Great find from The Dagger, which demonstrates not all dunkers are created equal. While Tyler and the boys beat Oklahoma for a spot in the Final Four, Griffin proved he was the best post player in the building, while Hansbrough proved he can’t throw it down — or dominate the post — in the same manner has his Oklahoma counterpart.
As we can see in the first video, Tyler elevated a tad earlier and although he wasn’t going to make it to the front of the rim, that didn’t stop him from trying to throw it through, ala, Dwight Howard’s Superman layup.
In case you missed it, there’s a rivalry game of some not on a certain sports channel tonight. Maybe you’ve heard of it? Duke/North Carolina? It’s only the biggest rivalry in the known universe; and so, with that in mind, here are some of the gems the Duke/Carolina games have given us over the years.
Remember Jerry Stackhouse? Of course you do.
How about Gerald Henderson dunking Tyler Hansbrough’s nose — if, by dunking, I mean “absolutely smashing?”
Apparently, last night was a bad night to be a Cavalier. We’ve already mentioned LeBron’s struggles, but he wasn’t the only playing for the mascot having the horrible night. The Virginia Cavaliers got caught in the UNC buzzsaw last night as the Tar Heels try and erase any bad tastes leftover from their 0-2 start in the ACC. The highlight of the game–besides Tyler Hansbrough passing Christian Laettner on the all-time ACC scoring list–was a putback slam by Danny Green.
Are the Heels getting ready to roll again, now that they’ve got that first ACC win out of the way? There’s almost a month until they travel to Cameron Indoor for the first of their yearly, bi-annual game of the century of the year of the season against Duke (February 11). They also have Clemson at home and two away games at NC State and Florida State.
All three of these contests present potential pitfalls for the Heels.
College basketball’s answer to to Tim Tebow — that is, does my game translate to the professional level — Tyler Hansbrough is now the all-time leading scorer at North Carolina, knocking Phil Ford from the spot he held for 30 years. The man they call Psycho T tied Ford in the first half with an off-balance shot from the post, a fitting way for Hansbrough to break the record.
Surprisingly, there was no foul called on the play, although, the game was stopped to acknowledge the accomplishment.
Because he didn’t play last night, Tyler Hansbrough had to contribute one way or another. It looks like he went for the intimidation route. This made me think: maybe he got the “Psycho T” nickname by beating those who don’t pay up into powder? I mean, that incredible pinstriped suit with the black mock turtleneck underneath certainly suggests as much. It’s pretty obvious he wore that particular suit to intimidate Kentucky.
And it worked to the tune of 28 turnovers, giving UK an incredible 53 (that’s FIFTY THREE) in two games.
The first preseason top 25 poll for college basketball is out and surprise, surprise, North Carolina is the top-ranked team. Shocking, really — especially when you consider the paltry roster. Nevertheless, there they are, atop the preseason college basketball world. Even better, no other team received a single first-place vote.
When we last saw the hardest working player in college basketball ever, his team was getting absolutely smashed by the Kansas Jayhawks in the Final Four. Apparently, that was enough to motivate him to return to Chapel Hill for his senior season.
Hopefully, the Jay Bilases and Dick Vitales of the world will be able to contain their excitement.
Outlook
Great defense versus great offense. Who wins? That’s what this game is coming down to. On one hand, you have North Carolina. They’ve scored over 100 points in their first two tournament games, making one harken for the Loyola-Marymount days. On the other hand, you have Washington State. They haven’t allowed a team to score OVER 41 points in their first to games, so what gives here?
Will the Cougars, led by Derrick Low, be able to slow the Carolina bum rush down or will Tyler and his band of merry men walk all over the Cougars like they did Arkansas and Mount St. Mary’s?
Our call
While Derrick Low, Kyle Weaver and the rest of the Cougars are a tenacious bunch on the defensive end, I’m not sure if they have enough overall firepower to derail the Tarheels. With Ty Lawson, Wayne Ellington, Danny Green, and of course, the hardest working basketball player ever, North Carolina looks like a favorite to win it all and Washington State looks like one of their stepping stones.
However, it is unwise to discount the chances of team that plays defense the way Wazzu does. It could certainly come back to haunt you.
As it stands, it looks like Carolina has too much for the Cougars. 85-70, UNC.
