University of North Carolina Athletics
Duke Game Guide
February 11, 2009 | Men's Basketball
Feb. 11, 2009
By Lauren Brownlow
The Basics
No. 3/3 North Carolina (21-2, 7-2) will travel to Durham to face No. 6/5 Duke (20-3, 7-2) in a battle for first place in the ACC and the first of two meetings between the rivals. This game begins a stretch in which four of its next six ACC games and three of the next four are on the road. Carolina has won seven games in a row in conference after dropping its first two and beat Virginia at home on Saturday, 76-61. Duke is coming off of a 78-75 overtime win over Miami last Saturday. Duke began ACC play 5-0 and is 2-2 in its last four games. Duke and North Carolina are tied atop the ACC standings.
Carolina leads the all-time series, 128-97. Duke leads the series 47-45 in Durham. Carolina has won four of the last five meetings and the last three in a row at Cameron Indoor Stadium, but has lost eight of the last 12 games there. If Carolina wins the game, Danny Green and Tyler Hansbrough will be the first Tar Heels to play in four wins there in the Mike Krzyzewski era at Duke. The last class to win four at Cameron was the 1982-85 group. The only other ACC class to do it was Tim Duncan and Rusty LaRue at Wake Forest from 1994-97.
Game Time: North Carolina at Duke, 9:00 PM.
Last Time: Carolina beat Duke 76-68 in Durham on March 3, 2008. Carolina led by as many as 14 points in the first half and held an 11-point lead at halftime. Duke mounted a 20-6 run to get within three with 14:27 to go and ultimately pulled even with 9:45 left. The game was tied for the sixth time at 68 with 3:03 to go and the Blue Devils did not score again, missing seven field-goal attempts. Danny Green scored Carolina's final four points to hold off the Blue Devils and three shots in the final 48 seconds. The Tar Heels out-rebounded the Blue Devils 53-44 and had 15 blocked shots. Duke shot 32.9% for the game and Carolina shot 40.8%. The two teams combined to attempt just 21 free throws, a figure each team would attempt on average in most games.
Danny Green led the Tar Heels with perhaps his best game of his Tar Heel career, notching 18 points on 8-of-14 shooting and adding eight rebounds, one assist, two steals and seven blocks in just 25 minutes. Tyler Hansbrough had 16 points on 8-of-21 shooting but added 15 rebounds. Wayne Ellington also had 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting. Ty Lawson had ten points, three assists, three steals and two turnovers. Greg Paulus led the Blue Devils with 15 points on 5-of-14 shooting (4-of-10 from beyond the arc). Jon Scheyer had 14 points on 5-of-12 shooting and a team-high four assists. Kyle Singler had ten points on 3-of-10 shooting and added eight rebounds; Gerald Henderson also had ten points and nine rebounds. Duke leading scorer and senior DeMarcus Nelson was held to just six points on 3-of-12 shooting.
Radio Coverage: Tar Heel Sports Network coverage begins at 8:00 PM.
Injury Report: Marcus Ginyard and the Tar Heel medical staff have decided it is best for him to take a medical redshirt this season. He had surgery on October 8th, 2008 to repair a stress fracture in his left foot. He attempted to come back and still had pain. He has gone through nearly a month's worth of intensive rehab to try to get back into game shape, but he still has pain in the foot. Will Graves has been suspended for the remainder of this season. Tyler Zeller broke his wrist in the second game of the season against Kentucky. He was scheduled to visit the doctor on Wednesday and a decision on his status the rest of the season should come soon.
Storylines
Offensive balance: The old story in defending the Tar Heels has been zone, zone and more zone - clogging up the middle to double-team Tyler Hansbrough and prevent Ty Lawson from penetrating. If you force the Tar Heels to execute a halfcourt offense, so the story goes, you get at their weak spot. Facing a team like Duke that gets back on defense and plays in-your-face man-to-man is not something Carolina has seen much of yet this season. Still, this game will not likely be an up-and-down affair the entire time and Carolina will have to execute good halfcourt offense. The Blue Devils seek to force opponents into bad shots, force turnovers and make teams start their offense very far from the basket.
