Nuggets rookie point guard is turning heads
Everyone who watched Ty Lawson blow by defenders, sprint the ball upcourt and hit 3-pointers that New Jersey's defense conceded in order to keep him out of the lane came away impressed. And a scene that is sure to be repeated followed the Nuggets' Wednesday night blowout victory. Denver coach George Karl was peppered with questions about his rookie point guard from a media contingent that seemed shocked at what it witnessed.
(Denver Post)
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Q&A with Timberolves Rookie Wayne Ellington
The transition from college to the NBA is a difficult one. Not only are the players bigger, stronger and faster, often times the losses mount quickly for youngsters who are used to winning big at successful NCAA programs. Just ask Wolves rookie Wayne Ellington. I caught up with Ellington after practice today to discuss his first impressions of the NBA.
(Minnesota Score)
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Bitter Duke-UNC rivalry began in 1888
Duke and UNC started playing each other in 1888, when Duke was known as Trinity College. They have put on some of the great shows in college football history, but the rivalry started slowly. Trinity won four of the first five, and one tale has it that Trinity simply had a superior knowledge of the rules and tactics of the relatively new game. Trinity's administration then outlawed football for 20 years (the Methodist Church having ruled it "a source of evil").
(Raleigh News & Observer)
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Belmont Abbey faces tall task vs. Tar Heels
Rarely will Belmont Abbey College face longer odds in an athletic sporting event than Friday night when the Crusaders basketball team plays defending national champion North Carolina in a 7:30 p.m. exhibition game at the Dean Smith Center. But the Abbey also rarely gets the chance to be on the national radar like it will be in Friday’s warm-up game for both teams. “We feel it’s a tremendous opportunity for us,” said Belmont Abbey coach Stephen Miss.
(Gaston Gazette)
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Heels need Lawson-esque performance from Larry Drew
The first coming of Larry Drew II hardly stirred any Roman Colosseum dust. He was a bit player on the largest stage, a point-guard understudy to the maddeningly unique Ty Lawson. If Lawson seemed larger than life -- right down to a sore big toe further inflated by his father's old-time remedy of warm salt water -- Drew seemed smaller than the fine print on North Carolina's NCAA trophy. No more.
(Winston-Salem Journal)
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Roy Williams reveals more than expected in book
Roy Williams said he opened up more than he expected he would about his personal life in a recently published autobiography. “I shared some things I never thought I would share,” he said Thursday. “Some of that was very difficult.” The 288-page hardcover book, which is written with former Sports Illustrated writer Tim Crothers (a UNC instructor), is called “Hard Work: My Life On and Off the Court.” It was released this week.
(Burlington Times News)
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Question Marks Hanging Around
There were obvious questions surrounding No. 4 UNC’s backcourt entering the ’09-’10 season, but the situation became real when news of a lackluster performance leaked from the program’s secret scrimmage against Vanderbilt last Sunday. “We just didn’t play well at all,” UNC coach Roy Williams told reporters. “We were just ugly. We were just yucky. I’m saying the good words. And since then, we’ve gotten a lot better."
(Inside Carolina)
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Angry Tar Heels ready to turn season around
The Tar Heels may have saved their season with last Thursday's upset win at Virginia Tech. UNC head coach Butch Davis doesn't point to X's & O's when he explains the team's turn-around last week, he credits anger. "I think they were mad as much as anything after the Florida State game," Davis tells 99.9 FM The Fan ESPN Radio. "We didn't give our best effort down the stretch in that ballgame. We didn't finish the game."
(WRAL Sports Fan)
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Roy Williams takes another new group of Tar Heels in search of a crown
A fifth NCAA Tournament championship banner hangs in North Carolina's Smith Center, the spoils of four years of determination, hard work and personal suffering. Six players instrumental in last season's title run are gone, four swept away in June's NBA Draft. Coach Roy Williams will craft another team, built on holdovers from last season and a freshman class rated among the nation's best. Williams has dealt with change before.
(Winston-Salem Journal)
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Lowell Dyer finally back in the game
For North Carolina center Lowell Dyer, returning for the Virginia Tech game last Thursday after sitting out for the past six weeks with a shoulder injury was, in a word, "awesome." After starting the first game of the season against The Citadel on Sept. 5, the senior injured his shoulder during practice later that week and had been watching the Tar Heels' roller coaster season from the bench ever since.
(Durham Herald-Sun)
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Slight shakeup in ACC bowl structure
The Sun and Independence bowls are moving into the ACC bowl picture beginning next season, while the Gator, Emerald and GMAC bowls are moving out and the Champs and Meineke Car Care bowls are moving up. The conference announced its bowl partnerships for the 2010-13 seasons Thursday. The most notable change is the departure of the Gator Bowl and the addition of the Sun Bowl.
(Durham Herald-Sun)
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No. 5 Carolina Women Run Past Francis Marion, 105-64
Freshman Tierra Ruffin-Pratt led five Tar Heels in double figures as No. 5 North Carolina topped Division II Francis Marion, 105-64, Thursday night at the Dean E. Smith Center. Ruffin-Pratt added seven rebounds, four steals and three assists on the night for UNC, which will play its second and final exhibition Nov. 10 against Carson-Newman. FMU's Shannon Singleton-Bates had a game-high 28 points to lead the Patroits.
