At the conclusion of the 1997 regular season, Mack Brown leaves for Texas. Players are hurt, the alumni are upset, and we have to play a Virginia Tech team in the Gator Bowl. Carl Torbush takes over, and the Heels destroyed the Hokies by the lopsided score of 42-3. Did Mack Brown make the right decision? Well, Texas did win a National Championship, and the Longhorns had the better football tradition, so I guess, hindsight being 20/20, everything worked out for Mack. Last time I checked he was still the Longhorn football coach.
Carl Torbush is a fine person, and I thought he brought a certain level of class to the Tar Heel program. After coaching Louisiana Tech to a 3-8 record in 1987, Torbush is hired by the Heels to be their offensive coordinator/linebackers coach for the 1988 season. At first, with limited talent on the field, the Heels defense suffered. The first 2 seasons were a disaster, although the Heels did improve on the Defensive side of the field, albeit some setbacks (i.e. vs. Duke, 1989, a 41-0 defeat). Starting in 1990, the Heels pitched their first shutout in 4 years, defeating Miami (Ohio) by a score of 34-0. Gradually the Heels played better defensive games, and the number of points allowed decreased. From 1988-1997, the Heels allowed, on average, 36, 27, 17, 18, 19, 19, 22, 17, 10 and 12 points a game. After the 1994 season, Torbush was told that the UNC Defense must improve if he wanted to remain the offensive coordinator. By looking at the results previously displayed, he exceeded expectations.
Based on his success, Carl Torbush becomes coach of the Tar Heels. Great guy, but could he be a head football coach for a rising powerhouse?
At the beginning of the 1998 season, the Heels were ranked around 10th place in most preseason polls. The first two games of the season were supposed to be warmups for the meat of the schedule, but instead, the Heels lost both games. Miami (Ohio) won 13-10, and Stanford beat the Heels 37-34. The next week, the Yellow Jackets put a hurting on the Heels, winning 43-21. This is the most points allowed by a Heels team since UVA defeated Carolina in 1989. The Heels rebounded, winning the next 3 games against Pittsburgh, Clemson, and Wake. Florida State defeated UNC by 39-13, UNC beat the Terps by a score of 24-13, and then Virginia prevailed against us, winning 30-13. UNC was sporting a 4-5 record, with Duke and NC State next. UNC beat Duke 28-6, so the State game was the key if Carolina was to go to a bowl. In Charlotte, UNC and State played a classic game, going into overtime. UNC prevailed by a score of 37-34. In the Las Vegas Bowl, UNC capped a winning season by defeating San Diego State by a score of 20-13.
Tar Heel nation was mixed about the 1998 season. Some were disappointed by the Heels record, but others were encouraged on how Torbush turned the season around. Most of us were slightly concerned, but were willing to support Torbush. We realized it was hard to replace Mack Brown under these circumstances. The telling statistic was that the Heels allowed, on average, 24 points per game, the most since the 1989 debacle.
Then came UNC's waterloo season. 1999 was the end of a 9 year winning-record stretch. The Heels played a hard fought game against the Wahoos, but came up short by a score of 20-17. After the Indiana game (a victory), the Heels had a 1-1 record. 7 games later, the Heels sported a 1-8 record, losing to FSU, Clemson, GT, Houston, Maryland, Furman and Wake. Sure, we had a lot of injuries, but injuries are a part of the game. The Heels had limited depth, and we all know who gets blamed when things are not going well. Torbush, once again, had his back against the wall. Playing a decent NC State team, the Heels defeat the Wolfpack by a score of 10-6. The next week UNC waxed Duke by a score of 38-0. These 2 games probably saved Torbush for one more season. The telling statistic, once again, was on D: the Heels allowed, on average, 25 points a game (before the State/Duke games, the Heels were allowing 30 points a game).
Torbush promised that the 2000 season would be better, and it was better. UNC defeated 6 teams (Tulsa, Wake, Marshall, Pitt, Maryland and Duke) and lost to 5 teams (FSU, GT, State, Clemson, Virginia). The culprit, once again, was on D. The Heels allowed on average 26 points per game.