Duke's defense has always been heralded as better than Carolina's, or at least more intense. But the Blue Devils this season have held opponents to the exact same field-goal percentage as the Tar Heels have held their opponents to - 40 percent. So with that myth dispersed, another myth to be dealt with is that Carolina can't execute in the halfcourt and get shots when it needs to get shots. The difference with this year's Carolina team has been Tyler Hansbrough, Deon Thompson and Ed Davis are still effective in the post, Ty Lawson can still penetrate - but the rest of the Tar Heels are hitting three-pointers, something Carolina has not been able to do consistently in past seasons.
In three losses, Duke's opponents have shot 45.6% from the floor and 34.7% from beyond the arc, compared to 39.2% from the floor and 30.3% from beyond the arc in Duke's 20 wins. Teams have also averaged 21.7 free-throw attempts per game in three Duke losses compared to 15.9 attempts in the 20 wins. Duke has averaged 19 fouls in the three losses and 17.4 in 20 wins. Carolina has attempted fewer than 20 foul shots in just four games this season; two have come in ACC play.
Duke has averaged 16.2 fouls in five ACC home games compared to 17.3 in four league road games. Duke's ACC opponents have shot 19 free throws per game on the road compared to just 12.8 in Cameron. Carolina's ACC opponents have averaged 18.2 fouls in the Smith Center compared to 22.5 on the road. The Tar Heels have also attempted 30 foul shots per game (making 83.1%) outside the Smith Center in ACC play compared to 23 attempts (and shooting 68.1%) at home.
Carolina has a much better chance of winning the game if it wins, or at least comes close, in the free-throw line and foul battles than if it attempts 20 wide-open three-pointers. If a three-pointer goes in, that's great but if a foul is called on a shot attempt, that's two shots and one step closer to disqualifying an opposing player. On the other hand, in the Wake Forest loss, Carolina shot the same amount of free throws (39) than it attempted combined in its next three games combined (39) and still lost. Carolina still has to make shots. So Williams wants his team to remember its outside shooting, which it has done all season, but not to ignore the post players, as they did down the stretch at times in losses or near-misses.
"The fact that you shoot it well from the outside cannot stop you from going inside if you're intelligent. That just means they come guard you out farther and you should be able to throw it in more," Williams said. "I like balance. ... I lean towards the inside play because that's where you get people in foul trouble. I'd like Gerald Henderson and Kyle Singler and all those guys to be sitting on the bench at the end of the game ...
"If I'm Wayne Ellington and Danny Green and Ty Lawson, I'd throw it to the big sucker (Hansbrough) a lot because he's going to gather a lot of attention. If I was Tyler Hansbrough, I'd be loving it every time they take a three and make it because that means that they're going to go out and guard those people. So I think you need to have both. Recently, we've had both."
Carolina has averaged 36.4 points in the paint in ACC home games and 35 in ACC road games; Carolina's paint performance has run the gamut from a season-low 24 points in the paint at Florida State to a fantastic 46 points in the paint at NC State. Carolina has 32 points in the paint against Virginia; 20 of those came in the second half when Carolina was finally able to adapt to the Virginia defense and get the ball inside. Almost everyone on Carolina is capable of attacking the basket, getting into the paint and either creating a shot or dishing to an open teammate.
The Tar Heels struggled against Virginia in general but after making just 3-of-11 three-pointers and 8-of-22 two-pointers in the first half, Carolina made the necessary adjustments in the second half and made 11-of-20 two-pointers and 6-of-14 three's, showing the balance Williams wants. "You know eventually, something is going to fall but if not, we're just going to have to adjust and attack in different ways," Green said after the game. "We knew we weren't going to continue to shoot as poorly as we did in the first half. ... We knew we were going to work that zone a little more. So we got the ball inside, worked our way inside out and got better shots, more open shots."
