Posted on 03/05/2006 6:20:21 PM PST by southwilby
This week's reader: Anthony Violi, Carrollton, Texas.
Favorite Radiators song: "Deep in my Voodoo"
Featured game: No. 13 North Carolina at No. 1 Duke, Saturday, 9 p.m. ET
My best friend, Evan, who is a North Carolina graduate, called me first thing on Thursday morning. Being a Duke grad myself, I normally wouldn't take calls from the Carolina folks this week (especially pre-coffee). But I married Evan's cousin, so I kind of had to answer the phone.
"Did you ever guess," Evan wanted to know, "that North Carolina would be this good?"
Actually, no. Neither did Evan. Neither did anybody else. It's hard to discern when a coach actually does his "best coaching job," but this season has got to be on Roy Williams' short list. I'll bet it's one of his most enjoyable years, too. No pressure, a roster full of young, eager beavers, no Rashad McCants -- who could ask for anything more?
The Tar Heels began the season as the first team in ACC history to lose their top seven scorers, yet here they are, sitting alone in second place with an 11-4 record (20-6 overall), riding a six-game winning streak (the last three by an average of 31.0 points) as they head into the regular season finale in Cameron Indoor Stadium. From where I sit, there are two major reasons North Carolina has so drastically exceeded expectations.
First, Tyler Hansbrough is far, far better than most people thought he'd be. As a blue-collar player on the
(Excerpt) Read more at sportsillustrated.cnn.com ...
Tyler bump!
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