University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Depleted Tar Heels Ready For Opener
November 14, 2008 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Nov. 14, 2008
By Adam Lucas
With the football team kicking off an important game at Maryland Saturday at 3:30, it's been generally accepted this week that the Smith Center might not be filled to capacity for the 4 p.m. season opener against Penn.
It's just that no one expected the attrition to extend to the Tar Heel bench.
Already without Marcus Ginyard and Mike Copeland, it now appears Carolina will also be without Tyler Hansbrough and Bobby Frasor. On Friday, Roy Williams effectively ruled Hansbrough out for Saturday's game and also said Frasor hasn't practiced since Monday because of a sprained ankle.
"There's no good time for injuries," Williams said. "If it happens during the season, at least you've gone through the whole preseason and gotten your stuff (installed). Right now there are some things I'd usually have had in for a week to ten days and used them quite a bit, and we don't even have them in."
The theme for most of the preseason has been about taking advantage of Carolina's 8th, 9th, and 10th players against the opposition's presumably outmanned bench. Now, however, those 8th, 9th, and 10th players might be starting for the Tar Heels.
Hansbrough has been the focal point of Carolina's offense for the last three seasons and his absence is gaping. Any struggles, any dry spell can usually be solved by tossing the ball inside to the big guy and waiting for him to overpower an opponent for a basket or--at minimum--get to the free throw line.
Without him, the offense changes--and so does the starting lineup. Over the summer, observers touted this team as a squad with no question marks. But now, 24 hours before the first game, the head coach doesn't even know who his starters will be. Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, Deon Thompson and Danny Green will definitely be on the floor immediately. The fifth spot will go to someone tall and someone young, but Williams isn't yet sure which of the freshman post duo will earn the start.
"The first 15 practices, I thought `Big Z' (Tyler Zeller) was really doing some nice things and maybe was ahead of Ed (Davis)," Williams said. "The last five or six practices, Ed has really been good on the offensive boards and the defensive end."
The freshmen have alternated time with the White team (starters) in practice; Davis worked with the Whites on Wednesday, and after an off day Thursday Zeller was slated to be with the Whites on Friday.
The perimeter rotation will also need some adjustments. Frasor spent time in the backcourt with both Lawson and backup point guard Larry Drew II in the exhibition win over UNC-Pembroke. His value was even greater on defense, where he was expected to help fill the void of Ginyard's absence.
"If Bobby doesn't play, that means our three best defenders won't be playing," Williams said. "Nobody does the things Bobby does. If you just look at his stats, it's not that big a loss. But he is head and shoulders above everyone else in seeing the big picture and head and shoulders above everyone else in getting everyone where they're supposed to be on the defensive end."
The Tar Heels did get at least some good injury news in the backcourt, as freshman Justin Watts is expected to play against the Quakers.
Oh yes, the Quakers. For all the talk about Carolina's rankings and Carolina's talent and--lately--Carolina's injuries, there will also be another team on hand at the Smith Center on Saturday. It's also an experienced, talented team, and one that played the healthy version of the Tar Heels fairly even for a half in Philadelphia last season.
"Right now, I'm more apprehensive than I've been in 21 years," Williams said. "It's really been an unsettled preseason. We spent the whole spring, summer and fall talking about speeding up the tempo, and now we don't have the same depth.
"But to me, being more apprehensive is a good sign...The biggest thing I tell our guys is to quit being a bunch of little wimps. You've got to play. I don't believe any of that stuff about being unlucky. It's just basketball. It's athletics. Go play and be enthusiastic."
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly. He is also the author or co-author of four books on Carolina basketball.
