Featured stories, The skinny, UNC

Carolina’s Fedora announces coaching staff; leaves off Ken Browning

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University of North Carolina head football coach Larry Fedora announced the hiring of eight assistant coaches Tuesday, including six who assisted him at Southern Miss., one who was a former defensive coordinator in the Atlantic Coast Conference and another who is returning for a second coaching stop in Chapel Hill.

Unfortunately, he is not retaining Ken Browning who has been a coach at UNC for 18 years. He is well known and respected by high school coaches and has been a solidifying force through five coaching changes, which helps with recruiting in North Carolina. Prior to joining the Heels, Browning was the head coach and athletic director at Northern Durham High School for 18 years. He posted a 178-35 record and won the 1993 4-A state title and Shrine Bowl. Over his last three years, Northern built a 43-2 record and he was named the North Carolina Coach of the Year by the Associated Press in 1992 and 1993. He became only the third coach to win both the state title and Shrine Bowl in the same year. The instinct is to get rid of all vestiges of the previous Carolina regime but it would have behooved Fedora to keep that positive continuity with North Carolina high schools.

Only one UNC coach remains as Fedora announced he will retain strength and conditioning coach Tom Myslinski, who completed just his first year in Chapel Hill.

The six assistants Fedora brings from Southern Miss are defensive coordinator Dan Disch, defensive assistant and special teams coordinator David Duggan, defensive line coach Deke Adams, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Blake Anderson, tight ends coach Walt Bell and offensive line coach Chris Kapilovic.

In 2011, Southern Miss had arguably its best season in school history, winning a school-record 12 games, including the Conference USA championship over previously unbeaten Houston, and the Hawaii Bowl over Nevada. The Golden Eagles averaged a school record 461.4 yards per game (6,459 total yards), which ranked 16th in the country. USM was one of just 11 FBS schools to average 200 yards per game both passing and rushing.

Defensively, Southern Miss led Conference USA and ranked seventh in the nation in pass efficiency defense. The Golden Eagles were second in CUSA in total defense, scoring defense and rushing defense. Southern Miss set an NCAA record with 11 interception returns for touchdowns.

Gunter Brewer, who coached five years at Carolina from 2000-2004 and was most recently the offensive coordinator at Mississippi for two seasons, returns to Chapel Hill to coachwide receivers and serve as UNC’s passing game coordinator. Brewer has coached several outstanding wide receivers in stops at Marshall, Oklahoma State, UNC and Mississippi, including three Biletnikoff Award finalists.

Vic Koenning will serve as Carolina’s associate head coach for defense. He recently led Illinois to a 20-14 win over UCLA in the Kraft FightHunger Bowl as the interim head coach. Koenning is a 24-year college coaching veteran who served three years as Clemson’s defensive coordinator from 2005-08. Each of his four Tiger defenses finished in the top 25 in scoring, total, and pass efficiency defense. He also was head coach at Wyoming in the early 2000s.

Carolina has hired eight of its nine on-field assistant coaches. Fedora plans to hire a running backs coach in the near future. Former UNC player and coach Randy Jordan is the favorite for that position.

– News release and added commentary

Duke, Featured stories, N.C. State, The skinny

State’s Brown, Duke’s Cook earn ACC weekly honors

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NC State’s Lorenzo Brown has been named ACC Player of the Week, while Duke’s Quinn Cook was selected ACC Rookie of the Week.

Brown averaged 19.0 points, 8.0 assists and 5.5 rebounds in leading the Wolfpack to 2-0 record last week with victories over Campbell, 87-81, and Western Carolina, 82-55. The Roswell, Ga., sophomore shot 63 percent (12-of-19) from the floor and 88 percent (14-of-16) from the free-throw line. In Thursday’s win over Campbell, Brown had 24 points, eight assists and eight steals. Two nights later, he had 14 points and eight assists in only 28 minutes against Western Carolina.

In earning the rookie award for a second-straight week, Cook averaged 11.0 points, 8.5 assists and 2.5 rebounds as Duke moved to 12-1 on the year with a pair of non-conference wins. The Bowie, Md., freshman had 17 assists with no turnovers in the two games. In Friday’s 110-70 victory over Western Michigan, Cook had a career-high 16 points, eight assists and four rebounds. Two nights later, he finished with six points and a career-high nine assists in a 85-55 victory over Pennsylvania.

Featured stories, The skinny

Hurricanes’ Skinner returns to practice

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For the first time since suffering a concussion on Dec. 7 in Edmonton, Jeff Skinner skated with the team in practice in a yellow, non-contact jersey. Skinner has missed the team’s last 10 games.