Carolina has shot at least 42.9% in one or more halves of all but two ACC games. Since shooting a combined 5-of-16 in the second half of the Clemson and Florida State games, Carolina has shot 14-of-31 (45.2%) in the second half of the last three games, showing that despite a loss of depth, the Tar Heels haven't lost their legs late in games. Carolina shot a combined 13-of-45 (28.9%) against the top two three-point defense teams in the ACC and lost both games. In all other ACC games, Carolina has shot 58-of-137 (42.3%) from beyond the arc. After making just 18-of-59 from beyond the arc in its first three ACC games, Carolina shot 11-of-23 (47.8%) against the No. 3 three-point defensive team in the league in Miami and then 5-of-16 (31.2%) against the No. 10 team in Clemson. Since then, in its last four games Carolina has shot 37-of-84 (44%) from beyond the arc and 25-of-50 (50%) in the last two games.
The Two-Faced Tar Heel defense: This team is certainly not the bad defensive team that many claim it is. But there's no doubt it has been an inconsistent defensive team this season, particularly in ACC play. Williams has said that at times, this team looks better than it did last year defensively and it's hard to argue that point. In 19 ACC games, Carolina held five opponents to under 40%; Carolina has done it four times in nine games this season already.
But last year's team held Duke to 32.9% shooting, the second-lowest percentage by an ACC opponent, in Cameron last year on Duke's Senior Night. It was arguably Carolina's best defensive performance of the season, holding Duke to under 35% shooting in each half and allowing only 26 points in the paint and three fast-break points. The Blue Devils made only 15-of-47 two-point baskets; Carolina swatted away 15 attempts and added nine steals out of Duke's 13 turnovers. They also held Duke scoreless in the final 5:30.
This season, Carolina continued its weird trend of allowing bad shooting teams to have a good day; while it held Virginia to 36.5% shooting, Carolina has faced three of the bottom four teams in that category (in ACC games only) in the last four games. Those teams have combined to shoot 87-of-198 (43.9%) in that span. The scary part of that is that Duke ranks 11th in field-goal percentage defense in ACC play, shooting 39.7 percent. Carolina's first two ACC opponents, both of which beat the Tar Heels, shot 46.6 percent. Carolina has also played the No. 4, 5, 7 and 12 teams in the league and held those teams to a combined 36.4 percent. Maryland has shot 40 percent in ACC games and shot 48% against Carolina. Miami has shot 44.4% and shot 39% against Carolina. Both games happened in the same gym and against the same team. It showed that this team is capable of playing defense, even great defense, when it is focused.
Teams that have beaten Duke have forced the Blue Devils to settle for three-pointers; Duke has attempted nearly 40% of its shots from beyond the arc in its three losses (and made just 20.6% of them) compared to a little less than a third in its 20 wins (while making 35.8 percent). Teams that have vanquished the Blue Devils have also averaged 9.3 steals compared to 6.1 by the other 20 opponents and have forced Duke into just 14.7 turnovers to just 11.7 assists (the Blue Devils average 14.5 assists and 13.4 turnovers in 20 wins). In its three losses, Duke's opponents have turned those turnovers into 17.0 points per loss compared to just 11.4 points off turnovers allowed in 20 wins. Teams have also had success in three games by limiting Duke to 15.7 attempts from the free-throw line (compared to 25.2 attempts in the other 20 games).
Duke's 39 three-point attempts against Miami were a school record; the Blue Devils made just 12 of them but still managed to win the game. Duke hit 38-of-91 three-pointers (41.6%) in its first five ACC games, but has hit just 28-of-101 (27.7%) in its last four league games. The Blue Devils have faced four of the top six three-point defenses in the league and has shot 29.9% against those teams compared to 38.9% against the bottom six. Carolina is seventh, allowing teams to shoot 35.6% from beyond the arc. Duke is a good three-point shooting team (despite its woes, it is still fifth in ACC games only) and could find its touch again at any moment.
