By popular demand since this is a hot button topic, it's own thread.
It is a confirmed fact. I got it from a great source 2 days ago and now the whole interweb has picked it up. UNC guys everywhere are attempting to deny it happened at all, and dismiss it as a hoax, but Vandy's coach and now even ol' Roy have commented on the game. Players of each team sent Tweets out about it, but then were told to retract them. Everything is supposed to be very hush, hush and don't expect to see video ever. But this is the gospel truth:
Word is Carolina lost a scrimmage to Vanderbilt this weekend. They lost by double digits. You won't find an official box score or videos from it because it fell into the "secret" scrimmage category of the NCAA rules. (Yes secret scrimmages are real, look it up) Carolina had a small lead at the half and was significantly outplayed in the 2nd half.
According to reliable sources, Carolina packed in a zone that Vandy rained threes on them until Carolina had to go to a box and one zone trying to stop the hot shooter, Vandy's Beal. That didn't work either as Carolina was unable to match up a defender to deny the ball. Tarheels looked very shaky on the defensive end overall.
Thompson was the lone bright spot for the Heels, and had around 16 points mostly on rebounds and put-backs. Evidently, Carolina had very suspect and sloppy guard play resulting in tons of turnovers. They couldn't get the ball into the posts. They had absolutely no outside shooting. Supposed superstar-to-be Henson looked lost in the offense and only had 3 points.
Carolina fans can say, "It was a scrimmage, and we weren't trying to win" or "it was more like a practice" or "it was half court and we were only going 70% speed" or whatever. And that's fine. But it was Vandy. If you can't dominate them, it's fair for us to be licking our chops.
By the way, for the record, this is what I've been saying all along. Having that front line is nice, but with no reliable PG and nobody to threaten an outside shot, teams are going to pack it in and beat you. Not playing defense worked last year when you could score at will, but now without Ty Lawson getting in the paint and Wayne Ellington shooting jumpers you can't just expect to outscore teams.
IMO although I HATE UNC, this doesn't get me pumped as I'm sure most UNC fans would not be as pumped if Duke lost to a Division I school on the road in a scrimmage. If this was an NCAA Tournament game, I would be thrilled! UNC shouldn't worry about THIS game, but they should be worried about their individual players. Same for Syracuse, who lost to a DII school.
I agree. I didn't think much of the story from the get-go since I've been pointing out their weak spots all along. So it isn't news to me other than Carolina is proving us right already. But then when I see all the Carolina fans denying it took place, and pretending it didn't happen, it made it into a way bigger deal. Which is funny. That, combined with the fact grogans would be all over it if it was Duke instead, meant it needed it's own thread for discussion.
Oh, no!!! UNC lost to Vandy in a scrimmage!! What are we Tar Heels to do!!??? Seriously.... Do you really think a scrimmage is that big of a deal? I'm sure UNC played half ass because it had ZERO to do with the season. I'm sure Roy got pissed too... Why not? IT'S PRACTICE!!! He should be pissed... If you want to "lick your chops" or anything else that you want to lick, by all means, go for it. As I said before, it's like Preseason football. It doesn't matter & only shows what you need to work on. BTW, the Lions beat the Colts this year in preseason. I'm sure Colt fans were scared sh*tless when the season started... You can't possibly think that when UNC meets Duke Feb. 10th that UNC is going to look at it as a scrimmage, do you?
As happy as I should be to hear this, it means absolutely nothing. That would never happen in a real game, and the Tarheels will be much better by February.
It isn't much of a secret, it's on the front page of Inside Carolina. They have an entire story about how the game went and also got Roy's reaction. Roy actually seemed kinda pleased. He said something along the lines of, this just teaches our young guys that you cant just win on talent alone. He also said he has seen a far greater effort from the entire team and the loss seemed to wake them up to the fact that just because they are defending champs, they aren't entitled to any wins. As for what went wrong for them against Vandy, they struggled from the outside and and tried to get to fancy with the ball and that resulted in TO's. The positive for UNC, it doesn't count against us. So if this loss helps us grow, then I guess there couldn't be a better time to lose.
