The Daily Tar Heel's 2009 Final Four Preview

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SPECIAL EDITION Serving the students and the University community since 1893

The Daily Tar Heel

VOLUME 117, ISSUE 25

www.dailytarheel.com

Check out the regular edition inside!

Friday, april 3, 2009

FINAL FOUR PREVIEW

ALL EYES ON UNC

The Tar Heels' Final Four experience also means added pressure this weekend. See pg 11.

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friday, april 3, 2009

2009 Final Four Preview

The Daily Tar Heel

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2009 Final Four Preview

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friday, april 3, 2009

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Reynolds’ heroics send ’Nova to Detroit By Chris Hempson Assistant Sports Editor

MCT/Ron Cortes

With less than five seconds remaining in a tied East Regional Championship, Villanova’s Scottie Reynolds scampered across halfcourt. Instead of settling for a pull-up from outside, he ducked through the lane — easily crossing over Pittsburgh’s DeJuan Blair in the process. As his foot hit the free throw line, the Wildcat point guard picked up his dribble and threw skyward an improbable floater that sunk. The game’s shining moment, the ultimate in clutch plays. But from Reynolds — well, it’s expected. “ H e ’s m a d e a lot of plays l i k e t h a t ,” Villanova coach Jay Wr i g h t s a i d Monday. “One of his great characteristics is he never fears failure.” This year, as a junior, Reynolds has really grown into a flair for the dramatic. Although double-teamed sporadically on the wing, the Wildcat point guard still managed 40 points and 31 points against Seton Hall and

Providence, respectively — games that both were decided by only four. “He is a special kid,” Wright said. “I think any of us in coaching that have any success, we’re all doing the same thing. “Some of us get blessed to have special kids, and that’s what brings you to these unique situations. … “That’s what Scottie Reynolds has been for us.” But the Wildcats are hardly a one-man show. When Reynolds penetrates to the hole, a help-side defender generally slides over, leaving either Dante Cunningham or Dwayne Anderson wide open. The two senior frontcourt members are more than adequate from close range — with Cunningham even having a smooth mid-range jumper that’s led to a team-high 16.2 points per game. But with Villanova, offensive efficiency is never a question. It was the team’s defense that was knocked throughout the year. As the tournament got underway, those perceptions quickly changed. “We always just want to play harder than the other team, whatever the situation is,” Cunningham said Monday. “We never let what happens in a game or outside of the game affect how we play.” Against Duke in the Sweet 16, the Wildcats held a usual surefire squad to 26.7 percent shooting — including a miserable 18.5 percent

from 3-point range. Wright’s high-octane defense constantly shifts, with Cunningham and Anderson as the frustrating catalysts. Plus, with each wing player having the ability to collapse during an opponent’s penetration, few openings are found.

Reynolds fits the parameters perfectly, as does sophomore sixman Corey Fisher and swingman Reggie Redding. Each provides an experienced ball-handler and a constant in-your-face annoyance on defense. Come crunch time, both attributes will prove pivotal. But then

EAST REGION - VILLANOVA Post season schedule and results BIG EAST TOURNAMENT W 76-75 3/12 vs. Marquette L 69-55 3/13 vs. Louisville

NCAA TOURNAMENT 3/19 vs. American 3/21 vs. UCLA 3/26 vs. Duke 3/28 vs. Pittsburgh

Name Position Year Ht./Wt. Minutes/game 33 Dante Cunningham 20 Shane Clark 22 Dwayne Anderson 01 Scottie Reynolds 15 Reggie Redding

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0: Number of times Wright has been to the Final Four 1985: Last time the Wildcats made it to the Final Four — they won their only national title that year 19.2: The number of fouls Villanova commits in each game — six more than the nation’s lowest average

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again, so, too, will Reynolds. As in the Pittsburgh game, expect No. 1 to get the ball if it’s close late. “He’s making a lot of plays that other people are afraid to make,” Wright said. “And he’s got a great inner confidence. He really is a special kid. He never seizes to amaze me.”

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2009 Final Four Preview

friday, april 3, 2009

DTH PICKS THE FINAL FOUR The DTH men's basketball writers and sports editor pick the winners of both national semifinal games and the national championship, as well as the 2009 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player. Senior writer

David Ely Senior writer

Mike Ehrlich Senior writer

Powell Latimer Senior writer

Rachel Ullrich Sports Editor

UConn. UNC UNC Ty Lawson

MSU UNC UNC Tyler Hansbrough

UConn. UNC UNC Ty Lawson

UConn. UNC UNC Ty Lawson

UConn. UNC UConn. Hasheem Thabeet

Jesse Baumgartner

MSU vs. UConn. UNC vs. Villanova National Champion Most Outstanding Player

The Daily Tar Heel Rachel Ullrich sports editor

chris hempson, louie horvath & joe mclean assistant sports editors

jillian nadell design editor

allison nichols

daily tar heel editoR

scott powers

special sections editor

emma patti

dth photo editor

contributors:

Jesse Baumgartner, David Ely, Mike Ehrlich, Powell LAtimer Cover Design: Jillian Nadell Cover Photos: Kate Napier

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The Daily Tar Heel

table of contents 3 10 East Champs Villanova Reynolds has been catalyst

UNC-LSU recap Ellington’s past ‘Nova link

5 11

Ginyard leads from the bench Big East dominates Final Four

COVER story

Tar Heels’ Final Four ‘08 loss still stings Pressure’s on. Can they live up to the hype?

6 12

Williams motivates quietly UNC aims for tougher defense

UNC-Gonzaga recap UNC-Oklahoma recap

7 13

Thompson improves range UNC-Radford recap

West Champs UConn. Huskies retooling sans Dyson

8-9 14

The Final Four matchups Check out DTH lowdown predictions

Midwest Champs MSU Suton, defense lead team

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2009 Final Four Preview

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Ginyard leads from bench By Mike Ehrlich Senior Writer

When the Tar Heels take the court at Ford Field on Saturday, there won’t be a whole lot Marcus Ginyard can do to help their cause. But that doesn’t mean he won’t do everything in his power to get his team ready before tipoff. It didn’t take long for him to start. On the plane ride home from Memphis, right after UNC earned a berth in the Final Four, Ginyard was already sitting next to freshman Tyler Zeller, imparting the wisdom he gained from the event last year. “I was just telling him a couple things about just being at the Final Four,” Ginyard said. “One thing is just to enjoy it. There are 300something other teams that want to be where we are, so first and foremost, just to enjoy it.” Ginyard, a senior, has been limited to this kind of role, as a stress fracture and the ensuing surgery sidelined him for nearly the whole season. It left the Tar Heels without their best defensive stopper. But rather than moping about his misfortune, he responded by finding new ways to contribute. No one would know better than Zeller, who sat next to Ginyard on the bench for a chunk of the season while he recovered from an injury of his own. “Marcus is a very positive guy,” Zeller said. “He’s always cheering on, helping us. And even to this day, he’ll maybe scout, he’ll call out a play or stuff like that. He’s always helping us, telling us to get helpside, stuff like that.” Lately, though, the foot is starting to feel better. Ginyard said he still has bad days, but there are many more good ones in between. The improved condition has even allowed him to get back on the practice floor with his teammates — which might be the hardest part. “If I was feeling really physically bad and couldn’t go, I guess it would be a little easier to accept, not being out there on the court,” he said.

friday, april 3, 2009

New Big East more than physicality Two conference teams in Final Four By David Ely Senior Writer

dth file/kate napier

UNC senior Marcus Ginyard is looking for new ways to lead the Tar Heels off the court after his foot injury ruled him out for the season. “But now that I’m back practicing, almost at 100 percent, and being able to play — but still not being able to play — that’s the roughest part right now.” But even if it is just at practice, one of the ACC’s premier perimeter defenders is still a good addition to the practice squad. “He’s given us a more talented individual on the blue team,” coach Roy Williams said. “It helps a great deal having a higher quality athlete to guard Wayne (Ellington) or Danny (Green), and I think that’s really helped us. And his leadership has been big for us too.” Ginyard has trouble fully appreciating the progress, though, because when the game days arrive, he’s still been relinquished to the bench for all 40 minutes.

And he can’t help from picturing himself out on the court — even when the game is out of hand. “Every time coach comes past me I do think about that,” Ginyard said. “When he walks past to put Jack (Wooten) and J.B. (Tanner) and those guys in the game, I’m like, ‘Man, I wish you’d just grab me and throw me in there.’” For now, though, Ginyard settles for a different role. He’ll be the motivator. He’ll be the practice squad member who chases around the starters. After all, he has to. “Just to continue to contribute to the team is obviously very important to me,” Ginyard said. “So that’s the way that I have to do it right now. Not being able to play in the game, this is my only time where I can really get after it and try to make them better.”

