University of North Carolina Athletics
Virginia Tech Game Guide
February 15, 2008 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 15, 2008
By Lauren Brownlow
The Basics
No. 5/5 Carolina (23-2, 8-2) will return to the Smith Center to play Virginia Tech (14-10, 5-5) after a well-deserved break. Carolina is coming off of a stretch of four games in ten days and three games in six days. With only a day's rest after a double-overtime victory over Clemson, Carolina traveled to Virginia and beat the Cavaliers, 75-74. Virginia Tech is coming off of a 74-71 loss at home to Miami.
Carolina holds a 55-12 edge in the series with Virginia Tech. The Tar Heels are 0-1 against the Hokies in the Smith Center but hold a 25-6 edge at home. Roy Williams is 2-2 against Virginia Tech. The last three meetings have been decided by six points or less and two have been decided by three points or less.
Game Time: Virginia Tech at North Carolina, 1:00 PM. Saturday's game is the first-ever complete Turn It Blue game, so if you're attending the game get ready to put on your shirt.
Last Time: Virginia Tech beat then-No. 4 Carolina 81-80 in overtime in the Smith Center on February 13, 2007, sweeping the season series between the two teams and handing Carolina its only home loss of the season. Ty Lawson was stopped in the lane in the final seconds of overtime and his would-be assist to Wayne Ellington, who swished a three-pointer after time had expired, was just a half-second too late. Virginia Tech shot just 38% from the game but made 22-of-30 free throws. The Hokies also made 44.8% of its field goals in overtime, the highest percentage by any team in either period. Carolina shot 40% for the game but just 1-of-6 in overtime. Carolina out-rebounded the Hokies, but barely - 45 to 43.
Tyler Hansbrough led Carolina with 22 points (14-of-18 free throws) and a team-high eight rebounds. Wayne Ellington added 14 points on 4-of-13 shooting. Ty Lawson had 13 points on 6-of-14 shooting and added a game-high five assists to just one turnover. Zabian Dowdell led the Hokies with 33 points (17-of-19 free throws) and Deron Washington added 12 points and a game-high 14 rebounds. Jamon Gordon added 10 points.
Radio Coverage: Tar Heel Sports Network coverage begins at 12:00 PM.
Injury Report: Ty Lawson sprained his ankle in the opening minutes of the Florida State game and has missed the last three games. His status for Saturday is questionable. Tyler Hansbrough has an ingrown toenail and should play. Deon Thompson suffered a hyper-extended knee during the Virginia game and should play. Marcus Ginyard's turf toe has healed up but he sprained his ankle in the closing minutes of regulation in the Clemson game. He played against Virginia and said the ankle felt better after that game. Bobby Frasor tore his left ACL and is out for the season.
Storylines
Smart shots: The Tar Heels have made 51.3% of their two-point attempts and 36.2% of their three-point attempts this season. In ACC play, however, Carolina has made just 48.4% of its two-point attempts. The low for made two-point baskets in ACC play for Carolina was set in its overtime victory over Florida State - Carolina made just 21-of-48 two-point attempts (43.8 percent). In all league games with Ty Lawson in the line-up, Carolina has made 48.7% of its two-pointers compared to 48% without Lawson. However, the average number of made two-pointers goes down from 28.0 (on 57.5 two-point attempts) with Lawson to 23.8 (on 49.5 attempts) without him.
Carolina has won three ACC games by convincing margins and either won close games or lost the other seven games. In the three big wins, Carolina has averaged 49.3 points in the paint and shot 51.7% from two-point range (31.0 made on 60.0 attempts). In the seven close games or losses, Carolina has averaged 37.1 points in the paint and shot 46.8% from two-point range (24.3 made on 51.9 attempts). In its two losses, Carolina has averaged 54.0 two-point attempts and made just 24.0 (44.0 percent).
Carolina has averaged 12.3 three-point attempts in three ACC wins by a large margin. In its seven close games or losses, Carolina averages 16.1 attempts. In its two losses, Carolina is averaging 20.0 three-point attempts. In Carolina's three big wins, three-pointers accounted for just 17.1% of its field-goal attempts. In Carolina's seven close wins or losses, 23.7% of Carolina's field-goal attempts were three-pointers. In Carolina's two losses, 27.0% of Carolina's attempts were three-pointers, nearly a third, which is too many. But Carolina is not attempting as many shots with Ty Lawson, period. Prior to Lawson's injury, Carolina had attempted 1.8 shots per minute and 71.8 shots per game in the first six ACC games. In the last four games, Carolina has attempted 1.5 shots per minute and 65.5 per game. In the non-conference schedule, Carolina averaged 66.4 shots and 1.7 attempts per minute.
