They Aren't Who We Thought They Were

Undefeated. The best team in history. Most-talented team in the country. National Title or bust. Each of these phrases had been used to describe the 2008-2009 North Carolina Men's Basketball Team in 2008. Now it's 2009. And the words now include soft, unmotivated, panicked, human. So what gives? How has the best Carolina team ever assembled turned into a rattled, poor-shooting, no-defense, mentally weak squad? And how can this team re-focus and improve moving forward? Finally, can they/will they end up in the position to hoist a big banner and cry while confetti rains down in Detroit at the Final Four?

What's Wrong

1) Defense. It starts here and ends here, both individually and as a team. Lawson has done a poor job of pressuring the ball and staying in front of his man in these two losses to Boston College and Wake Forest. Coach K, for all the hate Carolina fans have for him, is an outstanding basketball coach, especially in the art of pressure on the ball. He demands his point guards pressure their opponent. Subsequently, he demands that the wing players deny their man getting the ball (which in turn adds further pressure on the point guard to make a precise pass). Roy Williams is not much different. His defensive principle implores the 1, 2, and 3 spots to play the passing lanes and take chances to cause turnovers. This has just not happened in the two losses. Why does Coach Williams want to cause turnovers? Because they lead to easy points on the break, duh. And obviously when this team is not getting points on the break, they are resigned to a half-court set. And in the half-court set they...

2) Take Bad Shots. Dear Carolina Guards: I'd like to introduce you to Tyler Hansbrough. He's a big white guy, wears number 50. You can usually find him standing with his back to the basket, arms raised, looking for a post-entry pass. He makes a lot of shots and, when he misses, often tracks down the rebound and scores anyway. He's also become pretty good at driving from the perimeter on a big man and scoring or getting fouled. I would suggest he touches the basketball more often, ok? Thanks. Love, Kyle.

3) Coaching. Roy. Roy, Roy, Roy. How I love thee, but...wow. Let's take the Wake Forest game for a second. (To be fair, Coach Williams could have very well told his players many of the points I am about to bring up. However, it sure was not executed if that was the case). Immediately, in the opening offensive position, I noticed that Wake Forest's big men were hedging on the Carolina screens really hard (also called a "show", it is when the post player steps out in front of the guard trying to dribble around the screen and prevents him from driving or shooting until his teammate can recover to get back in front of the ball). When this happens, it leaves the player setting the screen open to cut to the basket. Often times, a team will combat this by having the screen setter "slip" the screen and cut straight to the hoop without really ever setting a pick (for detail on how to do this perfectly, cue up the DVR and watch what Kansas' bigs did to us in the Final Four last year...if you can stomach watching it that is). Did we do this one time the entire game Sunday night? Nope. At least not successfully. The big was not rolling off the screen and the guard never looked inside for him anyway. Now, I know the pick-and-roll is not a huge part of the offense; however, when it is there for the taking, I'd suggest doing just that. This is just one example of many instance Sunday night that I found myself very frustrated with the strategy from our bench (putting Thompson in with two fouls when they could have gone small with Green at the 4 and watching Deon pick up foul number 3 less than a minute later was another). Overall, I do not think our beloved Heels have played well recently; likewise, I do not think our beloved coach has coached well either.

4) Marcus Ginyard. It seemed to take until now, when the team actually started to struggle and lose games, for people (and by people, I mean the media) to figure out that the Heels really, really, really miss Ginyard. He is the unquestioned leader of the team. He does all of the little things that just are not getting done. He is the only lock-down defender on the team. He is the go-to guy for post-game quotes, thoughts, & analysis. He does not panic and does not let others either. This year, in games that Carolina won, Ramon Harris of Kentucky, Kyle McAlarney of Notre Dame, and Raymar Morgan of Michigan St all had some (or in McAlarney's case, a lot) of success hitting shots. Each of those wing players would likely have been defended by Ginyard at some point, and probably to a much more successful degree from the Tar Heel perspective. Now that the team is losing, the media suddenly has figure out the Boys in Blue miss not only Ginyard's defense, but also all of the other qualities mentioned above. Um, ya think?