Did Baddour hire the right man? I'm not Baddour, and I have no idea who he had to choose from. Baddour's pick allowed the Heels to maintain a good Defensive Coordinator, but unfortunately this man was not up for the challenge to be Head Coach. Torbush couldn't concentrate on D like he needed to, and as a result the Heels suffered. He was also a victim of having a lot of injured players, and realistically UNC's recruiting slipped the last couple of years under Mack's tenure. The better question to ask is "Could anyone succeed under these circumstances"? We will all be asking this question for a long time.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Monday, June 22, 2009
The Mack Brown Years
After Dick Crum left UNC, I wanted a good "name" coach to resurrect our football program. I was disappointed when Mack Brown was named our coach. I was even more puzzled after listening to him speak. I was reassured that he was the offensive coordinator for Barry Switzer for a year, but I wasn't too impressed with his thin resume (Head Coach, App State and Tulane). I thought the Heels could have done better.
In 1988, UNC started the season playing 4 non-conference foes: South Carolina, Oklahoma, Louisville, and Auburn. The Heels lost all 4 of these games, and the Tar Heel nation was rumbling. Was it our new coach, or was it because the cupboard was dry? The Heels lost the next 2 games against Wake and NC State (an ugly 48-3 loss at Kenan). Finally, when all hope seemed lost, the Heels beat a Yellow Jacket squad by a score of 20-17. The Heels lost their remaining games, and the season ended with a 1-10 record. UNC had some close defeats (Louisville, Maryland, Virginia and Duke), but the rest were pretty much blowouts.
1989 started off with UNC spanking VMI, 49-7 (my first game I attended as an undergrad). After that, the Heels lost 10 straight games. The worse defeat in my mind was the 41-0 defeat at the hands of the Blue Devils. The Heels were competitive against Kentucky, Navy, Wake, GT, and South Carolina, but the rest were a bunch of blowouts.
1990 was a turning point for the Heels. UNC pitched its first shutout in 4 years, defeating Miami (Ohio) by a score of 34-0. A defeat at the hands of South Carolina followed, but the Heels rebounded with victories against Connecticut and Kentucky. NC State defeated the Heels 12-9 with a 50+ field goal in the last few moments of the game, but Carolina came back and defeated Wake Forest the next week. A tie with GT occurred the next game (the eventual National Champions), and a nice strong victory against Maryland left the Heels with a 5-2-1 record. However, Clemson and Virginia defeated the Heels, and Carolina now had to wait for Duke. The UNC-Duke game was not a fun game to watch, but Carolina did prevail by a score of 24-22. Mack Brown had turned the page.
1991 was supposed to be a year where the Heels would fight for the ACC Championship. The Heels were improved, but a 3-4 Conference record left us with a 7-4 overall record, missing a Bowl berth by a miniscule margin. The defeats were to NC State, Clemson, Virginia, and GT, but they weren't lopsided affairs.
The next year was my Senior year, and there was definitely higher expectations for Mack Brown to take us to a Bowl game. After defeating our first 3 opponents, we played NC State at Kenan. We were supposed to win, but we came up short by a score of 27-20. This was the fifth straight year we lost to State, and the Alumni were not too pleased. However, UNC only lost 2 more times that year (to Clemson and Florida State). Going into the Duke game, UNC sported a record of 7-3. Duke, on the other hand, hadn't defeated an ACC opponent all season. UNC should roll over the Blue Devils. Instead, Duke controlled the game, and only at the end did UNC prevail by a score of 31-28. An 8-3 season left us with a Peach Bowl berth against Mississippi State. The Bulldogs dominated the beginning part, leading us 14-0. If it wasn't for a couple of holding penalties, the score could have been 28-0. UNC regrouped and defeated Mississippi State by a score of 21-17.