Watching Tyler Hansbrough rain down mid-range jump shots against Virginia in the first half caused a fan to wonder out loud to Roy Williams on Monday's radio show whether Hansbrough should shoot more three-pointers or long jumpers. Williams said that Hansbrough has the green light to shoot any shot that he is comfortable shooting - though that doesn't necessarily apply to everyone on the team or in every situation.
"I'll give you another example, too - Deon (Thompson) shot a jump shot from the foul line last night and Mike Copeland said, `Atta boy, Deon!' I turned around to our bench and I said, `That's stupid! What are you saying, `Atta boy, Deon? He had Wayne Ellington wide open on the right side.' Think of it in this term - do you want Deon shooting the basketball with his percentage and Wayne Ellington rebounding or do you want Wayne Ellington shooting the ball with his percentage and Deon rebounding? You don't have to be a nuclear physicist to figure that out. So Michael Copeland didn't say anything else about that shot of Deon's last night," Williams said. "I pointed that out to Deon when he came over to the side. But I have no problem with guys shooting the ball. I want them to make the sucker. But I am not going to tell Tyler Hansbrough to stand out there and shoot jump shots from the free throw line when at the end of the game, he's got a great chance to have the other team in foul trouble."
Virginia Tech ranks No. 1 in the ACC in scoring defense, No. 3 in field-goal percentage defense and No. 11 in three-point percentage defense. The Hokies have held 21 out of 24 opponents to under 50 percent shooting even though two of its last four opponents have shot 50 percent or better from the floor. Nine of Virginia Tech's opponents have shot 45 percent or better and five have done it in ACC play, including five of Virginia Tech's last seven games. Virginia Tech's opponents that have beaten them have shot 47.2 percent from the field; in Virginia Tech's 14 wins, opponents have shot 35.7 percent. In ACC wins, Virginia Tech has held opponents to 40.2% shooting and has allowed 46.7% in its five losses.
Fouls and getting to the line: One reason that Carolina has been getting through this stretch with Ty Lawson is that the Tar Heels have been getting the ball inside and/or attacking the basket and thus getting to the free-throw line. In the last four games, Carolina has averaged 27.8 free throw attempts and made 21.0 of them, shooting 75.7% from the charity stripe. In the first six games in the ACC, Carolina was averaging 23.0 attempts and 18.7 made free throws and shooting 81.2% from the line.
Carolina's 12 free throws attempted against Virginia were its fewest in a game this season. The seven made free throws tied a season low set against Ohio State in which Carolina made just 7-of-14 free throws. Carolina shot 58.3% from the free-throw line, its lowest percentage since the UC-Santa Barbara game in which Carolina also shot 58.3% (14-of-24) from the line. The 50% against Ohio State was the season-low in free-throw percentage. But Carolina had made 70% or more of its free throws in 18 of 25 games this season but has failed to do so in three of its last five games. In those three games, Carolina beat Boston College easily (on the strength of 51.5% shooting), lost to Duke (shooting 63.3% from the line, at the time a season low in ACC play) and beat Virginia by one point on the strength of 52.5% shooting.
Carolina has made 80% or more of its free throws in 10 out of 25 games this season and four five straight games to start ACC play. Carolina has done it just twice in the last five games - at Florida State in an overtime win and at home against Clemson in a double-overtime win. A lot of that is certainly due to fatigue. But free throws have accounted for over a fifth of Carolina's points this season and certainly, Carolina needs to not only get to the line but continue to consistently make its free throws.
Carolina's opponents have averaged 11.0 made foul shots to 16.7 attempted. In ACC play, Carolina's opponents are averaging 16.7 attempted free throws to 11.0 made free throws. But in Carolina's first eight ACC games, opponents were averaging 12.5 made free throws to 18.6 attempts. In the last two games, a tired and depleted Carolina team doing what it can to avoid fouling has allowed opponents to shoot just 9.0 free throws (and make 5.0).
Carolina has averaged 16.4 fouls per game this season (18.2 fouls in ACC play) and just four Tar Heels have fouled out. Only two Tar Heels have fouled out in ACC play - Danny Green against Clemson and Deon Thompson against Duke. But with this team as banged up as it is, Carolina simply cannot afford to pick up cheap fouls and make this rotation any thinner than it already is.
