Tag Archives: James Michael McAdoo

Finish the Season Strong

UNC National Championship Banners

(Originally posted on Facebook immediately after UNC lost to Duke in Durham, 93-81.  Follow us on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/CarolinaTarHeelsOnMyMind.)

McAdoo’s early foul trouble, Meeks’ illness, a great game by Hood, and a stellar game by Parker were too much for this Heel team to overcome. They’ll learn from this, and they’ll grow because of this.

This season is far from over, and we’ll still make some noise this year in both tournaments. But the dividends of some of these tough losses — especially the one tonight — will really show up next year and even the next.

We can’t start a game like this not matching their intensity. We have to stay poised and take care of the ball much better than we did tonight. (Early in the game, we had 6 points and 6 turnovers. Think about that.) And Paige can’t wait until the second half to start exerting his will on the offensive end. He has to break that pattern.

A coach can tell players those things over and over and over. But sometimes the players only partially understand words. They think they understand, but on nights like tonight, it becomes clear what “playing with a sense of urgency” and “playing the full 40 minutes” really means.

We have good guys on our team. They have heart, they’re talented, they’re coachable, and they’re resilient. They never give up — one of my favorite things about this team. They have far exceeded my expectations once we all learned PJ would not rejoin the team. But my expectations for them next year will be much higher.

For now, let’s finish the season strong. Let’s try to continue to exceed expectations. Let’s keep getting better.

Go Heels!

UNC vs Duke — Round 1, 2014

UNC Stomps Duke 400 x 400

Here we sit less than 48 hours away from tip-off of potentially one of the most exciting men’s college basketball games of the season:  UNC vs Duke — Round 1 in Chapel Hill.

Duke is the higher ranked team and the team most of the talking heads expect to come out victorious Wednesday night.  But when these two rivals meet, you never know what the outcome will be until it happens.

Tonight,  #17 ranked UNC women’s basketball marched a team of mostly freshmen and sophomores into Hansbrough Indoor Stadium, a.k.a. Cameron Indoor Stadium, and handily knocked off the #3 ranked women Blue Devils 89-78.  Let’s hope the ladies inspired our Tar Heel men to follow suit and complete the sweep of Round 1, UNC vs Duke.

Celebrating Tar Heel Basketball – 2010, 2011, 2012

Enjoy this well-done Tar Heel basketball video from fireholdenthorp on YouTube. Relive many of the highlights of the last two seasons, celebrate the players headed to the NBA plus those who are returning or soon starting their Tar Heel careers.

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North Carolina NCAA National Semifinals Game Film

Marcelo Perez - Basketball in a SpoonThis is an exciting weekend for the fans of  the Louisville Cardinals, Kentucky Wildcats, Ohio State Buckeyes, and Kansas Jayhawks.  All four teams will play in the NCAA National Semifinals this evening in New Orleans.  The North Carolina Tar Heels lost to Kansas in the Elite Eight of this year’s NCAA tournament and didn’t make the trip to New Orleans.

At least four members of the current Tar Heel squad have decided to enter the upcoming NBA draft; only one has exhausted his college eligibility.   And the exodus to the NBA may not end there.  James Michael McAdoo is still deciding whether to make the leap with his teammates — Harrison Barnes, John Henson, Kendall Marshall, and Tyler Zeller — or to return to UNC for his sophomore season.

Not only will UNC fans miss the opportunity to watch the 2011-2012 Tar Heel hard court edition reach their dream of winning a National Championship for themselves, their coaches, and all of Tar Heel Nation, but also, we have this entire weekend to ponder what might have been if this talented team could have avoided the unusually high number of serious injuries they suffered this season.  And then there’s this little issue concerning our frontcourt for the 2012-2013 season.

Instead of worrying about McAdoo’s decision and moping around while the Cardinals take on the Wildcats and the Buckeyes take on the Jayhawks, maybe you Tar Heels would enjoy watching a few of Carolina’s previous NCAA National Semifinals.

ncaa national semifinals game film:

2009 – North Carolina vs Villanova
2008 – North Carolina vs Kansas
2005 – North Carolina vs Michigan State
2000 – North Carolina vs Florida
1998 – North Carolina vs Utah
1997 – North Carolina vs Arizona
1995 – North Carolina vs Arkansas
1993 – North Carolina vs Kansas
1991 – North Carolina vs Kansas
1982 – North Carolina vs Houston