Adversity: In a notoriously tough place to play, Carolina has shown quite a bit of toughness and resolve, going 3-0 there over the past three seasons. Carolina has trailed by double-digits in two of its last three wins in Cameron and saw a double-digit lead evaporate last season, and still managed to hang on. It has withstood Duke runs that cause the crowd to scream and the rafters of the building to shake. It has withstood dry spells, played just as hard through hot-shooting streaks and played with passion, fire and intensity almost every second of each game.
It's difficult to win there if you don't play that way. Everyone remembers Bobby Frasor grinning knowingly at his teammates before stepping up to the foul line to help ice the game his freshman year. That attitude is a big part of who this team has been in the last three years and is now, when playing its best - combining focus and fun."I think an ability to focus on just what's going on on the court - that focus and that discipline to be concerned on what you're doing and not stand looking around I think is important," Williams said, when asked what the ingredients are to winning in Cameron. "Toughness, because you're going to have some adversity there and you've got to be able to withstand those dry spells and take advantage of your opportunities. So I think the mental part of it is probably one of the big, big factors there too."
But what has helped Carolina in Cameron more than anything is its consistent demeanor, most of which comes from Williams and the coaching staff. As Williams likes to say, one regular-season game won't cause the ACC to give the Tar Heels a trophy or cancel their season, depending on the outcome. The staff doesn't need to hype a game that's hyped up enough locally and nationally. The players get ready to play on their own on both teams. Williams and his staff have simply helped the team keep its even-keeled demeanor.
Part of that was shown in the way this team responded to its 0-2 start in ACC play. It prompted a lot of strong reactions from onlookers, but the team itself just buckled down, played hard and won seven games in a row, all in conference. This team has officially now lost three of its top nine players and while it might get one of them back, the bench is shorter and the Tar Heels have had to adapt. Everything seemed easier early on, but it was easier. This team grew last year from having to face some adversity - both in games and during the season through injuries - and became better because of it. That team appears to be headed down that path as well.
"I think the approach that when we started out 0-2, everybody didn't panic has been something I've been proud of," Williams said. "I've been proud of the way that we've consistently tried to work each and every practice to try to get better, particularly on the defensive end of the floor. To come back from being 0-2 to where we are right now says as lot about the kids' character. We've got good players. We've had our share of adversity ... and I like the way the kids have handled that."
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.
Raycom/ESPN coverage: The game will be available regionally on Raycom and nationally on ESPN.
Names To Know
Ty Lawson: In just its second game without Ty Lawson last season, Carolina lost at home to Duke for the only time in the past five meetings. Lawson technically still holds a 3-0 record against the Blue Devils. Even though Quentin Thomas piloted the team ably in Lawson's absence, Carolina missed the added dimension that he brings to the game when he is at full speed. That is on display this season as he is 12th in the league in ACC-game scoring (14.8 points), 3rd in ACC field-goal percentage (51.1%), first in assists (6.3), ninth in steals (1.7) and second in assist-turnover ratio (2.9).
He won Defensive Player of the Game honors against Maryland and his defense has been a spark for the team this season. After starting ACC play averaging 9.5 points, 4.5 assists and 4.0 turnovers and shooting 7-of-24 from the floor (1-of-7 from beyond the arc), he has averaged 16.3 points on 38-of-63 shooting (60.3%) and 14-of-24 from beyond the arc (58.3%). He has also averaged 6.9 assists and 1.7 turnovers in that span; he has 15 assists and no turnovers in the last two games.