How To Fix It

1) I have no idea. They do not pay me to coach.

2) But if they did, I'd start with reaffirming the point of college basketball - having fun. This team does not seem to be doing that right now, as Adam Lucas insinuated in his column on Monday (linked above under "panicked"). The expectations, pressure, and spotlight seem to have gotten to this bunch (again, if Ginyard were involved, I do not see this being as big of an issue). They simply are not having fun and relaxing out there. You can see when they shoot how skittish they are. When Florida's big guns decided to return after winning the title in 2006, they did so because they loved being around each other and having fun together. This team has four guys who were in a similar situation, minus the title to defend, but chose to return. The difference, I acknowledge, is none of them were going in the NBA Draft Lottery. Regardless, the goal was and is to win it and, I hope, to have fun along the way doing it. Right now, they have indeed forgotten to enjoy the ride.

3) Reaffirm the goals of this team: win the ACC Regular Season, win the ACC Tournament, win the National Championship. All of those goals are still quite possible (though two more conference losses will kiss the regular season league title goodbye). Mid-January losses show you what you're good at, what you're not so good at, and what you completely suck at. So get better at them.

4) From an X's and O's perspective, the defense is what absolutely must get better. And it can be good enough, as seen versus Oregon and at Michigan State. We already covered, for the most part, what is wrong defensively. So, fix it. And it starts inside most of the players. As individuals, Lawson has been completely outplayed twice in a week. He needs to take this personally and re-focus himself. He does not get another shot at BC or Wake Forest this season, so learn from it and be ready to dominate the other nine guards he's due to face, on both ends of the court. Ellington must drive more offensively like he did early in the season and at least attempt to play defense. Green has to pull more rebounds. Thompson has to quit playing like a *insert p-word here* (a tentative Thompson ends up in foul trouble by the way). Hansbrough must demand the ball and go all Tim Tebow on them (Interestingly enough, I think the similarities between the two of them are incredible, as also mentioned by an anonymous reader in the "Comments" section last week. Ugly but effective game, loyal to their schools, passing up pro prospects, could get any chick on campus if they were like that...). Ginyard must get healthy. The bench guys must do what they're good at and minimize mistakes otherwise (more minutes for Ed Davis, please). And as a team, they must want it.

5. Somebody has to refuse to lose. Every great college team seems to have this kind of guy. The dude who just wills his team to victory. It's not always the best player, but it usually is the one player the team absolutely would not have won without. Tim Tebow. Mario Chalmers. George Lynch. Raymond Felton. They all had an insatiable appetite for winning a championship and pushed their teammates to the necessary heights to do so. Tyler? Ty? Marcus? I honestly believe that this might be the most important factor for this team's ability to not only rebound from recent adversity, but to improve and eventually secure a national title.

What Lies Ahead

In the short-term, victories. Wins must be ahead in the coming weeks, or this season could blow up really fast. The tougher opponents are at home until the Heels travel to Duke on February 11th. Clemson comes to Chapel Hill (no game at Littlejohn), Miami and Maryland as well (return trips follow the Duke game). Everyone will continue to play with tremendous intensity against this team, as the interlocking NC still doubles as a bull's-eye. Therefore, each game must be approached with increased focus and attentiveness.

In the long-term, practice. This squad must commit to the practice floor and getting better. The communication, the execution, the desire must start in practice and translate to the games.

The outlook has changed only slightly from the beginning of the season. Gone is the superfluous praise that was heaped on this team once upon a time, replaced by the doubt of the "loyal" fans, as well as the media. People have rightfully questioned their toughness, togetherness, and desire. So, put up or shut up. Either this team locks in internally and rallies around one another or things completely fall apart and we're left with the distinct flavor of the 1994 disaster. Other Carolina teams have faced adversity and rallied for great seasons: 1987, 1990, 1997, 2000. But, none have rallied for championship seasons - yet. It can be done. And it won't happen overnight. But, time plus effort times fun might yet still equal a championship.

Every ride is bumpy, so enjoy the sights and sounds along the way and hope for a destination of greatness. Don't even worry, we gonna make it.