UNC started the 1993 season with high expectations. We started off against Southern Cal as the underdog, but we won the game handily by the score of 31-9. We then destroyed Ohio by 44-3, and then played a high scoring affair against Maryland, prevailing 59-42. FSU was next, and UNC did score first, going ahead 7-0 on the arm of Jason Stanicek. At halftime, we were only down 10-7, but FSU "turned it on" and defeated us by a score of 33-7. UNC regrouped and won the next 4 games (including Mack's first victory against NC State!), but then lost a close game to UVA by a score of 17-10. UNC then defeated Clemson 24-0 (first victory against the Tigers since 1985!). After defeating Tulane and Duke, UNC had a 10-2 record with a Gator Bowl invitation against Alabama. Roll Tide Nation was waiting, and they defeated us 24-10.
1994 was a solid year, but the Heels only posted a 8-3 regular season record. They couldn't defeat UVA in Charlottesville, nor could they defeat FSU or Clemson. The Sun Bowl was a great affair to watch, but UNC came up short against Texas by a score of 35-31.
The next year was a very hard year for the Heels, although they did have a winning record and a victory against Arkansas in the Carquest Bowl. We lost to Syracuse, Maryland, GT, Clemson, and FSU, and most of these losses were a direct result of turnovers. The offense was stagnant, and the defense wasn't opportunistic. There were some rumblings by the alumni that Mack Brown wasn't the answer.
Mack's best year may have been in 1996. There were only 2 close defeats (UVA 20-17, FSU 13-0), but our D showed up, not allowing any team to score more than 20 points all season. UNC defeated a strong West Virginia team by a score of 20-13. Carolina defeated Clemson 45-0, Syracuse 27-10, GT 16-0, Wake 45-6, Maryland 38-7, Houston 42-14, NC State 52-20, Louisville 28-10, and Duke 27-10. All of these victories were impressive.
In Mack's last year, the Heels finished the season with a 11-1 record. Again, the most points allowed by our D was 20. However, I noticed several games where the Heels didn't start the game very impressive. We defeated Indiana 23-6, but Indiana was very weak. We defeated Stanford 28-17, but only after we scored 2 touchdowns late in the game. The Maryland game was impressive (40-14), but we looked like we weren't to interested in playing fundamentally sound football. UNC defeated UVA 48-20, but only after being behind 20-3. We barely held on to beat GT and Clemson, and NC State played a solid game against us too. We did demolish VT by a score of 42-3, but that was an emotional game after Mack had committed to coaching the Longhorns a few weeks before.
Mack Brown may have left the program at the best time. I don't think he's what I call the greatest UNC coach ever, but he did develop a strong program by the time he left. However, the Heels may have regressed a bit in 1997, although very few will say this since the Heels finished 11-1.
In 1988, UNC started the season playing 4 non-conference foes: South Carolina, Oklahoma, Louisville, and Auburn. The Heels lost all 4 of these games, and the Tar Heel nation was rumbling. Was it our new coach, or was it because the cupboard was dry? The Heels lost the next 2 games against Wake and NC State (an ugly 48-3 loss at Kenan). Finally, when all hope seemed lost, the Heels beat a Yellow Jacket squad by a score of 20-17. The Heels lost their remaining games, and the season ended with a 1-10 record. UNC had some close defeats (Louisville, Maryland, Virginia and Duke), but the rest were pretty much blowouts.
1989 started off with UNC spanking VMI, 49-7 (my first game I attended as an undergrad). After that, the Heels lost 10 straight games. The worse defeat in my mind was the 41-0 defeat at the hands of the Blue Devils. The Heels were competitive against Kentucky, Navy, Wake, GT, and South Carolina, but the rest were a bunch of blowouts.
