UNC defeated Illinois 75-70 to take home the championship. I joined 9,500 others at UNC's Dean Dome to watch the game... and what a game it was.

Jumping 9-2 in the opening minutes, UNC showed why it's considered the most talented team in the nation. Of course, this was tempered by a few minutes of retardness (UNC has a tendency to defeat itself with bad possessions and one-on-one plays by Rashad "Selfish" McCants who think he's better than he really is), but Terrence and I were incredibly happy to see that UNC had come to play.

Illinois was playing catch-up the whole game, playing the shoot-a-trey ballgame... our 1-3-1 and 2-3 zone was a surprisingly good matchup for them, but you cannot win championships by simply taking jump shots. I'm surprised they didn't use Dee Brown to try to penetrate more often ... whatever.

After the game and celebrating, I took off to Franklin St and joined 45,000 fans in celebration. I headed over to Han's house and hung with a few friends and revelled in the moment. After that horrid 8-20 season ... UNC has finally done it. We've restored the glory of the program. Thanks to the coach, Roy Williams.

The ESPN article almost made me emotional (although the past few hours could probably account for that).

Great job, guys. You pulled together when it mattered and showed the nation that you are truly the dominant team. Illinois didn't even look like a contender the way they played ... there was no dominance; just catch-up with whack-a-trey.

And this should put into any doubts what the elite basketball conference in the nation is; I hate the morons who said the Big Ten was making a 'good showing.' UNC single-handedly defeated the top three Big Ten teams (Wisconsin in the Elite Eight, Michigan State in the Final Four, and Illinois in the championship game). Can you think of ANY team in the nation that could defeat Wake Forest, Duke, and UNC in consecutive games? That's what I thought. Shut your face, doubters. No one will ever match ACC basketball.

Now, the big question is, "Who will jump to the NBA?" Championship teams have a tendency to lose players to the NBA (what else is left to acocmplish?)

Rashad McCants is probably the most likely to jump pro; he's always been a me-first selfish player. I was talking with Soob about this tonight, and we agreed that of our four possible returning starters (Sean May, Raymond Felton, Marvin Williams, and Rashad McCants), Rashad was probably the most replaceable.

I HOPE that Marvin and Sean May will stay (Soob says Marvin wants to develop for the 3, which makes sense)... if Felton stays as well, I just think that would be all the components necessary for another run. It'd be nice for May, Felton and Williams to get together and say, "Hey, let's write ourselves down in history and do a repeat title run." Everyone remembers NCAA tournaments; no one cares about pro ball championships. There's a purity at the collegiate level that just makes it more worthwhile.

I am exhausted. But I am so happy for our players. Thanks for the season.







images stolen for espn

Posted by roy on April 5, 2005 at 12:58 AM in Sports | 4 Comments

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Comment posted on April 5th, 2005 at 11:31 PM
Hey roy, congratulations on UNC winning it all. I mean I'm all for Duke but I have to give it to your boys. We'll get you guys next year! hahaha...but actually I don't. No one really knows who we're getting from highschool and JJ's going so I don't think Duke is going to be in the same level as UNC next year talent-wise especially if none of them(McCants, Felton, May, Williams) jumps to the pros...but then when the two teams meet, anything can happen... i was actually planning to make you a deal...like if UNC and Duke meets in the tourney, I'd ask if you wanna put a bet on it...if UNC wins, i'll sign up for a paid account but if Duke wins, i'm gonna get a get a free upgrade to paid account...how does that sound?
Comment posted on April 6th, 2005 at 10:44 AM
I'll give you that deal on any UNC/Duke upcoming game :) Bookmark this and hold me to it!

Go Heels!
Comment posted on April 5th, 2005 at 03:57 PM
I WAS going to watch the game at a canadian bar in the sixth, who were going to be open all night, with a dookie friend who understood that ACC comes before duke v unc. But then I remembered that it was me and my four years at Carolina that cursed that poor team. That it was only through my abscence and apathy that they had made it this far. That every time they had won, I had not been watching. Therefore, I thought it best not to tempt fate by staying up all night, and went to bed. The curse has ended. And you all can thank me.
Comment posted on April 5th, 2005 at 01:06 AM
My life is complete. Great post, but don't knock Rashad, man. The guy has done everything asked of him and more; he's just always been stuck with that malcontent label. He deserves this as much as everyone else.

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