UNC 2009-10 season

US college basketball season has started and I've been slacking on North Carolina posts. I'll try to get some Tar Heel news and updates soon.

Carolina draft recap

Tyler Hansbrough - Indiana Pacers (13th overall)
Tywon Lawson - Minnesota Timberwolves (18th overall)
Wayne Ellington - Minnesota Timberwolves (28th overall)
Danny Green - Cleveland Cavaliers (45th overall)

As expected, three Tar Heels get selected in the first round. I was surprised to see Tyler Hansbrough go ahead of Ty Lawson though. I thought the speed demon point guard had the best shot to land in the lottery.

I thought it was hilarious and stupid for Minnesota drafting three point guards with their first three picks (Spain's Ricky Rubio, Syracuse's Jonny Flynn and Lawson). That said, they've agreed to send Lawson to Denver for a future 1st rounder. The Nuggets just improved their exciting high-octane offense by adding him to their roster. He is expected to log backup minutes for Billups.

Meanwhile, Cleveland is getting a heck of a player with swingman Danny Green. Dude will be a solid contributor for the Cavs. I fully expect him to crack the rotation given the lack of quality bench players in Cleveland.

No matter how they fare in the NBA, the teams that drafted these UNC players are getting proven winners.

Tar Heels in the 2009 NBA Draft

With the NBA Draft only several hours away, I only have one wish - that UNC's Danny Green can somehow sneak into the first round.

Dude was instrumental in Carolina's magnificent run to the NCAA Championship last April and I hope he gets a chance to land a roster spot come the regular season.

The other three Tar Heels are all expected to be selected in the first round. All-Americans Ty Lawson and Tyler Hansbrough might even end up as lottery picks while Wayne Ellington is predicted to go in the late 20's range.

Regardless of where they may end up, I wish them nothing but success intheir professional careers.

Courtside seats to catch former Tar Heel

I'm excited to see former UNC player David Noel play as Ginebra takes on Talk N Text in the PBA's main game tonight at the Araneta Coliseum.

Dude's been on a roll since arriving as the Gin Kings' import a couple of weeks ago. He got a triple-double on his debut to lead Ginebra to a win. He also captured the Slam Dunk title and was named the All-Star game MVP during last week's PBA All-Star weekend.

Can't wait to see him play up close. Been his fan since he captained an overachieving 2005-06 UNC team to a fantastic season despite losing its championship core (Felton, May, McCants, Marvin Williams, Jawad Williams).

David Noel is PBA dunk champ

Former Tar Heel and current Ginebra import David Noel took home the PBA Slam Dunk crown today. The 2005 NCAA champ and 2006 Final Four Slam Dunk winner tore it up in the final round with a pair of 50-point throwdowns.

His highlight slam came from a round-off, backflip routine punctuated by a two-handed, alley-oop 360 that got the crowd on their feet.

Ginebra brings in former Tar Heel as import

Can't believe David Noel from North Carolina's 2005 NCAA Basketball Champion team is playing as an import here in Manila! And to top that, he's playing for my favorite team too!

He recorded a triple-double on his debut the other night with 22 points, 17 rebounds and 10 assists in leading Barangay Ginebra to a 100-94 win over Burger King.

I've all the more reason to catch the PBA games live this season with the former Tar Heel mainstay reinforcing the Gin Kings.

Oh Carolina!!!

North Carolina romped through the NCAA tournament like MJ's Bulls of the 90's. They were simply far and away the best college basketball team in America.

In a masterful display of sheer dominance, the Tar Heels raced to a quick double digit lead within 4 minutes of tipoff and it was all but over midway through the first half. They coasted for much of the second half and ended Michigan State and the rest of Detroit's hopeful dreams with an 89-72 blowout win.

Like UNC's 35-point victory over the same Michigan State team in the same venue last December, the Spartans didn't even have a tiny bit of chance in this one. It was all Carolina blue from buzzer to buzzer.

Just like 4 years ago, when coach Roy Williams won his first title with NBA lottery picks Sean May, Raymond Felton, Marvin Williams and Rashad McCants, Carolina will lose its core.