Carolina's opponents are averaging 21.3 fouls per game and ACC opponents average 20.9 fouls. Virginia was whistled for 15 fouls, the fewest by a Tar Heel opponent since NC State was called for just 13 fouls in a game that Carolina won by a large margin. All but four of Carolina's ACC opponents have been whistled for 20 or more fouls. In those games, one was NC State but the others were at Georgia Tech (18 fouls, a one-point victory), at home against Maryland (16 fouls, a two-point loss) and at Virginia (15, a one-point victory).
Virginia Tech's opponents in the ACC have averaged 23.0 fouls per game - 24.6 in Virginia Tech's wins and 21.4 in the losses. In the last two league losses, though, the Hokies' two opponents (NC State and Miami) have only averaged 16.0 fouls. The Hokies are averaging 28.0 free throw attempts per game in league play this season (19.2 made free throws) and are attempting 32.6 free throws in ACC wins and 23.4 in their losses.
Forcing turnovers: The Tar Heels have not had an easy time trying to force turnovers without Ty Lawson in the lineup to pressure the basketball. But they have proven that they can do it; Carolina's 22 turnovers forced against Clemson were the most the Tar Heels have forced in ACC play this season. Then Carolina turned around and managed to force just seven Virginia turnovers, including none in the second half. Carolina's two steals tied a season-low set at Ohio State.
Clemson had seven turnovers in the first half and 12 in the second half, while Carolina had no steals in the first half and seven in the second half. In the final three minutes of regulation, Carolina had two steals and Clemson had four turnovers. In the two overtimes, Carolina added another steal and Clemson had three turnovers. So seven of Clemson's turnovers came in the final 13 minutes of the game whereas its first 15 turnovers came over the first 37 minutes.
Carolina was able to force just six Duke turnovers in the first half on just one steal. In the second half, Duke turned it over nine times but Carolina went 1-5 from the field (1-of-2 from the three-point line), 1-of-2 from the free throw line and turned it over three times off of those nine turnovers. Duke had three of its turnovers in the final 2:43 of the game, giving Carolina chances to get back into the game. But Carolina was not able to capitalize on Duke's first six turnovers of the second half. Florida State had four turnovers in the first 5:50 of the game and eight turnovers in the first half. The Seminoles had just one turnover in the second half and another turnover in overtime for just ten in the game. Carolina had just four steals in the game, all in the first half and one of the four was by Lawson before his injury.
"For us, what we try to do is stop dribble penetration and still pressure the basketball. I think that we could do a better job of guarding the three-point shooter if we just backed off on everybody else and didn't try to pressure. But it is a fact that we try to pressure people and try to get them to turn the basketball over so we can get some easy baskets on the other end," Williams said. "I don't get caught up too much in any one statistic over the others, but we do have a defensive philosophy of trying to steal the basketball. That's our first goal."
In Virginia Tech's five ACC losses, the Hokies are averaging 19.4 turnovers as opposed to 13.6 turnovers in its five league wins. Even though Virginia Tech has lost two of its last three games, the Hokies have averaged just 13.7 turnovers per game in that span after averaging 17.7 turnovers in their first seven ACC games. Virginia Tech's league opponents have averaged 5.8 steals in the Hokies' five wins and 10.4 steals in their five losses, even though their last two league opponents to beat them had a combined 17 steals (8.5 per game).
At The Game
Listening to the Tar Heel Sports Network at the game: The in-stadium frequency in the Smith Center will be FM 92.7. That station will have a non-delayed feed of WCHL 1360, the local affiliate.
Watching At Home
Turn down the sound: If you're watching at home while listening to the radio or over the computer via Carolina All-Access, there will inevitably be some delay. For the reason - and a possible solution - click here.
A full list of THSN affiliates can be found here.
CBS coverage: The game will be available on CBS.
Names To Know
Tyler Hansbrough: Hansbrough would be the first to tell you that he got off to a shaky start in ACC play, making just 6-of-18 field goals (33.3%), 13-of-18 free throws (72.2%) and averaging 12.5 points, 13.5 rebounds and 4.0 offensive rebounds. In the last eight games, Hansbrough has shot 54.8% from the field, 82% from the free-throw line and averaged 26.1 points, 12.3 rebounds and 4.0 offensive rebounds. He averaged just 9.0 free-throw attempts in the first two games and has averaged 11.1 attempts since. He also attempted an average of just 9.0 field goals in the first two games (and made 3.0) and has since averaged 15.5 attempts (and 8.5 made field goals). He had two blocks against Virginia and three blocks in the last two games. He had just five blocks in Carolina's first 23 games.
