It feels unreasonable to start any basketball related activity without the acknowledgement of the recent tragic passing of Kobe Bryant. Kobe was a single name icon whose reach stretched far beyond the 94 feet of the basketball court — yet it was through his majesty there that the world was introduced to him. From a basketball perspective, his influences are evident at all levels — every time a guard uses precise footwork to create space for a fadeaway, or when a defender guards his man with the ferocity of a lion trying to acquire his last meal. His death, so shocking and sad, shines a light on how transcendent he had become elsewhere in his life — the way people who had never met him feel a tremendous sense of grief and loss. Making people feel, and inspiring them to live their lives with a certain tenacity, seems like something that would put a smile on Kobe Bryant’s face and perhaps even outweigh his brilliant accomplishments in the game he so adored.
Stock Rising
Roy and the boys. It took six tries, but Roy Williams mercifully and finally eclipsed the win total of his mentor and idol, the iconic Dean Smith, in Saturday’s trouncing of Miami. This has been an unusually trying season for the Hall of Famer, who has won 78 percent of his games in amassing 881 victories, so the overall perspective on his accomplishment may have been lost in the relief of finally ending a five-game losing skein. The Tar Heels then backed up their best offensive output of the year (94 points against Miami) with a crippling body blow on Monday to intrastate rival NC State, beating the Wolfpack for the seventh consecutive time in Raleigh and winning its first true road game since November 8.
Monday’s star was once again junior Garrison Brooks, who has now logged double-doubles in seven of his last eight games. Brooks was a one-man wrecking crew in Blacksburg last week, scoring 28 points, grabbing 13 rebounds and dishing out six assists in a heartbreaking double-overtime loss to the Hokies. Effort and execution were heightened a notch that night, causing North Carolina to look at least competent, albeit still considerably shy of a vintage Williams’ outfit.
With the carrot of Cole Anthony’s return still dangling in front of the team, along with Brooks’ recent emergence, North Carolina could presumably be a team to deal with in Greensboro. From now until then, though, Williams will look to add as many wins to that unbelievable career mark while hoping to get his club to relatively good health. Even in last night’s win, Brandon Robinson, who has been hampered with ailments all year, had to leave the floor multiple times, dealing with both a lingering ankle issue and a new rib injury.
Stock Falling
The league. The ACC on the whole hasn’t rated out this poorly on KenPom since 2013, the last season in which the league failed to place at least five teams in the NCAA Tournament. That iteration of the league only had 12 teams total — currently there are 15 member schools — and even at that number, it is looking increasingly unlikely that five teams will hear their names called on Selection Sunday.
Beyond the three presumptive locks in Florida State, Louisville and Duke, Syracuse is the ACC’s next highest rated team, down at #49, three spots ahead of Virginia. Historically speaking, teams in these spots are toggling between Dayton and top seeds in the NIT, so there is a lot of work that needs to be done to avoid the ignominy of placing only 20 percent of the league in the NCAA Tournament. NC State really did some damage to its profile in dropping its last two games, and the Wolfpack are now facing a near must-win in hosting league-leading Louisville on Saturday. Standing at 14-7, and now 5-5 in the league, they are in dire need to not only compile wins, but are desperate for a win that could possibly galvanize a group that is underperforming on its capabilities this season.