Seniors Tyler Hansbrough and Danny Green will graduate and should find themselves in NBA rosters come June. Juniors Tywon Lawson and Wayne Ellington will most likely join their senior teammates in the NBA draft.

They will, however, welcome the number one-ranked recruiting class next season. So not all is lost for the Tar Heel faithful. As the saying goes, "We don't rebuild, we reload." Expect UNC to remain in a good position to possibly defend their title.

Despite heavy expectations and tremendous pressure, Carolina proved to everyone why they were annointed college hoops' best team. They started and finished the 2008-09 season at the top, head and shoulders above everyone else.

It wasn't even close.

UNC guns for another national championship

North Carolina bulldozed through the first four rounds of the NCAA tournament with so much ease. The national semifinals yesterday added yet another impressive and convincing win.

The Tar Heels maintained a steady double-digit lead throughout the game to end Villanova's season, 83-69. Simply put, the Wildcats never stood a chance. It was pretty much all Carolina Blue from start to finish.

ACC Player of the Year Ty Lawson led the Heels with 22 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists. Wayne Ellington added 20 points and 9 rebounds while four-time All-American Tyler Hansbrough contributed 18 points and 11 rebounds.

UNC will meet Big 10 champions Michigan State for the National Championship tomorrow morning (Manila time). It will be rematch of the December 2008 Ford Field massacre with the Heels absolutely crushing and humiliating the Spartans, 98-63.

Deeeetrrooiiit Final Four 2009

The Final Four is a couple of hours away and I'm so amped.

I got Michigan State pulling an upset over Connecticut and, of course, the Tar Heels pummeling Villanova.

I was almost going to place money on UNC (-7.5) but something tells me Villanova might just keep it close. I'll save the wager for the championship game on Tuesday morning (Manila time).

Tar Heels book their second straight Final Four

North Carolina absolutely demolished Michigan State last December to the tune of a 98-63 drubbing. The game was held at Detroit's Ford Field, the site of this year's Final Four.

UNC coach Roy Williams vowed to bring his team back to play at Detroit in April. With another convincing win in the NCAA tournament, he did just that. A promise fulfilled.

Perennial powerhouse and oddsmakers favorite North Carolina proved far too superior for the Oklahoma Sooners as they won comfortably, 72-60, in their Elite Eight matchup.

The Tar Heels led by as much as 21 in the second half before a late Oklahoma run made the score a little bit closer. But they were pretty much out of it as they failed to get within single digits the rest of the way.

Blake Griffin also showed why he was the best college basketball player this season with his 30th double-double, scoring 23 points and collecting 16 rebounds.

Reigning national player of the year and All-American senior Tyler Hansbrough was held to 8 points while ACC Player of the Year Ty Lawson led the Heels with 19 points and 5 assists.

Lawson was named most outstanding player of the South Region.

The Final Four is now set with Carolina facing Villanova and Connecticut taking on Michigan State in next weekend's national semifinals.

UNC reaches third straight Elite 8

South Regional top seed North Carolina used its potent uptempo offense to run out the Gonzaga Bulldogs, 98-77, in their Sweet Sixteen

ACC Player of the Year Ty Lawson led the Tar Heels' charge with 19 points and 9 assists with only 1 turnover. All-American senior and ACC leading scorer Tyler Hansbrough added a double-double performance with 24 points and 10 rebounds.

North Carolina will try to gun for an NCAA-leading 18th Final Four appearance when they face second seed Oklahoma tomorrow. The game will showcase what should be a great matchup between the last two national players of the year in Hansbrough (consensus 2008) and Blake Griffin (likely consensus 2009).

UNC off to Sweet 16

North Carolina breezed past the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament with double-digit wins over Radford (101-58) and LSU (84-70).

The Tar Heels enjoyed another pro-UNC crowd having played both games at nearby Greensboro. They will travel to the FedEx Forum in Memphis to face Gonzaga in the Sweet Sixteen this weekend.

It will the the third straight year Carolina has reached the regional semifinals of the NCAA tournament. They lost to Georgetown in the Elite 8 in 2007 and Kansas in the Final Four last year.

