All posts by Cliff Barnes

Duke, N.C. State, The skinny

Taylor burned Carolina last Saturday – Is it Wilson’s turn this Saturday?

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Last week weekend, North Carolina, playing on its home field, was burned by Virginia Tech quarterback Tyrod Taylor. This weekend, Carolina, 6-4, plays at home against a quarterback that can scramble and run like Taylor but who has a better arm. Does that spell disaster for the Tar Heels against rival N.C. State?

Well, if they turn the ball over like they did last week, yes. “If you turn the ball over six times and don’t create turnovers, that’s a killer,” UNC coach Butch Davis said. “You can’t win that way.”

Especially against State. Davis said that on film State’s Nate Irving looks like the best linebacker the Heels have faced. Plus, State quarterback Russell Wilson extends plays with his legs but he also throws very well, he said. In comparing Wilson with VT’s Taylor, Davis said that Wilson’s accuracy in throwing down the field and his arm strength is the difference.

“They’ve played very well this season,” Davis said of the Wolfpack. “In my personal opinion, against somebody in this big of a rivalry game, I don’t know how much records actually matter… There’s an awful lot of the kids that play the game and alumni that are around each other, they know each other and they see each other on a daily basis and so it’s obviously going to carry an enormous amount of significance.”

The Wolfpack, 7-3, has a chance to play for the ACC title if they can win out. So, this is more than a rivalry game. As CapitalSports’ Dane Huffman pointed out, that fact isn’t lost on N.C. State coach Tom O’Brien. But then he said this:

“There’s not any more on the line than any time we play North Carolina,” O’Brien said. “It’s a game that’s very special and very important to our school. … There’s no added significance one way or another. Now the bonus is if we win, we keep going.”

As Davis said, “it’s a game that everybody associated with this program wants to win very badly.”

The skinny

Duke’s Irving, State’s Leslie earn weekly ACC basketball honors

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Duke’s Kyrie Irving and NC State’s C.J. Leslie were named Atlantic Coast Conference Co-Rookies of the Week following their outstanding performances this past week.

Irving had 17 points, four rebounds, a freshman season-opener record nine assists, one block and two steals in 25 minutes of play as the top-ranked Blue Devils opened their season with a 97-60 win over Princeton on Sunday. The West Orange, N.J., native was 3-of-6 from three-point range and 6-of-6 from the foul line, while committing just one turnover.

Leslie came off the bench to help lead the Wolfpack to a 82-69 win over Tennessee Tech in the season opener Friday night at the RBC Center. The Holly Springs native finished with a game-high 21 points, hitting on 7-of-10 from the field and 7-of-11 from the free throw line in his 31 minutes. Leslie also finished with six rebounds and six assists in the Pack’s 17th consecutive season-opening win.

The skinny, UNC

UNC women’s soccer wins; men’s team loses

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The North Carolina women’s soccer team advanced in the NCAA tournament today in Chapel Hill while the men’s team fell in the finals of the ACC championships in Cary.

Freshman Crystal Dunn scored two goals as the Tar Heels beat James Madison, who was in the game until the 65th minute, by a 3-1 score.

Dunn isn’t only known for her ability to score as she is the first freshman in ACC history to be named the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year.

Carolina, now 19-2-2, hosts Notre Dame on Saturday at 5 p.m. at Fetzer Field.

The Carolina men weren’t as fortunate as a controversial handball call on UNC’s Enzo Martinez led to a penalty kick goal for Maryland, which won the title 1-0 at WakeMed Soccer Stadium.

The team and fans were already mad at the officials because the Heels, who were the top seed coming into the tournament, had to play the final 55 minutes down a man as UNC’s Michael Farfan, an All-ACC midfielder, was ejected for a sliding tackle.

The loss was the first in 13 games for Carolina, now 16-3-1.

Carolina is expected to receive a bye in the 48-team NCAA tournament field, which will be announced on ESPNU at 4:30 p.m. Monday.

The skinny, UNC

Good start doesn’t translate to good game for Tar Heels

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North Carolina has been a slow-starting, good finishing team this year. That all changed in a 26-10 loss to Virginia Tech in Chapel Hill.

