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February 12, 2009

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Lynn

And it wasn't even as close as the final score indicates. Even though Duke hung tough for the first 30 minutes, it was obvious to any unbiased observer that UNC was in charge. Duke has no depth and UNC is deeper than a Dennis Miller rant. Duke, and I suspect pretty much everyone else, has has no answer to Ty Lawson. Hansbrough is a great player but I think he is made better by Lawson. You simply cannot collapse on Hansbrough because Lawson's penetration will shred your defense.

I think UNC is the team to beat this year.

That crack about the "real conference" was totally uncalled for. If you check Strength of Schedule rankings at the beginning of each year, you will see that Kentucky is almost always in the top 5 and usually 1st or 2nd. You are obviously a bit too infatuated with Rachel "Mad Dog" Maddow.

g.

Lynn, you have to understand that no one down here understand college basketball and nine years of my frustrated inability to talk smack to anyone is being concentrated in our internet exchanges. I would have agreed that UNC was the team to beat at the beginning of the year, I think that losing Ginyard might have made UNC one of two or three teams to beat. I agree with your analysis of the game (well, I'm a little uncertain on the Dennis Miller reference). Duke has no depth and no inside game--they're doing remarkably well this year despite that. Coach K has a great ability to squeeze everything out of a team, a trait most notable the year he was sidelined because of his back. Same players but without his brand of intensity they were pretty bad. Guys you love to hate!

Lynn

I share your frustrations. These Texans just don't get it that football is just a way to pass the time until the "real" sports season begins in November.

I also have to confess that when I talk basketball to anyone other than Duke and UNC fans, I admit that, from top to bottom, year to year, the ACC is the toughest conference in the nation.

I became interested in ACC basketball when I was stationed at Fort Bragg from 1969-1971. These were the years when South Carolina, led by John Roche and Tom Owens, competely dominated the ACC and were ranked #1 in the nation for pretty much most of those two years. The only problem was, at that time, the NCAA tournament only invited one team from each conference. The ACC, at that time, was the only conference with a year end tournament to determine the conferences representative.

In 1970, while ranked #1 in the nation, South Carolina lost to North Carolina State and was left out of the big dance. They did win the ACC tournament the next year, but, again ranked #1, was promptly bounced by Fordham.

Just once, for you, I will concede to a UNC fan that the ACC is the toughest basketball conference in the nation. All those pasty-faced sports reporters who think the Big East is best are just wrong.

g.

I lived in Chapel Hill for eight years which only increased my natural love for UNC basketball (despite some of the scandalous stuff you only hear about in the college town and are later sworn to secrecy under pain of death). When I was a kid I went to Carolina Basketball School ("camp" really, but they called it "school") the summer after Jordan's national championship. The first thing we did was sit down and watch the video of the championship game. Heaven. Al Wood (do you remember him? I always think of Wood and Jeff Lamp from Virginia as a couple of the purest shooters to have ever played) taught a clinic on jump shooting (You got to have goot rotation on da ball).

When I was waiting tables in Chapel Hill I got to wait on Phil Ford and his family once. In reality a nightmare but still a thrill for a guy who grew up idolizing him.

UK has seven titles, right? For all of Carolina's success they still don't come close with only four of them. I do think that the intensity of the ACC regular season and the tournament play a factor in this, but UK has gotten it done on the big stage. I was hoping that Tubby would be the man to bring them back, but I guess not. Tough crowd, but I think he lasted longer than Matt Doherty did at UNC.

Basketball is one of the things I do honestly miss about NC.

Lynn

I do remember Al Wood. He was an incredible shooter. I think he is still one of UNC's leaders in career scoring. But I think I remember his as much for his funny looking ears as for his deadly 15 foot jumper. They weren't large ears but they stuck straight out and were almost diamonds shaped. Funny the things that stick in our minds sometimes.

g.

His ears were legendary.

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