University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Taking The Credit
May 26, 2007 | Men's Basketball
May 26, 2007
By Adam Lucas
JACKSONVILLE--Mike Fox just smiled.
It wasn't a broad, teeth-flashing, "Whoo hoo!" kind of smile. It was more of a head-shaking, eye-crinkling, "Do you believe that?" kind of smile.
That was basically all he could do. He'd just watched his team--the same bunch of Tar Heels that lost their first game in Jacksonville and played like they had a Memorial Day cookout to attend Sunday afternoon--whitewash Virginia 5-0. By doing so, they effectively clinched a national seed and earned a slot in the ACC championship game for the first time since 1990.
Here's a list of the things that went right for the Tar Heels on Saturday afternoon.
In the sixth inning of a scoreless game, Seth Williams led off with a single. That brought 9th-place hitter Kyle Shelton to the plate. Fox has spent most of Carolina's stay in Jacksonville espousing the theory that teams must play small ball to win at the cavernous Baseball Grounds, so it seemed like a perfect bunt situation. It's obvious, right? Move the runner, get Williams into scoring position for the top of the order, and play for one run in what looked like a game that was likely to be decided by one run.
So what does Shelton do? Swings away at the first pitch and laces a double down the left field line.
But here's why Fox was smiling: "Shelton missed the bunt sign," he said. "Then he goes and hits a double. So I can't take any credit for that."
The next batter was Reid Fronk. With two on and none out, he laced a run-scoring single back up the middle. 1-0 Tar Heels.
But here's why Fox was smiling: "Reid missed the hit-and-run sign," he said. "It's a good thing because the shortstop would have been standing there to make the play on his ball and it would have been a double play. So I can't take any credit for that."
And then there's Fronk's at-bat in the 8th. The Tar Heels had two on and one out and were trying to add to a 2-0 lead. With a new pitcher on the mound, Fronk pushed the first pitch he saw into a perfect spot on the right side of the infield, beating the play, scoring one run, and setting the stage for a three-run inning that cracked a close game open.
But here's why Fox was smiling: "I didn't call that bunt," he said. "Fronk came down and told Timmy (Fedroff) he was going to bunt for a hit. So I can't take any credit for that."
It was reminiscent of last year's postseason, when the Tar Heels consistently hit-and-run at exactly the right times, moved runners, made all the right pinch-hitting and lineup calls (Shelton was in the lineup because Fox wanted the lefthanded Kyle Seager for a late-game pinch-hitting role against Virginia's largely righthanded bullpen; Seager responded by working a walk in the eighth), and played flawless baseball for almost a month.
Maybe Fox--along with assistant coaches Scott Forbes, Chad Holbrook, and Jason Howell--don't want to take credit for that. And this is the time of year when, as Fox said, "Sometimes you have to sit back and watch them play." The Tar Heels did exactly that with Tim Federowicz, letting him call all the pitches from his catcher position as he coaxed a career-best start out of Alex White, who gave up just two singles in 7 innings of work.
But here's something Fox can take credit for: Carolina has consistently bounced back from rough outings this year. They did it again this week, and now they're in contention for an ACC championship. They'll go for it with weekend starter Luke Putkonen, as--thanks to Fox's choice to use weekday starter Adam Warren against Tech--they'll be the only team left in the field with a weekend arm still available on Sunday.
The decision to start Warren wasn't out of some wily desire to keep Putkonen available for the title game. It was, as Fox said at the time, simply the right thing to do for Woodard's health and routine.
Oftentimes, though, doing the right thing has a way of working out for everyone involved.
Even when you try not to take credit for it.
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.