Though he still might be a ways off from returning to the lineup, today was an important step in his recovery, something the team has handled with precision.

“I haven’t been out there with that many bodies, that many pucks, that much noise, so I wasn’t sure how I was going to react,” Skinner said. “So far, I’ve felt good. I’ve got to talk to the doctors and take the next step forward.”

“He’s a huge part of this team, so he’ll continue to work on the processes, but it’s a great sign to see him out there practicing,” head coach Kirk Muller said. “He’s obviously anxious to get back in the lineup, and I’m sure he was happy just to get out there with the guys.”

“It was nice to see him out there. He looked to be in good spirits, and hopefully he continues to progress,” Eric Staal said. “He’s an important piece to our team, and a guy that has the ability to make a difference night in and night out.”

Skinner has skated a few times by himself before taking the ice with the team today, something that doesn’t really compare for the 19-year-old.

“I’ve been out a couple times by myself,” he said. “You get excited to go out on the ice, and then two minutes pass and you get bored just playing by yourself.”

For more, please click here.

– News release, Michael Smith

Featured stories, The skinny, UNC

UNC’s Paige-Moss to enter draft, bad mouths coaches, fans ESPN reports

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Joe Schad of ESPN is reporting that UNC junior defensive end Donte Paige-Moss, who hurt his ACL in the bowl loss to Missouri, is going to enter the 2012 NFL Draft. After bad mouthing his coaches and Carolina fans, he might as well.

After the bowl game, Paige-Moss Tweeted, “Worst xmas eva cant wait till.this horrible bowl in this horrible city wit sum of da mos horrible coaches r ova Sum.of.yall mofos jus haten cuz yall.gotta pay.fo.skool unc. Fans r.the.worse.we.win its all.good. Have a bad game we suck thats.a.reason #imout #nosupport”

I guess that’s not really illiterate since it’s Twitter. But he also has a misdemeanor assault on his record and wasn’t even a starter this season. Also, back in 2009, Butch Davis kept him out of the Meineke Car Care Bowl after a skirmish after a game at N.C. State.

After starting 12 games during the 2010 season, he lost his position to sophomore Kareem Martin and finished the 2011 season with just 29 tackles and two sacks.

Still, the NFL scouts remember his 77 tackles and seven sacks from his sophomore year and tend to take chances on guys of his size and potential.

Featured stories, The skinny, UNC

Hatchell to speak at Raleigh Sports Club meeting

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UNC Women’s Head Basketball Coach Sylvia Hatchell will be the guest speaker Wednesday at the Raleigh Sports Club meeting. After more than 1,000 career games and 36 seasons of coaching, Coach Hatchell is one of the most decorated coaches in women’s basketball history. She has more than 800 wins, has been named National Coach of the Year three times and is in the women’s basketball Hall of Fame. Energetic, animated, humorous, never at a loss for words, Coach Hatchell is sure to entertain as well as inform.

Kristen Gaffney, Green Hope basketball player and a Vanderbilt recruit, will be honored as the Student Athlete of the Week.

Buffet lines open at 11:30 a.m. The Forks Cafeteria will continue to cater a Southern Buffet. The meeting location will again be at Highland UMC at 1901 Ridge Road at the intersection of Lake Boone Trail, just inside the Beltline. Annual dues for the 2011-12 season will remain $60. Weekly attendance fee will remain $14 and applies whether the member plans to eat lunch or not. All guests fees will be $20 per guest. Pick sheets and door prizes will be held.

Featured stories, The skinny, UNC

Heels D-UNC Elon after impressive first half

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The North Carolina Tar Heels used a couple of dominating D’s in the first half – defense and dunks – on their way to whipping Elon 100-62 at home.

The Tar Heels held Elon scoreless for more than eight minutes as the Phoenix scored just 19 points in the first half and were held to just 20 percent shooting.

Meanwhile, Carolina used a 23-0 run and a slew of dunks, six of them by John Henson, to take commanding 53-19 halftime lead. Henson had a double-double in the first half alone with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

UNC won the second half by just four points as Elon shot better and second and third team players saw lots of action for the Heels.

For more on the game, please click here.

Featured stories, The skinny, UNC

UNC’s Renner undergoes surgery on ankle; two others have torn ACLs

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University of North Carolina quarterback Bryn Renner had successful surgery on his left ankle to remove an anterior bone spur and a posterior accessory bone Wednesday.

