Tobacco Road Report

By Michael

If you find yourself alternately screaming at the Carolina offense and then thinking, "oooh, nice play...", then you're not alone. Find out why feeling like Sybil isn't inconsistent when watching this Tar Heel squad.

Let me first preface these comments by saying that I rarely if ever care who wins an ACC game. I'm not from ACC country nor did I attend an ACC school. I try to look for well-played basketball and recognize that "well played" can come in a variety of forms depending on the talents of the squad. In short, I'm not married to any one team nor any particular style.

That said, I often find myself getting frustrated when I watch the North Carolina offense. It's clear that their best offense comes from the interior with Hansbrough and Wright, while their primary weakness offensively is their lack of consistent perimeter shooting.

However, running a half court offense to generate good shots from the interior requires motion, picks, and ball reversal. It also requires slowing down the tempo enough to let these gentlemen make it down the floor on each possession. Consequently, taking full advantage of the low-post game stands in conflict with their desire to rotate in fresh bodies, accelerate the tempo, and put constant pressure on the opponent with both offense and defense.

But the realist in me knows that Carolina can get on a 15-0 spurt at any moment and bury the opponent. It's often not until the 30th minute that North Carolina's tempo begins to take effect, turning the legs of the opponent into lead. The two games against Duke are prime examples of this effect. Five Blue Devils logged 30 minutes or more on Sunday and Duke really went with a six man rotation. In contrast, Carolina has nine or ten players that regularly log ten minutes or more. In both victories over Duke, games that were relatively even at the 30 minute mark resulted in solid Carolina victories.

So the purist in me gets frustrated when I watch Wright go 5-5 from the floor, then go multiple offensive possessions without touching the ball despite being guarded by the 6'6" McClure. During these stretches the offense consists of one pass and a shot, two passes at most. It's sometimes ugly, but the fast pace plays to Carolina's depth.

In the end the Carolina fan has to understand to accept some of the ugliness in exchnge for the vaunted run...as long as that run comes. When it run comes, it's a beautiful thing.