Before Saturday, the largest margin of defeat for an eventual NCAA Tournament champion in college basketball’s modern era occurred in 1993, when North Carolina was drubbed by Wake Forest 88-62.
Randolph Childress was scorching hot from the perimeter that afternoon in Winston-Salem, NC, and the college basketball world labeled the Tar Heels too slow to seriously contend for a national championship.
Carolina’s heart was questioned. Its on-court leadership and grit were also questioned. Even legendary coach Dean Smith couldn’t avoid the torpedoes. It didn’t get much better when the Tar Heels fell at Duke 81-67 four days later.
Almost 19 years from that double-whammy, the Tar Heels are in a familiar spot after a historic 90-57 demolition Saturday at the hands of Deividas Dulkys and Florida State in Tallahassee’s frenzied Tucker Center. And with that defeat, the media is pouncing on the Heels again.
The following was columnist Caulton Tudor’s opening sentence in Sunday’s Raleigh News & Observer.
“Since good teams don’t lose by 33 points under any circumstance, there’s no way to classify North Carolina a good basketball team these days.”
Tudor has been covering the ACC since 1970, so he’s seen it all, from David Thompson and Phil Ford through Michael Jordan, Christian Laettner, Shane Battier and Tyler Hansbrough. So there’s a prevailing question after Carolina’s shocking effort in the Sunshine State:
Is UNC is still a national title contender?
The short answer: Not if Saturday’s mind-set ever makes even the slightest comeback. The long answer: Yes, Carolina is still a national championship contender, and if Roy Williams uses this ridiculously embarrassing performance to his advantage, it could fuel a fire that has been more flickering than ablaze within the Heels.
“We had no answers for them on the court, I had no answers for them on the sideline,” Williams told the media after the humiliation. “I did the worst job of coaching a team that I’ve ever done and the worst job of preparing a team to play than I’ve ever done. I’ve got to do a heck of a lot better job than that.”
While the players deserved to run until they puked their guts out upon returning from Tallahassee, Williams is correct in accepting significant blame. But that’s a good thing if baby blue tickles your fancy. Because Ol’ Roy isn’t going to forget how he felt during that game or the flight home or even right now. And he shouldn’t.
Williams has a really nice team, and that’s part of its problem. These are articulate, well-mannered young men with interests outside of basketball who are a joy being around. They are pleasant in nature and are probably well-liked by their peers.
But maybe that’s part of the problem.
In covering athletes, sometimes when you get to know them some, the way they play on the field or court suddenly begins to make sense. This isn’t always the case, but with respect to these Heels, it’s spot on. Carolina needs a jerk on the floor.
Maybe not a Dennis Rodman type, but it wouldn’t hurt to have some of the tolerable quirks that Rashad McCants brought to the floor in 2005. Nobody got so ticked off Saturday that they decided to take over. McCants got into opponents’ heads. And Ty Lawson in 2009 took over when his team was fledgling: The LSU game in the NCAA Tournament that season is one example.
The Tar Heels also need an on-court leader.
George Lynch corralled the 1993 club under his grip and became perhaps the greatest fanny-slapper in UNC history. How did Carolina overcome that ugly stretch 19 years ago? Among the answers is that Lynch grew a fire in his belly that was infectious. By March, the Heels were obsessed with winning it all.
And like those other champions, maybe now the Tar Heels have the sting of embarrassment to fuel them.
The ’93 club were driven by those two blowouts and the fact Duke had just captured consecutive national titles. The 2005 group were fueled by their Matt Doherty experiences and, for the seniors on that team, that 8-20 mess as freshmen. And the 2009 squad had the humiliating 2008 Final Four loss to Kansas, a game in which the Jayhawks opened with a 40-12 lead before the nation’s eyes, serving as their fury-laden petroleum.
Now, these nice guys have something that should tick them off. Williams probably wants to distance his team from the Florida State loss as much as he can. But at the same time, if it’s used wisely, this could have finally poked UNC’s hornet’s nest, provided some Heels are hornet-like deep down within.
On paper, the Tar Heels might still be the favorites to win it all. But paper doesn’t measure focus, heart, intensity, leadership and an undying drive that usually accompanies champions. And if Saturday didn’t spark that in UNC, nothing will.
