The NCAA tournament is way more business than fun this year. Of the Tar Heels top ten, seven are playing in their first NCAA game against Wisconsin Friday night. But that’s not the only thing new for Hall of Famer Roy Williams who will coach for the 106th time in the Big Dance; his record […]

Did Al Wood desert Ralph Sampson on his recruiting trip? Yes, he did. Inside Carolina reported a curious anecdote about Ralph Sampson’s recruiting visit to Chapel Hill back in 1979. According to the former Virginia All-American, he was being hosted by Tar Heel star Al Wood on his tour of campus, and when Wood saw […]

Coincidentally, the Pitinos proved it’s about winning after all. This has been an interesting week for the basketball Pitinos. Father Rick returned to college coaching at Iona after scandalous stays at Kentucky and Louisville that drove him to pro ball in Europe. By winning the Metro Atlantic Conference tournament, after missing the most games this […]

Carolina has had a jaded history with the No. 8 or 9 seeds. When the eighth-seeded Tar Heels play Wisconsin Friday in the first round of the NCAA tournament, they will be in their 21st game playing against or as the No. 8 or No. 9 seeds. The record is 16-4. Most were memorable wins […]

Three strikes knocked out The Hokies in what resembled a prize fight. In a test of manhood as much as a basketball game, the Tar Heels combined more toughness, better defense and  clutch outside shooting than perhaps in any game of the season to repel a physical Virginia Tech team and advance to their sixth […]

UPDATE: Duke men’s basketball has reported a positive COVID-19 test. The ACC announced Thursday morning the program’s game scheduled against Florida State has been cancelled. Silly me. What was I talking about? The weird season continued as Carolina came back with its second straight dominating performance, following the Duke win Saturday by pulling away from […]

The Tar Heels could be in big trouble tonight. Notre Dame’s 17-2 to run to beat Wake Forest at the buzzer in the first round of the ACC tournament creates quite a problem for Carolina. The Deacons, who won three ACC games in the regular season, outplayed the Fighting Irish for about 35 minutes and then went […]

The NBA all-star game had stiff, and more important, viewer competition. LeBron James opposed holding an all-star game during the COVID season right up until he tossed the rosin in the air just before tip-off. He figured no one would care to watch it. But despite the game including scoring adjustments and other gimmicks, James never figured it […]

The Big Four are ACC tournament bracket busters. Have you ever seen a tournament that looks like this one, the top four seeds having two from Virginia, one from Georgia and the other from Florida? The uneven ACC has gone COVID crazy. Virginia is holding onto the top seed like Duke and Carolina used to, with […]

What is the answer to Carolina’s inconsistent execution? Going into Saturday’s regular-season finale with Duke, Tar Heel fans are understandably vexed by which team will take the court to play the Blue Devils on Senior Night. Will it be the guys who played well enough to win 15 games, or the unmasked men who laid […]