The surgery was performed by Dr. Bob Anderson in Charlotte at Carolinas Medical Center – Mercy. Dr Anderson heads the foot and ankle division at OrthoCarolina. Renner is expected to make a full recovery. His status will be updated at the beginning of spring practice.

Renner’s ankle condition became an issue in mid-July, approximately three weeks before the start of UNC’s training camp. After consulting with the UNC sports medicine staff, Renner and his family made the decision to play with a hinged ankle brace and postpone surgery until after the season.

A native of West Springfield, Va., Renner had an outstanding sophomore season, completing 239 of 350 attempts for 3,086 yards and a single-season school record 26 touchdowns.

Post-Bowl Game Injury Update: A pair of North Carolina players tore knee ligaments in the Independence Bowl on Monday in Shreveport. Sophomore linebacker Darius Lipford tore the ACL in his left knee and junior Donte Paige-Moss tore the ACL in his right knee. Both players will miss spring practice. A further update on their status will be available after surgeries are performed in the coming weeks.

– News release

Featured stories, Panthers, Redskins, The skinny

Panthers center the only Pro Bowl starter from either Carolina or Redskins

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Panthers center Ryan Kalil has been named a starter for the NFC in the Pro Bowl. He was the only starter from either the Carolina Panthers or the Washington Redskins, the two teams historically associated with North Carolina. Steve Smith, the Panthers receiver, was named to the squad but not as a starter. The Redskins, 5-10, had no representatives selected despite the fact that Redskins linebacker London Fletcher leads the NFL in tackles.

Fan votes counted for one third of the vote, as did the players’ votes and the coaches’ votes. For a full listing of the Pro Bowl selections, please click here.

Featured stories, N.C. State, The skinny

N.C. State 31, Louisville 24: Big plays, desire, other thoughts

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It wasn’t always pretty, especially on special teams, but a couple of big plays, consistency from a quarterback and desire gave N.C. State a 31-24 victory over Louisville in the Belk Bowl in Charlotte.

A 65-yard interception return by all-everything DB David Amerson combined with a 68-yard run after a catch by Wolfpack senior T.J. Graham were the big plays N.C. State needed to defeat Louisville.

But it was consistent quarterback play from Mike Glennon, after an early interception, that steadied the boat after a few bonehead special teams plays rocked it. Glennon threw for 264 yards and three touchdowns.

Certainly the “home” crowd helped inspire the Wolfpack, who just a couple of games ago were fighting for Tom O’Brien’s head coaching job. The Pack got healthier as the season went on and played their best ball late in the season and would have been fired up regardless, but playing in Charlotte helped.

A lot of people are trying to compare the Tar Heels with the Wolfpack but the situations were and are drastically different. Carolina was playing a long way from home the day after Christmas. Even a really good Tar Heel team would not have drawn many Carolina fans to Shreveport, Louisiana. Plus, the Tar Heels had a late season dive while the Wolfpack came on late. Add to that the coaching situation at Carolina, with a lame duck coach who didn’t want to be there vs. a surging coach who feels more confident and excited about his future at his university.

The excitement that the Wolfpack players showed at the end of the game was as demonstrative as any we’ve seen in the bowl season. They wanted to be playing right where they were and, in the end, everything turned out like they wanted. The Wolfpack ended the season 8-5 while Louisville matched Carolina’s record of 7-6 despite also losing to the Tar Heels earlier in the season.

Duke, Featured stories, The skinny

Voice of Cameron Indoor Stadium since 1970 dies

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Longtime Duke men’s basketball public address announcer Art Chandler passed away at Hock Family Pavilion on Christmas Day at the age of 78. Known as the “Voice of Cameron Indoor Stadium” for 40 years, Chandler retired from the position at the close of the 2009-10 season.

Chandler left a lasting impression on the Duke fan base as well as his signature introduction of “Here Comes Duke!”, which he began using years ago at the suggestion of former Blue Devil Alaa Abdelnaby. Chandler manned his first game behind the microphone in 1970 went on to inform thousands who scored, who fouled, and who subbed in over 600 games. During his four decades at the scorers table, Chandler saw four national championship teams, 12 ACC Tournament champs and a plethora of All-Americas.

“Art Chandler was a great friend of the program,” said head coach Mike Krzyzewski. “He not only helped out at Duke but was also active with his military service. Art went out of his way to help mankind and I greatly respected that about him. He did a terrific job in his role and his service to the Athletic Department, specifically the basketball program for 40 years was greatly appreciated. Our thoughts and prayers go out to his family. He will be missed.”

– News release