It’s known in some circles as the league where only men survive. A place where boys just can’t cut it — the physical play is just too rough, too barbaric for any unaccustomed squad to succeed against those teams from the northeast. Though often public perception supersedes reality — as in the case of the Big East. The above description very well could have told the story of Big East basketball in the 1980s or early ’90s, but it’s not necessarily the case in 2009. The conference still is nicknamed “The Beast” — it’s just that now coaches hope the name refers to the quality of Big East teams instead of brutish play. “I think sometimes it’s tough to shed a stereotype,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said Monday. “I was an assistant back in the mid-’80s, and sometimes when we watch film of those games — I mean, there were fights in those games. They just break them up. There were no fouls called or anything. It has changed.” The evolution of Big East play is evident in the wide variety of styles within the conference. Villanova and Marquette play styles that thrive on guard quickness and penetration. Louisville is known for coach Rick Pitino’s deadly full-court press. And Georgetown’s offensive scheme is based on constant motion and perimeter spacing. While there still are teams that leave opponents bloodied and

bruised — Final Four participant UConn. and East Regional runnerup Pittsburgh both do— the Big East isn’t just a one-trick pony anymore. “I think people are starting to see that,” Wright said. “I think it’s kind of a stereotype that, you know, it’s just tough to break, but I think it’s being broken.” That’s certainly seems to be the view among the Tar Heels. North Carolina senior guard Bobby Frasor said he watched the East Region Final between Villanova and Pitt but wasn’t in awe of the game’s physicality. “They talk about the Big East saying, ‘No ambulance, no foul,’” Frasor said. “But I don’t think it’s any different than any other college basketball game. … “I think it’s the same across all college conferences.” That doesn’t mean Frasor thinks that the conference didn’t deserve all of the accolades it received this year. Four Big East teams won 30 games or more, and a total of eight claimed at least 20. The league even had a chance to replicate its historic 1985 season when the Big East sent a record three teams to the Final Four. But Louisville lost to Michigan State in the West Regional Final, leaving the conference represented by two teams in Detroit. “That was just such an amazing year in the Big East in ’85,” Wright said. “I think this year was the same way. … “I really do think maybe this year and (1985) were the two best years ever in the Big East.”

So it’s hard for Frasor to make up a decent argument against the Big East. “They’re definitely the best conference, but to say that they’re more physical than the Big Ten or the ACC or anything like that, I don’t buy into that,” Frasor said. North Carolina does have some experience with the Big East under coach Roy Williams. Since Williams returned to Chapel Hill in 2003, the Tar Heels are 8-1 against the conference, including a 2-1 mark in the NCAA Tournament. The lone loss came in 2007 against Georgetown in the Elite Eight. The Tar Heels even have two players somewhat familiar with the Big East style. Wynnewood, Pa.-native Wayne Ellington almost committed to Villanova, and Danny Green grew up in North Babylon, N.Y. watching the conference. Green said those games from his childhood had some influence on his development as a player. “Watching them growing up, it affected me a little bit,” he said. “But I haven’t been playing in the Big East — it’s hard to tell what it’s like.” As North Carolina watches film and prepares to face Villanova on Saturday, Green and the rest of the Tar Heels certainly will get to see if the Big East is as tough as some say it is. “I’m sure it is, but I feel like every conference is like that,” Green said. “A lot of conferences are physical. I feel like our conference is physical. But it’s part of the game. You got to get used to it, and you got to be able to play through it.”

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2009 Final Four Preview

friday, april 3, 2009

The Daily Tar Heel

Williams motivates quietly Heels try for tougher defense Coach also awaits second chance

New players step up in tourneys

By Rachel Ullrich

By Rachel Ullrich

“If you want your careers to end tonight, like this, keep playing this way.” So said North Carolina coach Roy Williams during a tense timeout in the second half of Tar Heels’ second-round matchup with LSU in Greensboro. That night, the team took his message to heart, spurred by Ty Lawson in obliterating the Tigers’ five-point lead and continuing to a romp of the team, 84-70. Since then, the Tar Heels have never been ready for their careers to end that night, in that game. So they haven’t played that way. Thanks, coach. “Whatever he says is what we do,” Lawson puts it simply enough. “We just trust him. We always just go out there and do his gameplan — because the last couple years, whatever he says works.” The one blip on coach Williams’ resume: last season’s matchup with Kansas, what Williams has called “the most unreal basketball game I’ve ever been involved in.” “I’ve been criticized more for that game than any of the games I’ve coached in 21 years,” Williams said Monday. “It’s a game that has bothered me, will bother me forever. “It bothered me because of the scenario, it bothered me because of the way we played. “It bothered me because I thought we would really play well.” Coach Williams was criticized for his use of timeouts. He was criticized for what appeared a lack of a game plan. He was criticized — more than anything else — for what we all now know as “Sticker-gate.” “I felt it was very, very, very, very, very — add as many as you want — unfair treatment of me two days

Coach Roy Williams said it at the team’s first practice of the year. He said it the first time he met with the media. And he’ll say it to his team just before it opens play against Villanova on Saturday. Defense wins championships. “From the first day I’ve tried to push this team to concentrate and to invest in it on the defensive end of the floor,” he said Tuesday. “And over the course of the last month we’ve had some good moments defensively.” Before the NCAA Tournament, UNC was primarily known for its offensive prowess. Consequently, the team defense could never equal those standards. Yes, they would score 108 points against Maryland in February — but they gave up 91, too. They went into the postseason with the hopes of changing that. North Carolina currently is ranked 71st in the nation in field goal percentage defense, allowing opponents to go 41.3 percent from the field (of the Final Four teams, only MSU is lower — allowing 41.4 percent). But the Tar Heels have stepped up their defensive edge in the NCAA Tournament, holding Radford to 27.5 percent shooting and Oklahoma to a 10.5 mark from behind the arc. And more importantly — it’s become a team effort. Before the postseason, Bobby Frasor and Danny Green had combined for 19 of the team’s 30 Defensive Player of the Game honors. But in the ACC and NCAA Tournaments, Frasor has garnered only one and Green zero. Instead, their teammates are getting the recognition. Ed Davis doubled his season total with three in a row, while Deon Thompson and Tyler Hansbrough both received their first — Hansbrough for his work against Blake Griffin in Sunday’s Oklahoma game. Such improvements beg the question: Can the Tar Heels play strong defense after all? “We can. When we turn that switch, we definitely can,” Wayne Ellington said after that game. “We can get some big-time stops, and that’s what we did today.” They’ll have to against a guardheavy Villanova team — a team with players similar to those who have burned the Tar Heels in the past. UNC has struggled against the strong guards in the ACC — Toney Douglas, Tyrese Rice, Jeff Teague and Greivis Vasquez come to mind. In six games against those teams — three of them losses — those players lit up UNC with

SPorts Editor

sports editor

dth FILE/KATE NAPIER

Roy Williams hasn’t needed to take off his jacket or sub out five players at once this season, but he’s still keeping the Tar Heels motivated. later (for wearing a Kansas sticker to the national championship game). “I’m going to remember it after you guys are all dead and gone.” Williams added another element to his Final Four woes on Monday: he was throwing up in the locker room. And on the court, in a towel. “It’s the first time in 21 years as a head coach I’ve ever leaned over to an assistant and told him stand up and call a play.” His players said Monday that many of the perceived issues have been corrected. “I think the last couple of games that he’s been using his timeouts really well — not to say he hasn’t been using them well before that,” Deon Thompson said. Tyler Hansbrough mentioned his coach’s constant presence as helping keep the Tar Heels’ eyes on their game-to-game play and not the expectations of the public. “We really try to stay within our team and just listen to the coaches.” When Danny Green was having

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shooting troubles, he immediately went to coach Williams — “obviously” — so that they could discuss how to fix them. Williams always has been a motivator for his teams, none seen so clearly as his year at the helm of the national championship team in 2005. This year his technique and their talent — if anything, the years prior to that championship proved talented players aren’t enough — could equate once again to a national title. Overall, this year’s Tar Heel players say that little has changed in his approach to the Final Four, and that he isn’t doing anything differently to motivate them. There is one plus they see from last year, though. “He’s been the same. His demeanor hasn’t really changed,” Thompson said. “I don’t think he’s broken a clipboard yet this year, so that’s a good thing.”

dth FILE/EMMA PATTI

Tyler Hansbrough has helped lead the Tar Heels on defense with his knack for drawing charges, seen here against Duke’s Kyle Singler on March 8.

