Bleacher Report - Articles by Justin Damasiewicz

Rebuild or Reload? Can the North Carolina Tarheels Repeat in 2010?

Justin Damasiewicz — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 19:45:10 -0400

It is a question I that I have been asking myself since halftime of the national championship game, when a Tarheels victory seemed a foregone conclusion.

They had just broken the record for points in the first half of an NCAA title game with 55, and held a 21 point lead over an obviously outmatched and discouraged Michigan State team.

Wayne Ellington had lit up the scoreboard in that half with seventeen points and shot three for three from beyond the arc.

Good bye, Wayne. Thanks for the memories.

Ellington isn't the only Tarheel that will be leaving the college ranks to play in the NBA after North Carolina's national championship season. He will be joined by Ty Lawson, Tyler Hansbrough, and Danny Green.

As I enjoyed what should have been a completely relaxing second half in which the lead was never in danger of being in single digits, I found myself already worrying about who would be back for the 09-10 season.

I knew Green and Hansbrough would be gone since they were both seniors.

I assumed that Ellington and Lawson would be gone since there wouldn't be much left for them to accomplish at this level.

The guy I worried about the most was Ed Davis. His stock as an NBA draftee was quickly rising, and many experts were labeling him a top five draft pick.

He only helped his status with a stellar performance in the title game. Fourteen points and eight boards in only 18 minutes.

A few days later Davis committed to stay at Carolina and said that he woudn't even test the draft waters, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

I then shifted my focus to the incoming recruits, and trying to figure out how the incoming recruits would be able to help the team in the upcoming season.

I am impressed and optimistic.

The starting line up for the Heels will likely consist of sophomore point guard Larry Drew II, freshman shooting guard Dexter Strickland, senior small forward Marcus Ginyard, senior big man Deon Thompson and the aforementioned sophomore big man Ed Davis.

Sophomore big man Tyler Zeller, who missed most of last season due to injury should see significant minutes as will incoming freshman John Henson, who is the third ranked overall recruit in ESPN's top 100.

Henson is extremely talented and should make an immediate impact. He is a very long six foot ten, and he has excellent ball skills for someone with his his height and length.

I believe that he may end up starting over Thompson.

In the back court incoming freshman shooting guard Leslie McDonald will get some minutes at the two spot and also will likely fill in at the point when Drew needs a break.

The freshman shooting guard duo of McDonald and Strickland is extremely athletic and smart, but neither one is a stellar three point shooter. However, that may not matter much with Roy Williams' run and gun style of offense.

There are two major questions for the Tarheels next season.

Will Larry Drew II be able to handle the point effectively?

His assist to turnover ratio was not very good in his limited minutes last year, but head coach Roy Williams is confident in Drew. He showed it by not making much of a run at John Wall. Who is a point guard, and the number one overall recruit in the nation.

When asked about Drew, Ginyard and Lawson also both expressed confidence in his ability and Davis even said that Drew may be a more precise passer than Lawson is.

Will the freshman talent step up and play leading roles?

The Heels will need production from Henson, Strickland, and McDonald to replace the production of the big four.

There is no doubt that these three athletes have the athletic ability to make an impact, but inexperience could play a factor in their productivity.

The Tarheels will be a solid team next year. They will probably be in the running to win the ACC again, and will likely go deep into the NCAA tournament, but they may lack the experience to repeat as champions.

The Elite Eight or the Final Four seems like a more appropriate exit for them in 09-10, but watch out in 10-11.

How Many Tys Does It Take To Win a Title? The Tar Heels Hope Three

Justin Damasiewicz — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 18:07:13 -0400

There is no doubt that the North Carolina Tar Heels have a very well-rounded team this year, and they are very talented from top to bottom.

They have proven that they can not only score with great efficiency in transition and in half court offense, but can play some pretty solid defense when necessary.

Their regional final victory over the Oklahoma Sooners demonstrates what can happen when one player goes up against five. The Tar Heels controlled the entire game despite not having a single player score 20 points, and despite 23 points on 9-of-12 shooting and 16 rebounds (6 offensive) from Oklahoma's star Blake Griffin.

As the tournament nears its end, one burning question remains. How many Ty's does it take to win a national Title?

The smallest Ty, Tywon Lawson, played a huge role in the Oklahoma game. He led the Heels in scoring with 19 and in assists with five while only turning the ball over once. He was also second on the team in rebounds with five, which is especially impressive considering that he is five inches shorter than the next shortest person in Carolina's starting five.

Lawson will be key for the Heels in the Final Four. As the competition has gotten tougher, so has Ty Lawson.