On Carolina’s opening drive, the Tar Heels combined a good mix of running and passing and featured a scramble by quarterback T.J. Yates for a first down inside the two. Anthony Elzy, who was starting in place of injured Johnny White, went in for the score to cap an 80-yard drive to put the Heels up 7-0.

Except for a field goal, that was it for the Tar Heels the rest of the way as drives were stalled or ended by penalties or turnovers (Carolina had six).

Carolina managed to lead an evenly contested game at the half by a 10-9 score. But the second half, particularly the third quarter, was disastrous for the Heels. In the first nine games this season, Carolina had outscored opponents 113-59. This time, the Heels were outscored 17-0 in the third period as VT quarterback Tyrod Taylor hit Marcus Davis with a pair of touchdown passes.

The turning point actually seemed to happen in the second quarter. UNC receiver Erik Highsmith and VT safety Eddie Whitley both came down with a Yates pass in the end zone but Whitley wrestled it away for the interception.

“I think that was a gigantic play and a great play,” Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer said. “Two guys go up and he comes down. That’s why I talk about battling, just battling for the ball. I think that was the key, key play in the ball game.”

The Heels did manage to drive into the Hokies’ territory a couple of times in the fourth quarter but turned it over, once on an Elzy fumble at the two.

Yates, coming off his best game of the season, had by far his worst game of the season as he threw four interceptions.

Virginia Tech is almost guaranteed the division title while Carolina falls to 6-4 and 3-3 in the conference with its final two games against rivals N.C. State and Duke.

The skinny, UNC

Henson has career highs as UNC pulls away from feisty Lipscomb

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During North Carolina’s 80-66 season-starting victory over Lipscomb tonight, everybody was looking to Harrison Barnes, who did score 14 points, but it was sophomore John Henson who stole the show. Henson won’t have smaller guys to pick on when the ACC season starts but he did have career highs with seven blocks and 17 rebounds.

Henson has put on 25 pounds and says he tries to eat five or six times a day in order to keep on weight. Don’t hate him ’cause he’s thin. He’s worked his weight up to 210 and says he’s able to hold his ground better and not get knocked off his spot as easily as he did last year.

The biggest shot of the game, however, was made by Leslie McDonald who drilled one from the baseline after the Bisons had cut the lead to just three. The basket started a 10-2 run that opened the game up with less than five minutes to go.

For a game story, please click here. For a photo gallery, please click here.

The skinny, UNC

North Carolina basketball preview: Young Heels should do well

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(Editor’s Note: The Tar Heels kick off the 2010-2011 season tonight at home against Lipscomb University of Nashville)

After admittedly the most challenging season of his coaching career, and after losing three who would have played significant minutes this season, UNC Roy Williams nonetheless thinks this year’s team has potential to be good.

There’s no doubt that the young players coming in have great potential, especially Harrison Barnes who, after going 53-0 in his last two years in high school, will be in the North Carolina starting lineup and has even already been picked to All-America teams. If he has the kind of season many expect, he could be the No. 1 pick in the 2011 draft, meaning he could be one and done at Carolina.

The Tar Heels went just 20-17 and failed to make the NCAA tournament. Not only is Barnes not used to that but neither is Coach Williams, who has had the team running hard in practice, basing his practice sessions on those of Dean Smith’s 1982 national champions.

“Last year was not much fun. I don’t want to go through that again,” Williams said. “I’m anxious, no doubt about it. I hope we can put it behind us by coming out and playing well.”

Williams said he won’t know what the true identity of the team will be for a while. A lot of guys have been lost – Ed Davis to the pros, Marcus Ginyard and Deon Thompson to graduation, Travis and David Wear to transfer and Will Graves to suspension.

The expected starting lineup to begin the year is Tyler Zeller, John Henson, Harrison Barnes, Dexter Strickland and Larry Drew II. Before the ACC season begins in January, don’t be surprised if freshmen Reggie Bullock and Kendall Marshall are getting more playing time than Strickland and Drew.

But, on the other hand, Strickland has been playing well so far in inter-squad and preseason games, and Drew is a better scorer than Marshall and was coming on at the end of last season.

Carolina doesn’t have a lot of depth at center and forward but if they stay healthy that should be fine. Lanky Henson has put on 25 pounds and was finally living up to his billing late in the season as the Heels made a run to the finals of the NIT.

