- First, the Hokies' side of things. Virginia Tech played hard the entire game, but clearly ran out of gas. Malcolm Delaney was outstanding the first half, but his bum ankle and being a touch out of game shape seemed to catch up to him in the second frame. Not to mention the job Marcus Ginyard did on him defensively.
- The Hokies, as discussed many times over in our office, still need a consistent third offensive option or will have to rely on the "total team effort" to provide points. To me, it looks like Dorenzo Hudson can be that guy if he does not press so much. Relax and let your offense come to you. Dude plays hard too.
- Coach Greenberg really remains fairly composed when facing Carolina. He and his staff seem to emphasize staying poised in tough road environments and it works well against the Heels. Sans the blowout in Chapel Hill during the 2006-2007 season, the Hokies have played Carolina very tough in the four seasons I've been at VT.
- While already a decent squad this year, the Hokies could be really, really good next season. No major players graduate from the rotation and one would not expect Delaney to leave for the pros following this year. So, bring everyone back, add in a stud transfer from UF named Allan Chaney, plus two solid recruits that will contribute immediately and you could have a very good Virginia Tech lineup in 2010-2011.
- Moving on to the game atmosphere a little bit...the Smith Center was barely 50% full five minutes prior to the game. Then, the National Anthem ended and it was 95% full. Guess everyone was racing in from the cold still?
- Anoop Desai, Carolina alum and one of last year's American Idol contestants, sang the anthem. He and his parents sat right behind us - very nice people. His father was right amused by the parade of hotties coming up to Anoop for pictures. But what he didn't see were the two girls sitting across the court from us on the front row trying to take his son's picture during the game. Anoop is still a Carolina celeb, I reckon.
- People always joke about Duke's insane number of student managers, but the Heels have a ton as well. I'm not sure what everyone's role is, but most of the row immediately behind the scorer's table is full of students who assist the basketball program in some way, shape, or form. They don't all run out and mop up sweat during the game or pass out water to the players, but they did all seem to have pre-game and post-game duties.
- Dr. Holden Thorp, the Chancellor at UNC, sits right behind the TV commentary guys across from the scorer's table. The lady next to him, whom I presume to be his wife, Patti, jumped during the "Jump Around" segment of pregame festivities with as much enthusiasm and vigor as I have ever seen. The chic was basically raising the roof. Very...nerdy, yes, but incredible support from the presumed Mrs. Thorp.
- Also during pregame, Carolina has implemented the UNC Drumline into the starting lineup introductions. I assume this just started this season after the addition of the new lights, but correct me if I am wrong. Either way, I don't recall ever hearing of this at any other schools around the country. Anyone know of any?
- One quick officiating note: they botched the injured player/who shoots the foul shot ruling. Under the new rule for this season, the coach of the team that commits the foul is granted the chance to appoint a foul shooter from among the remaining four players on the floor for the injured team. Had the foul on Davila been intentional or flagrant, then Virginia Tech would have been able to select the player to shoot. In this case, Roy Williams should have been given the choice of the four players on the floor to shoot the free throws (he likely would have chosen Terrell Bell from the four on the court at the time). In any event, it worked out for the Tar Heels because freshman Ben Boggs checked in and missed the front-end of the one-and-one.
- Now, moving to the Carolina side of things. First off, Dexter Strickland is really fast in person. I know he looks it on TV, and no, he's not nearly in the Lawson/Felton/Kenny Smith category. But when you see him in person, that's probably the first thing you notice. He's also very smooth. Going to be a great player for Carolina no doubt.
- Tyler Zeller really struggled Sunday night. Big Z seems to excel against shorter opponents, but has a bit of trouble with 1) big and physical because he's not strong with the ball all the time; and 2) quick players, including guards coming in and stripping rebounds. He definitely brings the ball down low too often and is very robotic at times. I'm sure you've heard the Eric Montross comparisons (tall, white, gets down the court well, baby hook), but I currently think of him closer to a more offensive-minded Kevin Salvadori, who was a teammate of Montross. Chill out, Z will end up better than Salvadori (who was no slouch by his senior year & got a sniff in the NBA), but he is comparable right now.
- Finally, for people who have freaked out about this team, keep in mind the comparisons that have arisen with the 2005-2006 Baby Heels who were led by David Noel (I thought Adam Lucas referenced this in passing following a recent game, but I'm striking out on the link again). That team started out 1-3 in league play, then 2-4. They fell out of the polls all together a few times that season, including after the home loss to Dook in early February (shouts to Burt for making the down-and-back with me from Clemson that day/night/early morning). Eventually, Carolina climbed back to #10 in the polls. Now imagine if that team had been without David Noel & Reyshawn Terry for a few weeks and that's what we've had recently with Ginyard & Graves missing. Somehow this team is still ranked #13 (ridiculous and clearly based on talent, potential, and the name on the jersey) and will be fine if they "get it". Point: getting Marcus & Will back healthy, contributing, and, most importantly, leading, will make this team look a lot better.
I think that's enough from Sunday's game. We'll hit up some more topics later this week, including the NFL playoffs and Carolina's football recruiting. Thanks to everyone who texted compliments on the purple shirt last night. As I told G Elliott, purple is very "in" this season. Be good ya'll.
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