He is averaging over 20 points in his three tournament games, while shooting 57 percent from the field and a staggering 64 percent from the three point line. In that three game stretch he also has a 10:1 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Our next Ty, Tyler Hansbrough has been a little bit quieter than usual so far this tournament. Averaging just over 17 points and just over seven boards. Both are below his season and career averages.

Don't let those numbers fool you, though. Hansbrough provides energy and enthusiasm to this team, who look to him as a leader. You don't get a nickname like Psycho T without laying it all out on the court.

He will need to be at the top of his game going up against Villanova's Dante Cunningham and likely Connectcut's Hasheem Thabeet.

The last and tallest Ty is Tyler Zeller, the talented freshman seven footer.

Zeller missed 23 games this season due to an injury, but has been growing increasingly comfortable on the floor.

He is likely to be a serious factor only if the other Carolina bigs get in foul trouble early in the game, and honestly, is only in this article because his name is also Ty.

There are many people that hope that three is the magic number, myself included. Also, Roy Williams. However, it remains to be seen. We will all find out this weekend.

Kansas Win or Memphis Loss? Breakdown of a Breakdown

Justin Damasiewicz — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 15:49:08 -0400

With 2:12 left in the second half, Memphis’ Robert Dozier was at the free-throw line shooting two.

Memphis had a seven-point lead and all of the momentum. It had been close throughout the game, but it seemed as though they were starting to pull away from their opponent, Kansas.

After Dozier made both free throws and put his team up nine it seemed probable that Memphis was on their way to a national title, but, then, in the blink of an eye, Kansas’ Darrell Arthur made a two-point jumper, and Kansas stole the ball on the inbound pass.

Sherron Collins hit a three ball, closing the gap to four. After two made free throws by each team, and another Arthur jumper for Kansas, Memphis found themselves clinging to a two-point lead with 16 seconds left on the clock.

Memphis’ best free-throw shooter, first team all-American Chris Douglas-Roberts, was at the line shooting two.

He had just missed the front end of a one-and-one less than a minute before and seemed to be lacking confidence in his free-throw shooting. He was leaning back and not releasing the ball well.

Sure enough, both of his free throws clanged off the rim and bounced out.

Luckily, for Memphis, Dozier was able to grab the offensive rebound and kick the ball back out to Derrick Rose, who was promptly fouled.

With 10 seconds to go, Rose could have made it a two-possession game if he had made both of his free throws, but the first one bounced out. He did, however, make the second one.

Kansas got the ball back with 10 seconds on the clock.

Memphis coach John Calipari chose to sit on a timeout, which he could have used to tell his players to foul Kansas, preventing them from attempting a 3-pointer to tie.

But they didn’t foul, and Kansas’ Mario Chalmers nailed an off-screen 3-pointer to tie the game at 63. Dozier’s desperation shot from half court was no good and the game went into overtime. Kansas dominated the overtime period and went on to win the game 75-68.

The question is, “Was this game a Kansas win or Memphis loss?”

Watching the game, one thing obvious to me was how tired Memphis got toward the end of each half and in overtime. Kansas outscored Memphis 5-0 in the last 2 1/2 of the first half, 12-3 in the last two minutes of the second half, and 12-5 in overtime.

Memphis had three players who played 42 minutes or more, including Rose, who played all 45 minutes. Kansas only had two players who played 40 minutes or more, and everyone else was under 35 minutes.

It seems that, even with the loss of senior guard Roderick Stewart to a fractured patella, Kansas still had more depth than Memphis.

Free throws obviously killed Memphis down the stretch, as well. They missed four out of five in the last 1:15, including the front end of a one-and-one that could have led to another attempt.

The interesting thing about it is that they had their two best free-throw shooters at the line. Both Douglas-Robert and Rose shot 71 percent from the line. They just couldn’t hit the big free throw when it really mattered. Even one or two more made free throws could have put the game away.

With 10 seconds left, Calipari should have called a timeout to make sure his players knew they should foul. I don't care how many times they talked about it or practiced it, there was no reason not to call the timeout, and it probably cost them the game.

Memphis shot a measly 63.2 percent from the free throw line in the game, which is about five points higher than their season average, but is still pathetic. They also only shot 40.3 percent from the field. Kansas shot 93.3 percent from the and 52.7 percent from the field.

In the end, I think that Memphis did more things to shoot themselves in the foot than Kansas did to help themselves.

Not to take anything away from Kansas—they played a solid game, and shot the ball well from the field and the free throw line. I also recognize that this tremendous comeback couldn’t have happened without the clutch 3-pointers and the stolen inbound pass, but the bottom line is that Memphis was a couple of free throws away from a championship and they couldn’t get it done.