Barnes will play every minute he’s not tired and transfer Justin Knox is the most physically solid player on the team and will be valuable off the bench.

But make no mistake, even though he’s not a rah-rah leader, this is junior Tyler Zeller’s team. As he goes, so goes the team. He’s had problems with injuries but if he can stay healthy, this should be a special season for him. The 7-footer can run the court, block shots, play stingy defense, score from the inside and medium range, and can be the experienced leader the Heels need.

Barnes may be more talented and have a bigger upside but if this is going to be the ACC’s second best team as predicted by the sportswriters, Zeller has to step forward, especially with point guard Drew sharing court time.

Guards Justin Watts and Leslie McDonald could be keys off the bench, especially if there are injuries or foul trouble. They could be needed to give minutes at forward. Both can score. In fact, this team, particularly by adding freshmen Barnes and Bullock, is loaded offensively. That’s good news for Williams who saw his team last year shoot the third worst of any UNC team since 1960 and the worst of any UNC team from 3-point land. In fact, even free throw shooting was the worst since 1954.

Still, the Tar Heels start the season as the eighth ranked team in the nation by the Associated Press. Of course a lot of that has to do with the North Carolina written on the front – and Barnes written on the back. The 6-foot-8 Barnes can score and rebound, and Coach Williams even compares him to Tyler Hansbrough as far as his work ethic.

While we’ll know more about Barnes when the ACC season starts in earnest, we should know something about how good the team is going to be following a three-game stretch starting Nov. 28 against the College of Charleston (who famously beat the Heels last season). On Nov. 30 the Heels play at tough Illinois in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge and then play at home against Kentucky Dec. 4.

Besides the Duke games, the matchups against talented N.C. State this season are intriguing as is the Jan. 13 home date with Virginia Tech, which figures to battle the Heels for second behind heavily favored Duke.

The Tar Heels should enter the ACC tournament with a 25-5 or 24-6 record with maybe four losses in the league. If there are no season-ending injuries, UNC has the talent and, yes, the potential to make it to the ACC finals and the NCAA Elite 8.

The skinny

High school football playoffs begin today – predictions below

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The regular season for high school football wound down last week but playoffs start tonight. Here are predictions for tonight’s games involving Triangle-area teams. Friday night’s weather is expected to be clear and fairly cold with temperatures in the mid to low 40s. Most games are at 7:30 p.m. You might want to check with local officials as some games start at 7. In bold below are the predicted winners. My record of predicting games was 8-2 last week, making the final regular season total now 97-23, which is an 81 percent accuracy.

Broughton at Garner

Cary at Fuquay-Varina

Harnett Central at Southeast Raleigh

Hoggard at Clayton

Lee County at Northern Durham

Middle Creek at Leesville Road

Millbrook at WF-Rolesville

New Hanover at Southern Durham

Overhills at Cardinal Gibbons

Southview at Panther Creek

Southeast Guilford at Durham Hillside

Wakefield at Wilmington Laney

Whiteville at Carrboro

Check the scores in our Sports Roundup on the left navigation bar.

The skinny, UNC

Furr could get significant minutes this week depending on Houston decision

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With the running back situation unsettled for Carolina – is Shaun Draughn healthy? will Ryan Houston burn a redshirt year – it appears Hunter Furr has become a key part of the UNC offense.

Furr, who ran three times for 27 yards on the game-winning drive last week against Florida State, has been the scout team runner this season. Those are the guys who prepare the starters for the opposition and don’t play in the game. “He’s not on the scout team anymore,” UNC coach Butch Davis said with a laugh, adding that he’s been getting 20-30 percent of the snaps with the starters in practice.

Davis said that drive last week at the end of the game against FSU was the best drive the Tar Heels have had during his tenure as coach. “The whole team was ecstatic for Hunter,” Davis said. “He’s been very unselfish. He’s been willing to play whatever role we gave him.”

Primarily, in addition to the scout team, he’s played a lot on special teams with the short-handed Heels. “With four senior running backs, he knew this wasn’t going to be the year he was going to get an awful lot of opportunities but he continued to practice hard, study and know the game plans,” Davis said.

Furr, a sophomore from Lewisville, said he felt ready when he was forced to enter the game after Johnny White, Shaun Draughn and Anthony Elzy all got injured during the course of the game.

