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Now is the time

Posted on March 26, 2009March 26, 2009 by Staff

For everyone who roots or plays for the UNC Tar Heels basketball team, this is the moment. Here we are prepping – as fans and as players – for a Round of 16 match-up on Friday night against mid-major poster boys Gonzaga, a team that actually whipped Carolina (82-74) the last time the two teams played, in the 2007 preseason NIT.

Tyler Hansbrough was limited to eight points on two-of-five shooting that night, and his post counterpart with the Bulldogs, Josh Heytvelt, had a stellar night with 19 points, eight boards and four blocks. It was probably the last moment in time that anyone suspected Tyler Hansbrough might turn out to be just an ordinary college player.

Gonzaga is no stranger to NCAA Tournament play or strong competition, even though they reside in a relatively weak conference. This season alone, the Zags have faced non-conference opponents Maryland, Tennessee, Oklahoma State, Arizona, UConn, Utah, Indiana, Washington State and Memphis, winning six of those nine contests and falling to Connecticut overtime.

Gonzaga is 28-5 and ranked No. 10 in both polls – probably deserving of higher than the No. 4 seed they received.

The Zags have allowed a measly 37 percent field-goal shooting percentage by their opponents – among the top defensive numbers in the nation. In its favor, Carolina has managed decent offensive production against some of the better defensive teams it has encountered this year, and that should be one of the big challenges Friday night.

Of course, the bigger question everyone associated with UNC basketball wants an answer to, this weekend and this post season, is: Do these Tar Heels have what it takes to win a big game like this one, and the next one, the next one and the next one?

My short guess on an answer is, yes, assuming a couple of reasonably reachable goals are met.

First, point guard Ty Lawson needs to be ready and able to play 25-plus minutes in every game at this point, without making his toe significantly worse for the Heels’ next gig.

If Lawson can bring Carolina the same type of lift he has consistently provided over the past 15-plus games, it will give UNC a great leg up on any opponent they play – as no college player has been a more effective offensive weapon than Ty this year.

Second, if currently hot-shooting Wayne Ellington can continue to provide the spark – shooting threes and jumpers, driving to the hoop, rebounding, and lately even with his defense – that we have been seeing from him since mid-season, this will make the Tar Heels much tougher to oust.

And third, if rookie forward Ed Davis, fresh off his four best performances of the season, is able to continue giving the same effective minutes off the bench – doing his yeoman’s job of rebounding and blocking shots, and scoring in the half-court offense when he is called upon – Carolina will have a dimension of toughness that it needs in order to fight back when the going gets tough, and tougher.

Give me all of these things together, and consistently, along with the steady play of our already incomparable Mr. Hansbrough, and the Tar Heels could be throwin’ it down in the Motor City in the early-morning hours of April 7.

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