Congratulations to Kansas.

I forgive you for embarrassing my Tarheels in the Final Four. Chalk this one up as a loss for Memphis. At least now we don’t have to listen to Calipari make stupid comments like “free throws don’t matter."

At least not until next season.

Peyton Manning vs. Tom Brady: Who Do You Want as Your Quarterback?

Justin Damasiewicz — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 18:18:49 -0400

I know it’s not even close to football season, but I just have to bring up this topic because it is one of my favorites. Who would you want as your quarterback: Peyton Manning or Tom Brady?

People have been discussing this for the last few years, and many people think that after what Tom Brady did last season the argument is over. Think again.

Career quarterback rating gives Manning a slight edge. He has a 94.7 rating and Brady’s is 92.9. However, I don’t believe that the quarterback rating tells us everything we need to know about a player’s performance.

I have studied both players’ stats over the last seven years and there are a few things that might surprise you. In fairness to Brady, I am only using stats from 2001 and after, when he played 15 games for the New England Patriots.

Many people consider Brady to be the more accurate passer of the two, but Manning actually has a better completion percentage. Since 2001 Manning has completed 65.9 percent of his passes, and Brady has completed 63 percent. Brady did, however, complete a ridiculous 68.9 percent of his passes in the 2007 season, which is the highest single-season completion percentage for either player.

Manning has thrown for more yards (29,339) and more touchdowns (221) since 2001 than Brady has (26,364 and 197), but Brady has thrown only 86 interceptions compared to Manning’s 95. Manning has attempted 161 more passes than Brady over that span, but that is not enough of a difference to justify nine more interceptions.

Statistically, it appears that Manning has been slightly better than Brady over the last seven years, but Brady had a monster year last year and his numbers dwarfed Manning’s.

Brady had 4,808 passing yards compared to Manning’s 4,040, Brady had a record-breaking 50 touchdowns compared to 31 by Manning, and then there’s the aforementioned 68.9 completion percentage compared to Manning’s 65.4 percent.

It is also worth mentioning that the touchdown record that Brady broke was previously held by Manning, who set it in 2004 when he threw 49 touchdown passes.

You should also consider Super Bowl rings. I think that this is slightly overemphasized, but there’s no doubt that players, especially quarterbacks, are judged based on how many championships they have won. Brady has won three championships, and Manning has won one.

Then there’s the eyeball factor. That is when you put all statistics aside and judge based solely on what you see when you watch these guys. Both are big, strong, athletic, calm, and very smart. Manning may have a slightly stronger arm, and be a little bit stronger.

Brady may throw a little bit crisper of a ball and a tighter spiral. Both are well respected and are excellent leaders. Manning makes some downfield throws that no one should be able to make, and I have seen Brady make some amazing touch passes (i.e. lobbing it just out of the reach of the defender into his receiver’s hands).

The bottom line is that any team would be happy to have either of these guys. They are both great quarterbacks and will go down as some of the greatest ever.

If I had to choose, I would take Peyton Manning, but I wouldn’t think anyone was crazy for taking Tom Brady. Here’s some food for thought:

In a few years, will we be discussing Tony Romo and Ben Roethlisberger? I hope so.

Final Four: Is the Key for North Carolina Someone Other Than Psycho T?

Justin Damasiewicz — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 16:16:49 -0400

There is one thing that you can count on Saturday when the Tarheels go up against the Kansas Jayhawks in a Final Four match-up. Tyler Hansbrough will have a solid game. He may have a slow start, as he did many times this year, but when he struggles in the first half he always comes through in the second half.

The key to this game for North Carolina may be another guy. That guy is Wayne Ellington. Don't get me wrong. I am a huge Tyler Hansbrough fan. I love watching him play, and I love how hard and physical he plays, but he has been a picture of consistency all year long. The Tarheels know what they will get from Psycho T.

Ellington has been a bit more inconsistent. He has been great in some games and not so great in other games.

Consider this, in the tarheels only two losses this season (vs Maryland and Duke), Ellington shot 30% from the field, which is far lower than his season average of 47.1%.

He has also made only 33.3% of his three pointers in the two losses, also far lower than his season average of 41.4%.

My opinion is also based on what I have seen with my own eyes. When Ellington gets hot the whole team responds on offense and and defense. He is the ultimate spark plug for an offense. Whether he is driving the lane for a dazzling layup or shooting a pinpoint accurate three ball from the corner, Wayne can be the most influential momentum builder for this team.

I think that North Carolina will win the championship this year, and though Ty Lawson and Tyler Hansbrough will play an important role, the biggest key may be the third best player on the team, Wayne Ellington.