Category Archives: UNC

Optipessimism Week 9: UNC – Wake Forest

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Nate
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There are many things I don’t understand in this world. How they get peanut butter into Reese’s peanut butter cups. Why Diet Coke, a drink consisting mostly of toxic chemicals and poisonous gas, tastes so amazingly good. How announcers Dan Hawkins and Pam Ward are even hirable, much less employed. But maybe the most vexing part of football I can’t figure out is why the replay system has to take so long.

It doesn’t help that there are two entirely different sets of rules for replay between the pros and college. It doesn’t much matter what system is used, though; the process takes entirely too long. This really wouldn’t bother anyone if the decisions being made were earthshaking, championship-implication close calls at the end of games that could easily be wrong if they weren’t scrutinized 20 times from every angle. It shouldn’t bother anyone when an obviously wrong call gets challenged. But I take issue with a system that results in a referee taking seven minutes to determine something that a casual fan eating Cheez-Its in front of his TV can figure out in five seconds without even squinting. I think I counted 5 or 6 reviews in the Carolina-Wake rout. Not one of them was remotely contentious. Not one took less than 90 seconds. Not one took me, or my intermittently-napping father, more than 9.

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Duke takes its first Erwin Cup lead! (Sorta)

Posted on October 28, 2011 by Shane
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With last night’s 1-0 win over N.C. State, the Duke women’s soccer team won the regular season ACC championship (only the second in program history, and the first since 1994) and earned four points for the Devils in the Erwin Cup.

Technically, that gives Duke a 6.5-4.5 lead, as you see on the scoreboard to your right.

Unfortunately, what I didn’t realize is that the ACC field hockey season has come to an end, and the UNC women are champions. So…when those points go up, UNC will be back in the lead, 7.5-6.5.

But until William fixes the score…GO DEVILS!

Edit: I’ve fixed the scoreboard. GO HEELS! – William

The game in Raleigh was great last night. State smartly played a very defensive game, double- and triple-teaming Kelly Cobb up front and basically taking her out of the game. Continue reading →

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Carolina’s Greatest Players of the ACC Era: 40-31

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Adrian
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The first 60 selections on the list can be found here: 100-91 (+ methodology), 90-81, 80-71, 70-61, 60-51, and 50-41.

Picking back up with #40.

40. Derrick Phelps: 1991-94, PG, 6’3″, 180, Pleasantville, NY

  • Peak season (1993): 8.1 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 5.4 apg, 2.3 spg, 45.7 FG%, 67.5 FT%, 31.3 3Pt%, 51.9 TS%, 3.32 WORP / 35 games
  • Career averages (4 years): 7.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 4.8 apg, 1.9 spg, 44.8 FG%, 71.8 FT%, 32.2 3Pt%, 53.2 TS%, 9.19 Career WORP, 2.84 WORP/ 1,000 minutes
  • Accolades: one 2nd-team All-ACC, one All-ACC Tournament team, starter on one Final Four/national championship team, reserve on one Final Four team

Phelps was one of the truly elite defenders in Carolina history, winning three straight Carmichael-Cobb awards from ’92-’94 (no easy task with George Lynch, also a top-notch defender, on the roster for two of those years). Like Cota (passing), Phelps (defense) had one truly extraordinary talent. He gets the (slight) nod due to the rest of his game being slightly better than the rest of Cota’s game. After backing up King Rice as a freshman in ’91 (and playing about 10 MPG during UNC’s Final Four run), Phelps moved into the starting line-up permanently in ’92. In February of that season, he set a UNC record with 9 steals against Georgia Tech. He also added 11 assists in that game, demonstrating how profoundly he could affect the outcome on both ends without scoring (he scored just 5 points on 5 FGAs in that game). Phelps steered the Heels to a title in ’93 in his typical fashion– no gaudy stats, just game-changing contributions on both ends (like locking down Cincinnati’s Nick Van Exel in the 2nd half of the Elite 8 contest). As a senior, Phelps made 2nd-team All-ACC, then All-ACC Tournament team by averaging 10.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 3.0 steals in three UNC wins. His career ended in a disappointing manner as he suffered a concussion after a flagrant foul by BC’s Danya Abrams. Phelps played just 14 minutes in that Round of 32 loss before being injured.
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Tar Heel Tip-off

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Adrian
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Due to distribution problems at Maple Street Press, the fifth edition of Tar Heel Tip-off will not be available in a print version this season. I have chosen to make my Tip-off content available to read/download (for free!) at issuu.com, though. This includes a 2011-12 season preview article, as well as four-page player profiles for each of the eight returning rotation players.