UNC defense before and after NCAA’s Field goal defense Regular season: 41.2 percent NCAA Tournament: 40.9 percent

Scoring defense Regular season: 70.2 points 50.5 shooting and an average of 28 points per game. Williams hopes those performances won’t be repeated by the talented guards of Villanova. “We’ve had some times we didn’t play as well and didn’t have that sense of urgency,” he said. “But we’ve had some games where at big moments we’ve really stepped up. So that, itself, has given the coaching staff and players some confidence that they could do it. “The next push was to try to get

NCAA Tournament: 66.3 points

3-point defense Regular season: 34.6 percent 7.4 made per game NCAA Tournament: 28.4 percent 5.8 made per game them to do it consistently.” Thompson, for one, thinks they’ve started that. “I think our de fense has improved,” he said. “And I just think our defense just always gets knocked on just because we can score the ball so well. “So definitely, our defense does need to be good — I don’t know if it necessarily needs to be great, because we can score the ball so well. “But it definitely has to be above average to beat good teams.”

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2009 Final Four Preview

The Daily Tar Heel

Thompson showing range Tourney scoring key to UNC wins On North Carolina’s first possession in the ACC tournament, their opponents were ready. Ready for Tyler Hansbrough to try and bully his way into the post. Ready for Ty Lawson to slash through the lane. Ready for Wayne Ellington to launch a jumper. But what they weren’t ready for was Deon Thompson to get the ball 12 feet from the basket and drain a jump-shot. Radford wasn’t ready for it — and not many other teams have been ready for it, either. Thompson has turned into the Tar Heels’ offensive spark plug in the postseason. Though the junior forward doesn’t score the most points — he’s currently fifth on the team with 10.7 per game — he always manages to have an impac t early. In both of UNC’s ACC tournament games, Thompson opened the scoring for the Tar Heels — both times with mid-range jump shots. The trend has continued into the NCAA Tournament. Thompson has scored one of UNC’s first three buckets in all four NCAA games this year. Though Hansbrough, Ellington and the rest of Thompson’s teammates often assert themselves as the game progresses, the early minutes are all his show. So how does he get the early shooting touch rolling? “Just come out aggressive,” Thompson said. “It’s hard to keep that up with Players of the Year (in OU’s Blake Griffin) and so many weapons. “But just try to come out strong and attack the basket.” T hose early minutes have become increasingly precious to Thompson as freshman forward Ed Davis has begun to offer solid production, and Thompson’s production hasn’t tailed much as he starts to split more minutes with Davis. Roy Williams also points to Thompson’s improvement on defense. While he still leads the team in fouls with 77 personals on the year, Thompson has impressed

Hansbrough sets ACC scoring mark Senior Writer

MARCH 19, GREENSBORO — Coming into No. 1-seed North Carolina’s NCAA opener with 16-seed Radford, Tyler Hansbrough needed just three points to become the ACC’s all-time leading scorer. Hansbrough made sure that the record — one he spent all season inching closer to — was decided about as quickly as the game, a 10158 thrashing. With 16:23 to play in the first half, Hansbrough caught the ball underneath the basket. He took one dribble, careened off Radford’s Joey Lynch-Flohr and drained his trademark shotput jumper to tie J.J. Redick’s scoring record. One minute later, Hansbrough drew a shooting foul and stepped to the line. Swish — his foul shot didn’t even touch the rim. Just like that, the ACC had a new scoring leader. “It means a lot,” Hansbrough said of the record. “I look back and

Senior Writer

7

Radford no problem for Tar Heels By Powell Latimer

By Powell Latimer

friday, april 3, 2009

think of all the players that I’ve watched in the ACC. All of those, and for me to be on top of all the scorers in that league, it’s special. It’s an honor.” When Hansbrough left the court minutes after passing the record, it was to a still-standing ovation. His 22 points weren’t out of the ordinary, but they were yet another example of the senior forward’s unparalleled consistency. “It’s tough to be as consistent as he is, night in and night out.” Wayne Ellington said. “You basically know he’s going to give you 20, or maybe 10 every game.” When told that Hansbrough broke the record on a free throw after the game, Danny Green chuckled. “It doesn’t shock me,” Green s a i d . “ I ’m h a p p y f o r h i m . Congratulations, it’s a big thing.” Most of Hansbrough’s points came over, around and through Radford’s hulking center, Artsiom Parakhouski. While Parakhouski lived up to

his billing by recording a doubledouble (10 points, 10 rebounds), this was Hansbrough’s show from the start. The big No. 50 also led UNC at the foul line. His 12-for-12 performance was a game-high and, as a whole, the Tar Heels racked up 20 points on free throws. Hansbrough even kicked in on defense, as his four steals were a game-high. Hansbrough’s performance even overshadowed that of Ellington. Ellington had 25 points on 11-of-16 shooting and stuffed the stat sheet with eight rebounds and three assists to boot. “I got out there and got into the groove,” Ellington said. “Kind of got some rhythm going, so I knew I was playing really well.” Green registered his first doubledouble in 55 games Thursday with 15 points and 10 rebounds, recovering from an ACC Tournament where he shot 3-for-25. “I feel a lot better,” Green said. “It still wasn’t my best game, but it was a better game. I got to get into a rhythm out there, do some things, get to the glass.”

dth FILE/KATE NAPIER

Deon Thompson’s jumpers in the opening minutes of UNC’s postseason games have given the Tar Heels an early lead from an unexpected source. Williams with his ability to guard the basket. “Deon, guarding the guy in the post and not failing to get into his stance, what we call ‘wall it,’” Williams said. “He’s so much better at that.” In fact, he has subtly improved his game on many facets. While the fade-away, turnaround jump shot is still his go-to offensive move, Thompson has shown no fear of going toward the basket and crashing the boards

this year. His career rebounding average coming into the season was 3.6. Thus far this year — he’s managed 5.8 boards per game. T h o m p s o n’s p o i n t s h a v e jumped from a 6.6 career average before the season to 10.7 points in 2009. So in the opening minutes of Sunday’s game, don’t be surprised if, while all eyes are on the rest of UNC’s lineup, it’s Thompson who gets the first word.

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2009 Final Four Preview

friday, april 3, 2009

The Lowdown on Tonight’s Game No. 2 Michigan State vs. No. 1 Connecticut Ford Field, 6:07 p.m.

(30-6)

Broadcast: CBS Radio: 1360 WCHL

(31-4)

HEAD-TO-HEAD Point guard

As a senior, Craig Austrie’s experience will help under the bright lights of Ford Field. But Kalin Lucas averages twice as many points and assists this year. — and scored seven of his 18 points in the final 49 seconds against Kansas. Talk about clutch. Edge: Kalin Lucas

Shooting guard

This is shaping up to be the most exciting matchup of the game. A.J. Price is on fire, averaging 20 points per game in the tournament. Travis Walton has been equally effective on defense, as he shut down Terrence Williams in the Elite Eight. Edge: A.J. Price

Small forward

Jeff Adrien has been a double-double machine, averaging 13.7 points and 10 boards per game for the year and coming off a game with 12 and 10. Raymar Morgan didn’t score in just 10 minutes against Louisville and averages just more than five boards per game. Edge: Jeff Adrien

Power forward

Stanley Robinson was UConn’s third leading scorer against Missouri in the Elite Eight. At 6 feet, 9 inches, he also holds a height advantage against against Delvon Roe, averaging only six points per game to Robinson’s eight. Edge: Stanley Robinson

Center

Goran Suton was excellent in Michigan State’s Elite Eight contest, and the team has been much more effective with him healthy this season. But at 7 feet, 3 inches, Hasheem Thabeet — the nation’s second-leading blocker — simply changes the game. Edge: Hasheem Thabeet

Bench

No bench player has had a bigger breakout than Kemba Walker. The guard led the Huskies with 23 points on 7-for-9 shooting in the Elite Eight. Another big game from him will help their cause. Edge: UConn.