He has seven double-doubles in ACC play and 14 on the season. He had just 16 double-doubles in his previous 69 games over the past two seasons coming into this year and just nine came in ACC play. He had five double-doubles in ACC play last season. His 23 points and seven rebounds against Virginia stopped a streak of three straight double-doubles since Ty Lawson went out. In that three-game span, he had 52 rebounds (14 offensive rebounds), 17.3 rebounds per game and 4.7 offensive rebounds. He has had at least six rebounds in every game this season. His one offensive rebound against Virginia tied a season low set against Valparaiso. It is a mark of how much Hansbrough - if this is even possible - has improved since last season.
As a freshman, he averaged 7.8 rebounds and 3.6 offensive rebounds. Last season, he averaged 7.9 rebounds and 3.1 offensive rebounds. This season, he is averaging 10.6 rebounds and 4.0 offensive rebounds. He had 14 games in his first two seasons with fewer than six rebounds. This season, he has at least six rebounds in every game this season and just six rebounds in only three games. Just one of those six-rebound games came in ACC play. As a freshman and sophomore, he had a combined seven games with fewer than six rebounds in ACC play and nine with six or fewer rebounds. This season, he has just one game with six rebounds and the rest were all over that mark. He also had 16 games in his first two seasons with one or fewer offensive rebounds and four with zero offensive rebounds, three of which came in ACC play. This season, he has had at least one offensive rebound in every game and has been held to one offensive rebound just once in ACC play.
He had one single-digit scoring game as a freshman and five single-digit scoring games as a sophomore (two came post-broken nose). This season, he has scored in double digits in every game and his season low is 12 points. He had 31 games combined (14 as a freshman and 17 as a sophomore) with 20 or more points; he has 18 20-point games this season already. He had 11 games with 25 or more points in his freshman and sophomore years combined; this season, he already has 11 games with 25 or more points. He had two thirty-point or more games in his first 69 games as a Tar Heel in his first two seasons; he already has two this year.
In terms of following the "Hansbrough's Touches" rule, which basically means that his field goals attempted plus free throws attempted should equal 20, Carolina has done that in 20 of 25 games this season. But Hansbrough needs to be able to make those attempts count, and he has done that lately. In 13 of 25 games this season, Hansbrough has either had the same number of points and "touches" or more points than touches. In the last two games, Hansbrough has had 31 field-goal attempts and 24 free-throw tries, or 55 "touches" and 62 points, or a +7 margin. He has improved so much from last season that he has already had an equal or greater number of points than touches in 13 games, the same as number of times he did it last season out of 38 games. In fact, his average margin of points minus touches last season was -1.3. This season it is -0.5 (23.3 touches to 22.8 points), right around what it was his freshman season except with fewer touches (19.4 touches to 18.9 points).
After scoring 16 fewer points than attempts (85 attempts to 69 points) in Carolina's first four ACC games, he has since scored one 165 points on 164 attempts. Those are pretty good odds that something good will happen if Tyler Hansbrough gets the ball. Carolina has been largely forced into a halfcourt offense in the absence of Ty Lawson and with Hansbrough operating as effectively as he has been, Carolina can't forget that its focus is to go down low to the big guy. "The last out of our three keys was get the ball inside and to follow the game plan. Late in the game, we really got the ball inside. We were just pounding it and pounding it and Tyler just did what he does best and put the ball in the basket for us," Marcus Ginyard said.
Wayne Ellington: In the absence of Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington has been asked to play a much bigger role than he might ordinarily play in the Carolina offense, as he and Danny Green have essentially had to share the responsibility of being the perimeter scorers. Even with Lawson, Ellington had been going through a bit of a shooting slump after his career-high 36 points in the ACC opener against Clemson. In the next seven ACC games, Ellington shot 36.6% from the field, 44.2% from two-point range, 23.3% from beyond the arc and averaged 10.9 points, 2.6 assists, 1.9 turnovers and 31.1 minutes. He averaged 1.0 three-pointers made and 3.3 two-pointers made, adding just 1.6 free-throw attempts per game. In the last two ACC games, however, Ellington seems much more comfortable taking on the responsibility of being a scorer. He is shooting 43.2% from the field, 42.1% from two-point range, 44.4% from beyond the arc and averaging 23.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 4.5 turnovers in 42.0 minutes. His attempts have gone up from 11.7 during his seven-game skid to 18.5 attempts in the last two games, including 9.5 two-point attempts (and 4.0 made two-pointers) and 9.0 three-point attempts (4.0 made three-pointers).