If you can’t see it above, check it out at issuu.com.

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Coach K or Roy Williams

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Marc
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Coach Williams and Coach K

Two of the best coaches in the NCAA

You’re seventeen years old.  You’re the best basketball player in the nation and you can go to any school you want.  Both Duke and North Carolina have come calling and Coach K and Roy Williams are throwing their best recruiting techniques at you.  You decide to go through a list of pros and cons comparing the two coaches to make your decision.

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Carolina’s Greatest Players of the ACC Era: 50-41

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Adrian
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If you’re just tuning in, catch up with past installments: 100-91 (+ methodology),
 90-81, 80-71, 70-61, and 60-51.

50. Bill Bunting: 1967-69, PF, 6’8″, 195, New Bern, NC

  • Peak season (1969): 18.0 ppg, 7.7 rpg, 59.8 FG%, 82.7 FT%, 64.8 TS%
  • Career averages (3 years): 11.3 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 51.4 FG%, 74.0 FT%, 56.3 TS%
  • Accolades: one 1st-team All-ACC, one regional All-Tournament team, starter of three Final Four teams

Along with classmates Grubar and Clark, Bunting moved right into the starting line-up as a sophomore in ’67, joining “The L & M Boys” (Bob Lewis and Larry Miller) in bringing Dean Smith his first Final Four appearance. Bunting, a three-year starter, was just a role player in his first two seasons (7.8 PPG, 5.8 RPG) before busting out in his All-ACC senior campaign (18.0 PPG, 7.7 RPG). It wasn’t just a matter of having more opportunities, either: after shooting 44.0% from the field and 66.3% from the line as a sophomore/junior, he improved those percentages to 59.8% and 82.7% in 1969. Bunting’s junior-to-senior PPG increase of +10.1 trails only Donnie Walsh’s (+10.2) in Carolina history. Bunting was a huge contributor in the ’69 postseason, too: chipping in 16.0 PPG/9.3 RPG in the ACC Tournament, 18.0/8.5 in the East Regional, and 19 and 7 in the Final Four loss to Purdue. While the Class of ’69 never got over the hump in the Final Four, its three consecutive trips there left an indelible mark on the program– especially considering they were the first three of the Dean Smith era.

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Carolina’s Greatest Players of the ACC Era: 60-51

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Adrian
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In earlier posts, we’ve counted down 100-91 (+ methodology), 90-81, 80-71, and 70-61.

We’ll pick it up here with #60.

60. Pete Chilcutt: 1988-91, C/PF, 6’10”, 230, Eutaw, AL

  • Peak season (1991): 12.0 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 53.8 FG%, 76.5 FT%, 57.5 TS%, 3.24 WORP / 35 games
  • Career averages (4 years): 8.2 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 53.4 FG%, 71.0 FT%, 56.7 TS%, 6.35 Career WORP, 2.00 WORP / 1,000 minutes
  • Accolades: one 3rd-team All-ACC, starter on one Final Four team

Chilcutt started his Carolina career off with a bang by hitting a last-second turnaround jumper to send the Hall of Fame Tip-off Classic (vs. top-ranked Syracuse) into overtime. UNC won in OT, capping a 14-point comeback without the services of suspended stars J.R. Reid and Steve Bucknall. Upon Reid’s return, Chilcutt eased into a reserve role as a freshman. He moved into the starting line-up as a junior in ’90, averaging 9 points and 6.6 boards per game. Chilcutt added 17 points in the Round of 32 upset of #1-seed Oklahoma, although his performance was overshadowed by the heroics of fellow junior Rick Fox. In 1991, seniors Chilcutt, Fox, and King Rice led the Heels back to the Final Four for the first time since 1982. Chilcutt scored a career-high 12 points per game that season, shooting 54% from the field and 77% from the charity stripe.