Intangibles

Michigan State’s inclusion in the Final Four was a big boost for the event itself, and the home crowd should be a big boost for the Spartans. Connecticut will see a lot of green in the stands. Edge: MSU

The Bottom Line — Connecticut 70, MSU 61 -Compiled by Mike Ehrlich

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The Daily Tar Heel

2009 Final Four Preview

The Daily Tar Heel

UConn.-MSU a battle of the bigs

Guard play defines late matchup

By MIKE EHRLICH

By Jesse Baumgartner

SENIOR WRITER

When the Connecticut Huskies take the court on Saturday to begin the 2009 Final Four, they’ll be wearing their home white jerseys. But as coach Jim Calhoun pointed out in a teleconference Monday, that’s as close as they’ll get to anything resembling a home game. They’ll be taking on Michigan State in what could be a hostile Ford Field in Detroit. “There’s no doubt about it,” Calhoun said. “I’m very aware of the unfortunate fact that there will be a little bit of noise for the guys in green.” The guys in green, on the other hand, have an opportunity to try to become the first team to win a championship in its home state since John Wooden’s UCLA team did it in 1975. But winning this home game will be quite a tall task for Michigan State. Standing in their way is a team that lost just one road game all year, led by a 7-foot-3-inch All-America. Hasheem Thabeet, the Big East’s co-player of the year, presents a serious game-planning issue for the Spartans. His unique ability to block, alter or simply discourage shots on the defensive end can transform a game. “Everybody’s playing a smaller guy on him because nobody’s got anybody near that size,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. Matching up with Thabeet will be MSU’s biggest and best player, Goran Suton. Though he is 6 feet, 10 inches, himself, Suton has an ability to step back and shoot from the perimeter, which could draw Thabeet away from the basket. Suton scored 17 points in the first half of MSU’s near-perfect effort against Louisville in the Elite Eight, and Calhoun took notice. “He was special; he wasn’t just good the other day,” Calhoun said. “That first half, he, in my opinion, determined and set up for the whole game because he was so special.” The game’s other intriguing matchup will happen on the perimeter. UConn.’s A.J. Price has been on fire in the tournament, averaging 20 points per game. But Big Ten defensive player of the year Travis Walton will likely get the assignment Saturday. If anyone in the tournament can slow Price, it is Walton, who might be the best perimeter defender left in the field. Despite giving up four inches to Lousiville’s Terrence Williams, Walton held him to just one basket in the Elite Eight. Both Connecticut and MSU have gone through adversity to reach this point. There was a lot of speculation as to whether the Huskies would be able to compete after they lost Jerome Dyson — who provided

perimeter defense and a 3-point touch. The Spartans have had a steady stream of injury and illness of their own this year. Though they were a common pick in the preseason to make the Final Four, public opinion swayed after three starters missed time. Both teams were forced to change their philosophy, and they have both successfully done so. “I think we’re as good a team as we were when we had Jerome,” Calhoun said. “But we are different.” More of the scoring load fell on Price, and room also opened up for freshman speedster Kemba Walker to make an impact. Izzo said his team recovered well, and it still isn’t done improving. “I thought as this team got healthy, we had a chance to be a very good team,” he said. “In some ways we’re getting even better than I thought.” On paper, Connecticut appears to be the bigger and more talented team, and they are favored to move on to play one more game. But a blue-collar team playing in its own bluecollar city stands in the way. And though both coaches expressed their friendship and mutual respect, the matchup will likely be a battle. “Neither one of us want to be

beaten by the other one,” Calhoun said. “We both care and respect each other too much to want to lose to the other guy.”

mct/Julian H. Gonzalez

Senior Writer

Though the Villanova Wildcats have a reputation as a guard-heavy team, their leading scorer has taken no 3-pointers this tournament and a grand total of two for the season. The focus for this team might start on the perimeter, but 16.2 points a game from 6-foot-8 senior forward Dante Cunningham certainly can’t be ignored by North Carolina when Saturday’s Final Four matchup rolls around. Not that the Wildcats’ reputation is unwarranted. Cunningham is the biggest player in the starting lineup and is joined by 6-foot-7-inch forward Shane Clark. With North Carolina featuring a variety of post players in Tyler Hansbrough, Deon Thompson, Ed Davis and now Tyler Zeller, post defense will no doubt be a focus for Jay Wright’s squad during this week of practice. UNC thrives on offensive rebounding at times, but the undersized Wildcats have been tenacious on the boards themselves during the tournament and are averaging better than a plus-11 rebounding margin. That margin drops down to less than plus-five when you look at the entire season’s statistics. Post players aside, fans will be looking forward to the intriguing perimeter matchups this game brings. Along with Elite Eight hero Scottie Reynolds, the Wildcats feature Reggie Redding and Dwayne Anderson in the starting lineup. Guards Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes both play significant minutes off the bench. To state it plainly, Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington will have some talent coming right back at them on Saturday. “We’ve been going against guardheavy teams all year so we know exactly how to play them,” Lawson said Tuesday. “And we already took our bumps and bruises early playing mct/Yong Kim

mct/MICHAEL McANDREWS

KEYS TO THE GAME

KEYS TO THE GAME

MSU vs. UConn.

UNC vs. Villanova

The battle of Hasheem Thabeet and Goran Suton could be an interesting one. MSU’s Travis Walton’s defense is expected — he needs to amp up his offensive power as he did against USC. UConn. needs to make use of its sizeable height advantage — more blocks, more dunks and more power will come in handy against MSU.

Will the undersized ‘Nova lineup be able to play effective post defense against UNC’s big men for all 40 minutes? Expect Villanova to test UNC’s perimeter defense early and often with the numerous versatile guards they possess. ‘Nova has plenty of athletes, but will they try and play UNC’s transition game? Not many teams take that risk.

against them, so hopefully we all learned from that and we’re going to be able to shut them down.” For all that versatility outside, Villanova is shooting just 29.6 percent from long range during the NCAA Tournament. But they’ve shot it at around 36 percent for the sea-

son, and Saturday would be the perfect time to break out of that minislump. The issues Lawson referred to were the struggles U N C went

assists during UNC’s run to the Final Four. The Wildcats have been playing the nation’s elite all season in the ultratough Big East, and Reynolds was asked this week whether the Tar Heels reminded him of a team the Wildcats have played. “We have played some pretty good teams in the Big East, like Louisville and Connecticut and others,” he said. “North Carolina has been up at the top of the rankings all year long. They have done a great job of battling through some injuries.” Still, while the guards are easy to focus on in this one, the story could come down to whether Villanova’s undersized front line can rebound and hold their own against UNC’s big men. Wright said it’s the completeness of the Tar Heels that concerns him, and the smaller Wildcats will be looking to mirror that quality on Saturday as they look t o c o n t i n u e their magical run.

friday, april 3, 2009

The Lowdown on Tonight’s Game No. 3 Villanova vs. No. 1 North Carolina

(30-7)

(32-4)

HEAD-TO-HEAD Point guard

Scottie Reynolds is coming off his heroic shot to get ‘Nova to this point, but Ty Lawson is playing as well as anyone in the country – toe be darnned. If Lawson keeps this North Carolina offense rolling, the Tar Heels are a tough out. Edge: Ty Lawson

Shooting guard

Villanova’s Reggie Redding who has the size (6 feet, 5 inches) and the strength (205 pounds) to slow Wayne Ellington down. But when he faced LSU’s Garrett Temple, Ellington proved he can score on accomplished defenders. Edge: Wayne Ellington

Small forward

through against opposing guards at times this season, including losses to teams led by Tyrese Rice, Jeff Teague, Greivis Vasquez and Toney Douglas. Danny Green talked about the multitude of guards the Wildcats can throw out on the court. “They have a lot of good guards, and none of their guards I think are like, great scorers, but some of them are good scorers,” he said. “In the ACC we’ve had some tough matchups with guards that are really good and score the ball — Tyrese Rice, Jeff Teague — but I don’t think they have any of those. But they have a number of amount of good guards that can penetrate and score, but we just have to, I think, just keep them out of the lane.” But with Lawson and Ellington, the Tar Heels also have a pair of guards they can throw out on the floor. Lawson has been a key for them all season, and Ellington has been heating up since the latter part of the regular season. “(Ellington) didn’t have a great game yesterday against Oklahoma, but he’s been big-time, big-time the last three weeks to say the least,” UNC coach Roy Williams said Monday. Ellington has averaged 19 points, 5.3 rebounds and three

Ford Field, 8:47 p.m. Broadcast: CBS Radio: 1360 WCHL

Dwayne Anderson has been giving the Wildcats a little bit of everything in this NCAA run with 15 points and eight boards a game. Danny Green is a similar small forward who does a lot of things, and UNC will need him to build on his Elite Eight performance. Edge: Dwayne Anderson

