UNC men’s basketball’s 71-68 win over Duke on Saturday had similarities to the regular season finale in 2005, after Roy Williams returned to Carolina as head coach. His first three games against Mike Krzyzewski were agonizingly close but losses, nevertheless.
After all, Krzyzewski had won three national championships — one more than Williams’ mentor, and two of which came before Smith’s second title in 1993. Coach K won back to back in 1991 and ’92 and a third in 200, further cementing Duke as a national powerhouse. Williams had led Kansas to four Final Fours, the last a heartbreaking loss to Syracuse in the 2003 title game, before he returned to his alma mater and contended with Coach K, who had joined Smith in the Naismith Hall of Fame in 1991.
Duke beat Roy in their first three games, aiming to establish dominance after Carolina’s rough period under Matt Doherty. On Senior Day at the Smith Center, the Blue Devils led 73-66 with three minutes left. But the Tar Heels rallied. Freshman forward Marvin Williams punctuated it with his stunning put-back after Raymond Felton’s missed a free throw for the 75-73 win, and Ol’ Roy was on his way.
Williams still contends the Smith Center was as loud as any arena he ever heard after which he cut down the nets to commemorate his first ACC regular season championship. A few weeks later, he celebrated his first of three NCAA championships in St. Louis.
It looked like Hubert Davis, who was on Williams staff for nine years, was teetering on the verge of losing his fourth straight game to Jon Scheyer, who succeed Coach K. Most of the current Tar Heels weren’t born or aware of such comebacks as 2005 or 1996’s win in the Smith center where Dante Calabria tipped in a shot with 6.5 seconds left to beat the Blue Devils. But senior Seth Trimble’s corner bullseye will be part of Carolina history for those who were in the Dean Dome or watching on TV or will be told by their parents for years to come.
“That was a shot made by the perfect person at the right time,” Davis said to the gathered media after dancing in the locker room with his players. “He is deserving to being remembered forever.”
The throng that celebrated Tremble, Wilson, Veesaar and their teammates had to equal the explosion on the floor from the 2005 win over Duke and others over the 40-year history of the Smith Center. Duke’s defense had been effective for most of the game, keeping the Tar Heels out of the paint and off the boards in the first half. But the home team stayed close enough to reverse pressure on the favored Blue Devils as their stats tapered off by the second half and Carolina grabbed the lead in the final second.
“Yeah, we continued to fight,” Davis said, “We were down but one if these things we were missing us we didn’t join the fight. Every 50-50 loose ball, they were the first one to get it. And we just continued to stick to it, every time we got knocked, not only did we get back up we kept taking a step forward. And as we continued to cut into the lead our confidence just got better on both ends of the floor.
“And then when Henri stepped up,” the head coach added. “He had zero defensive rebounds in the first half. He had a double double in the second half, and his ability to dominate in the paint was huge, and Cale kept us around the first half.”
Indeed, Veesaar came to life after halftime and finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds to take the pressure off Caleb Wilson. Playing all 40 minutes, the star freshman finished with 23 points, shot 8-of-12 from the floor, 6-of-6 from the free throw line with 4 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 assists, 1 block and no turnovers. Trimble, meanwhile, made 5-of-7 from the floor and foul line, and their freshman point guard Derek Dixon made 2 three-pointers.
Despite their initial scoring stumbles and Duke’s threats to pull away, it was one of Carolina’s best all-around efforts of the season against their highest ranked opponent yet and earned them their fifth Quad 1 win. The Heels have now won five straight games, sitting at 19-4 and 7-3 in the ACC and climbing in the polls.
“It’s all them, nothing by me, nothing. The wins got to do with them and the losses got to do with me,” Davis said. “Obviously, being at this level, being at North Carolina, and playing in these type of games, the light is bright and there is nowhere to hide. Caleb and Henri, they don’t run from it, they run toward it.”
While Davis is right to praise his players for executing in crunch time, it’s not entirely true to saying “nothing” from him and his coaching staff. The turnaround coached to the players at halftime and the trust to put the game in the hands of Dixon at the end helped this game go down as the latest thrilling chapter of this Blue Blood rivalry. And, perhaps, it could be a turning point for Davis in evening the records against the Blue Devils under Scheyer. A rematch on Mar. 8 awaits.
But on Saturday, it worked. While a new generation of Tar Heel fans got to celebrate a buzzer-beater on their home floor, Williams stood in the corner of the Smith Center with his arms raised, celebrating another special comeback victory.
Featured photo by Todd Melet/Chapel Hill Media Group.
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
Art’s Angle: Generational Chapelboro.com.
Hence then, the article about art s angle generational was published today ( ) and is available on chapelboro ( Middle East ) The editorial team at PressBee has edited and verified it, and it may have been modified, fully republished, or quoted. You can read and follow the updates of this news or article from its original source.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( Art’s Angle: Generational )
Also on site :
- Europe’s cyber agency blames hacking gangs for massive data breach and leak
- AI companies are building huge natural gas plants to power data centers. What could go wrong?
- The Trump Dictatorship Is Cracking Up