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Optipessimism Week 8: Carolina-Clemson

Posted on October 24, 2011 by Nate
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Trailing just 24-17 at the start of the third quarter, Clemson began their second half effort by going three and out. A small butterfly jumped somewhere in my stomach; could this be the game where the UNC defense puts on an inspired performance and the offense does just enough for the win? Could this be the signature win on an otherwise-marred season? Could this be the Tar Heels that, after suffering under the weight of NCAA allegations, a dismissed head coach, a maligned secondary, and a trying-really-hard interim head coach, turn the corner on a dismal season with a massive upset of a top ten team?

When Clemson got the ball back about a minute later, thanks to the anemic UNC offense, they ran the ball once for no gain. This was good news: maybe Clemson was going to go Miami from last week and play hyperconservative. Then Clemson coach Dabo Swinney remembered that the UNC secondary is awful and bites on everything. Swinney dialed up a trick play – a toss reverse pass. Boom. 39-yard completion downfield to DeAndre Hopkins. Two plays later, touchdown. On the ensuing kickoff return, returner Charles Brown left the ball out, got hit, fumbled, and Clemson recovered. Two players later, quarterback Tajh Boyd found a shockingly wide open tight end for the touchdown. What was once a close game was now suddenly out of reach, and I developed an intense interest in carpet fibers. In honor of the crapfest that was this game, this post will be entirely pictureless. Sorry I’m not sorry.

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Growing Up and Cooling Down

Posted on October 21, 2011 by Joey
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Each week, contributor and new parent Joey will post his thoughts as he undergoes the transformation from fanboy to father.

I’m pretty sure that somewhere in most dictionary definitions of “fandom”, you’ll find the word “fanatic” or “fanatically.” Thus, it only makes sense that when it comes to a person’s team of choice, emotions run as hot as the face of the sun.

I assumed everyone was like me…my team loses, I get pissed off.  If my team loses a game they were supposed to win, I get really pissed off. If my team loses to end the season, it takes me a while to get over it (I’ve often argued that the day Carolina loses in the NCAA Tourney precedes the worst day of the year for me, with regard to sports). Honestly, if I walk out of Kenan Stadium and Carolina has just dropped a game, I really feel that no one should be smiling, talking, or enjoying life, whatsoever.  Fans should live and die with every loss, right?

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Carolina’s Greatest Players of the ACC Era: 70-61

Posted on October 20, 2011 by Adrian
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The first three installments of this scintillating series can be found here (100-91 + methodology), here (90-81), and here (80-71).

We’ll start this segment with #70.

70. Lee Dedmon: 1969-1971, C, 6’10”, 195, Baltimore, MD

  • Peak season (1971): 12.4 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.8 apg, 49.8 FG%, 72.9 FT%, 56.0 TS%
  • Career averages (3 years): 11.4 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 2.0 apg, 48.1 FG%, 67.8 FT%, 52.5 TS%
  • Accolades: one ACC Tournament co-MVP, one All-ACC Tournament team, key reserve on one Final Four team

As a sophomore, Dedmon was the top frontcourt reserve on Carolina ‘s’69 Final Four team (backing up seniors Rusty Clark and Bill Bunting). While Charlie Scott’s 40-point explosion deservedly earns most of the credit for UNC’s victory over Duke in the ’69 ACCT championship game, Dedmon was also sensational. He added 19 points and 11 rebounds in 28 minutes off the bench– Heels other than Scott and Dedmon combined for just 26 points in Carolina’s 85-74 victory. As both a junior and senior, Dedmon led the Heels in rebounding. He added 2.8 assists per game as a senior in ’71– an incredible figure for a center. Dedmon capped off his UNC career by averaging 15.3 points and 7.3 rebounds over 3 games to win co-MVP of the ACC Tournament (despite losing the pivotal jump ball against South Carolina that cost the Heels the title). He then played an instrumental role in leading Carolina to the NIT championship (back when that was still a really big deal in the one-NCAAT-bid-per-conference era).

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