University of North Carolina Athletics
Lucas: A Lot On The Line
November 20, 2009 | Men's Basketball, Featured Writers, Adam Lucas
Nov. 20, 2009
By Adam Lucas
NEW YORK--Larry Drew never looked at Ohio State's P.J. Hill. He could hear him, of course. But he didn't want to give him the satisfaction of eye contact.
There were 11.3 seconds left and Carolina held a suddenly too-narrow 75-73 advantage. The width of the Tar Heel lead was due partly to Drew's three missed free throws in the game's final two minutes. Now, with OSU sharpshooter Jon Diebler suddenly warming up and anything less than a two-possession game feeling tenuous, Hill wanted to make sure Drew understood the situation.
In the mass of bodies as players assumed their positions on the free throw line, the Buckeye senior stepped in front of Drew. "You have to make these," Hill said. "If you don't, we're going to win the game. You know you have to make these, right?"
Of course he knew. Everyone knew. Sure, it's just November. But find a way to lose a game like this and it can become habit. Likewise, hang on to stare down adversity--even if some of it was self-inflicted--and that can become habit, too.
Everyone knew that somehow, somewhere, some Tar Heel was going to have to make shots like these. But tonight? On a night when Carolina led by 19 midway through the second half and 10 with 53 seconds to play, no one expected it to be tonight. It felt like the Tar Heels had negated that possibility by playing a much more complete first 30 minutes. We almost take these for granted now, but remember that this was a tough game against an experienced, talented team in an eye-widening setting. In other words, the type a young team isn't supposed to win.
It was the first time all season that you saw an opponent visibly staggered by Carolina's height. The Buckeyes clearly spent the first few minutes trying to figure out exactly what to do with their height disadvantage at every position. Their solution--just shoot over it and hope for the best--drew mostly iron. The first half was summed up beautifully by the final 20 seconds, when OSU's William Buford took a horribly ill-advised three-pointer with 14 seconds left, giving Carolina enough time for gorgeous ball movement, with Drew finding Marcus Ginyard with the extra pass for a corner three-pointer and a 14-point lead at intermission.
It was Ginyard's second three-pointer of the half, but the story for him was his defense. Ohio State's Evan Turner had notched a triple-double earlier this season; he did it again Thursday, but not the way he wanted--this time it was points, rebounds, and 10 turnovers.
"I wanted to make him uncomfortable," Ginyard said. "I didn't want to give him anything easy or give him a free run to the backboard."
Turner is supposed to be Thad Matta's main advantage--a big, athletic guy who monopolizes the action and puts the ball in the hands of OSU's best player most of the game. Having the flexibility for Ginyard to defend him enabled Roy Williams to likewise have his best defender around the ball for most of the evening.
Beginning in the immediate aftermath of Sunday's win over Valpo, Williams showed why it's so advantageous to have a Hall of Famer on the sidelines. Tuesday and Wednesday's practices were pointed. "They were good practices," said double-double man (15 points and 12 rebounds) Deon Thompson. Just good? "Well, I'm still breathing," Thompson said, "so I survived."
But all that ferociousness was left largely on the practice floor. With a young team in one of the nation's most famous arenas, Williams was at his patient best on Thursday. He encouraged, he taught, and when he had time he even helped his team get the ball in the basket. Stymied early in the second half by the Buckeye defense, the head coach called a quick in-bounds set to Will Graves in the corner. Ball in, David Wear found Graves, and the gunner drained the three-pointer.
At that moment, it seemed entirely unlikely that anyone wearing blue would have to make a pressure-packed free throw. But that's exactly where Drew found himself. At that moment, he'd missed four out of six free throws in the last 40 seconds. He was playing in front of family, friends, a national television audience and a howling Madison Square Garden crowd.
Oh, and there was also Hill. Chatter on the free throw line is a point of emphasis this season, but what official is going to step in at that point of a game between two ranked teams?
"I expected something like that," Drew said.
First shot--good. Hill slid behind Drew, stepping just inside the three-point arc to let him know that a miss on the next shot would enable the Buckeyes to tie the game. Eventually, he was pushed back by an official, leaving just Drew and his thoughts.
It's much tougher to miss a couple free throws, then bounce back and hit a couple. Getting hot and nailing a handful in a row feels natural. Clanging four out of six and then needing to make two straight is a challenge.
But Drew dropped threw the second half of his double bonus. Even then, and even after he rebounded Buford's last-second heave that ended the game, he still never looked at Hill.
"I knew I had to keep my composure," said Carolina's floor leader. "I was disappointed in myself for the misses. I wanted to redeem myself. And hopefully that's what I did."
For Thursday night, yes, that's what Drew did. For the rest of the season, who knows? Sometime in February or March, it might turn out that he did even more.
Adam Lucas is the publisher of Tar Heel Monthly. He is also the author or co-author of five books on Carolina basketball, including the just-released book on the 2009 national title, One Fantastic Ride. Get real-time UNC sports updates from the THM staff on Twitter.