1990 was a turning point for the Heels. UNC pitched its first shutout in 4 years, defeating Miami (Ohio) by a score of 34-0. A defeat at the hands of South Carolina followed, but the Heels rebounded with victories against Connecticut and Kentucky. NC State defeated the Heels 12-9 with a 50+ field goal in the last few moments of the game, but Carolina came back and defeated Wake Forest the next week. A tie with GT occurred the next game (the eventual National Champions), and a nice strong victory against Maryland left the Heels with a 5-2-1 record. However, Clemson and Virginia defeated the Heels, and Carolina now had to wait for Duke. The UNC-Duke game was not a fun game to watch, but Carolina did prevail by a score of 24-22. Mack Brown had turned the page.
1991 was supposed to be a year where the Heels would fight for the ACC Championship. The Heels were improved, but a 3-4 Conference record left us with a 7-4 overall record, missing a Bowl berth by a miniscule margin. The defeats were to NC State, Clemson, Virginia, and GT, but they weren't lopsided affairs.
The next year was my Senior year, and there was definitely higher expectations for Mack Brown to take us to a Bowl game. After defeating our first 3 opponents, we played NC State at Kenan. We were supposed to win, but we came up short by a score of 27-20. This was the fifth straight year we lost to State, and the Alumni were not too pleased. However, UNC only lost 2 more times that year (to Clemson and Florida State). Going into the Duke game, UNC sported a record of 7-3. Duke, on the other hand, hadn't defeated an ACC opponent all season. UNC should roll over the Blue Devils. Instead, Duke controlled the game, and only at the end did UNC prevail by a score of 31-28. An 8-3 season left us with a Peach Bowl berth against Mississippi State. The Bulldogs dominated the beginning part, leading us 14-0. If it wasn't for a couple of holding penalties, the score could have been 28-0. UNC regrouped and defeated Mississippi State by a score of 21-17.
UNC started the 1993 season with high expectations. We started off against Southern Cal as the underdog, but we won the game handily by the score of 31-9. We then destroyed Ohio by 44-3, and then played a high scoring affair against Maryland, prevailing 59-42. FSU was next, and UNC did score first, going ahead 7-0 on the arm of Jason Stanicek. At halftime, we were only down 10-7, but FSU "turned it on" and defeated us by a score of 33-7. UNC regrouped and won the next 4 games (including Mack's first victory against NC State!), but then lost a close game to UVA by a score of 17-10. UNC then defeated Clemson 24-0 (first victory against the Tigers since 1985!). After defeating Tulane and Duke, UNC had a 10-2 record with a Gator Bowl invitation against Alabama. Roll Tide Nation was waiting, and they defeated us 24-10.
1994 was a solid year, but the Heels only posted a 8-3 regular season record. They couldn't defeat UVA in Charlottesville, nor could they defeat FSU or Clemson. The Sun Bowl was a great affair to watch, but UNC came up short against Texas by a score of 35-31.
The next year was a very hard year for the Heels, although they did have a winning record and a victory against Arkansas in the Carquest Bowl. We lost to Syracuse, Maryland, GT, Clemson, and FSU, and most of these losses were a direct result of turnovers. The offense was stagnant, and the defense wasn't opportunistic. There were some rumblings by the alumni that Mack Brown wasn't the answer.
Mack's best year may have been in 1996. There were only 2 close defeats (UVA 20-17, FSU 13-0), but our D showed up, not allowing any team to score more than 20 points all season. UNC defeated a strong West Virginia team by a score of 20-13. Carolina defeated Clemson 45-0, Syracuse 27-10, GT 16-0, Wake 45-6, Maryland 38-7, Houston 42-14, NC State 52-20, Louisville 28-10, and Duke 27-10. All of these victories were impressive.
In Mack's last year, the Heels finished the season with a 11-1 record. Again, the most points allowed by our D was 20. However, I noticed several games where the Heels didn't start the game very impressive. We defeated Indiana 23-6, but Indiana was very weak. We defeated Stanford 28-17, but only after we scored 2 touchdowns late in the game. The Maryland game was impressive (40-14), but we looked like we weren't to interested in playing fundamentally sound football. UNC defeated UVA 48-20, but only after being behind 20-3. We barely held on to beat GT and Clemson, and NC State played a solid game against us too. We did demolish VT by a score of 42-3, but that was an emotional game after Mack had committed to coaching the Longhorns a few weeks before.