In three games against Duke, Lawson has averaged 12.3 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.7 steals, 3.0 fouls and 2.0 turnovers in 25.7 minutes per game. He has shot 46.7% from the floor but 0-of-5 from beyond the arc. Lawson has already made more three-pointers this season (33) than he did in either of his previous two seasons, despite attempting 15 fewer than last season and 19 fewer than his freshman season. He had made 61-of-170 three's coming into this season (35.9%) and has made 33-of-68 this season (48.5 percent). At the same time, he has improved his free-throw average from 3.2 attempts per game his first two seasons to 4.9 attempts this season. Lawson had ten points on 4-of-10 shooting in Durham last year and added three rebounds, three assists, three steals and two turnovers in 23 minutes.
Tyler Hansbrough: Carolina's senior forward has a chance to be one of two Tar Heels to make history, the first group of seniors to go 4-0 at Cameron Indoor Stadium in the Coach K era (with him being the head coach all four seasons). In the last three games against Duke, Hansbrough has 60 points and 50 rebounds (20.0 and 16.7). He averaged 19.0 points and 7.3 rebounds in his first three Duke games. In the last meeting in Durham, Hansbrough had one of those rare games in which he did not get to the foul line but he did make 8-of-21 shots and had 15 rebounds (seven offensive) in 37 minutes. He has shot 49.5% from the floor in six games against Duke, averaging 21.2 points, 12.0 rebounds (5.2 offensive boards), 1.2 steals, 3.0 fouls and 2.2 turnovers in 34.8 minutes.
Hansbrough has not been shooting the ball as well as he would like in ACC play, but despite that, he is third in ACC games only in rebounding (8.8), fifth in scoring (20.9 points), second in offensive rebounds (3.6) and sixth in defensive rebounds (5.2). In Carolina's first four ACC games, Hansbrough shot just 23-of-58 from the floor (39.7%), his worst conference stretch of his career. He turned that around quickly by shooting 23-of-38 (60.5%) in Carolina's next three games. Despite a recent stretch of 11-of-27 shooting in the last two games (40.7%), he has still shot 34-of-65 (52.3%) in the last five ACC games.
After pulling down a combined 12 rebounds in the NC State and Maryland games, he rebounded with 13 boards against Virginia, an ACC-high for him. He also has three assists and three steals over the last two games. Things haven't always gone his way this season, particularly in ACC play - he averaged 12.0 free-throw attempts in the first five ACC games, attempted none against Florida State and has attempted 6.5 in the last four league contests - but he has always found a way to fight through it and give Carolina a good performance in the second half. After following a 16-of-28 first-half performance in Carolina's first four ACC games with 7-of-30 second-half field goals, he has made 20-of-29 in the second half of the last five after making 14-of-36 in the first half. Carolina will need his second-half energy to pull it through a tough environment.
Wayne Ellington: Despite his game progressing steadily throughout his Carolina career, Ellington has had some of his worst career games against the Blue Devils. His 3-of-14 performance in last year's home loss was his worst shooting day of the season. But he had his most points ever against Duke and his first double-figure outing against the Blue Devils in the win in Cameron, notching 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting (2-of-3 from three-point range). In the previous three Duke games, he had averaged 5.0 points on 6-of-27 shooting (0-of-10 from beyond the arc). Including last year's game, he has shot 29.3% in four career Duke games, averaging 2.8 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 2.5 fouls and just one turnover in 25.5 minutes.
Ellington has been on an absolute tear the last few games, particularly picking it up in ACC play in general. He is second on the team and seventh in the league in conference-game scoring at 19.3 points per game and fifth in field-goal percentage in league games at 50 percent. He is also seventh in assist-turnover ratio (1.3), second in three-pointers made (3.0) and third in three-point percentage (44.3 percent). However, Ellington has struggled on the road this year in ACC play, shooting 34.9% from the floor and 26.3% from beyond the arc compared to 58.7% from the floor and 52.4% from beyond the ac at home. But Ellington's last road game, also in the gym of a rival, was his best in an ACC game this season - he had 12 points on 4-of-7 shooting, six rebounds, three assists and no turnovers in 33 minutes at NC State.
