University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: Something's Missing
January 31, 2009 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Jan. 31, 2009
By Adam Lucas
RALEIGH, N.C.--First things first: the entire events of the final 1.9 seconds of Carolina's whipping of NC State were wrong. Ben McCauley was wrong for fouling Mike Copeland the way he did. Copeland was wrong for reacting the way he did. It was an ugly scene, neither guy is going to be especially proud of it, and Roy Williams was right to immediately take control.
Now, be honest: deep down, just a little, you kind of liked the whole thing. Not because someone could've been hurt. But because finally, after 39 minutes and 58 seconds, someone injected a little life into a Carolina-State basketball game.
At Carolina's press conference on Friday, reporter after reporter asked Williams, Danny Green, and Tyler Hansbrough about the State game. "Is it a rivalry?" "What is this rivalry like?" "How would you describe the rivalry?"
Here's how I would describe the rivalry, if Saturday was any gauge: Blah.
Look, if you follow Carolina Basketball around long enough, you learn how rivalry games feel. There is tension, there is drama, and there are spectacular plays.
Courtney Fells had a terrific game for the Pack, hitting 9 of his 15 shots, 4-of-8 from three-point range, and finishing with 22 points. In years past, a performance like that would've built on itself until it was a tidal wave. Lakista McCuller did it. Tom Gugliotta did it. C.C. Harrison did it.
This time, for whatever reason, State couldn't do it. Every time Fells made a basket, the Tar Heels would usually respond by throwing the ball to Ty Lawson, who would either run past all the defenders or pitch ahead to a teammate who was cruising for a layup. Carolina shot 56.5% from the game, a testament to the type of shots they were getting.
The two head coaches understand Carolina-State. Sidney Lowe always breaks out his red blazer, and he played in these games back when they were palm-sweating, heart-pounding affairs. Roy Williams? "He'd rather beat State than eat," Deon Thompson said.
Good, that's how it's supposed to be. But there's a nagging feeling that for the two fan bases today, that kind of passion is akin to waxing philosophically about a sock hop or a drive-in movie.
"I think it's their tempo," Bobby Frasor said. "They play a slower tempo, so it's harder for the crowd to get into it."
OK, maybe so. But State isn't a bad team. They're more than capable of coming to Chapel Hill and winning next month; in McCauley, Costner and Fells they have three high-quality ACC-level players. But something's not right with the rivalry.
Hansbrough scored 31 points. In another time, scoring 31 against the Pack would've been the stuff of legends, the kind of game you remember forever. Now, it's just a nice game.
Maybe it's the arena. Here is a nearly complete list of who I passed in the hallway in the 30 minutes after the game: two girls wearing tiaras, three guys hauling exercise bikes, and two members of the Atlanta Thrashers. No guys in fuzzy wolf hats. No one with their face painted. No dainty sorority girl proudly sporting a "Go to hell Carolina" t-shirt. Let's put it this way--nobody ever rushed fans out of a game at Reynolds Coliseum because the arena had to be converted for hockey.
Here is a good description of what Carolina-State is supposed to be: "It's a hatred," Frasor said. "Everyone around here goes to State or Carolina. Not that many in-state kids go to Duke. So the fans are more passionate about it. State might not feel as appreciated as Carolina, so they have it out for us."
Exactly.
But there was Fells waving his arms and Costner flexing after an offensive rebound, and the crowd just kind of shrugged. It was enough to make you pine for that old Reynolds noise-meter that was more rigged than a carnival midway.
For 39 minutes of basketball, did it feel like a rivalry game to the players on the court?
"Um, I mean, a little bit," said Wayne Ellington. A little bit? A little bit? What is this world coming to when only one fan out of almost 20,000 in Raleigh makes a sign questioning Hansbrough's testosterone levels? It's like going on a whale-watching excursion and seeing a bunch of guppies.
Finally, at the end, there was some spark. McCauley delivered his foul and then, a few seconds later, walked towards Copeland shouting, "This is my house!"
Then, after a 17-point Carolina win--the Tar Heels' 11th victory out of the last dozen games in the series--they pushed everyone quickly out of McCauley's house. It was needed for hockey.
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly. He is also the author or co-author of four books on Carolina basketball.