Mack Brown may have left the program at the best time. I don't think he's what I call the greatest UNC coach ever, but he did develop a strong program by the time he left. However, the Heels may have regressed a bit in 1997, although very few will say this since the Heels finished 11-1.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
So what do you think of UNC football? Looking at the Crum years.
My first memory of UNC football was in 1978, the first year Dick Crum was the coach. In that first year, UNC lost to NC State, Clemson, Maryland, Pittsburgh, Miami of Ohio, and Richmond, while defeating East Carolina, Duke, Wake, South Carolina and Virginia. a 5-6 season was a disappointment, especially since the Heels won a share of the ACC championship the year before. Of the six losses, Richmond was a complete disaster. Losing to Miami hurt, especially since Crum coached Miami the year before, but Miami was a solid program. Pittsburgh was still a powerhouse, and NC State, Clemson and Maryland were the forces that led the ACC during this time.
The next year was much better. UNC went 8-3-1, including a victory against Michigan in the Gator Bowl. The losses were against WFU (24-19), Clemson (19-10), and Maryland (17-14). UNC tied ECU 24 all. UNC was a rolling.
Next year was the best year under Crum. The Heels had a 11-1 record, with it's only loss to Oklahoma (41-6). In the Heels first 7 games, the opponents scored a collective 39 points. Solid Defense was the key.
In 1981, the Heels again played solid football, going 10-2. The offense was providing a lot of points (56, 49, 56, 28, 48) in the first 5 games, but slowed down after Tyrone Anthony's injury (21,13,17, 8, 17) the next 5 games. The Heels only allowed 2 opponents to score more than 14 points all season (South Carolina, Arkansas). UNC lost to the eventual National Champions, Clemson, by a score of 10-8. Great season.
1982 was not as successful as the previous 3 years, but solid nonetheless. UNC lost to #1 Pittsburgh, at Pittsburgh, by a score of 7-6. Some kid named Marino was the QB. After that game, the Heels destroyed Vanderbilt, Army, GT, WFU and NC State by a collective score of 202-34. After the NC State game, the Heels suffered back-to-back defeats to Maryland (31-24) and Clemson (16-13). A victory over Virginia (27-14) was offset by a defeat by Duke (23-17). The Heels defeated Bowling Green (33-14), and in the Sun Bowl, defeated Texas (26-10). Not a bad season at all.
In 1983, UNC started out of the gates on fire, defeating South Carolina, Memphis, Miami-Ohio, William & Mary, GT, WFU and NC State by a collective score of 257-100. The offense was among the best in the NCAA, and the Heels were ranked #3 in the Nation. however, the Heels' defense was a bit suspect. The next 3 games were against quality opponents, and they resulted in 3 losses to Maryland (28-26), Clemson (16-3), and Virginia (17-14). The Heels barely escaped Duke with a win (34-27), but were destroyed by Florida State in the Peach Bowl (28-3). A turning point had happened to the Heels that year, but a turn in the wrong direction.
I remember hearing Dick Crum tell the alumni in 1984 that the Heels would be rebuilding and not to expect a great season. He was, unfortunately, correct. The talent pool had dried up. The Heels started out with losses against Navy (33-30) and Boston College (52-20), but was able to defeat Kansas (23-17, also the first live game I saw at Kenan Stadium). The Heels went to 1-4 with losses against Clemson (20-12) and WFU (14-3), but then won 2 games against mediocre NC State (28-21) and Memphis (30-27). UNC then lost to Maryland (34-23) beat GT (24-17), tied Virginia (24 all) and lucked out against Duke (17-15). Dick Crum was not going to lose his job based on this 1 season, especially after he guided the Heels to 5 straight winning seasons. A 5-5-1 season is the definition of mediocrity, however.