Ellington finally had his second-highest scoring output in ACC play this season with a 28-point performance against Clemson. His 9-of-22 shooting was good (his 5-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc was even better) but Ellington also had four points in overtime and added an offensive rebound in the first overtime that led to a Hansbrough basket that gave Carolina a one-point lead with 1:23 to go. Against Virginia, Ellington had one of his best shooting nights in ACC play since the first Clemson game, making 7-of-15 shots from the field (46.7%) and 3-of-9 from the three-point line. He made just 2-of-4 free throws but added five rebounds, three assists, four turnovers and just one foul in 37 minutes.
Alex Stepheson: The junior forward has been back from his two-game hiatus earlier this season for ten games. In his first seven games back, he shot 55.2% from the field (16-of-29), 6-of-7 from the foul line, averaged 5.4 points, 5.3 rebounds (2.1 offensive rebounds) 1.0 blocks, 3.0 fouls, 1.0 turnovers and 15.7 minutes. In the last three games, he has shot 1-of-7 from the field and 0-of-2 from the foul line, though he is still averaging 5.0 rebounds (2.3 offensive rebounds), 1.3 blocks, just 1.7 fouls and 2.0 turnovers in 15.3 minutes.
Against Duke, Stepheson played just 13 minutes (his fewest in ACC play this season), missed both free throw attempts and turned it over five times, although he did block two shots and was clearly trying to be aggressive on both ends, having a dunk overturned at one point by a violation. Against Clemson, Stepheson hit 1-of-3 shots and pulled down just four rebounds, but added two assists, one block, just one foul and no turnovers, his first turnover-free ACC game since the NC State game. He also played 17 minutes, his most since the Maryland game (in which he set his ACC high for points with nine on 3-of-5 shooting in 18 minutes). Against Virginia, Stepheson played 16 minutes and shot 0-of-4 from the field but added seven rebounds, a blocked shot and just one turnover.
Stepheson has noticeably progressed as a defender (earning his first ever defensive player of the game award in the Maryland loss) and he has blocked 19 shots this season, 11 in the last 10 games. The Maryland game was the only game in which he did not record a block but he has a streak of six straight games with at least one block. He is also capable of getting a lot of rebounds in a short amount of time, pulling down a career-high 11 rebounds in just 16 minutes against Boston College.
With a possibly ailing Deon Thompson on Saturday, Stepheson may need to step up his offensive play more than he has normally been expected to. The five turnovers against Duke were very uncharacteristic of Stepheson, who turned it over just 16 times last season in 38 games and 23 times in the other 22 games this season. But with the way Carolina's bench is rapidly thinning, the Tar Heels need Stepheson to come into the game and give the team a lift, preferably on both ends of the court.
A.D. Vassallo: The 6-6 junior guard/forward leads the Hokies and ranks sixth in the ACC in scoring with 16.3 points per game. He is third in the league in three-pointers made per game (2.5) and in three-point percentage (40.8 percent). In conference games only, Vassallo ranks seventh in scoring (17.3 points per game), 11th in rebounding (6.6 per game), fifth in three-point percentage (40.3%) and sixth in three-pointers made per game (2.5). He has led the Hokies in scoring in six out of 10 ACC games this season. Vassallo is shooting 46.9% from beyond the arc and averaging 17.6 points, 3.0 made three-pointers, 1.8 turnovers and 33.4 minutes in five ACC wins. In the five losses, Vassallo has shot 33.3% from beyond the arc and averaged 17.0 points, 2.0 made three-pointers, 4.6 turnovers and 37.0 minutes per game.
In Virginia Tech's first six ACC contests, Vassallo shot 41.5% from the field, 32.4% from the three-point line and 60.7% from the foul line, averaging 16.2 points, 8.8 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.3 steals and 3.7 turnovers in 36.0 minutes. He averaged 2.0 three-pointers made per game. In the last four ACC contests, Vassallo has shot 54.0% from the field, 52.0% from the three-point line (13-of-25) and 75% from the foul line. He has also averaged 19.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.0 steals and 2.5 turnovers in 34.0 minutes. In Virginia Tech's last game against Miami, Vassallo had 24 points (a high in ACC play) on 9-of-15 shooting. He shot 4-of-7 from the three-point line and added two rebounds, three assists, one steal and played 37 minutes.
