Tag Archives: Men’s Basketball

Basketball Won’t Go Away

Posted on November 17, 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.

You probably saw the title of this post, and immediately began an inner-monologue, railing against me and what I stand for: “What in the hell is he thinking? I’ve waited since late spring for hoops to return. The NBA is locked-out, but I’ve finally got college ball to watch, and now this clown wants it to leave?!? What the…”  Just bear with me.

I’ve never said it in this space, but I won’t try to influence my daughter’s fandom. I’ll let her pick her allegiances on her own if/when she ever decides to do so. That said, she’s going to have a hard time ignoring the looming presence that Carolina basketball has had on her life, even before she took her first breath.

I’ve never been very close to the program. I’ve known folks who worked for the team. I’ve been lucky enough through various avenues in my life to have some access to the program. But, for a guy who for the most part, is just a rabid fan of Carolina Basketball, the nuance that has permeated my young adulthood/marriage/early fatherhood is pretty curious. No, I didn’t get to name her Raysheed McHarrisonbrough, but somehow, my personal road has intersected with Carolina hoops in some quite ironic ways. A few examples, if I may:  Continue reading →

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Why #903 is Truly Historic

Posted on November 17, 2011 by William
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Let me start by offering congratulations to Mike Krzyzewski for win #903. Duke has been one of the top basketball programs in the country for three decades and Blue Devil fans everywhere have one man to thank for that. I may not agree with the people who think he’s a great man of integrity and class, but he can flat out coach college basketball. There is no denying that. While he’s had a plethora of talent in his 36 years at the helm, his teams win consistently because they are disciplined and play intelligent basketball. He’s figured out a formula for success in college basketball and executed and evolved it almost flawlessly for his entire career.

Are some records truly untouchable? These records certainly seem that way:

  • Joe DiMaggio’s 56 game hitting streak
  • Cal Ripken’s 2,632 consecutive game streak
  • Wayne Gretzky’s 2,857 career points
  • Pete Maravich’s 44.2pts/game college scoring average
  • Wilt Chamberlin’s 50.4pts/game in the 1951/52 NBA season

What are some others that you think will never be broken?

As a Carolina fan, I was of course saddened when Bobby Knight passed Coach Smith for first place all time in division 1 wins. What dissapointed me the most, however, was knowing that Coach K was also inevitably going to jump ahead of Coach Smith, and would eventually surge to number one on the list. That’s just the nature of sports, I suppose. Yet, seeing Krzyzewski get win #903 got me wondering. Is it possible that no one will be able to top him? After putting together such a long career of sustained success, will anyone be able to match that in today’s game? Is this one of those records that will go down as “unbreakable”?

I decided to do a comparison of the big name coaches around the country to see how likely it is that anyone will be able to pass Coach K in the coming years.  Continue reading →

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Carolina vs. Michigan State: +/- and Defensive Charting

Posted on November 14, 2011 by Adrian
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Before getting to the first +/- table of the season, some words of caution: single-game +/- figures are so “noisy” (i.e., influenced by randomness) that they’re rendered practically useless. Even with a complete season’s worth of data, the +/- metric (especially in this– its unadjusted– form) suffers from this noisiness. Still, when taken in conjunction with the defensive box score, traditional box score, and old-fashioned “eye test,” the single-game +/- can be a part of the total evaluation process. It also serves as a good summary of Roy Williams’s substitution patterns/rotation.

Some definitions:

Pts-Pts All.: the points scored and points allowed by the team during a given player’s minutes
Off Eff: the points scored per 100 possessions with a given player on the court
Def Eff: the points allowed per 100 possessions with a given player on the court
Net Eff: the scoring margin per 100 possessions with a given player on the court

+/- Stats vs. Michigan State
Player Minutes Pts-Pts All. Off Eff Def Eff Net Eff
Hairston 8.9 19-11 126.7 73.3 +53.3
McAdoo 16.3 36-27 124.1 87.1 +37.0
Marshall 32.8 57-41 101.8 73.2 +28.6
Zeller 30.9 52-39 100.0 76.5 +23.5
Strickland 33.7 55-41 94.8 73.9 +20.9
TEAM 40.0 67-55 97.1 79.7 +17.4
Henson 30.5 43-36 81.1 69.9 +11.2
Barnes 31.6 48-44 87.3 80.0 +7.3
Bullock 11.7 19-24 90.5 106.7 -16.2
Hubert/White 1.3 3-4 150.0 133.3 +16.7
Watts 1.1 0-4 0.0 266.7 -266.7
+/- by Backcourt
Combo Minutes Pts-Pts-All.
Marshall-Strickland 27.8 48-31
Marshall-Bullock 4.5 9-10
Strickland-Hairston 3.7 7-4
Strickland-Bullock 2.2 0-6
White-Hairston 1.3 3-4
Marshall-Hairston 0.5 0-0
+/- by Frontcourt
Henson-Zeller 22.6 31-24
McAdoo-Henson 7.8 12-12
McAdoo-Zeller 7.2 21-11
McAdoo-Hubert 1.3 3-4
Watts-Zeller 1.1 0-4
Most-used Line-ups
Marshall-Strickland-Barnes-Henson-Zeller 22.1 31-24
Strickland-Hairston-Bullock-McAdoo-Henson 3.7 7-4
Marshall-Strickland-Hairston-McAdoo-Zeller 3.0 9-3
Marshall-Strickland-Barnes-McAdoo-Zeller 2.4 8-4

