Roy Williams’ disdain for the ACC tournament is as much a part of the current era of North Carolina basketball as the “I am a Tar Heel” montage.
He couldn’t hold it back Saturday, in the wake of clinching the No. 1 seed and ACC regular-season title with a 14-point win over Duke, but he also sounded a little more determined to win in Greensboro.
“I’m going to enjoy the regular-season title,” Williams said. “Everybody wants to hear me say it’s the biggest frickin’ cocktail party -- well, it is. But I’ll go play. And you know what? We’re going to try to win it.”
Williams paused at the podium, looked around, and started to stand up.
“I’m out of here, guys,” he said, exiting -- like George Costanza -- on a high note.
Duke has won two straight ACC tournaments after North Carolina won in 2007 and 2008, but at least one of the recent losses wasn't the worst thing for the Tar Heels. In Atlanta in 2009, North Carolina went out in the semifinals without the injured Ty Lawson, then used the extra day of rest to get ready for an NCAA tournament run that ended in a championship.
Last year, the 10th-seeded Tar Heels lost to Georgia Tech on Thursday. This year, they’ll be the No. 1 seed, playing at noon Friday against Virginia, Maryland, Miami or N.C. State.
Duke, the No. 2 seed, will play Maryland, Miami or N.C. State at 7 p.m.
"Look, when we get on the bus, we're 0-0," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We have to prepare for the next part of our season. ... This was a big game, but the upcoming games are the biggest games. The games we will play in the next few weeks are the biggest and most important games."
The Thursday matchups await the results of Sunday’s Florida State-N.C. State and Miami-Georgia Tech games. Florida State has locked down the No. 3 seed and Clemson the No. 4 seed, while Georgia Tech is the No. 11 seed and Wake Forest is the No. 12 seed.
Luke DeCock
Saturday, March 5, 2011
For Heels, Devils, let the cocktail party begin
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26 comments:
Hey Dookies. Enjoy the view from second place. We are the ACC Champs.
I love how the media is portraying the tar heels as this lovable band of overachievers who overcame so much adversity. How many McDonald's All-Americans are on this team? Pardon me for not weeping for joy when one of the most talented teams in America does what they're supposed to do.
Yeah, like dook doesn't have McD' All Americans. Hey, ours beat yours. You were just overated this year.
And, dook couldn't do what they were picked to do with their overated McD's AA's. Maybe next year, but I doubt it if our guys stay.
it is nice to win the acc tournament and hence be the official conference champion, but it is not the big picture. even if unc wins it, they will probably be no higher than a 2 seed. so if we should lose friday it would be disappointing but we could get extra rest and practice time. it's just not like it was in the old days when only the conf tourney champ was assured a spot in some field of 28 or 32. think back to 1991 when unc beat dook and laetner by 19 to win the tourney title. duke went on to win k's first national title
Hey you UNC-CHEAT douchebags, the official ACC champion has not been crowned yet. Rest assured Duke will win the tourney and also win back to back national championships. Enjoy your 5 days of glory losers.
dook was not overrated. they lost their best player back in december.
Man, 74Tarheel, you're an idiot. How would your precious Heels look without Barnes? Pretty lousy, I believe, especially given all the game-winning shots he's nailed for your team.
Duke lost their best player back in December and still managed to split with the Holes. A Barnes-less Heels team would be mid-ACC at best. An Irving-less Duke team still managed to contend for the title.
Hey you UNC-CHEAT douchebags, the official ACC champion has not been crowned yet. Rest assured Duke will win the tourney and also win back to back national championships. Enjoy your 5 days of glory losers.
UNC-CHeat.
those of you who fight via blogs on the internet are total nerds......get a social life
Sure, irving played well early, but dook, as of a few weeks ago, was # 1 in the US. Overated. Without irving you might be top 25.
To all you sour grape Dookie fans. You got beat last night. Period. Please do not hang out your sour grapes here. 2011 ACC Title goes to.........UNC!!!! Deal wid it.
To all you sour grape Dookie fans. You got beat last night. Period. Please do not hang out your sour grapes here. 2011 ACC Title goes to.........UNC!!!! Deal wid it.
The official ACC champion is the winner of the tournament. Always has been. The Heels can hang another stupid banner for this if they want, but it doesn't mean a dang thing.
Yeah but it sure has your panties in bunch there Jordan. Heh Heh Heh.
I hope we still have room in the Dome to hang another one. And, tell the guys who were playing Sat that it didn mean anything. Dook should hope they don't play FSU in Gboro. They have your number.
Oh don't worry, unc-chEAT will hang another banner for another imaginary championship...especially if they don't win the real one next week. Their egos won't be able to handle it otherwise.
To all you dookies...don't forget about the lack of experience and depth UNC has on their team. With Justin Knox as their only senior who actually played, the heels lost Will Graves, the Wear Twins, Reggie Bullock, and Larry Drew. All of them were valuable in certain ways and just hurt their overall depth. Regardless, Duke still could not win the ACC. Nice Try. GO HEELS!
@ Devil, I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing how this loss has really got your goat. Just a joy to watch. Just graciously admit that a great young team won.
Duke is puke and don't forget it !
LOST: Dark blue basketball shorts, May 5th in Dean Dome near the top of the key. If found please contact S. Curry at Duke Athletic Dept. (919) 613-7500.
The ONLY time the ACC Tourney meant anything was back when you had to win your conference tourney in order to get in the NCAA Tourney. That stopped in 1975 when they expanded to 32 teams & started allowing more then 1 team from a conference. Now it is a "cocktail party".
But it is funny reading all the comments about how a 3-4 day tourney with with 3-4 games each should decide who the best team is as opposed to a 16 game schedule over 2 months where you play EVERY team at least once. Yeah, ok.
Devil, can you elaborate on how a championship won over the course of a season is imaginary but a title won during a 4-day knock-out tournament is the real deal?
Duke is not overrated. Kyrie Irving has been injured since 2010 and they are 27-4.
Bobby, can you elaborate on how an ACC Football championship won over the course of a season is imaginary but a title won during a one-game ACC Football Championship Game is the real deal?
DUKE: 2011 ACC Champions. Deal with it.
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