I hate the Tar Heels. I despise everything Carolina blue. I still call Sean May fat.
That being said, I believe what Roy Williams has done this season-on display in Saturday's win at Duke-is pretty doggone impressive.
It's a well-known story that North Carolina lost its top seven scorers from last season and gained one of the best freshman classes in the country-including first-team All-ACC forward Tyler Hansbrough.
But I thought stories of Tar Heel success this so far this year were all talk, that Williams' team had gotten lucky, taking advantage of a weaker ACC and a poor out-of-conference schedule.
Saturday night's game changed my opinion completely.
Once Duke took an 11-point lead just four minutes into the game, every person in the building was certain that Roy and his froshies were about to get run out of a rocking Cameron Indoor Stadium.
Well, someone forgot to tell those wide-eyed Tar Heels. North Carolina stuck with its gameplan and it worked to perfection. Whenever they had the chance, the Tar Heels pushed the ball up the court in the hands of either Bobby Frasor or Quentin Thomas and beat the Blue Devils to the other end, creating endless mismatches and rotation problems. I can't tell you how many times I found myself jumping up-and-down yelling, "Stop the ball!" as one of the Tar Heels broke down Duke's defense.
With the Blue Devils up one at halftime, I said to my friend, "We're fine. There's no way they can keep this pace up the whole game."
Suffice it to say that I was wrong. Very, very wrong.
Williams kept running players in off the bench and got the most out of them. Thomas, who has struggled much of the season, notched six points and three assists while turning the ball over just once in 11 minutes. Sean Dockery and Josh McRoberts had identical combined numbers to Thomas-but it took them four times as long to do so.
Williams was able to keep his young squad in control even in the most intense situations. When DeMarcus Nelson drilled his second three-pointer in less than a minute and Cameron was louder than I've ever heard any sporting arena, I figured the Tar Heels would finally succumb.
Even the most ardent Carolina fans must have been worried at that moment that those freshmen would fold under pressure. But in the most vaunted environment in college basketball, Williams had the confidence to put the ball in the hands of two of his freshman and let them decide the game.
They did not disappoint.
Hansbrough and Frasor went to the line six times and nailed all six attempts in the final 30 seconds of the game, icing the win and ruining Duke's Senior Night.
With 2:30 remaining, Hansbrough left a free throw short. On the sideline, Williams waved his arms violently trying to get his prodigy's attention. When Hansbrough finally looked over, Williams made a free-throw shooting motion and took a step forward, reminding Hansbrough to stay balanced on his shot and not fall away from it. And the freshman did, making his next five attempts and carrying his team to victory on his precocious shoulders.
Williams should be infinitely praised for how well he has groomed his star freshman. Not since Carmelo Anthony has college basketball seen a freshman as dominant as Hansbrough. Sure, the baby-faced 20-year-old looks lost on the court at times and yes, he gets visibly angry at himself when he makes a mistake, but Williams has done a heck of a job teaching him how to handle himself.
When Sean Dockery knocked him to the floor in the game's closing seconds, Hansbrough reacted like a seasoned veteran, getting to his feet and walking straight to the free throw line.
As much as people talk about making "freshman mistakes," Williams and the Tar Heels made so few in an environment where people expected them to crumble, especially after a poor start.
From Saturday's performance, I gained the utmost respect for Roy Williams and what he has done in bringing that team together.
But I still hate his Carolina blue jacket.
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