All posts by Cliff Barnes

N.C. State, The skinny, UNC

Wolfpack, Heels both make it to NCAA baseball tourney

Leave a comment

NC State manager Elliot Avent was a little concerned that, despite his club making it to the ACC tournament and playing well except for one game, his Wolfpack team might not make it to the NCAA baseball tournament but that UNC, despite not making it to the ACC tourney, would. As it turns out, both area teams made it.

And both teams deserved to make it. Carolina finished a game under .500 in the ACC but has an overall 36-20 record and played well down the stretch. NC State finished at .500 in the ACC and has an overall mark of 38-22. State, a third seed in the Myrtle Beach region, opens up against College of Charleston. Coastal Carolina, the top seed in the region and No. 4 overall, plays Stony Brook in the other regional game.

The Tar Heels sweated out the selection show as their game was announced as the final matchup in the 64-team field. Carolina travels to Norman, Okla. as the third seed in that region and will face No. 2 seed Cal (29-23) in its first game. No. 1 Oklahoma takes on Oral Roberts in the other regional game. Game dates and times have not been announced. The ACC got a total of eight teams in the NCAA tournament – Boston College was left out.

Georgia Tech is hosting a regional that includes Elon, the third North Carolina team in the tournament. While some may argue that Carolina shouldn’t have made the NCAA tournament because the Heels didn’t qualify for the ACC tournament, keep in mind that Arizona got into the tournament despite going 6-13 over the last 19 games.

The skinny, UNC

Woodard back at UNC after not making it to the major leagues

Leave a comment

The UNC baseball team is fortunate to have its winningest pitcher ever back in the fold, even if as an assistant coach.

Robert Woodard, who was born in Winston-Salem and raised in Charlotte, had a 34-5 record as a Tar Heel pitcher, including a 22-0 record at Boshamer Stadium. Drafted in the 20th round by San Diego in the 2007 draft, Woodard never made it past Triple A Portland.

In fact, he pitched only three games at the Triple A level – one in 2007 and two in 2008. His ERA for those three games was 21.32. His most success was at Single A Fort Wayne where he posted a 3.25 ERA over 72 innings while posting five wins.

It really goes to show how difficult it is to make it to the big leagues. He was arguably the best pitcher the Heels ever had when he left for the pros. (Although that honor would probably go to Andrew Miller ’06 or Dave Lemonds ’68.) He was a three-time All-ACC selection and he was the 2006-2007 recipient of the Patterson Medal, given to UNC’s most outstanding student-athlete. He also helped lead the Carolina program to national prominence with back-to-back appearances in the College World Series in 2006 and 2007.

“I am very excited to have Robert join our staff. As most know Robert had a very distinguished playing career at UNC,” UNC coach Mike Fox said. “But his most important role was being a leader in elevating our program to the national level beginning in 2006. Robert will bring great leadership, experience and knowledge to our program and I am excited that he is starting his coaching career as a Tar Heel.”

Duke, The skinny, UNC

Duke, Carolina battling for Doc Rivers’ son

Leave a comment

Doc Rivers’ Boston Celtics club is one victory away from the NBA championship finals but he is most proud that his son recently led his Winter Park (Fla.) High School team to that school’s first state title ever.

Duke and Carolina have taken notice of the 6-foot-3 shooting guard who scored 25 points in the state finals and are battling it out for him on the recruiting trail. Rivers, who is a top 10 basketball prospect in the class of 2011, is also considering Kansas and Florida. He earlier decommitted from Florida but Scout.com reports that he has a higher interest in Florida and Duke than Carolina … and they don’t even mention Kansas.

Rivers is listed by most as the No. 2 shooting guard in the country and UNC coach Roy Williams really wants to recruit guys that can shoot, especially after the team’s scoring woes last season. Williams can be convincing so I wouldn’t count the Tar Heels out. In fact, Rivers decommitted from Florida less than two weeks after Williams visited with him back in late March.

The skinny, UNC

Magazine runs photos of what they call drunken UNC players on Spring Break

Leave a comment

An online magazine titled Coed Magazine has released what it calls “drunken Spring Break pictures” of UNC basketball players.

The photos undoubtedly show Carolina players; however, the timing of the photos is in question. While freshman John Henson was pictured so were Wes Miller, Bobby Frasor and Mike Copeland, who haven’t been on the team in a while. Spring Break at UNC was March 6-14 but I think the Tar Heels were a tad busy during that time.

The pictures certainly appear to be real but when they were taken, and whether or not they were taken at the same time is uncertain. Those who want their Tar Heels to be straight-laced will nevertheless be upset by the pictures which appear to show Marcus Ginyard having beer poured down his throat and Henson dirty dancing with a scantily clad female, as well as other jocularity.

Take a look at reason one why the Wear twins shouldn’t have transferred by clicking here. This photo appears to show Henson gettin’ down on it. Take a look at all the photos and make up your mind for yourself.

The skinny

Former Tar Heel signs with Redskins

Leave a comment

Veteran defensive end Vonnie Holliday has signed to play for the New Over-the-Hill Gang Washington Redskins. A former Tar Heel All-ACC player, Holliday, 34, was selected in the first round of the 1998 NFL draft by the Green Bay Packers.

That draft was the first time in UNC school history that three Tar Heels were selected in the first round – Greg Ellis went to the Dallas Cowboys while Brian Simmons went to the Cincinnati Bengals. All three played defense. The 1997 Tar Heels (11-1) ranked as one of the strongest defensive units in school history, posting a program-record 42 sacks while placing second nationally in rushing defense, third in total defense and fifth in turnover margin.

The Redskins plan to use Holliday in its new 3-4 defense as a third-down player, or as a backup to Albert Haynesworth, or even as a starter if the oft-injured, expensive, overrated and unhappy Haynesworth is traded (possibly to the Vikings). Holliday had success in the 3-4 when with the Dolphins 2005-2008. He had been a starter every year until serving as a backup for the Broncos last year where he still proved to be a strong pass rusher.

Raleigh-Durham has the strongest out-of-market fan base for the Redskins, according to a national survey conducted by DirecTV. That’s not a big surprise considering that the Redskins were the “home team” for the area for more than 50 years until the Panthers moved into Charlotte.

The skinny

Carolina the best college baseball team in North and South Carolina

1 Comment

Coastal Carolina that is. The Chanticleers are 45-6 and should get a nice seed in the NC AA tournament. Two years ago Coastal Carolina fell to the North Carolina Tar Heels in the NCAA Super Regionals in Cary. The Tar Heels, who stand at 32-20 and 11-16 in the ACC, probably won’t qualify for the ACC tournament and are on the bubble for getting an NCAA bid.

UNC lost pitching and hitting but few thought the Heels would fall this far, this fast. One of the biggest differences between this year’s team and last year’s club is power. With the season dwindling down, the Tar Heels have only 36 home runs compared to 69 last year. Carolina was a plus 19 in homers last year and are a minus seven this year.

Of course the main reason for that is the loss of Dustin Ackley, now in the Seattle Mariners minor league system. No one has been able to come close to making up for Ackley’s 22 home runs and .417 batting average from last season.
The Heels’ top hitter this year is Levi Michael, who is batting an impressive .351 but who has only six homers.