I recently read Roy's autobiography "Hard Work" and was struck by just that - how hard he works and how intense his commitment is to excellence. I don't believe since his first year at Kansas has he had such a challenging situation as this year's Heels. Saddled with no true leader, a bushel of underclassmen, untimely injuries to key contributors, and the heavy weight of expectations from Tar Heel Nation, this group has significantly underachieved to this point in the season. But if there's one thing I am sure of, it's that Roy Williams will not stop trying to find the answer.
I truly believe that when they lost an 11-point lead at College of Charleston in the last four minutes, something snapped in the psyches of these kids. All of the sudden, they weren't bulletproof anymore. But what they don't realize is that swagger doesn't just happen. The NC on your chest doesn't afford you anything between the lines. In fact, if anything, it means you get everybody's best shot. There are probably two kids playing for Charleston that could be on North Carolina's roster but that didn't stop them from looking Carolina in the eye and saying, "Not tonight!" This team must learn that this is what they can expect every night, especially now that their opponents smell blood in the water.
It's true - there's nothing quite like beating Carolina, no matter what the situation or who is on the floor. That joy is even greater at home. So tonight, they walk straight into another lions' den against NC State at the RBC Center in Raleigh. You can rest assured the place will be jumping and as soon as State pops a couple three pointers, the frenzy is on.
UNC has had six days to lick wounds, massage egos, man up, have team meetings, or whatever it takes to get the ship righted. But you can bet Ol' Roy hasn't slept much in the last six days thinking about it. And it won't get righted until this group of players buys into what he wants, trusts each other on the court and find what it was that allowed them to wear that storied uniform in the first place.
If not, it may be a boring March on Tobacco Road...
