Tarheels win!

Rathead123 · #1 04-06-2009, 10:15 PM

N.C.A.A. Championship.

southernrocker · #2 04-06-2009, 10:18 PM

wasn't much of a game, was it.

crimson_basser · #3 04-06-2009, 10:19 PM

YESSIR!

Very happy they pulled it off. They were the most deserving team all season, great team all around, great coach, great starting line, deep bench with lots of promise.

Congrats!

Oren Hudson · #4 04-06-2009, 10:26 PM

A blazing first half - what a show - followed by a "maintain" second half.

capnsandwich · #5 04-06-2009, 10:29 PM

Me, being a life long Spartan fan, found it rather hard to watch the game but I'm still proud of my Spartans. They were outmatched both physically and by experience. I'm pretty sure the Tarheels are losing most of their team but we'll be back in the tournament next year and only losing 1 starter. Congratulations UNC but I think next year will be a little different for you guys.

crimson_basser · #6 04-06-2009, 10:35 PM

UNC isnt loosing all that much, they still have a good chunk of their team coming back next year, with quite a few promising younglings coming up to fill key spots.

They might not be championship strong next year, but they will still be a tough team to beat.

My money is going on Wake Forest next year. Just you wait, just you wait. They will be the UNC of next season.

PurplePurple · #7 04-06-2009, 11:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crimson_basser

UNC isnt loosing all that much, they still have a good chunk of their team coming back next year, with quite a few promising younglings coming up to fill key spots.

They might not be championship strong next year, but they will still be a tough team to beat.

My money is going on Wake Forest next year. Just you wait, just you wait. They will be the UNC of next season.

My money is actually on State being the UNC of next season.

I'm terrible at guessing but they share some parallels.

Last Season: UNC fights into the final four to be crushed by Kansas. All return looking to win championship and succeed.

This Season: MSU fights through 2 #1 seeds to get throttled in the championship game. Most of their time is returning.

Suton will definetly be missed but if Morgan developes into the star he should have been this year. Lucas improves some small things. Summers gets smarter. Roe becomes better physically...

It's a formula to watch out for.

I just can't figure out who their new big man super star will be...

I'm going to Oregon though so i'm pretty sure i'll be excited if they even get close to making the tournament...

But i agree that the ACC is still one scary conference and I can totally see Wake becoming a true force to be reckoned with.

JacoLesFlea · #8 04-07-2009, 01:07 AM

that game was over in the first 5 minutes......

capnsandwich · #9 04-07-2009, 08:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PurplePurple

My money is actually on State being the UNC of next season.

I'm terrible at guessing but they share some parallels.

Last Season: UNC fights into the final four to be crushed by Kansas. All return looking to win championship and succeed.

This Season: MSU fights through 2 #1 seeds to get throttled in the championship game. Most of their time is returning.

Suton will definetly be missed but if Morgan developes into the star he should have been this year. Lucas improves some small things. Summers gets smarter. Roe becomes better physically...

It's a formula to watch out for.

I just can't figure out who their new big man super star will be...

I'm going to Oregon though so i'm pretty sure i'll be excited if they even get close to making the tournament...

But i agree that the ACC is still one scary conference and I can totally see Wake becoming a true force to be reckoned with.

Thank you for making my point for me. I totally agree with you here. The problem I saw this year was that Delvon Roe, while being an amazing player, sat out his senior year of high school due to getting surgery so this whole year was kind of a rehab year. Morgan has never been the same ever since he came back from pneumonia and mononucleosis so he was sorely missed. He had that one good game against UConn but other than that he was just a sub. While Goran Suton was a great role player, he only began playing his role at the level he needed to at the end of the season. I remember him missing wide open lay ups, air balling 12' jumpers, and fouling instead of blocking shots throughout the beginning of the year when he came back. Korie Lucious will be a great shooting guard next year and Summers, I don't need to say anything. He's going to be a beast.