Ellington has also gotten things going earlier in recent games; in Carolina's first three ACC games, he attempted just 4.0 shots in the first half and only 0.7 three-pointers, averaging 3.7 points in the first half. He shot 33.3%, averaging 8.0 attempts and 4.7 three-point attempts in the second half of the first three games but it was too late for him to get his offense going. In the last six games, he has shot 55.9% in the first half, attempting 5.7 shots and 3.2 three-pointers (1.5 made three's) and really getting going in the first half. That has led to him shooting 58.1% in the second half, averaging 7.2 shot attempts (4.2 from beyond the arc) and making 2.3 three's.
His confidence tends to be at its peak when he gets going with a few good plays early, like a steal and transition basket, a three-pointer or an offensive rebound and stick-back. With an already-short bench, Carolina will need more from Ellington in this Duke game than it has in almost any other.
Gerald Henderson: Like his former high school teammate, Henderson has really elevated his game to a different level this season. But unlike Ellington, he has been fairly steady all year long, averaging 15.2 points on 50.8% shooting (40.8%) from beyond the arc. He has added 4.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.5 steals. In ACC games only, Henderson leads the league in field-goal percentage, shooting 53.7 percent from the floor. He also leads Duke and is eighth in the league in conference scoring with 18.9 points per game. He is also third in steals per ACC game (2.1) and 17th in rebounding (6.2). Duke has also suffered without him on the floor; Henderson has been whistled for three or more fouls in just five games this season; of those, Duke has lost three and was in serious trouble in another (Rhode Island).
The only difference is that while Ellington is on a hot streak, Henderson has begun to struggle a bit in ACC play. Henderson averaged 19.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.7 steals in Duke's first six ACC games, shooting 59.5% from the floor and 8-of-12 (66.7%) from beyond the arc. In the last three games, Henderson has shot 44.2% from the floor and made just 5-of-18 three-pointers (27.8%), averaging 17.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists and one steal. He has also increased his three-points attempts significantly (from 2.0 to 6.0) and decreased his two-point attempts (down from 11.2 to 8.3).
Still, he is a fantastic player and can make the kinds of plays that change the momentum in games. He's a little bit like Carolina's Danny Green in that he is a tough, athletic matchup for opposing teams. This year, he's really begun to assert himself. But he's always given Carolina fits. "Gerald is an extremely difficult matchup because he is physically so strong and jumps so high on his jumpshot, on his drives," Williams said. "You've got to have size, and yet size can't stay up with him when he puts the ball on the floor."
Henderson has historically had some of his best games against the Tar Heels; this is the first season he has been a steady double-digit scorer and yet in four games against Carolina, he has averaged 13 points on 44.9% shooting. He has also averaged 6.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 blocks in 28.3 minutes. In the last game of last season against the Tar Heels, Henderson had ten points on 3-of-12 shooting (1-of-9 from two-point range), adding nine rebounds, one assist, one steal, three blocks and one turnover in 29 minutes.
Kyle Singler: The 6-8 sophomore forward and reigning ACC Rookie of the Year has had a great year so far, ranking tenth in the league in scoring (15.8 points per game) and sixth in rebounding (8.2 points per game). In ACC games only, he has averaged 14.6 points (13th) and 8.0 rebounds (5th). He is also fifth in offensive rebounds per game in ACC games (3.2) and ninth in defensive rebounds (4.8).
But just like Henderson, he has struggled recently. In his first four ACC games, he hit 52.2% of his shots (50% from beyond the arc), averaging 17.5 points and 7.8 rebounds. In the last five league games, he has shot just 28.8% (23.8% from beyond the arc), averaging 12.2 points and 8.2 rebounds. He had only one game of under 30 percent shooting before ACC play; he has shot below that mark the last three games in a row. In Duke's last outing against Miami, he missed 14 of his first 15 shots before hitting 4-of-8 down the stretch to help Duke win in overtime. He still has shot just 9-of-38 in the last three games, 2-of-13 from the three-point line.