1985 was a mix year...the Defense was better and the Offense was worse. The Heels had only 1 impressive victory (Clemson, 21-20), and several unimpressive defeats (GT 31-0, Duke 23-21). Dick Crum was put on notice that the Heels would have to improve if he wanted to retire in good ole Chapel Hill. 5-6 was not acceptable.
And the Heels did improve in 1986. The Heels started off 4-0-1, defeating Citidal, Kansas, GT and WFU, along with a tie against FSU in Tallahassee. And then the worse case scenario happened: UNC lost for the first time since 1978 to the Wolfpack, 35-34. Great game, but the Heels came up one 2 point conversion short of a victory. The Heels ended the season with a record of 7-4-1. The executioner had to wait for one more year.
1987 was Crum's Waterloo. UNC started the season 5-3, with losses against Oklahoma, Auburn, and WFU, but an impressive come from behind victory against GT (30-23). The season didn't end, however, until 3 consecutive losses against Clemson (13-10), Virginia (20-17), and Duke (25-10). Losing to Clemson and Virginia was understandable, but losing to the Blue Devils for the third time in 6 years was not. Before the Duke-UNC game, the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity bought a big U-Haul truck and placed it on Crum's front yard. A cruel joke, but symbolic of their feelings towards Crum.
In a nutshell, Crum was the right man at the right time during the late 70's and early 80's. However, his game was very conservative and he couldn't attract a load of talent to Chapel Hill based on his system. He couldn't change, and when he did try to open up his offense, it was too late. As far as successful tenures at UNC go, I would rank him behind Carl Snavely and Bill Dooley, but only slightly ahead of Mack Brown and Jim Tatum. If he had changed his offense after the 1982 season, who knows, he may have coached the Heels for over 20 years.
The next year was much better. UNC went 8-3-1, including a victory against Michigan in the Gator Bowl. The losses were against WFU (24-19), Clemson (19-10), and Maryland (17-14). UNC tied ECU 24 all. UNC was a rolling.
Next year was the best year under Crum. The Heels had a 11-1 record, with it's only loss to Oklahoma (41-6). In the Heels first 7 games, the opponents scored a collective 39 points. Solid Defense was the key.
In 1981, the Heels again played solid football, going 10-2. The offense was providing a lot of points (56, 49, 56, 28, 48) in the first 5 games, but slowed down after Tyrone Anthony's injury (21,13,17, 8, 17) the next 5 games. The Heels only allowed 2 opponents to score more than 14 points all season (South Carolina, Arkansas). UNC lost to the eventual National Champions, Clemson, by a score of 10-8. Great season.
1982 was not as successful as the previous 3 years, but solid nonetheless. UNC lost to #1 Pittsburgh, at Pittsburgh, by a score of 7-6. Some kid named Marino was the QB. After that game, the Heels destroyed Vanderbilt, Army, GT, WFU and NC State by a collective score of 202-34. After the NC State game, the Heels suffered back-to-back defeats to Maryland (31-24) and Clemson (16-13). A victory over Virginia (27-14) was offset by a defeat by Duke (23-17). The Heels defeated Bowling Green (33-14), and in the Sun Bowl, defeated Texas (26-10). Not a bad season at all.
In 1983, UNC started out of the gates on fire, defeating South Carolina, Memphis, Miami-Ohio, William & Mary, GT, WFU and NC State by a collective score of 257-100. The offense was among the best in the NCAA, and the Heels were ranked #3 in the Nation. however, the Heels' defense was a bit suspect. The next 3 games were against quality opponents, and they resulted in 3 losses to Maryland (28-26), Clemson (16-3), and Virginia (17-14). The Heels barely escaped Duke with a win (34-27), but were destroyed by Florida State in the Peach Bowl (28-3). A turning point had happened to the Heels that year, but a turn in the wrong direction.
