Off the cuff: After all the off-the-court academic issues, it must be nice for the players to at least be talking about on-the-court basketball problems. The Tar Heels did win by 16 points after getting up by as many as 19 points and after starting the game 11-0. But this team is much better than it showed. It's not unusual for teams to start seasons slowly but when you see what Duke did earlier in the evening (113-44), it does make one wonder if the Heels can challenge the ACC-favored Blue Devils. The answer is yes. In fact, the Tar Heels have more experienced talent as well as freshmen who will be really good by ACC play. On this night, Coach Williams played with a lot of different lineups with every player getting in the game and 12 of them playing at least seven minutes. Once the rotation is set and the Tar Heels figure how to help Marcus Paige get loose offensively, they will be fine. Hopefully, the academic investigation won't bother them as much as the Leslie McDonald/PJ Hairston ordeal last year when the team didn't know whether or not the two would be eligible to play. While it's something that needs to be corrected for sure, it's a shame that the academic investigation is going on at a time when the Tar Heels star player, Marcus Paige, and the Tar Heels best incoming freshman, Justin Jackson, are as academically gifted as any starters at a major university in the country. |
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