Power forward

Wildcat forward Shane Clark thrives out on the perimeter and will force Deon Thompson to guard him away from the basket. Thompson’s already faced a similar forward in the NCAAs in LSU’s Tasmin Mitchell, and he didn’t fair too well. Edge: Shane Clark

Center

Tyler Hansbrough certainly didn’t get the better of Blake Griffin on Sunday, but who has this year? Dante Cunningham does an admirable job of supplying points down low for a small lineup, but his defense against Hansbrough could be the real key. Edge: Tyler Hansbrough

Bench

Intangibles

Ed Davis is a luxury most teams don’t have off the bench, but ‘Nova does have plenty of guards in Corey Fisher and Corey Stokes. Still, UNC’s depth in the post could be big against the undersized Wildcats. Edge: UNC Villanova’s confidence should be sky-high right now. It steamrolled UCLA and Duke to reach the East Regional Finals, and knocked off Pitt to cap their string of inspired play. ’Nova isn’t a Cinderella, folks. Edge: ’Nova

The Bottom Line — North Carolina 77, Villanova 71 dth/kate napier

-Compiled by JESSE BAUMGARTNER AND DAVID ELY

9

10

friday, april 3, 2009

2009 Final Four Preview

The Daily Tar Heel

Tar Heels roll into Sweet 16 Ellington picked UNC over ’Nova UNC routs LSU, heads to Memphis By David Ely Senior Writer

MARCH 21, GREENSBORO — Less than 10 minutes had passed in North Carolina’s second-round game against eighth-seeded LSU, and coach Roy Williams already was concerned. There on the end of the bench sat an anguished Ty Lawson while the UNC trainer tended to the star point guard’s injured right toe. For the slightest moment it looked as though the hurting Lawson could be out, and the topseeded Tar Heels would have to try to advance to the Sweet 16 without the ACC Player of the Year. But Lawson soon re-entered the game, and in the second half he played some of his most brilliant basketball of the season to lead UNC to an 84-70 win Saturday at Greensboro Coliseum. “It was a gutty performance by our club,� Williams said during his postgame press conference. “I kidded the little fella, called

him Dennis the Menace, and that’s exactly who he is. But I’ve never seen Dennis the Menace as tough as I saw him today.� The 23-point, six-assist performance by Lawson came as a surprise to himself and many observers, given the circumstances surrounding the junior’s injury before the game. And given how the Tigers (278) played Saturday, UNC needed Lawson to play to advance. From the opening tip, the length and athleticism of LSU’s Tasmin Mitchell and Marcus Thornton proved mismatches for the Tar Heels. Mitchell took advantage of his quickness in the low post when matched up against UNC’s Deon Thompson to score 10 first-half points. And Thornton knocked down shot after shot to keep the upstart Tigers within striking distance and led all scorers with 25 points. “They got the ball to Tasmin Mitchell, and he was just out-

standing for them,� said Wayne Ellington, who scored 23 points. “He made some tough shots. We didn’t really step up defensively. We knew they were going to come out and fight.� That formula worked to erase UNC’s nine-point halftime lead just three minutes into the second period. It was clear that Lawson would have to be more than a facilitator for UNC to avoid an upset. He hit his second consecutive 3-pointer of the half to knot the score at 44 and then scored on a breakaway layup as the Tar Heels fought to keep pace with LSU. The buckets also seemed to ignite the rest of the Tar Heels. Ellington hit a couple of 3s and forced key steals. Senior Danny Green even hit a huge deep ball seconds after missing from long range to increase UNC’s lead from 67-63 to 70-63. Green’s shot, along with a couple of Lawson’s patented explosive drives to the lane, sparked a 17-2 run that turned a 63-63 tie into the comfortable lead UNC rode to victory.

G O O D L U C K KE A H E E L S VE Get your

art

By David Ely Senior writer

When Wayne Ellington’s mother, Elaine, first met Villanova coach Jay Wright, Ellington was just a high school freshman living outside of Philadelphia. The conversation between the elder Ellington and Wright had little to do with hoops. Elaine just wanted to know t h e a c a d e m i c r e p u t at i o n o f The Episcopal Academy where Wright’s kids attended at the time, and where Ellington would later star. From that point on, it seemed inevitable that Ellington would become a Wildcat. But everyone knows that didn’t happen. “He broke my heart, man — broke my heart,â€? Wright said Monday of Ellington’s decision to attend North Carolina. “But I’m very, very happy for him. He’s had a great career. And I know he loves it down there. ‌ “If a guy’s going to go to Carolina or Duke, you can’t argue with that.â€? After North Carolina defeated Oklahoma 72-60 on Sunday to advance to play Villanova in the Final Four, it didn’t take long for reporters to ask Ellington about UNC’s opponent. Then, Ellington didn’t go into great detail about his relation-

ship with Villanova — just that it was his runner-up and a hard choice. But on Tuesday, he spoke at length about his recruitment to Villanova. “It was a tough decision for me,â€? Ellington said. “Villanova is really close to my hometown, and I had a really good relationship with coach Wright. But I’m very happy with the decision that I made. ‌ “It just so happens that we get to play against a team that I’m very familiar with.â€? Ellington said that he’s played with or against many of Villanova’s p l ay e r s e i t h e r o n A m a t e u r Athletic Union teams or around Philadelphia. The two players he’s closest to are junior guard Reggie Redding and senior forward Shane Clark. And given Ellington’s friendships with some of the Wildcats, he can expect a little more trash talk leading up to the Final Four and during Saturday’s game. “I got a couple phone calls, and people saying they’re going to shut me down — they know how I play,â€? Ellington said Tuesday. But it’s hard not to look at this game and think about how Ellington could be on the opposite side. Ellington hadn’t made up his mind until a couple of months after UNC’s 2005 Sweet 16 win against the Wildcats. And he claims that

the game didn’t determine his future school. “No, I didn’t say anything like that. That wouldn’t be fair.� In Ellington’s recruitment, UNC coach Roy Williams played the shooting guard film of Rashad McCants and Kirk Hinrich to show Ellington the type of things he could do if he went to North Carolina. Those tapes might have helped the Tar Heels overcome the distance that separated Chapel Hill from Wynnewood, Pa. “We knew that Villanova was a school that he was considering,� Williams said. “We had to beat the distance.� In the end, the chance to compete for a national title every year was what made the difference for Ellington. “Just the tradition,� Ellington said. “I wanted a chance to be able to contend for a national championship, which sounds crazy now that ’Nova is in the Final Four. “But back then it was clear that Carolina was the decision to make if I wanted to contend for a national championship.� It was a difficult call for Ellington, but one with which he’s content. “It’s a decision that you gotta make for yourself, and I feel like I made the best one for myself.�

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2009 Final Four Preview

The Daily Tar Heel

friday, april 3, 2009

Final Four loss in ’08 still stings Tar Heels have lofty goals in Detroit By Jesse Baumgartner Senior Writer

Tyler Hansbrough doesn’t give you a look into his world very often — that universe of “TYLER SUCKS!” nonstop media exposure and constant public scrutiny (frat pools, anyone?). At this point, he’s got the shortish, generalized quote down pat. The talking points generally center around the team, and in case you hadn’t heard, he doesn’t pay too much attention to the 1,284,742 words devoted to him each season. Perhaps that’s why his response to a rather routine question Sunday about cutting down the nets was so surprising. “It felt great. I mean I’ve felt a lot of pressure. Just felt a relief. There’s been a lot of expectations on this team, and I think some people have really placed a lot of expectations.” Now that’s honesty. Then it was just two days later when someone inquired whether it’s been easier not being the runaway player of the year. “I’m not sure. I feel like there’s been more criticism this year on me and my game than at any other time in my career.” When Tyler Hansbrough — he of unflappable facial expressions and off-court demeanor — is talking about the pressure of expectations, then it’s probably time to talk about expectations. They’ve been part of this team since the moment Hansbrough came back and Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington and Danny Green decided the NBA could wait another year. They were in the practice gym this summer, dancing with Roy at Late Night and sitting courtside all season. They’re present in rankings (unanimous preseason No. 1), every other media question and all those hugs these guys get on campus. This was the UNC team that could go undefeated (which drove Roy Williams nuts), and they were a lock for the title. As Williams admits, this is North Carolina. Chapel Hill wouldn’t be here without a round orange ball, and God exists in the form of a whitehaired old man they call The Dean. Those five trophies in the museum scream tradition, and with that history comes a level of expectation. But this year brought even more anticipation. Lawson denied the effect of the pressure Sunday; Green said it’s no different from other years — but Hansbrough and Williams hint at something bigger. “The level and the extent of (the stress and expectations) was probably more than any other team I’d ever been around,” Williams said Tuesday. “I think it was unfair, and … you just don’t do those kind of things in college basketball now.” The undefeated part died with an 0-2 ACC start, but UNC was still a popular pick in March. And with the win Sunday, they sit on the edge of eternal athletic glory once again. Williams and his players constantly talk about the outside expectations heaped upon them compared to their own “dreams and goals,” as the coach puts it. But here’s a question — what’s

