.
Adam Lucas's third book on Carolina basketball, The Best Game Ever, chronicles the 1957 national championship season and is available now. His previous books include Going Home Again, focusing on Roy Williams's return to Carolina, and Led By Their Dreams, a collaboration with Steve Kirschner and Matt Bowers on the 2005 championship team.To submit a Mailbag question, click here.
