It is tough to know where to start. Kansas completely outplayed Carolina, and Carolina failed to show up until there were about 6 minutes left in the first half. It is absurd that they were in a 40-12 hole. The fact that they crawled back and cut the deficit to 4 was remarkable. It seemed as if they had nothing left after that. In a way, it was almost worse to lose in the manner that they did than if it had been a regular loss or a plain blowout. The opening of the game was simply embarrassing, and it seemed as if the majority of the roster was unaware they were playing a game at that moment. The emotion of the room I was in was a combination of stunned silence and angry shouting. Suddenly, Danny Green and Wayne Ellington started to hit some shots, and in seemingly no time, the game was close again. Then the team faltered again, which just crushed all of the remaining will left in any of the fans. A very disappointing end to the season, especially considering the dominance that UNC had displayed in the first 4 rounds. Some other thoughts, in bullet form.
- Roy Williams, as great of a recruiter and motivator as he may be, is a lousy game coach. It is painful as a fan to admit this, but aside from 2005, where sheer talent carried the Tar Heels to a title, Roy's teams have time and again faltered in big tournament games where they were favored. Roy's lack of adjustments, and stubborn refusal to call a time out as the Heels were being pummeled, is simply frustrating. Roy is obviously a great coach, the evidence is clear. But his stubbornness was quite appalling.
- Many people will point to Hansbrough's relative lack of production as a key element in the loss. However, Tyler did what he always does, which is get the ball and fight through traffic and toss up ugly shots, which normally go in. Do not misinterpret that last statement; as ugly as his game is, it is very effective and he is a great college player. The problem was, with Ellington shooting 1-9 from 3, no one else really hitting shots, and Ty Lawson's inability to successfully score of penetration, the Jayhawks were able to double and triple team Tyler aggressively, which rendered him relatively ineffective.
- Wayne getting the player of the game from CBS was absurd. Sure, he led the team in points, but he only played well for about 10-15 minutes, while the comeback was going on. His poor shot selection and poor shooting was a huge part of the early troubles that the Heels faced.
- Ty Lawson was also particularly mediocre. I really hope he and Wayne decide to stay for another year (I think Hansbrough will definitely be back). While Ty can be a 1st rounder, his play on Saturday clearly indicates that he needs more polish and work on his game before he is NBA ready. Obviously Derrick Rose is a superior player, but the gap that was displayed between them on Saturday was so wide, that it is apparent Ty needs one more season before he can make the leap. Hopefully he will learn from the likes of Joe Forte, William Avery, Erick Barkley, Omar Cook, and tons of others, and stick around for one more year.
- Deon Thompson and Alex Stepheson, who had both been playing their best basketball of the season during this tournament, both played terribly. Stepheson's lack of effort was so apparent that Roy only played him 6 minutes. Mike Copeland, who hardly played this year, was getting important minutes during a Final Four game because the collective performances by these two were so awful.
- The fact that UNC lost by more to Kansas than Davidson did is disturbing. UNC is obviously more talented, and it appears that it was simply a lack of effort that did them in. If Thomas Sander can shut down the Kansas bigs, Thompson, Stepheson, and Hansbrough should be able to as well. The guards are responsible too, as the bigs had to continuously help over as the guards got beat off the dribble. It is okay to get beat once in a while, but at least make the offense change directions to give the help a chance. Very frustrating performance.
- It was a good season, and it is hard to get too angry at a 36 win team, but standards and expectations at UNC are high, and it was a very disappointing end to a good year. Next year, with the addition of Bobby Frasor and 3 McDonald's All- Americans, and the loss of only Quentin Thomas, it is hard to not envision another Final Four run. Hopefully they can finish the job next time. Of course, if Lawson, Ellington, or Hansbrough decide to leave (only Lawson is a legitimate threat to actually go this year), it will be a bit trickier.
- Memphis looked really, really good. Derrick Rose has joined Stephen Curry in the club of people who are The Truth. He is really, really good. I hope the Knicks can somehow draft him. Chris Douglas- Roberts has been playing great too. Evidence below:
- UCLA looked terrible. I would discuss this point further, but after UNC's performance for most of that game, it is hard to rip into UCLA too badly.
- Memphis had free throw shooting woes all year. Not during the tournament though. Why? Because only CDR and Rose have been shooting them! If Kansas can send the likes of Joey Dorsey to the line, they will have a better shot of winning tonight. However, Memphis has looked thoroughly dominating the past 3 games, and Kansas has looked dominant for about two thirds of a game. Memphis is my pick tonight.