Louisville gets first number one ranking ever

Final AP Top 5

1. Louisville (Big East, 28-5) - rose from 5th
2. North Carolina (ACC, 28-4) - dropped from 1st
3. Memphis (C-USA, 31-3) - moved up from 4th
4. Pittsburgh (Big East, 28-4) - fell from 2nd
5. Connecticut (Big East, 27-4) - slid from 3rd

The NCAA Tournament starts next week with Louisville, UNC, Pitt and UConn as the four number one seeds.

UNC leads the South Region

A semifinal loss to Florida State in the ACC Tournament may have cost North Carolina the overall number one seed in the NCAA Tournament but more importantly, they still secured the #1 spot in the South Region.

The Tar Heels will most likely have ACC Player of the Year Ty Lawson back after missing their two ACC Tournament games. They would probably have won the tourney had Lawson suited up but Coach Roy Williams said their top priority was getting his speedy All-American point guard ready for their run for the national championship.

Three Big East teams - Louisville (Midwest), Connecticut (West) and Pittsburgh (East) - round out the other regional top seeds with the Cardinals being the overall number one.

UNC regains top spot

AP Top 5 (as of March 9, 2009)

1. North Carolina (ACC, 27-3) - moved up from 2nd
2. Pittsburgh (Big East, 28-3) - moved up from 3rd
3. Connecticut (Big East, 27-3) - dropped from 1st
4. Memphis (C-USA, 28-3) - moved up from 5th
5. Louisville (Big East, 25-5) - moved up from 6th

Final poll will be released next week.

UNC sweeps Duke, wins ACC

(2)North Carolina continued its recent dominance over cross-town rivals (7)Duke with a 79-71 win on Senior Day at the Smith Center. The Tar Heels (27-3, 13-3 ACC) clinched their second straight ACC regular season title, their 3rd in the last five years.

Seven seniors, led by All-American Tyler Hansbrough, played the last home games of their college careers. UNC coach Roy Williams honored his seniors by having all seven of them on the court prior to tipoff.

North Carolina will be the top seed in next week's ACC Tournament in Atlanta.

UNC guns for outright ACC title

Second-ranked North Carolina (26-3, 12-3 ACC) has already clinched at least a share of the ACC regular season title going into its season-ending game against Duke (25-5, 11-4 ACC) at Chapel Hill this weekend. A win on Senior Day will give the title to the Tar Heels while a loss will make Duke and UNC co-champions.

Senior scholarship players Tyler Hansbrough, Danny Green, Mike Copeland and Bobby Frasor as well as senior walk-ons JB Tanner, Jack Wooten and Patrick Moody will be playing the final home game of their college careers. What better way to send them off than with a victory over Duke and another regular season title.

UConn back at #1

AP Top 5 (as of March 2, 2009)

1. Connecticut (Big East, 27-2) - moved up from 2nd
2. North Carolina (ACC, 25-3) - moved up from 4th
3. Pittsburgh (Big East, 26-3) - dropped from 1st
4. Oklahoma (Big 12, 26-3) - dropped from 3rd
5. Memphis (C-USA, 26-3) - remains unchanged

AP Top 4 remain the same

AP Top 5 (as of February 16, 2009)

1. Connecticut (Big East, 24-1)
2. Oklahoma (Big 12, 25-1)
3. North Carolina (ACC, 23-2)
4. Pittsburgh (Big East, 23-2)
5. Memphis (C-USA, 22-3) - moved up from 8th

*(1)UConn just lost to (4)Pittsburgh so expect the Huskies to drop from the top spot in next week's polls.

UNC ups ACC lead to 2 games

Following a 101-87 thrashing of archrival Duke a few days ago, (3)North Carolina held off an inspired Jack McClinton-led Miami comeback to hang on to a 69-65 win.

All-American junior Ty Lawson hit consecutive clutch treys late in the game to keep surging Miami at bay. He finished with 21 points with 15 coming from beyond the arc.

With (6)Duke losing to Boston College, the Tar Heels (23-2, 9-2 ACC) increase their ACC lead to two games. If it weren't for UNC's consecutive losses to start the regular season, the conference race might have been all but wrapped up by now.