(Tar Heel Blue)
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Roy Williams shares with Sports Club
North Carolina basketball coach Roy Williams always says he's honored to be involved in one of the greatest rivalries in all of college sports. So it's fitting that when he shared one of his most embarrassing road-trip moments with the Durham Sports Club on Wednesday, it happened during a 1979 UNC-Duke game at Cameron Indoor Stadium.
(Durham Herald-Sun)
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Football Program Teams With UNC Dance Marathon To Raise Funds In Honor Of BC's Mark Herzlich
The UNC football program and the UNC Dance Marathon have joined together to raise funds in honor of Boston College linebacker Mark Herzlich, the 2008 ACC Defensive Player of the Year who was diagnosed last spring with Ewing's Sarcoma, a rare form of cancer that typically affects young adults and children. Carolina football players and coaches will make personal donations to the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Center for Cancer Center for Sarcoma Research in Herlich's name.
(Tar Heel Blue)
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Not all That Bad: Critics of ACC as a football conference aren't paying quite enough attention
People say ACC football is bad. Many of the same people complain about heat in summer and cold in winter, about daylight-saving time in the spring and standard time in the fall. It's a reflex, inane and inoffensive and generally thoughtless. Most of the people who say ACC football is bad know that 11 guys play for each team.
(Winston-Salem Journal)
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A Change Of Pace for Duke, UNC
Something will have to give this week when Duke plays Carolina at 3:30 p.m. at Kenan Stadium. The Blue Devils have the No. 1 passing team in the ACC, averaging 325 yards per game. Carolina, on the other hand, has the overall No. 1 defense in the ACC, allowing just 265 total years per game.
(Tar Heel Daily)
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Ty Lawson scores 23 points on 9-of-10 FGs
Nuggets rookie Ty Lawson erupted for 23 points on 9-of-10 shooting in Wednesday's easy win over the Nets.
Lawson made all three of his 3-pointers and had four rebounds, two assists and one steal.
(Rotoworld)
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ACC Fearless Picks - Week 10
Can you beat the Carolina defense with a one-dimensional offense? Unlikely. Yeah, Duke can heave it with Lewis, but the ground game ranks 116th in the nation. Without any threat out of the backfield, the Heels will be able to drop athletic linebackers Quan Sturdivant and Bruce Carter back into coverage to defend the pass.
(College Football News)
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Basketball: Thursday Press Conference Quotes + Audio
On Will Graves’ back injury: “Will’s going to have back issues for quite awhile. He’s had four shots in the back, and he’s got the vicious cycle again. His weight is up, so he can’t condition and his back is hurting. But is his back hurting because his weight is up a little bit? So it’s a little bit of both there. He’s going to have those problems and he’s just got to fight through it and lose some weight."
(Inside Carolina)
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Thursday Basketball Notebook
The abbreviated practice time prior to the season's first game presents a new challenge for Roy Williams and the 2009-10 Tar Heels. There are six fewer days for practicing with a team losing four starters from last year's national championship run. For a team counting on younger players to contribute significant minutes, that can be imposing.
(Tar Heel Blue)
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Butch Davis Radio Show Quotes
"I haven’t been that intimately familiar with the rivalry, but I can honestly tell you this – this is clearly the best Duke football team that I’ve seen in a long time. They’re playing extremely well and they’re not a one-dimensional football team. They’re getting an awful lot of notoriety on the offensive side of the ball because of how much success that they’re having with Thaddeus Lewis, but they are a very good defensive football team."
(Inside Carolina)
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What to watch in the ACC: Week 10
Duke’s Killer V’s. Sophomore Donovan Varner and freshman Conner Vernon, former high school teammates at Gulliver prep in Miami, have been instrumental in Duke’s three-game winning streak. Over the past three games, Varner has caught 22 passes for 387 yards and one touchdown while Vernon has 22 receptions for 291 yards and two scores.
(ESPN.com)
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ACC predictions: Week 10
North Carolina 24, Duke 21 (OT): FSU quarterback Christian Ponder exposed weaknesses in North Carolina’s pass defense, and Duke quarterback Thaddeus Lewis will, too. He’ll get his yards and put up impressive numbers, but the Tar Heels will keep the Blue Devils out of the end zone when it matters most.
(ESPN.com)
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Marcus Ginyard A Candidate For Senior CLASS Award
Marcus Ginyard is among 60 NCAA men's and women's basketball student-athletes who excel both on and off the court and were tabbed as candidates for the 2009-10 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award on Nov. 4. To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence - classroom, character, community and competition.
(Tar Heel Blue)
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Reloaded Heels hold edge on blue blood brothers
The ACC media poll named North Carolina and Duke co-favorites to win the league. But we don't do co-favorites around here. Just a single favorite. And the Tar Heels are the favorite, as well they should be, although I'm concerned about the point guard situation. Too often, the talk is about how North Carolina will replace Tyler Hansbrough, but that won't be a problem with Ed Davis, Tyler Zeller and Deon Thompson up front.
(CBS Sports)
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