When Bullock and Hairston were paired together on the wings, I called Hairston the 2 and Bullock the 3. Continue reading →

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Greatest Carolina Players in the ACC Era: A Summary

Posted on November 7, 2011 by Adrian
2 Comments

Now that the top 100 list is complete, I figured I’d do some quick post-game analysis.

Which state has produced the most top 100 Heels? It’s actually a tie at the top:

1. North Carolina: 22
1. New York: 22
3. Pennsylvania: 12
4. Virginia: 9
5: International: 5
6. Maryland: 4
6. New Jersey: 4
8. Indiana: 3
8. Ohio: 3
10. South Carolina: 2
10. Florida: 2
10. California: 2
10. Tennessee: 2
14. 8 tied with 1

And what is the distribution by decade (using peak seasons)? Continue reading →

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Carolina’s Greatest Players of the ACC Era: The Top 10

Posted on November 3, 2011 by Adrian
19 Comments

Well, we’ve finally made it to the cream of the crop. It’s been a long process (see: 91-100 (+ methodology), 81-90, 71-80, 61-70, 51-60, 41-50, 31-40, 21-30, and 11-20), but we’ve now reached the top of the mountain: the ten greatest players in Carolina basketball history!

First, a quick review of 100 through 11: (Click on a name to jump to that player’s details)

100 – 91 90 – 81 80 – 71
100. Marcus Ginyard
99. Bob Cunningham
98. Dick Kepley
97. Henrik Rodl
96. Jimmy Braddock
95. Jackie Manuel
94. Ranzino Smith
93. Dave Popson
92. Brad Hoffman
91. Ray Respess		 90. Kevin Salvadori
89. Ed Stahl
88. Steve Previs
87. Charlie Shaffer
86. Harvey Salz
85. Al Lifson
84. Kris Lang
83. Reyshawn Terry
82. Warren Martin
81. David Noel		 80. Jim Hudock
79. Dudley Bradley
78. Marvin Williams
77. Serge Zwikker
76. John Kuester
75. Jerry Vayda
74. Dante Calabria
73. Joe Quigg
72. Deon Thompson
71. Brian Reese
70 – 61 60 – 51 50 – 41
70. Lee Dedmon
69. Brandan Wright
68. Ed Davis
67. King Rice
66. Kevin Madden
65. Steve Bucknall
64. Jason Capel
63. Ademola Okulaja
62. Jawad Williams
61. Matt Doherty		 60. Pete Chilcutt
59. Scott Williams
58. Jimmy Black
57. Darrell Elston
56. Steve Hale
55. Jeff McInnis
54. Dick Grubar
53. Joe Wolf
52. Danny Green
51. Tommy LaGarde		 50. Bill Bunting
49. Bill Chamberlain
48. Larry Brown
47. Jeff Lebo
46. Donald Williams
45. Brendan Haywood
44. Rusty Clark
43. Shammond Williams
42. Wayne Ellington
41. Ed Cota
40 – 31 30 – 21 20 – 11
40. Derrick Phelps
39. George Karl
38. Hubert Davis
37. Tommy Kearns
36. Bob McAdoo
35. J.R. Reid
34. Rashad McCants
33. Rick Fox
32. Vince Carter
31. Doug Moe		 30. Lee Shaffer
29. Raymond Felton
28. Joe Forte
27. Rasheed Wallace
26. Eric Montross
25. Jerry Stackhouse
24. York Larese
23. Dennis Wuycik
22. George Lynch
21. Mike O’Koren		 20. Walter Davis
19. Kenny Smith
18. Mitch Kupchak
17. Bobby Jones
16. Sean May
15. Pete Brennan
14. Brad Daugherty
13. Al Wood
12. Bob Lewis
11. Ty Lawson

I won’t leave you in suspense a second longer.
Continue reading →

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Carolina’s Greatest Players of the ACC Era: 20-11

Posted on November 2, 2011 by Adrian
5 Comments

To review picks 21-100, see: 91-100 (+ methodology), 81-90, 71-80, 61-70, 51-60, 41-50, 31-40, and 21-30.