the difference? “I think that they run very similarly, parallel, close,” Marcus Ginyard said. “But basically we’re just more focused on the process, and I think everybody else is more focused on the result. And I think that’s where we differ.” That might be true, but focusing on the process doesn’t mean the outcome is a non-issue. And the outcome most UNC players still remember is last year’s Kansas game in San Antonio. It wasn’t just that UNC lost, but the face slap that accompanied it — falling behind by an unthinkable 28 points before a rally that came up short. Hansbrough was inconsolable after that one, sitting on a locker room chair whispering answers with a stare that ranked somewhere between unconscious and dead. “You try to block it out, but you can’t block something out like that,” he said before the Radford game. Multiple players say it’s still a motivation in the back of their mind. Williams said it will always bother him, Ty Lawson called it painful and Deon Thompson still remembers the dazed shock from that early deficit. “It wasn’t even real, honestly. It felt like we were in a video game or like it wasn’t really happening because they were not missing a shot.” And it’s in that context that UNC’s post-Oklahoma celebration seemed like that of a team with further expectations after last year’s disaster. “We don’t just wanna go to a Final Four and just be there and take in the sights,” Thompson said after the game. “This definitely is not what it’s all about. We’ve already been to the Final Four. We want to get past that,” Ellington said. So while Williams and his players talk about the outside pressure — and there’s no denying it’s there — it certainly seems as though their own expectations are eerily similar to the championship that some people were willing to give UNC before the season even started. They’ve been thinking national title from day one, too, especially after the KU collapse a year ago. “It definitely does still hurt,” Thompson said. “I don’t know, like, the only way that you can cure that pain is by winning the whole thing. “And that’s the only thing that can probably fix it.”

A

dth FILE/LAUREN COWART

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If there’s one thing that stands out about this year’s Final Four, it is sheer size. With the court set in the center of monstrous Ford Field, Detroit could be the biggest Final Four ever in terms of attendance. There are big-name coaches at the helm of big-time programs. There are two teams from the Big East. And there are some very big bigs at the center of it all, from iconic Tyler Hansbrough to towering Hasheem Thabeet, from Dante Cunningham to Goran Suton. But possibly even bigger in terms of impact could be the little guys. Guard play has long been considered vital to NCAA Tournament success, and this year is no different. In spite of the attention those four frontcourt players garner, it was their undersized counterparts who carried the load for their teams. Take Ty Lawson for example, who averaged 20.3 points and won the South Region’s Most Outstanding Player award on a bum toe. “I’m not nearly as comfortable without him out there,” UNC coach Roy Williams said. “And with him, you’ve got a guy who pushes the ball better than anybody in college basketball.” The trend doesn’t stop with the Tar Heels. Villanova guard Scottie Reynolds hit the most dramatic shot of the tournament so far and was named the East Region’s Most Outstanding Player. Then there’s Connecticut’s A.J. Price, whose averages of 20 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.25 assists garnered him the same hardware in the West.

It was only in the Midwest that the award didn’t go to a guard, but Michigan State senior Travis Walton’s perimeter defense might have been the key to the Spartans’ run. Some more proof of the importance of guards as the March days are counted down: In all four Elite Eight games, the team with the highest-scoring guard was also the team that walked off the court victorious. North Carolina’s matchup Saturday against Villanova will pit the Tar Heels against a historically guard-heavy program. The Wildcats are led by Reynolds, a crafty 6-2 junior who can hit the 3 and take it to the hole. “Some of us get blessed to have special kids, and that’s what brings you to these unique situations,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said. “You know, you look at Tyler Hansbrough with that team in Carolina, and what he’s done since he’s been there. And that’s what Scottie Reynolds has been for us.” Reynolds has company in the backcourt – four of Nova’s top six scorers are pure guards. The lightning quick Corey Fisher can be a sparkplug for the offense as a combo guard. And at 6-5, Reggie Redding contributes length and five rebounds per contest. North Carolina’s guards will have their hands full trying to prevent their penetration. But they’ll also need some help. “It’s not just one person playing defense on them,” Hansbrough said. “When they penetrate and things like that, we have to have help-side. And it’s going to have to be the whole team that’s going to have to contribute defensively.”

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Superior guard play paves way to victory By mike ehrlich

pril’s loss to Kansas in the Final Four still remains on many of the Tar Heels’ minds — 13 of UNC’s 17 current players were on the team for that game. This year, Deon Thompson says, winning the national title is the only thing that could make those memories go away.

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2009 Final Four Preview

friday, april 3, 2009

UNC shooters sink ’Zags By David Ely Senior Writer

MARCH 27, MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Midway through the first half, Wayne Ellington received the ball on the right wing, took a few steps and exploded to the basket. Even with Gonzaga’s Jeremy Pargo serving as a roadblock to Ellington’s path to the hoop, the junior guard floated the ball into the basket to put North Carolina up 28-18. Right then, a tiny grin appeared on Ellington’s face. The smile seemed to say, “It’s not supposed to be this easy.” Friday night at FedExForum, it was that easy for the top-seeded Tar Heels as they rolled to a 98-77 win against fourth-seeded Gonzaga. UNC now faces No. 2 seed Oklahoma on Sunday for a trip to the Final Four in Detroit. “We’re ecstatic,” coach Roy Williams said after the game. “We had a couple of lulls where we made some mistakes. But basically look at the big picture of work, I thought we played really, really well.” It didn’t take long for North Carolina (31-4) to find its rhythm on offense. The Tar Heels connected on eight of their first 10 shot attempts as the game quickly turned into a track meet. Players on both sides raced up and down the court, wasting little time to set up open looks. Danny Green dunked the ball for his first two points of the game, and seven seconds later, Josh Heytvelt answered with his own jam. Green then hit a 3-pointer, and only nine seconds passed before Gonzaga’s Austin Daye hit a bomb, too. It was a dizzying pace where baskets came quickly and easily. Though junior Ty Lawson is used to offensive flurries, even this was surprising. “A little bit, because I looked at the clock with 15 minutes to go in the first half, I think we had about 20 points,” he said. “I thought it was going to be a real high scoring game.” But it soon became evident that Gonzaga (28-6) wasn’t fit to sustain the game’s tempo. As North Carolina kept piling on points, the Bulldogs tightened. And to make matters worse for the Bulldogs, the Tar Heels didn’t slow down. They continued to

Heels tough out win against OU Make repeat trip to Final Four By Jesse Baumgartner Senior Writer

dth FILE/KATE NAPIER

Wayne Ellington scored 12 of his 19 points and hit two 3-pointers in the first half against Gonzaga as the Tar Heels jumped out to a 53-42 lead. shoot at a high percentage — finishing the half at 59.4 percent — and pounded the ball inside either with their big men or via drives to the basket by Lawson or Ellington. Lawson scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half. He said after the game that his right big toe felt better than it did after UNC’s second round win last Saturday. “They came out hot,” Gonzaga guard Matt Bouldin said. “Everyone of their guys was just knocking down shots. I don’t think we were expecting them to shoot it like that.” That doesn’t mean there wasn’t any drama in the second period.

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Despite a 13-3 Tar Heel run to begin the half, the ‘Zags cut the lead to just 68-57, forcing Williams to take a 30-second time out with 12:27 left in the game. Momentum appeared to be with the Bulldogs, but UNC quickly regained its offense from the most unlikely source. Senior Bobby Frasor hit back-to-back 3-pointers to push the lead back to 17. “Of all people, Bobby Frasor made those two big 3s,” Williams said. “He struggled all year with his shot, but those were as big as can be.” Frasor’s treys seemed to wake up his teammates — especially senior forward Tyler Hansbrough. Hansbrough scored 11 of his team-leading 24 points in the last 11 minutes of the game as the Tar Heels put the final touches on their Sweet 16 victory.