“In our pre-game running back speech, Coach (Ken) Browning told us that your roles will change during the game unexpectedly, and you never know,” Furr said. “Since I’ve been here Coach Davis has always preached you’ve got to watch film, you’ve got to be ready you never know when you’re time’s going to come, and I guess my time came.”

For those wanting to know more about Furr, he wears No. 40 in honor of Pat Tillman, the former NFL player who was killed serving in the military. His favorite off-day activities are playing golf with teammates, hunting and fishing, and his dream job is to coach football at UNC.

Duke, The skinny, UNC

Yates, Helfet win player of the week honors in the ACC

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GREENSBORO, N.C. – North Carolina senior quarterback T.J. Yates has been named the Offensive Back of the Week in the Atlantic Coast Conference while Duke tight end Cooper Helfet was named Offensive Lineman of the week.

Yates, who claimed his second recognition of the season, threw for a school-record 439 yards and three touchdowns in the Tar Heels’ 37-35 win at then-No. 24 Florida State. He became the first player in school history to register two 400-plus passing games in a career and currently has the top two performances in the conference this year. The win was the first for North Carolina in Tallahassee.

Yates was 24-of-35 for a school-record 439 yards and three touchdowns in Carolina’s 37-35 win at Florida State. It was his fifth career 300-plus yard game and his second career 400-plus yard game. He became the first player in program history to pass for 400-plus yards twice in a career and the second player all-time in the ACC to have the two performances in the same season against nationally ranked opponents (No. 24 Florida State and No. 21 LSU). Yates, who passed for 412 yards earlier this season against LSU, has the top two passing performances in the ACC this season. He threw touchdown passes of 67, 14 and 4 yards in the Tar Heels’ first ever win in Tallahassee.

Helfet helped Duke to a 55-48 win over Virginia, catching seven passes for a career-high 122 yards and one touchdown. His scoring reception covered 30 yards. Five of his seven catches produced first downs, and he averaged 17.4 yards per reception. On Duke’s game-winning, 91-yard touchdown drive in the final two minutes, Helfet caught two passes for 30 yards and two first downs. He helped create holes for the Blue Devils’ rushing attack, which totaled 230 yards on the ground and six rushing touchdowns. Helfet’s receiving performance came against a Virginia defense that had ranked second in the league in pass defense.

The skinny, UNC

Baseball legend Clyde King was a true Tar Heel to the end

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Talk about a Tar Heel born and a Tar Heel bred, Clyde King was that and more. The former UNC baseball player died last week in his hometown of Goldsboro at age 86 after a six-decade baseball career.

King, who was born in Goldsboro in 1924, was the first person in his family and the only one of seven siblings to attend college. He came to Carolina without a scholarship.
At the end of his college career, the next day, he tried out for the Brooklyn Dodgers. As recounted in this excellent and insightful article from three years ago, King pitched in the very first big league game he ever attended, against the cross-town rival New York Giants, the very next day. Over seven seasons, he pitched for the Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds. His best season was 1951, when he went 14-7.
King, who married his college sweetheart and is survived by her, coached the Reds, the Cardinals, the Pirates, the Giants, the Braves and finally the Yankees. He then served as general manager of the Yankees in 1985 and 1986 and was a member of the coaching staff again in 1988. From 1998 to 2005, he was a special assistant to the general manager.
King was instrumental in the Steinbrenner family’s $1 million pledge to name the courtyard to the entrance at UNC’s Boshamer Stadium.
“It has been my great pleasure to get to know Clyde and Norma King during my time here at UNC,” UNC baseball coach Mike Fox told CapitalSportsNC after attending King’s wake. “Clyde was a special person who had an amazing career in baseball that spanned six decades. He traveled all over the world and played with and managed some of the greatest players ever to play the game. Yet he was always a Tar Heel and he came back to Chapel Hill regularly. He supported me and our program in many ways and he loved UNC.”
His granddaughter, Hadley, worked in the Carolina baseball office for three years.
“I was able to visit Mr. King in Goldsboro last summer and had one of most enjoyable evenings of my life there,” Fox said. “Clyde was a great man whose faith was and will always be how he will be remembered.”
Tar Heel born, Tar Heel bred, Tar Heel dead… but never forgotten.