University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: UNC Basketball Notebook
November 17, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Nov. 17, 2008
By Adam Lucas
Kentucky banger Patrick Patterson fouled out of last season's meeting with North Carolina last year but still managed to score 19 points and grab nine rebounds in 33 minutes. This year, Patterson will encounter a Tar Heel post game that will be without Tyler Hansbrough (see below), who was responsible for several of those five fouls. "Last year, Tyler was great in guarding Patrick Patterson," Roy Williams said. "No one else guarded him worth a flip." The player most likely to attempt flip-worthy defense against Patterson this season is junior Deon Thompson. "He's a lot to handle down low," Thompson said. "I'm sure Kentucky will be focused on getting him the ball." Patterson took just four shots in 27 minutes in UK's season-opening loss to VMI. And if the Wildcats do try to pound the ball inside to Patterson? "I've got to wall him off and make him score over me," Thompson said. "I can't pick up silly fouls. If I front him, I have to make sure there is a teammate behind him if that pass comes." Patterson is listed at 6-foot-9, 235 pounds, while Thompson is listed at 6-foot-8, 245 pounds, so it could be a very interesting battle in the paint...
Williams announced Monday afternoon that Hansbrough definitely will not play against Kentucky. As for Friday's game at UC-Santa Barbara, the head coach said, "I have no idea." In other injury news, Williams termed Marcus Ginyard "a little behind schedule" in his recovery from foot surgery. "It's taken him a little longer to get going than they thought it would initially. Initially they felt like he'd have a chance to do some things four weeks in. We're four weeks in and he's still not doing anything. But now that he's completely out of the boot I think he'll start improving rapidly now."...Don't forget that Roy Williams Live airs on Monday night at 7 p.m. on the Tar Heel Sports Network...All the talk about Bobby Frasor being a good defender is more than just talk. He won the team defensive award for the season opener...
Tuesday's game is the centerpiece of a special ESPN promotion kicking off the college hoops season. The full day of basketball includes a one-hour College GameDay live from Chapel Hill at 8 p.m...Great analogy from Williams about freshman Ed Davis, who hauled down 14 rebounds in his Tar Heel debut: "In bridge, people bid on every hand. Well, Ed bids on every shot. He goes to rebound."...Carolina attempted 22 three-pointers against Penn--more than in all but three games last season. At first glance that might seem like an unusually high figure against an opponent with a height disadvantage. Williams did remind his team at halftime to get the ball inside against the Quakers' zone. But he wasn't entirely displeased with the shot selection. "In the first half, he told us we were getting wide-open looks, they just weren't going in," Bobby Frasor said. "In the second half, some of those outside shots were forced."...
Sportswriters are constantly perusing Men's Health magazine, so it was a pleasant surprise to see a story on Hansbrough's workout regimen in the most recent issue. The big guy's reaction to the story: "Good story, but I don't think I look jacked enough in the picture." By the way, Sahratian can tailor that workout for any individual. For TarHeelBlue.com writers, it's called the Med Ball 1...
The first basketball Mailbag of the season is coming tomorrow morning on THB.com. As always, we'll also be answering some of your questions during the Tar Heel Sports Network pregame shows, so send us those questions.
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly. He is also the author or co-author of four books on Carolina basketball.