MARCH 29, MEMPHIS, Tenn. — It wasn’t the picturesque offensive performance that defines many North Carolina games. Not even close, actually. But at this point in March, aesthetic value means little. All that mattered to the Tar Heels on Sunday was the scoreboard, and the gritty 72-60 win against Oklahoma gives them their much-desired Final Four date with Villanova on Saturday in Detroit. “This team has dealt with a great deal of adversity,” Roy Williams said. “And they’ve got us going to Detroit, and we’re excited about that.” And although there was a celebration following the final whistle, the vibe was that this is not the end-all goal. “This definitely is not what it’s all about. We’ve already been to the Final Four. We want to get past that,” Wayne Ellington said. “We understand that we’ve got a lot of work to do, and we’re not satisfied at all.” Although the Tar Heels played two quality opponents during the weekend, they trailed just twice during the entire 80 minutes (during the first minute on Friday). Against Gonzaga, UNC shot 52.9 percent from the floor with just nine turnovers while playing at its usual fast pace during a 98-77 win. But on Sunday that offensive train came to a screeching halt — OU made no attempt to run with the Tar Heels. So instead of its usual up-anddown pace, UNC settled down for a half-court slug-fest against the nation’s premier heavyweight, Blake Griffin. The Tar Heels threw double and triple teams at him. They sent him to the foul line. They hacked him on the floor. Didn’t matter. The 6-foot-10-inch beast continually got into the paint and threw down several did-you-see-that dunks that delighted the crowd. He scored 11 in the first half to keep OU within nine at 32-23 and ended the night with 23 points and 16 rebounds. “He is LeBron James-like, and he’s got such a package of strength, explosiveness, touch, power,” Williams said. But a basketball is a five-man

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OU missed its first 15 3-pointers, and the Tar Heels were able to force 16 turnovers while holding every Sooner except Griffin and Juan Pattillo to less than 40 percent shooting. And once UNC contained Griffin a little during the second half, the lead ballooned to 61-40. “Today we were really swarming, we were flying around, guys were helping each other,” Bobby Frasor said. “We would double down on Blake, and he would kick it out, but we’d have a guy there. Then they’d move it one more — we’d have a guy there. We were recovering great.” Still, multiple Tar Heel turnovers led to a sloppy ending and allowed OU to get within 12 multiple times before UNC used free-throw shooting to sew up its second consecutive Final Four trip and 100th NCAA Tournament victory. “It felt great. I mean I’ve felt a lot of pressure, just felt a relief,” Hansbrough said of cutting down the net. “There’s been a lot of expectations on this team … for me, it feels good to be going back.”

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game, and that was never more evident than Sunday. The Tyler Hansbrough-Blake Griffin battle turned into a huge dud thanks to Hansbrough’s early fouls and lack of offensive production. So instead, UNC went with a spread-the-wealth approach on offense in the half-court sets. Danny Green was the poster child for that trend with 14 firsthalf points (he ended with 18), and after the intermission Ty Lawson amped up his game once again. The point guard hit timely 3s and finally forced a little pace on OU for some easy UNC buckets. Lawson finished with 19 points and grabbed the regional MVP award with a combined 14 assists and just two turnovers while showing few effects of his well-publicized toe injury. “I think it’s the toe that actually helped me, because I don’t really go as fast. So I’ve got time to … make the right decision,” he said. “Maybe I don’t want my toe to get better.” UNC put up one of its best defensive games of the season — while Griffin got his points, the other Sooners were nonexistent.

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2009 Final Four Preview

The Daily Tar Heel

friday, april 3, 2009

13

Huskies focus on winning sans Dyson By Joe McLean Assistant Sports Editor

Nearly two months ago, Connecticut’s Jerome Dyson suffered a torn lateral meniscus in his right knee in a game against Syracuse. The injury required surgery and ended Dyson’s season — and it could have stopped UConn.’s chances of winning a title, as well. But the loss of Dyson, a junior

guard who was averaging doubledigit scoring and led the team in steals, was softened by UConn.’s deep roster. And out of the three No. 1 seeds to come from the Big East, only the Huskies are still alive. Without Dyson, sophomore forward Stanley Robinson moved into the starting lineup. He’s averaged eight rebounds and more than 12 points per game since

Dyson’s Feb, 11 injury while senior guard A.J. Price has also taken on a larger share of the Huskies’ scoring. Altogether, the Huskies have had four different players lead them in scoring in four NCAA Tournament games so far. “We need to be — not the same team — but as good a team. And I think we’re as good a team as we were when we had Jerome,” UConn.

WEST REGION - CONNECTICUT Postseason schedule and results BIG EAST TOURNAMENT L 117-127 (6 OT) 3/12 vs. Syracuse

NCAA TOURNAMENT 3/19 vs. Chattanooga 3/21 vs. Texas A&M 3/26 vs. Purdue 3/28 vs. Missouri

W 103-47 (Philadelphia) W 92-66 (Philadelphia) W 72-60 (Glendale, Ariz.) W 82-75 (Glendale, Ariz.)

Starting five stats Name

Position Year

34 Hasheem Thabeet 04 Jeff Adrien 21 Stanley Robinson 24 Craig Austrie 12 A.J. Price

c f f g g

Junior Senior Soph. Senior Senior

Ht/Wt Minutes/game

ppg

7-3/265 6-7/243 6-9/220 6-3/176 6-2/190

13.5 13.7 8.2 7.3 14.7

31.7 34.7 24.7 24.9 31.8

other 4.3 blocks/game 10.0 rebounds/game 5.7 rebounds/game 2.3 assists/game 4.8 assists/game

UConn. by the numbers 43.3: rebounds per game as a team, best in the country (North Carolina is second) 7.8: team blocks per game, best in the country .376: team field goal percentage allowed, secondlowest in the country

2: championships for UConn. with coach Jim Calhoun (1999 and 2004) 17-14: UConn. record two seasons ago 1: number of road losses this season

coach Jim Calhoun said. “Lot of things have changed.” “Most importantly, these kids stayed with it. And that is the thing that’s made it really, really special. They stayed with a situation that was very, very difficult. They’ve stayed incredibly focused.” The Huskies are 8-3 since Dyson’s injury, with a quality win against Marquette but two losses to Pittsburgh and a six-overtime loss to Syracuse in the Big East Tournament. They have yet to prove they can beat a top team without Dyson, but they were as dominant as anyone in the opening four rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The foundation for that dominance has been UConn.’s defense. Their anchor? Seven-foot, 3-inch junior Hasheem Thabeet in the low post, who averages 4.3 blocks per game. And while Thabeet gets most of the attention, the roster is full of experienced defenders. Only two underclassmen are in UConn.’s eight-man rotation, and the squad starts three seniors. The run-and-shoot Missouri Tigers found out about the Huskies’ defensive pride early in their Elite Eight matchup. After the Huskies scored on the game’s opening possession, the Tigers’ Zaire Taylor tried to beat them back down the court after a made basket for a wideopen layup. Robinson was waiting for him, and he cleanly slapped the shot off the glass. Two possessions later, Taylor tried it again — and Robinson caught up with him from behind for another block. “If we’re really good on the team defense, that’s going to be the key,” Thabeet said. “Every time we go out there and play good defense, we ended up winning the game.” mct/STEPHEN DUNN

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The Order of the Grail-Valkyries The Order of the Grail-Valkyries is the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s intellectual honorary society. The Order recognizes individuals of outstanding character who have made significant contributions to our University’s intellectual climate by enhancing our campus’s learning environment or by having conducted outstanding research. On Monday, March 30th, 2009, twelve students and three faculty members were inducted into the Order. They represent the best our University has to offer and their enumerated accomplishments are indicative only of a small part of all that their achievements and character bring to the University Community.