I remember hearing Dick Crum tell the alumni in 1984 that the Heels would be rebuilding and not to expect a great season. He was, unfortunately, correct. The talent pool had dried up. The Heels started out with losses against Navy (33-30) and Boston College (52-20), but was able to defeat Kansas (23-17, also the first live game I saw at Kenan Stadium). The Heels went to 1-4 with losses against Clemson (20-12) and WFU (14-3), but then won 2 games against mediocre NC State (28-21) and Memphis (30-27). UNC then lost to Maryland (34-23) beat GT (24-17), tied Virginia (24 all) and lucked out against Duke (17-15). Dick Crum was not going to lose his job based on this 1 season, especially after he guided the Heels to 5 straight winning seasons. A 5-5-1 season is the definition of mediocrity, however.
1985 was a mix year...the Defense was better and the Offense was worse. The Heels had only 1 impressive victory (Clemson, 21-20), and several unimpressive defeats (GT 31-0, Duke 23-21). Dick Crum was put on notice that the Heels would have to improve if he wanted to retire in good ole Chapel Hill. 5-6 was not acceptable.
And the Heels did improve in 1986. The Heels started off 4-0-1, defeating Citidal, Kansas, GT and WFU, along with a tie against FSU in Tallahassee. And then the worse case scenario happened: UNC lost for the first time since 1978 to the Wolfpack, 35-34. Great game, but the Heels came up one 2 point conversion short of a victory. The Heels ended the season with a record of 7-4-1. The executioner had to wait for one more year.
1987 was Crum's Waterloo. UNC started the season 5-3, with losses against Oklahoma, Auburn, and WFU, but an impressive come from behind victory against GT (30-23). The season didn't end, however, until 3 consecutive losses against Clemson (13-10), Virginia (20-17), and Duke (25-10). Losing to Clemson and Virginia was understandable, but losing to the Blue Devils for the third time in 6 years was not. Before the Duke-UNC game, the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity bought a big U-Haul truck and placed it on Crum's front yard. A cruel joke, but symbolic of their feelings towards Crum.
In a nutshell, Crum was the right man at the right time during the late 70's and early 80's. However, his game was very conservative and he couldn't attract a load of talent to Chapel Hill based on his system. He couldn't change, and when he did try to open up his offense, it was too late. As far as successful tenures at UNC go, I would rank him behind Carl Snavely and Bill Dooley, but only slightly ahead of Mack Brown and Jim Tatum. If he had changed his offense after the 1982 season, who knows, he may have coached the Heels for over 20 years.
College World Series
I attended UNC-Chapel Hill from 1989 to 1993. Although I'm a big baseball fan, I was never that interested in college baseball. I will say that I enjoy watching Coach Fox's teams over the last 10 seasons on the tube. I prefer Coach Fox over Coach Roberts simply because Coach Fox has a more magnetic personality. Coach Fox's teams have provided the Tar Heels with better results, too.
Fourth straight year to Omaha...that's a very impressive resume for the Tar Heels. We don't have any noticable weaknesses, either. I don't expect the Heels to win the college world series (they would have to win 4 straight games...quite doable but against the competition, it will be hard to provide).
I haven't posted anything about the baseball Heels, but it's more because of my limited enthusiasm for college baseball. I look forward to the day when the players are actually using wooden bats.
Fourth straight year to Omaha...that's a very impressive resume for the Tar Heels. We don't have any noticable weaknesses, either. I don't expect the Heels to win the college world series (they would have to win 4 straight games...quite doable but against the competition, it will be hard to provide).
I haven't posted anything about the baseball Heels, but it's more because of my limited enthusiasm for college baseball. I look forward to the day when the players are actually using wooden bats.
Monday, June 15, 2009
Blue Blood
This past week I've been reading "Blue Blood", authored by Art Chansky. The book is mostly about the UNC-Duke rivalry, both on and off the hardwood courts. I checked it out at the local library, and I'd recommend anyone to read it if you are a die hard UNC or Duke fan.
It's been over 2 months since UNC defeated Michigan State for the National Championship. I don't see UNC going back and repeating next year, but we will be competitive. Duke will be a force to be reckoned with, but they lost their best player, Gerald Henderson, to the draft.