Wake Forest may very well be a force to be reckoned with next season but also you have to watch out for Ohio State too. They'll be in the mix in the Big Ten and a better team overall even though they're going to miss their big man to the NBA. Duke, also, will be a beast, and Syracuse too.

lousybassplayer · #10 04-07-2009, 08:11 AM

I got slightly into college b-ball when I lived in NC and even though I really seldom follow I was glad to see them take it, although I would have rather watched them play UCONN. I don't mind Michigan State since I hate Michigan, but I was sick of hearing nonsense about how it would be good for the economy and country if they won or whatever idiotic crap they were all spinning.

capnsandwich · #11 04-07-2009, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by lousybassplayer

but I was sick of hearing nonsense about how it would be good for the economy and country if they won or whatever idiotic crap they were all spinning.

I hear you there. The media is always trying to make something out of nothing. Yeah Detroit is not the place it used to be, and yeah Michigan is hurting but East Lansing is a nice place. MSU has a beautiful campus and there are plenty of nicer areas in that state. Even Detroit has it's rich neighborhoods and stuff. All in all it's just a basketball game and today people still have to get up in the morning and live their lives no matter who won the game.

lousybassplayer · #12 04-07-2009, 08:50 AM

Hey, if some team winning a championship would save the whole world from hunger and war and poverty and aids and natural disasters and another Linkin Park album I'd be all for it, but this was analgous to saying that if the Islander's win the Stanley Cup, Wall Street would be cured and the Dow Jones would be up 1,000,000 points overnight. It just made no sense.

dangnewt · #13 04-07-2009, 08:59 AM

Since I went to UNC for graduate school, it is my duty and honor to root for them. Although some years (including this year) it feels a little like rooting for the NY Yankees since the team is so stacked with blue-chippers. That said, as talented as the 2009 team was on paper, you still have to do it on the court, and the Heels did.

Michigan State played great throughout the year and the tournament and has become one of those programs that is always going to be pretty good and every so often will take a strong run at the title. Wouldn't be surprised to see them there next year.

Carolina will probably lose 4 out of 5 starters (2 seniors and 2 juniors) to the NBA; but they are always a force to be reckoned with.

dean owens · #14 04-07-2009, 09:07 AM

i wasn't able to go to detroit... but i was in the dean dome and went out to franklin street to celebrate. great night. although, i'm getting a little too old for it. i'm struggling to get going this morning. we better enjoy it while we can. we're going to lose our whole team this year.

crimson_basser · #15 04-07-2009, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PurplePurple

My money is actually on State being the UNC of next season.

I'm terrible at guessing but they share some parallels.

Last Season: UNC fights into the final four to be crushed by Kansas. All return looking to win championship and succeed.

This Season: MSU fights through 2 #1 seeds to get throttled in the championship game. Most of their time is returning.

Suton will definetly be missed but if Morgan developes into the star he should have been this year. Lucas improves some small things. Summers gets smarter. Roe becomes better physically...

It's a formula to watch out for.

I just can't figure out who their new big man super star will be...

I'm going to Oregon though so i'm pretty sure i'll be excited if they even get close to making the tournament...

But i agree that the ACC is still one scary conference and I can totally see Wake becoming a true force to be reckoned with.

The only thing i have to say about Michigan State is that they were out powered pretty well the whole game. They have a bunch of tall guys, though none of them are all that buff.

They were out muscled under the basket the whole game, and unless they do some serious training before next year, i see a similar story for next season.

As said earlier, UNC may be loosing some key starters, but they've had and used a deep bench all year, and while it may take a year or two for those younger guys to step up, they will still be a major force to be reckoned with next year.

+1 on the ACC being a conference to watch, it seems to me like they fly under the radar quite a bit.

Duke is only loosing 3 seniors (none starters), Wake is loosing 4 (none starters) so both of those teams will definitely need some watching next season.

Id like to go on record as saying that Wake will definitely be a number one seed next year, and will definitely be a power house team to look out for. With the experience they got this year, and the early outing, i think they will be more poised and ready and definitely hungry for a championship.

