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Between
the early departures of Sean May, Raymond Felton, Rashad McCants,
and Marvin Williams, and the hangover of a National Championship,
the buzz entering the '05-06 UNC basketball season seemed to
be nothing less than…deflated.
When
not checking the latest recruiting news, many Tar Heel fans
curled up in the fetal position or, at best, hauled out the
old 'what if they stayed?' conversations that had flourished
during the '80s and '90s, while tossing this season into the
wind.
Well, if you're
one of those fans, you'd be smart to reclaim your seat in the
Smith Center. Because despite a 68-64 loss to the Fightin' Illini
on Tuesday night, the 2005-06 Tar Heels are not only fun to
watch, but they may also turn out to be one of the more pivotal
teams to grace the Smith Center floor.
Although a 2005
National Championship banner now hangs in the rafters, one would
be hard-pressed to say that the culture associated with last
season's team was the limestone for a Roy Williams-run program.
With the regime changes in 2000 and 2003 and the dramatic exodus
this spring of the "Fantastic Four", it could be argued
that the culture of the Coach Williams era at UNC has not been
fully established.
Followers of Roy
Williams know that his brand of basketball relies heavily on
team play, chemistry, and effort night in and night out. And
to say that a team-play and hard effort were deeply embedded
within the UNC basketball program over the past two seasons
could be easily argued against.
Every great program
and team has a moment that pushes forth a climb to power, and
UNC fans familiar with the success of seasons past know that
great teams have not only stars but also players that morph
into valuable unassuming roles.
When attempting
to identify the moment when UNC basketball swung back into national
prominence and the personality of this program shifted, the
arguable answer would be the day that Roy Williams signed Marvin
Williams.
However, with
versatile players that love to push the ball, that act as interchangeable
parts, and who can play multiple positions, followers of this
season's team will see that the Roy Williams/UNC brand of basketball
has moved front and center with this year's freshman class.
In terms of skills,
the key players on this team can play two to three different
positions. Already, a glance at Carolina's top minute grabbers
gleams with versatility. Senior David Noel, well-known for hard-nosed
play is adapting to the role of a slashing enforcer.
Freshman Bobby
Frasor, who is listed at 6'3", plays as if he is 6'6"
and has displayed a surprisingly amount of fluidity while playing
out of position at point guard. Freshman Marcus Ginyard is living
up to the hype as a three pronged defensive, shooting, and passing
threat. Ginyard is fulfilling his immense promise by clamping
down on opposing guards and wing forwards with his defensive
play.
Yet, what is refreshing
about this group of players is the unassuming team play and
togetherness displayed by freshmen that hasn't graced the Smith
Center in quite some time. This is not a team screaming for
love and acceptance.
Gone is the one-year
dynasty with its feted saviors and its memories of an empire
that had a short stumble. What is different with these new-look
Heels is the attitude that begins with their freshmen, Tyler
Hansborough, Danny Green, Frasor, and Ginyard. The team has
a flavor of big-city Catholic League cool blended with a farm-boy
toughness that can make your teeth rattle. They all seemingly
know that respect for team play is earned -- not simply bestowed
upon -- in Chapel Hill.
With first title,
Roy Williams's career has come full circle. Eerily, Williams
is in a similar position to when he arrived at in 1988-89 in
Kansas; and what should be expected with his follow-up project
is a considerable amount of patience.
During Willliams'
first year at KU, he inherited a team decimated by the departure
of seniors, including All-American Danny Manning. However, the
remnants of Larry Brown's national championship team did include
players such as Kevin Pritchard, Milt Newton, and Scooter Barry,
who could play multiple positions.
Throughout his
first season, Williams was able to mix those interchangeable
parts with renegade fast play that would firmly establish a
culture of smash-mouth effort and team play for his KU program.
His first team shocked many basketball pundits with several
of its wins, including a big upset when they claimed the Preseason
NIT title over St. John's.
Yet, Tar Heel
fans shouldn't salivate too much with this comparison. That
particular KU team ended up 19-12, losing eight in a row with
nine losses in it's final twelve games. This season, during
a six game stretch that begins in January with an away game
at Florida State and continuing with Boston College, Arizona,
Maryland, Clemson, and Duke, Tar Heel fans could share in the
same effects felt around Lawerence in 1989. However, they may
want to sharpen their utensils for a time in mid-February when
the roles and the blueprint for success could begin to emerge
from a hot stove. The two teams that followed Roy Williams's
first squad at Kansas were a 30-5 team in 1989-90 and a Championship
Runner-Up in '90-'91.
Most of the buzz
surrounding this pre-season has centered upon the six-man recruiting
class that Roy Williams has assembled for Fall 2006 by signing
Tywon Lawson, Deon Thompson, Brandan Wright, Wayne Ellington,
Alex Stepheson, and William Greaves. Understandably, the buzz
is about the future. Yet, UNC fans should not lose sight of
the "now".
With the main
players and attitude of this 2005-06 team, the cement for the
foundation of Roy Williams' legacy at Carolina is currently
in mixing session. Tar Heel followers will more than likely
look back at this season's team as the jumping-off point that
sparked the development of a dynasty.
From the Corner,
BD
Bret Dougherty is an alum
and completed his Master's degree at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is
a host of WXYC FM 89.3 Chapel Hill 'SportsRap' and a WXYC music
show called 'Fifteen Feet and In' that can be streamed at www.wxyc.org.
Visit his website at www.bretdougherty.com
and his blog, "The IronDog Chronicles, which can be reached
at www.irondogchronicles.com.
He may be reached at bret.dougherty@gmail.com.
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