A look at the 2009-10 Duke Blue Devils:
At Point Guard, I'm giving the nod to Eliot Williams over Nolan Smith. Both are solid point guards, but Duke seemed to be a tad better with Eliot in control. Both are an improvement over Greg Paulus.
At Shooting Guard I've got Jon Scheyer penciled in. He's a solid player, and he should have a great senior season. I see Nolan Smith subbing for Scheyer. Martin Pocius will fill in as needed.
Small Forward is a bit of a dilemma. The Blue Devils could go small and move Scheyer to the small forward position, or they could go big and have Kyle Singer play it instead. My gut feeling is that Singler is more ideal in the 3 position. Singler prefers the perimeter, and he's fast enough to guard smaller men, too.
Power Forward could be filled by the freshman Ryan Kelly, or Coach K could play Lance Thomas. Kelly has more athleticism, but Thomas has more experience and has savvy. Singler can also play this position, so power forward should be in good hands next year.
Center should go to Mason Plumlee, who is much better than Zoubek. The center must be able to rebound, and both candidates should get plenty of minutes next year.
I see the Blue Devils starting off with a 9 player rotation. However, most of the players are either unproven (Kelly, Plumlee, and to a certain extent Pocius) or they have been in Coach K's doghouse (Smith, Williams, and Zoubek). Thomas is a decent player, but he's more of a role player than a star. Singler and Scheyer are great college basketball players, and next year they will have to step up their game to another level.
When I made my predictions about next year, I had Duke leading the way. Losing Gerald Henderson hurts, but the Blue Devils didn't lose much more (Paulus, McClure). They should be better, but younger. They will have more size, but they won't be as fast. I still believe the Blue Devils will win the regular season, but it's more by default. If UNC can get solid production from the point, the Heels will be in the driver's seat. At this time, the point guard position is a question mark, so I give a small edge to the Blue Devils.
It's been over 2 months since UNC defeated Michigan State for the National Championship. I don't see UNC going back and repeating next year, but we will be competitive. Duke will be a force to be reckoned with, but they lost their best player, Gerald Henderson, to the draft.
A look at the 2009-10 Duke Blue Devils:
At Point Guard, I'm giving the nod to Eliot Williams over Nolan Smith. Both are solid point guards, but Duke seemed to be a tad better with Eliot in control. Both are an improvement over Greg Paulus.
At Shooting Guard I've got Jon Scheyer penciled in. He's a solid player, and he should have a great senior season. I see Nolan Smith subbing for Scheyer. Martin Pocius will fill in as needed.
Small Forward is a bit of a dilemma. The Blue Devils could go small and move Scheyer to the small forward position, or they could go big and have Kyle Singer play it instead. My gut feeling is that Singler is more ideal in the 3 position. Singler prefers the perimeter, and he's fast enough to guard smaller men, too.
Power Forward could be filled by the freshman Ryan Kelly, or Coach K could play Lance Thomas. Kelly has more athleticism, but Thomas has more experience and has savvy. Singler can also play this position, so power forward should be in good hands next year.
Center should go to Mason Plumlee, who is much better than Zoubek. The center must be able to rebound, and both candidates should get plenty of minutes next year.
I see the Blue Devils starting off with a 9 player rotation. However, most of the players are either unproven (Kelly, Plumlee, and to a certain extent Pocius) or they have been in Coach K's doghouse (Smith, Williams, and Zoubek). Thomas is a decent player, but he's more of a role player than a star. Singler and Scheyer are great college basketball players, and next year they will have to step up their game to another level.
When I made my predictions about next year, I had Duke leading the way. Losing Gerald Henderson hurts, but the Blue Devils didn't lose much more (Paulus, McClure). They should be better, but younger. They will have more size, but they won't be as fast. I still believe the Blue Devils will win the regular season, but it's more by default. If UNC can get solid production from the point, the Heels will be in the driver's seat. At this time, the point guard position is a question mark, so I give a small edge to the Blue Devils.
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