Not to mention, they have Skip Prosser's last graduating class coming up as well, so they will definitely be a force to be reckoned with for the next couple of years for sure.

Cant wait for next year.... already haha

capnsandwich · #16 04-07-2009, 01:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crimson_basser

The only thing i have to say about Michigan State is that they were out powered pretty well the whole game. They have a bunch of tall guys, though none of them are all that buff.

They were out muscled under the basket the whole game, and unless they do some serious training before next year, i see a similar story for next season.

I'd have to disagree with you here. MSU led the entire NCAA in rebounds, that includes UNC. Tom Izzo strives on his teams being tough players, not necessarily finesse players. He often has guys that play both football and basketball on his teams.

If you noticed how the game went on, they were down by 24 at one point but then in the second half closed it to 13. If they wouldn't have been suffering so much from stage fright in the first half, which is exactly what it looked like, they would have had a better chance at winning the game. They were getting chances but just not making shots. Most of the turnovers were stupid mistakes that freshmen and sophomores make when they're nervous. This is not to take away from how good UNC was last night. they were almost perfect in the first half. You couldn't have played that game any better than they did in the first half, but if you noticed the Spartans started coming back and actually won the second half by 4. That says a lot about the toughness of that team IMO. You can be as big and muscular as you want but if you don't have it together in the head you'll be sitting at home watching during March. 5 Final 4 appearances in 11 years tells me that MSU isn't weak.

ADbassman · #17 04-07-2009, 04:47 PM

What the hell is a Tarheel?

crimson_basser · #18 04-07-2009, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by capnsandwich

I'd have to disagree with you here. MSU led the entire NCAA in rebounds, that includes UNC. Tom Izzo strives on his teams being tough players, not necessarily finesse players. He often has guys that play both football and basketball on his teams.

If you noticed how the game went on, they were down by 24 at one point but then in the second half closed it to 13. If they wouldn't have been suffering so much from stage fright in the first half, which is exactly what it looked like, they would have had a better chance at winning the game. They were getting chances but just not making shots. Most of the turnovers were stupid mistakes that freshmen and sophomores make when they're nervous. This is not to take away from how good UNC was last night. they were almost perfect in the first half. You couldn't have played that game any better than they did in the first half, but if you noticed the Spartans started coming back and actually won the second half by 4. That says a lot about the toughness of that team IMO. You can be as big and muscular as you want but if you don't have it together in the head you'll be sitting at home watching during March. 5 Final 4 appearances in 11 years tells me that MSU isn't weak.

Point taken, they did close it up in the second half and took advantage of UNC easing off the gas a little bit. They definitely started missing a lot of easy shots, which gave Michigan State lots of chances, which they took and capitalized on, as you said, after getting over the first half.

Not trying to make it seem like UNC did nothing wrong or State made all the mistakes. Tom Izzo is a great coach, and no matter what, im always weary when hes behind the bench. He knew what he had to do to hold UNC at bay and he put the right moves in action for the most part, the players inexperience and fright got the better of them in the first half, which is where they lost the game.

Michigan State is still force to be reckoned with of course.

crimson_basser · #19 04-07-2009, 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ADbassman

What the hell is a Tarheel?

GregC · #20 04-07-2009, 05:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dangnewt

That said, as talented as the 2009 team was on paper, you still have to do it on the court, and the Heels did.

Exactly, Dan, the players have to go out and do it. Congrats to this group at UNC for (finally) delivering after years of hype, which can be a tough thing to overcome. I remember a lot of Heels fans on Espn's board were predicting in the fall of '06 that this group would beat my Gators for the '07 title! Highly rated recruits don't always work out, and talent alone won't get it done.

Quote:

Originally Posted by crimson_basser

+1 on the ACC being a conference to watch, it seems to me like they fly under the radar quite a bit.

LOL, maybe in Canada!

Gawd, the ACC has the most prominent broadcaster in college basketball, Dicky V., slurping at its teat every second he's on the air! And then there's Billy Packer, oy...