Time to introduce numbers 20 through 11.

20. Walter Davis: 1974-77, SF/SG, 6’5″, 180, Pineville, NC

  • Peak season (1977): 15.5 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 3.3 apg, 2.4 spg, 57.8 FG%, 77.8 FT%, 61.1 TS%
  • Career averages (4 years): 15.7 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 3.4 apg, 53.1 FG%, 77.3 FT%, 56.9 TS%
  • Accolades: one 1st-team All-ACC, one 2nd-team All-ACC, one regional All-Tournament team, starter on one Final Four team

As alluded to in the George Lynch write-up, Davis is the only member of this list’s top 20 to not have an All-American honor on his resume. While Davis’s scoring averages did not change much throughout his career (14.3 PPG as a freshman, 16.1 as a sophomore, 16.6 as a junior, 15.5 as a senior), he became a more and more efficient scorer (year-to-year TS%’s of: 53.6, 54.4, 58.3, 61.1). Much like Vince Carter, the upperclassman version of “Sweet D” was an efficient and dangerous secondary/tertiary scoring option (behind Ford and Kupchak). On different teams (like, say, the Forte teams of 2000 and 2001), Carter and Davis could have easily been 20-PPG scorers (albeit with a probable loss in efficiency). Davis was a fantastic passer and defender, rebounded well for a wing, and could affect the game in many ways. His most famous Tar Heel memory is probably the long banker against Duke to cap the ’74 “8 points in 17 seconds” comeback. Davis averaged 19.0 PPG and 7.7 RPG (including 31 and 12 in an opening round win against Wake) as the Heels won the ’75 ACCT, but was somehow left off the All-Tournament (first) team. After scoring 22 points in the ’77 ACCT semis, Davis was limited to 8 minutes in the championship game with a broken index finger. He missed the Round of 32 game, struggled in the Sweet 16 (while adjusting to his taped-together fingers), then busted out in the Elite 8. Despite the injury to his shooting hand, Davis averaged 20 PPG (on 64.5% from the field) and 6.3 RPG over UNC’s final three games (Elite 8 versus Kentucky, and Final Four match-ups against UNLV and Marquette). While injuries eventually caught up to the Heels in ’77, Davis’s postseason run was one of the most heroic and memorable in the program’s history. Like Phil Ford, Davis is missing that elusive national championship to complete his legacy. The lack of a ring wasn’t at all related to his stretch-run performance, however. Continue reading →

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Carolina’s Greatest Players of the ACC Era: 30-21

Posted on November 1, 2011 by Adrian
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To review picks 31-100, see: 91-100 (+ methodology), 81-90, 71-80, 61-70, 51-60, 41-50, and 31-40.

Let’s crack the top 30.

30. Lee Shaffer: 1958-60, PF, 6’7″, 220, Pittsburgh, PA

  • Peak season (1960): 18.2 ppg, 11.2 rpg, 43.6 FG%, 78.6 FT%, 48.8 TS%
  • Career averages (3 years): 14.0 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 44.4 FG%, 76.7 FT%, 49.8 TS%
  • Accolades: one 1st-team All-American, one 3rd-team All-American, one ACC Player of the Year, one 1st-team All-ACC, one 2nd-team All-ACC, two All-ACC Tournament teams

In his first year on the varsity in 1958, a sophomore Shaffer averaged 11.0 PPG, 6.1 RPG, and shot 74.1% from the line. Those numbers improved across the board in each of the next two seasons (13.2/7.1/77.1, 18.2/11.2/78.6), culminating in ACC Player of the Year and 1st-team All-American honors in ’60. After a rough start to his ACC Tournament career (4.7 PPG on 31.6% from the field in ’58), Shaffer played extremely well in Raleigh (the annual site of the ACCT in those days). In ’59, he averaged 18.3 points and 12.0 rebounds in three ACCT games (including 21 and 21 in the 1st round versus Clemson). He was even better as a senior, averaging 25.0 points and 11.5 rebounds in two games. Shaffer made the All-Tournament team in both of those seasons. At a solidly-built 220 pounds (quite big for the late-50s), Shaffer combined physicality, skill, and a soft shooting touch. While he’s the least heralded of Carolina’s ACC POYs (a group that also includes Rosenbluth, Brennan, Cunningham, Miller, Kupchak, Ford, Jordan, Jamison, Forte, Hansbrough, and Lawson), Lee Shaffer has earned his place among the program’s legends.

Continue reading →

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

Posted on October 27, 2011 by Adrian
4 Comments

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.
Continue reading →

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Tar Heel Tip-off

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Adrian
1 Comment

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.

Continue reading →

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

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Adrian
5 Comments

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.

Continue reading →

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