A grand gesture to a great coach.
Tag: carolina basketball
Hairston was pulled over going 93 in a 65. A few hours later, Roy Williams suspended him indefinitely. This summer is turning out to be an absolute disaster for Hairston.
Now we wait and see what Carolina and the NCAA have to say about the matter.
When one of the top college basketball writers in the country is starting to cover this story, I start to get really nervous.
If Hairston can get out of this by just paying for the rental car and sitting out 5 games, then maybe things are not as bad as I was thinking they might be.
> North Carolina Tar Heels star P.J. Hairston was cited for speeding May 13 while driving a rental car registered to a woman with the same address as Haydn Thomas, a convicted felon who rented the vehicle Hairston was driving when he was arrested on marijuana possession charges June 5, USA Today Sports has reported, citing records obtained by the newspaper.
Ugh. I have a feeling this is not going to end well.
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UNC Announces McAdoo Will Return
Speaking of Carolina basketball, it looks like McAdoo will be coming back. Paige, Hariston, and McAdoo should make a the Heels formidable next season.
It is going to be tough to see Reggie head to the NBA, but I cannot really blame him for this decision. I doubt he would be able to improve his draft position with next year’s draft class being so strong.
1. I did not realize that people want McAdoo to go. I am not in that camp.
2. I think it is highly likely they all stay.
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‘Big’ change coming for UNC next season?
Two takeaways:
1. Roy is going to change back to a more traditional, “bigger” line up.
2. Roy apparently refers to himself as “Ol’ Roy.”
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Carolina comes up Short Against Kansas
Tough way for the Heels season to end. Hopefully, Bullock, Hairston, and McAdoo stick around for another year.
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Carolina Gets #8 Seed in South Regional
Speaking of things the tournament committee got wrong, Carolina deserved better than an eight seed.
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UNC 79 Maryland 68
More analysis of the Heel’s win over Maryland from the guys over at *Tar Heel Blog.* I agree that the Heels have secured themselves a tournament bid.
Jeff Eisenberg writing at *Yahoo*:
> What ailed North Carolina for the first three months of the season apparently wasn’t as complicated as it once seemed.
> The Tar Heels simply didn’t have their best players on the floor at the same time often enough.
I would argue that it was more that their *best* player, PJ Hairston, was not on the floor. Hairston has emerged as the team’s best scorer, as well as improving both his rebounding and his defense. People frequently point to Hairston’s shooting woes last year when the try to claim surprise in his development this year. I maintain that his shooting problems were a side effect of him not getting the playing time he deserved and the pressure he put on himself as a result. Now that Williams is giving him the chance to be a star, he is taking full advantage.
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Carolina Beats FSU
Carolina was in control the whole game. The lineup with Hairston is really starting to gel. Of course, I am not sure if it’s enough to beat Duke next week.
Have I mentioned that Carolina beat State?
3-1, with 1 being a tough fought game against Duke, since they went to this lineup.
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Carolina Beats State
Imagine if Hariston had been starting all year.
T.H. responding to the arguments for Hairston over Strickland:
>
UNC’s defense is considerably worse when P.J. Hairston is on the floor.
>
The first point has been internalized by everyone, and there’s no shortage of people suggesting how the starting lineup should change to solve that problem. But the second point is going overlooked; I don’t think people grasp the defensive differences. In ACC play before the Miami game, UNC’s defensive efficiency was 89.4 with Hairston on the bench, and 117.8 when he’s on the floor. Now that might be overstating things, as +/- type statistics can be pretty noisy, but the coaches see the team much more in practice. If Hairston had the defensive chops, he’d be playing more than 19.2 minutes a game.
I disagree with the point T.H. is trying to make, though I give him credit for acknowledging that his use of +/- statistics to bolster his argument is particularly flimsy. Since Carolina has been getting run out of the gym with their alleged “best” defensive team starting, I think it is worth giving Hairston a chance to prove himself as a competent defenders. We have seen the ceiling for Carolina this year with Strickland starting, now it is time to see if they can raise that ceiling with Hairston in the starting rotation.
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Carolina on the NCAA Tournament Bubble
Andrew Jones is not particularly optimistic about Carolina’s NCAA Tournament changes:
> This season, however, UNC is neither on probation nor banged up, and it may not make the NCAA Tournament. At 16-7 overall (6-4 in the ACC), UNC appears on course for a lower seed to The Big Dance. But the schedule ahead has enough rough spots, and since Carolina’s resume is very un-Carolina-like, it could lead to some teeth-gnashing by Tar Heels fans come Selection Sunday.
He does, however, make a recommendation on how to change things:
> Williams is a legend because he almost always makes the right decisions for his team, it stands to reason now is the time to make another gutsy call. Playing Hairston ahead of Strickland would increase UNC’s chances of making the NCAA Tournament and strengthen the program for next season.
As a long-time member of the Hairston over Strickland camp, I agree with Mr. Jones.