Deron Washington: The 6-7 senior forward has not had his best ACC season shooting the ball, but he seems to be getting out of a bit of a slump. He has made just 2-of-20 three-pointers in ACC play and 34-of-110 field goals (30.9%), but in the last two games, he has shot 8-of-17 from the field (47.1%) compared to 26-of-93 in the first eight ACC games (28.0%). Despite the shooting woes, he is averaging 12.9 points per game in ACC play and 13.6 points in Virginia Tech's five ACC wins. In Virginia Tech's first eight league games, Washington pulled down 70 rebounds (8.8 per game) and 22 offensive rebounds (2.8 per game). In the last two ACC games, Washington has just three rebounds and one offensive rebound.
He is averaging 7.3 rebounds (2.3 offensive rebounds) in ACC play, including 8.2 rebounds (2.6 offensive) in the five wins and 6.4 rebounds (2.0 offensive) in the Hokies' five league losses. In league games only, his 5.0 defensive rebounds and 7.3 rebounds rank ninth in the league. He is averaging a block per game in ACC play, but is also averaging 3.5 fouls and 2.5 turnovers in a whopping 37.0 minutes. In ACC losses, he is averaging 4.2 fouls (two foul-outs) and 3.4 turnovers in 34.4 minutes compared to 2.8 fouls and just 1.6 turnovers in Virginia Tech's five wins.
Washington leads his team in offensive rebounds and ranks second in rebounding with 6.4 per game. He is tied for second on the team in scoring with 12.7 points per game and ranks third in assists with 56. He also leads the team in free throws attempted (155) and free throws made (103). He is shooting just 66.5% from the line. Against Miami, he had nine points on 3-of-9 shooting and added two rebounds, four assists, four fouls, three turnovers and played 37 minutes.
Jeff Allen: The 6-7 freshman forward is leading Virginia Tech in rebounding with 7.5 per game (7th-best in the ACC) and also leads the team in steals with 2.3 a game, a figure that ranks second in the ACC. He ranks second on the team in scoring (12.7 points per game), second in field-goal percentage (53.6%) and second in blocked shots (21). He is shooting 56.9% in ACC play (which leads all ACC players) and averaging 13.4 points (21st in the ACC), 6.3 rebounds (16th in the ACC), 2.8 steals (2nd in the ACC) and 29.3 minutes.
He missed two ACC games due to suspension (Virginia Tech lost the Duke game and won the Boston College game). He has played in four ACC losses and has shot 62.2% and averaged 15.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.3 steals, 0.3 blocks, 3.8 fouls and 2.5 turnovers in 30.5 minutes. In the four league wins he has played in, he has shot 51.4% from the field and averaged 11.8 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.3 steals, 1.5 blocks, 2.8 fouls, 3.3 turnovers in 28.0 minutes.
In the four games since he returned from his suspension, he has made 20-of-30 shots from the field (66.7%), 1-of-2 three-pointers (he had previously made 1-of-8), and 9-of-17 free throws. He has averaged 12.5 points and 3.0 steals in that span. In the last two games, those numbers improve even more. The freshman has shot 13-of-19 from the field (68.4%), 4-of-6 from the foul line, averaged 15.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 4.5 steals and 2.5 turnovers in 35.5 minutes. In the Miami game, a narrow home loss, he had 16 points on 7-of-8 shooting and added seven rebounds, three steals, one block, three fouls and two turnovers in 39 minutes.
Quotables
"I get tickled listening to these people talk about National Player of the Year. Guys, there can't be anybody that gives more to college basketball than that guy. He's not maybe in some ways a popular choice because he's a blue-collar guy and he thrashes around in there, but the bottom line is, the sucker can really play. He's been a load for a lot of people and you can't be a better kid." -Roy Williams on Tyler Hansbrough
"One day last week before the Clemson game, Tyler (Hansbrough) walks off the court and throws up, comes back out on the court, plays 3-4 plays, walks back off the court and throws up again. I just told him, I said, `Just go see Marc (Davis).' That was Friday. Saturday, he practiced the whole practice. I've had some guys that will throw up in June and not play against till October, so Tyler is pretty good." -Roy Williams
"Don't be calling me and asking me why I'm not wearing blue. Against Clemson the other day I had a slight, light, one little streak of blue in the shirt but the rest of it I didn't have anything blue on. Remember, it's not a hobby for me - it's my life. I wore the same frickin' suit that I wore when we beat them down at Clemson. So I figure if it worked beating them at Clemson, I was wearing the same dadgum thing again." -Roy Williams
Lauren Brownlow is the managing editor of Tar Heel Monthly.