I dont take this as UNC is in trouble either for the most part. I mean this is good news for a Duke fan and any other ACC team because now UNC isn't "invincible" as some teams probably thought. However for what Grograns said about it was just a scrimmage game and they played half-assed because it has nothing to do with the season had to be the dumbest thing I have heard. When you play any type of game whether it be in practice, a pick up game, or especially a scrimmage with another D1 team you want to win, and you are going to play hard to make sure that happens. I can definitely see UNC, being the team that they are, to start slacking after they started to lose the lead so it didnt make them look like fools tho. But if I was UNC I would be worried like crazy... I have said it many times and now CUNKNNK has said it a couple of times as well, UNC doesn't have a point guard!!! Tyler Hansbrough was a good player but Ty Lawson was great. He is gone and it is going to hurt your record this year tremendously. And for what cardsnheels said again was another crazy thing because you say Roy seemed pleased with his guys performance. His exact quote is “we just didn’t play well at all. We were just ugly. We were yucky"... that doesnt sound to pleased to me. Of course he is going to say something good about his team as well, but i can tell you right now Roy Williams is not "Pleased" with his team. UNC will still have a good to great season and give Duke a challenge like always, if there wasn't a challenge it wouldn't be the greatest rivalry in sports. But please after you guys lose out quick this year, don't go turning it around saying it was a rebuilding year. Just go along with the we sucked phase and get it over with.
I wasn't worried when UNC lost to Santa Clara in '05... I wasn't worried when UNC went 0-2 to start the ACC season. It's a scrimmage... What's going to happen when UNC beats Duke? Can we say that Vandy must be better than Duke? Like I said before, it's like the preseason in the NFL. The Lions beat the Colts this year & yet, the Colts are undefeated in the regular season.
"wonder if Harrison Barns was notified about the loss. This has to do great things for recruiting" You're right, because getting bounced early from the NCAA tourney over the last 3 years must be a huge recruiting ploy...
When you lost to Santa Clara you were missing your starting point guard. Against Vandy, UNC was full strength...it was Vandy who was missing their best player. Is this scrimmage the end all?...No. However, it does support what many Duke fans like myself have been saying for quite some time now...UNC's guard play is a shadow of its former self. Roy is going to feel like it's year one in UNC all over again. Then his best guard was Bobby Frasor. Larry Drew is not even as good as Frasor, let alone Lawson. Felton and Lawson are gone and now, although the cupboard is not bare, it is lean for ACC play. Also, I don't think anyone is saying UNC will go 18 and whatever, but they won;t be looking to repeat...that much is nearly certain.
But please after you guys lose out quick this year, don't go turning it around saying it was a rebuilding year. Just go along with the we sucked phase and get it over with. unc fans with any sort of admission is not even a remote reality.
All of my hate for UNC set aside, losing to Vandy in a scrimage is not that big of a deal. As mentioned earlier the 04-05 team lost to Santa Clara and won the NC. What is the problem is that UNC fans are boasting that this is not a rebuilding year and that they will still dominate the ACC and a repeat is very possible. That is highly unlikely and would be a serious accomplishment for the UNC program under Roy. However, what is going to be hilarious is what the excuse is going to be if the very capable duke team beats them this year(dont cry tarheels, you are capable too, I never said you werent, the head to head games will be really close) Its going to be, oh we were rebuilding...we lost our top four scorers...roy williams had a hurt toe...( just kidding on the last one but you get the point) The fact is UNC should develop a realistic outlook that they are not unbeatable, and they will be subjected to some ups and downs this year. While most tarheel fans are ignorant, Roy has probably realized this and will do a lot to improve his squad for these tough games. He is a great coach to have won consistently at Kansas and UNC so I dont think he has adopted the tarheel nation attitude "it was just a scrimage...they weren't going hard...they wanted to lose really bad( jk )" The Tarheels are not returning a whole starting lineup this year so they are going to have ups and downs trying to get the group of players on the floor to jive with each other, just like Duke will, just like other teams like Kansas, and Kentucky. Now while losing to a team like Vandy is funny especially since their star was out, it is not a sign that your year will be horrible, it just means you have a lot of work to do, because the teams in the ACC that they will be expected to beat, are not as good as Vandy...They are way better!
I agree with what some duke fans and tar heel fans have said on here. The loss is terrible i dont care if it is just a scrimmage we should never lose to vandy. With that being said i dont believe this loss will have any indication on how the season will go for my tar heels. If anything i hope it embarrassed them a little and they went back to Chapel Hill with the mind set that we need to work alot harder so this dont happen again. I think we will have a great season this year and i believe duke will too. It should be a great battle for the top spot in the ACC between two top programs in college basketball. Personally i dont believe either one of us will be holding up the National Championship trophy this year but i hope that some how some way my tar heels can. Like many of you duke fans have said we are defiantly unproven at the point guard position. I believe we will have better point guard play then many of you think but of course im biased and am hoping for the best. Should be a fun season i know im looking forward to it.
