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From the beginning, I said the Tar Heels would win the national championship and now is not the time to flip-flop. Carolina, I feel, still has everything it needs to cut down the nets on Monday night, but after last weekend, there are some concerns. No team out there scares me like the Memphis Tigers. Derrick Rose, Joey Dorsey and Chris Douglas-Roberts can flat out play. John Calipari is a great head coach and this team has a chip on their shoulder. I was one of many who picked Memphis to be the first top-seed eliminated because of their schedule and poor free throw shooting. The Tigers proved that they are tremendous, and for those still alive in any office pools with UCLA reaching the finals, you should be very worried.
Before I can worry about the finals, the Tar Heels have to defeat the Kansas Jayhawks, another group that was very impressive at times. Kansas may have played a little tense versus Davidson this past Sunday in the Elite 8, but the Jayhawks still managed to win the game. That says a lot about a team and their ability to win even when they are not playing their best. I expect KU to come out and execute much better against Carolina. The Jayhawks have the personnel to match up with the Tar Heels, especially in transition. UNC likes to push the ball up the court, but Kansas can get back on defense and force the Heels to slow down their fast-break.
Let us not forget about Tyler Hansbrough. Should the Jayhawks slow down Ty Lawson and Co. in transition, UNC has the luxury of throwing the ball inside to Hansbrough, who can score or draw fouls. Louisville did a superb job defending Hansbrough in the first half on Saturday, but the Cardinals still trailed. When Louisville made a run down the stretch, tying the game, it was Hansbrough that punched his team’s ticket to the Alamo Dome.
What will be the difference is the play of Wayne Ellington and Danny Green. As these two go, so do the Heels. Carolina’s back-court needs to keep Kansas honest and not allow the Jayhawks to sag down on Hansbrough, daring someone to make a jumper. Ellington is a much better player when he drives to the basket, makes a couple layups and then shoot 3s. Should Ellington get off to a slow start, he has shown a tendency to struggle and Carolina can ill-afford another 3 for 14 shooting night from its sophomore. Green seems to be playing his best basketball of the year and it couldn’t have come at a better time. His defense alone will be huge, whether he’s on Mario Chalmers or Brandon Rush. If Green can get 10 points and shut down one or the other, his job will be done. Junior Marcus Ginyard is Carolina’s best defender, meaning his name could come up rather oftern as well.
Then there is the Roy Williams factor. Williams left Kansas for Chapel Hill five years ago. He has since won a national championship and the Jayhawks obviously survived without him. Don’t think for one second that Williams isn’t relishing the thought of knocking off his old school. Something about this game reminds me of 1991 when a Williams-led Kansas team beat a Dean Smith-led Tar Heels team in the Final Four. Williams is a great big-game coach and he has UNC playing at a very high level at the right time. My money is on a guy preparing for his sixth Final Four as opposed to a coach [Bill Self] in his first. I don’t really have any money on the Heels any more as I have been eliminated from any pool contention, relieving my conscience from any jinx thoughts.
Saturday night should be a lot of fun. The pieces are in place for a crazy two games, all fans can do is hope it lives up to the hype. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out that way.
Staff Writer Eliot Duke can be reached at 472-9500, ext. 233, or at eliotduke@hotmail.com.