Angry Tar Heels coming to Virginia

Roy Williams isn’t making any excuses why his once No.1-ranked North Carolina basketball team is 0-2 in the ACC. He isn’t reaching for the panic button either.
The Tar Heels entered ACC play with a perfect 14-0 record and a winning margin of more than 25 points per game. Some observers had already anointed Carolina as the inevitable national champions and predicted the Heels would go unbeaten for the season, running the ACC gauntlet at 16-0.
Along came Boston College, which stunned UNC at the Dean Dome. National Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough was trying to work himself back into top-notch condition after rehabbing from some shin and ankle problems, and forward Marcus Ginyard was still suffering from offseason foot surgery.
Then, the Heels lost at Wake on Sunday night and you could see the wheels come off the bandwagon.
Finding the real UNC
Well, the real Carolina is probably somewhere in the middle of all that. The Heels could still win the ACC and still win the national title, but all that undefeated stuff wasn’t worth much in Williams’ opinion.
“Two or three weeks ago I didn’t think we were the greatest thing since sliced bread, and didn’t believe all the things people saying about us,” Williams said. “All that undefeated stuff and 50 points better than anyone else, I thought that was a bunch of hogwash.”
UNC’s plummet from the ACC’s penthouse to the outhouse for the first two weeks of the season isn’t quite as far a drop as some are making it out to be.
“I don’t think we’re as bad as some are saying right now,” Williams said a couple of days before Carolina’s next stop: Charlottesville’s John Paul Jones Arena. “I didn’t believe that 16-0 stuff any more than I think we’ll go 0-16.”
Trouble for Cavaliers?
When the Tar Heels arrive for Thursday night’s game, expect them to be in a bad mood — make that an angry mood — for their game against Virginia (7-6, 1-1).
“Obviously we’re mad right now about some things, but I think after these practices we’ll look forward to playing again,” said Hansbrough.
Williams says his team has been outplayed in the two conference games and points to several reasons why.
“We’re sitting here 0-2, having shot 36 percent in two conference games,” the UNC coach said. “Our opponents are shooting 46 percent. We haven’t done anything offensively or defensively in two conference games.
“We haven’t played worth a darn,” Williams added. “Other teams have guarded us better than we’ve guarded them. They’ve shot better than we have and taken care of the ball better than we have.”
He’s a bit concerned with his team’s ball movement and ball sharing. He pointed to the 24 assists compared to 33 turnovers in the two ACC outings as an example.
“For the University of North Carolina to play an 89-point game (Wake won, 92-89) and to have nine assists, tells you a lot right there,” Williams said. “I’m not saying we’re a selfish bunch — [just] maybe too confident at times. We’ve got to move the ball better and work together better.”
Ginyard’s absence in the past two games has been noticeable because he’s the Heels’ best defensive player and there hasn’t been anyone to step up and become the stopper that the senior forward has been for three years. Ginyard won’t play Thursday night against the Cavaliers.
Williams will hold Ginyard out of practices and games until the player shows improvement.
“We don’t have a set date, a week, two weeks, whatever,” the coach said. “We’ll get rehab on that foot so that he can get more explosiveness and get rid of some of the pain.”
BC’s Tyrese Rice and Wake’s Jeff Teague likely would not have romped through the Tar Heels’ defense with as much ease had Ginyard been available.
“Needless to say we could use [Ginyard’s defense] right now,” Williams said.
Virginia gave No. 5 Carolina a scare at JPJ last February before bowing by a single point, 75-74.
Williams will probably remind his Tar Heels about that game prior to their trip up from Chapel Hill later today. He won’t have to say a lot to get his team motivated. The 0-2 start has already taken care of that.
“I’m stunned,” said UNC point guard Ty Lawson. “I’m a competitor and I love to win. It’s hurting right now. We’ve got to change something.”
Forward Danny Green said he’s just as shocked as anyone about the 0-2 start.
“I think everybody’s shocked that we lost one game,” Green said. “Of course I’m upset. I hate to lose. Everybody on this team hates to lose.”
That, my friends, makes Virginia’s assignment on Thursday evening even tougher because it will take a monumental effort to to force Carolina to start 0-3 in the ACC.