UNC Basketball: If I Can Change, and You Can Change, the Tar Heels Can Change

Everybody remembers the killing machine known as Captain Ivan Drago. A perfectly sculpted product of Soviet training methods, he was sent to America for a series of "exhibitions" that would confirm what all could tell just by looking at this monster: He was surely the best fighter in the world.

Things went according to script early on as Drago literally beat a man to death and then prepped for his walk-through with the clearly overmatched Rocky Balboa.

This, of course, brings to mind UNC's basketball season.

With the announcement that Tyler Hansbrough, Ty Lawson, Danny Green, and Wayne Ellington would be joining a top recruiting class of Ed Davis, Tyler Zeller and Larry Drew Jr., Roy Williams unleashed his own Dragonian creation on the college basketball world. Writers from coast to coast struggled to find new ways to say that this team would definitely end the season unbeaten, unchallenged, and basically unopposed.

Much like Captain Ivan, UNC confirmed all expectations while "breaking" early opposition such as Oral Roberts, Chaminade, and UNC-Asheville. Then, Tyrese Rice and mighty Boston College (preseason pick to finish 11th in the ACC) reached up and showed the world that, like the man this team mirrored, UNC could actually bleed.

Once the shock wore off, the Tar Heel machine climbed to its feet and put to rest any concerns by bludgeoning Charleston. Unfortunately for Roy's Boys, Wake Forest saw that this was not a machine, but a group of young men. A Wake Forest team that relies heavily upon contributions from freshmen and sophomores landed 92 blows and set UNC's conference record to 0-2.

What now for this once invincible conglomeration of unparalleled talent? If the machine is truly broken, how does Roy go about the process of rebuilding?

A good start may be to admit that there is a need for change. Watching Ty Lawson shoot like, well, Ty Lawson (7-25 in two ACC games) should open some eyes. Perhaps the sight of "Psyched-out T" struggling to score from the floor (3-12 shooting overall, 0 points from the field in the second half) against Wake's athletic post players will raise some eyebrows.

If that doesn't work, watching Danny Green and Deon Thompson openly bicker during timeouts will surely draw the attention of the coaches in UNC's corner.

I'm not saying that Roy should resort to having his team sprint up a snowcapped mountain, even though that did help slay the first incarnation of Drago. In fact, the near future looks bright with winnable contests at lowly Virginia and at home versus Miami. However, two teams with the inside size to disrupt UNC then come calling in the form of Clemson and Florida State.

If UNC does not change, this season could end up being—paraphrased liberally from Duke, Rocky's trainer for the fight with Drago—"worse than any nightmare (they) ever dreamed, and in the end, (they won't) be the one standing."

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