In two games against Carolina in his career, Singler has shot 38.1% from the floor (3-of-9 from two-point range and 5-of-12 from beyond the arc), averaging 12 points, six rebounds, two assists, a steal, a block and 2.5 turnovers in 37 minutes. In the loss at Cameron last season, Singler had ten points on 3-of-10 shooting and eight rebounds, two assists, two fouls and three turnovers.
Hansbrough can move his feet well enough to guard him, but it would not benefit Carolina to have its best player get in foul trouble guarding an explosive player. Deon Thompson will be the likely defender, and he's far from easy to match up against. "He's really a difficult matchup because if you guard him with size, he takes them outside. If you go small against him, he takes them inside." Williams said. "He can shoot over smaller guys. He can dribble past bigger guys. He is really one of the few legitimate threats to score from anywhere. He can score on the block, he can score in the mid-range and he can score at the three-point line."
Greg Paulus: With Duke's recent offensive struggles, Greg Paulus has appeared to be the exception to the rule. He was struggling quite a bit early on; in Duke's first 14 games, the senior point guard was averaging 4.7 points, 1.6 assists and 1.0 turnovers in just 17.9 minutes, shooting 41.3% from the floor and 30.6% from the three-point line. But beginning with the Georgia Tech game, in the last eight games Paulus has averaged 8.5 points, 1.6 assists and less than a turnover per game, shooting 39.3% from the floor and 33.3% from beyond the arc.
What's most important is that he has gotten the starting nod recently over freshman Nolan Smith and has seen his minutes increase because of his hard work. His 18 points against Miami in the overtime win were a season-high; he added five rebounds, two assists, three steals and just one turnover in a season-high 40 minutes. The senior does not want to go out having never beaten Carolina in Cameron, and he always plays with quite a bit of passion and intensity against the Tar Heels particularly. In six games against Carolina, he has averaged 12.8 points but has shot 14-of-35 from beyond the arc (40%), averaging 4.5 assists, 1.5 steals and 2.7 turnovers in 32.3 minutes per game. He hit 6-of-8 three's against Carolina in Duke's Chapel Hill victory last season, notching a team-high 18 points to go with three assists and four steals. In the last game in Durham, Paulus had 15 points on 5-of-14 shooting (4-of-10 from beyond the arc), one rebound, two assists and no turnovers in 32 minutes.
Quotables
"We switched (on screens) at the top of the key every time when Kenny (Smith) was here and Kenny used to just sit there in his lawn chair at the top of the key and wait for somebody to come. He'd have his lemonade and his bananas and his grapes and sit there and wait." -Roy Williams
"Last night, I came over here to watch our women play (Duke). I sit down and these ladies behind me said, `We hope you brought some offense with you.' I'm sitting there and we shoot 65% in the second half and I said, `What is the matter with you guys?' They said, `Well, it wasn't like that before you walked in.'" -Roy Williams
"It's taken me 25 years to admit this - I was probably the reason that Coach Smith hit the scorer's table (in the 1984 game against Duke in Cameron). This is confession day - yesterday and today both, confession day. I thought they had called a foul on Matt Doherty and reported it as Sam (Perkins). Ray Charles could figure out that wasn't good for our team. So I told Coach, `I think they gave the foul to Sam and it was supposed to be to Matt.' He went up there and tried to get the officials to stop and talk about it and make sure they had it reported the right way. He did slip on something and tried to grab the scorer's table and hit it and they all got upset." -Roy Williams
"My gosh, guys, he only missed 12 weeks. He doesn't even know what offense and defense is. Now he thinks `defense' is something that goes around a yard." -Roy Williams on Tyler Zeller
"The best part? You said it right there - it's winning." -Tyler Hansbrough, when asked what the best part is about winning in Cameron
Lauren Brownlow is the managing editor of Tar Heel Monthly.