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2009 Final Four Preview

friday, april 3, 2009

The Daily Tar Heel

Suton, MSU defense leading the way By Louie Horvath Assistant Sports Editor

If asked, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo might say the story of the Spartans’ run to the Final Four would best be classified as a romance. The protagonists? Spartans center Goran Suton and basketball. “He really improved his shooting this summer,” Izzo said. “I think he fell in love with the game, finally. It took a while, but he did. He worked so hard on it.” Suton, in preparing for his senior season in Lansing, m a d e h u ge s t r i d e s . He ascended from fourth in team scoring average last year to second in this campaign. In two games in Indianapolis, Suton averaged 19.5 points and 9.5 rebounds as the Spartans upset Louisville to advance to the Final Four. Suton represents the hardworking player — one underranked by scouting services — whom Izzo loves to recruit. Izzo’s preferences shine through when he talked about Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun. “I love the way his teams play, and I love the way he’s developed players,” Izzo said. “I mean, there are so many of those guys who you say, ‘God, where did he come from? Didn’t seem like he was on everybody’s All-American list,’ and he wasn’t. He was just a player.” Izzo rarely ventures outside of Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio to recruit players. This year’s roster sports only three players from outside that pipeline. In the past five years, there have been a total of nine five-star recruits from those three states, according to Scout.com, and Michigan State has signed two of them. “I think you get a tough kid out of this state,” Izzo said. “Detroit, Flint, Saginaw,

you just get a tougher kid. So that’s why I’ve embraced it. “We could recruit more nationally. I mean, why, if you don’t have to? If you got good players that are tough guys. I mean, who says somebody’s 10th, 20th, 30th best player? If he’s a good player, he’s a good player.” Suton? He was a three-star recruit unranked at his position. Now he’s the unexpected Most Outstanding Player in the Midwest Region and a member of Izzo’s fifth

Final Four team, this time in their backyard. But perhaps not so unexpected — every player who has stayed four years under Izzo has gone to at least one Final Four. This year, Travis Walton felt a little pressure to live up to that, as a senior without a previous Final Four appearance. “It was really important to him,” Izzo said. “And I think that’s what he’s taken from (former players). That’s why Travis

has been the guy to kind of bridge the past and the present together.” So while they might not be the best players, the Spartans have one definitive strength. They have proven incredibly tough to break down on defense. They held a potent Louisville attack to just 52 points two days after the Cardinals dropped 103 on Arizona. Their walk-it-up pace and stifling defense makes every game a battle of wills — with Michigan State’s usually coming out on top.

MIDWEST REGION - MICHIGAN STATE Postseason schedule and results BIG TEN TOURNAMENT W 64-56 3/13 vs. Minnesota L 82-70 3/14 vs. Ohio State

NCAA TOURNAMENT 3/20 vs. Robert Morris 3/22 vs. Southern Calif. 3/27 vs. Kansas 3/29 vs. Louisville

W 77-62 W 74-69 W 67-62 W 64-52

(Minneapolis, Minn.) (Minneapolis, Minn.) (Indianapolis, Ind.) (Indianapolis, Ind.)

Starting five stats Name

Position Year

14 Goran Suton 02 Raymar Morgan 10 Delvon Roe 01 Kalin Lucas 05 Travis Walton

c Senior f Junior f Freshman g Sophomore g Senior

Ht/Wt Minutes/game

ppg

6-10/245 6-8/225 6-8/225 6-0/180 6-2/190

10.4 10.2 5.8 14.6 5.3

26.5 22.4 17.9 31.8 28.0

other 8.4 rebounds/game 5.3 rebounds/game .565 field goal percentage 4.6 assists/game 1.5 steals/game

Michigan State by the numbers 11: consecutive games Michigan State won in their longest winning streak of the season .358: team 3-point percentage .414: opponents’ field goal percentage against the Spartans

9-3: Michigan State’s record on neutral courts this year. They are 21-3 on any other type of court. 9.0: the Spartans’ scoring margin — good for 28th in the nation 2: The number of times the Spartans have eclipsed 100

Mct/Kirthmon F. Dozier

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2009 Final Four Preview

friday, april 3, 2009

Congratulations, Carolina Men’s Basketball Team!

At Carolina, we have champions on the court and in the classroom. The Carolina Annual Fund helps students and faculty achieve the highest standards of excellence every day by raising private support from alumni, students, parents, faculty, staff and friends for scholarships, professorships, technology, state-of-the-art facilities, arts programs, campus speakers, student services and more.

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Private support enabled UNC-Chapel Hill to open its doors as the first state university in the nation; helped start the

These performances, as well as those of all our faculty and students, are something we can all cheer about! Go Heels!

How can I participate in the Senior Campaign? Give ANY AMOUNT to ANY AREA on campus to which you feel connected. If the Senior Class reaches their goal of 38% percent participation, then three Challenge Donors will give a total of $25,000 to the Eve Carson Scholarship Fund. Don’t know where to give? You can join your classmates in supporting the Eve Carson Scholarship Fund as the endorsed fund for this year by making your donation today. Give online: giving.unc.edu/gift Funds that students have already given to: * Chancellor’s University Unrestricted Fund (0001) * Eve Carson Scholarship Fund (6887) * Office of the Executive Director for the Arts Expendable Account (6270) * Black Student Movement (6008) * Kenan-Flagler Business Foundation (1730) * School of Journalism and Mass Communication Foundation (2401) * Arts and Sciences Annual Fund (1501) * Carolina Jazz Travel and Enrichment Fund (5685) * School of Education Foundation- Unrestricted (2201) * Ackland Associates (5003) * Carolina Covenant Endowment (6257) * Department of Psychology (1301) * Habitat for Humanity (6059) * Botanical Garden Foundation (5201) * BSBA Class of 2009 Gift Fund (9199) * History Department (1231) * Medical Foundation-Children’s Program Fund (3427) * Department of Economics (1191) * Department of English (1201) * Fund for Global Education (7331) * General Scholarship Fund (6501) * Morehead Planetarium Annual Fund (0662) * APPLES Service-Learning Program (0595) * Carolina Center for Public Service (0780) * Carolina for Kibera Inc. Expendable Fund (5445) * Communication Studies (1361) * Department of Exercise and Sport Science (1496) * Department of Music (1261) * Department of Sociology (1371) * School of Law- Domestic Violence Advocacy Project (2794) * Men’s Baseball (5109) * Morehead-Cain Annual Fund (7532) * School of Nursing- Expendable (4201) * School of Nursing- Scholarships (4237) * Panhellenic Safety Fund (6372) * Parents Fund (0615) * Political Science (1291) * Student Aid-Unrestricted Scholarship Fund (6870) * Kenan-Flagler Business School- Undergraduate Scholarships (1750) * WUNC-FM (7101) * Academic Success Program for Students with LD and ADHD (1528) * Allied Health Sciences Development Fund (8546) * American Indian Center (5473) * APPLES Global Service Learning Scholarships (5480) * Atlanta Professorship in Southern Culture (7149) * Campus Y- Virginia Carson Scholarship Fund (6278) * Carolina Scholars Fund (1588) * Carolina Union Gift Fund (6060) * Carrington Hall Capital Fund (4289) * Center for Women’s Health Research (4024)

* Child Care Scholarship Fund for Carolina Students (5446) * Clinical Laboratory Science Advancement Fund (8801) * Club Men’s Soccer RAMS (6284) * Club Women’s Soccer HEELS (6182) * Coker Arboretum Endowment (5233) * Curriculum in Applied and Material Sciences (1075) * Curriculum in Asian Studies (1030) * Curriculum in Management and Society (1059) * School of Dentistry- Dean’s Fund (2019) * Department of Anthropology (1071) * Department of Chemistry (1121) * Department of Geological Sciences (1221) * Department of Mathematics (1251) * Department of Romance Languages (1346) * School of Government- Environmental Finance Center Fund (0533) * Friends of the Health Sciences Library (4002) * Friends of the Library (5703) * Geography Fund (1617) * Germanic Languages (1417) * GLIMPSE BSBA International Programs (7792) * Institute for the Environment (0749) * InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (6025) * J.M. Johnston Scholarship (6605) * School of Law- Law Foundation Unrestricted (2501) * Medical Foundation- Sports Medicine Fund (3971) * Men’s and Women’s Swimming (5180) * Men’s Crew Club (6255) * Monty Williams Memorial (5151) * Music Library (5770) * North Carolina Collection (5775) * Phi Gamma Delta Gift Fund (6207) * PlayMakers Repertory Company (1181) * Psychiatry Fund (3901) * Public Policy Fund (1144) * Scholars Latino Initiative (0127) * School of Journalism and Mass Communication- Advertising (2403) * School of Dentistry- Special Project (2167) * Sexuality Studies (7226) * Southern Oral History (1235) * Stone Center Brewington Dance Studio (6026) * Student Government (6180) * Study Abroad Awards (1104) * The G. Shuford & Connie H. Abernethy Graduate and Professional Studies Endowment (6807) * Transportation & Parking Gift Fund (P2P) (0929) * UNC Dance Marathon Fund (8960) * UNC Kidney Center Gift Fund (8866) * University Development Programs (0003) * University Library (5701) * Women’s Center (6052) * Women’s Rowing Special (5136)

giving.unc.edu/gift

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friday, april 3, 2009

2009 Final Four Preview

amenities subject to change

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