With all of the talk of the Tyler Hanswalk - Gerald Henderson talk this week, I was reminded of an old blog entry that I had saved but had never shared.
Check this out and thank the author for being honest and insightful and not just another media stooge.
During a timeout earlier this season, a TV camera trained on North Carolina’s bench captured Tyler Hansbrough paying keen attention to what his coach, Roy Williams, was saying. You might think listening is routine. You couldn’t be more wrong.
“Watching Tyler Hansbrough listen is special,” ESPN announcer Bill Raftery blurted out.
…Now, it’s possible most of the people who were watching that North Carolina-Winthrop game picked up their nachos and threw them in disgust at their flat screens. But I don’t think so. I think there was a significant portion of men who turned to their wives and said, “Look at that kid listen! Have you ever witnessed such glorious listening?”
You can’t make that stuff up.
Since we are on this true blue topic, then we should not hesitate to share a couple of particularly interesting items that hit the mainstream this week.
First is a quick quote in this piece from Jeff Goodman at Fox Sports. I truly can’t believe that I am supporting something that this guy has written…but, for once I think he is sharing something of value instead of telling us all that the Pac-10 is better than the ACC and that Sidney Lowe was a bad hire.
Coaches around the ACC won’t say it publicly, but they are tired of the aggressive Tar Heels star getting his way in the paint and bullying through defenders.
The ‘hating’ didn’t end there. Check out this piece from ESPN’s Page 2 about the “10 Most hated Dukies” of all time. Wow! You don’t see that very often in the media. You also don’t see something as blatantly racist. (I say this half joking). Check out the list. Things do not bode well for you if you are a white guy. 8 of the top 10 are of causcasion persuasion. Ouch.
You know that we go the extra mile on topics…therefore we direct you to Dave Sez’s entry on the Top 10 most hated where - in the interest of equal time - he lists his 1o most hated Tarheels of all-time. How do you evern begin to make such a list?
He went with:
1. Brendan Haywood
2. Rasheed Wallace
3. Makhtar Ndiaye
4. Matt Doherty
5. Jeff Lebo
6. Michael Jordan (I hated him until the NBA)
7. Dante Calabria
8. Eric Montross
9. Jeff McInnis
10. J.R. Reid
It’s a pretty good list. I’m impressed by not forgetting Jeff Lebo. Dave could have considered A LOT of names to add. In addition to Hansbrough and his twin Kris Lang, a few others that I would have had a hard time leaving off the list would be Scott Williams, King Rice, Jerry Stackhouse, Jimmy Braddock, Rashad McCants, Vince Carter, Ed Cota, Joe Forte, Julius Peppers, Ronald Curry Ademola Okulaja, and any of the homos that ever sat on the end of their bench and acted like (insert your own critical remark here).
I dunno who said it, somebody here I think, but I have gotten a lot of miles out of the name “Travels Hopsbrough”. And, how did Rashad Mccants get left off that list?
2nd vote for McCants.
What about Shammond Williams?
I always hated Jeff Lebo. I remember watching Carowina play as a kid and listening to the commentators constantly talking about how he was playing hurt (I think he was perpetually hyper-extended, must have been a genetic thing). Anyway, Makhtar needs to move higher on the list for not only being a general jerk, but also for the bold faced lies he told.
Good lord, no list of hated heels is complete without Jerry Stackhouse being on it.
Dennis Wuycik
Mike O’Koren, Steve Hale, Steve Bucknall, Rich Yonaker, Warren Martin, Henrik Rodl. The list is endless…
I have to say that you should take Julius Peppers off the list. Not because i have any affinity for him, but because he never seemed the type to whine like the rest of them. he might be the only Tarhole I ever “could stand.” He always semmed liek a robot when on the court.
Also, I haven’t taken football into account on this comment.
Ktpritch – Enjoyed your comments regarding Lebo. I will add that he also set the all time NCAA record for playing in games with the flu. Whenever he had a poor shooting game you could count on the inevitable “Lebo had the flu” mantra from the goat fans. Dean also unsuccessfully lobbied the Hornets to draft Lebo after his senior year. This, of course, was regaled in the press as yet another example of Smith undying devotion and loyalty to his players.
Two words…JOE WOLF…he’s only behind Lebo in my book!
Warren MArtin was shaped like a baseball bat. Started small at the bottom and kept getting bigger. He was annoying.
Ranzino Smith was another I could not stand.
There are just so many.
Peppers on the baseketball team was like Mongo from “Blazing Saddles”. Six foot six inches of dumb.
I guess you people have some sort of respect for Dean Smith and his huge nose? I hate him and his nose.
Where’s Rick Fox?
He needs to be at the very TOP of the list…IMHO!
I actually liked watching Joe Wolf play. He had perfect form on his jumper and he was a great interior passer. If you ever catch that 86 Maryland-UNC game on classic sports (this is the game with Keith Gatlin bouncing the ball off Kenny Smith’s back and Bias scoring 300 points), there’s a UNC fast break early in the game. They get a 3-on-2 going and (aside from the fact that it’s UNC running it) it’s a thing of total-basketball-glory-and-beauty. They get the ball all the way into the paint and it changes hands about 45 times in the space of three seconds. The Maryland players look like Charlie Brown after a line-drive.
Hated Shammond Williams. Hated his scar tissue (there was so much of it on his shoulder that it should count as a seperate player). What kind of man allows someone to BRAND him?
Hated Hnrk Rdl. Buy a vowel.
Hated Scott Williams. You were a top five recruit, you play for a team that’s perpetually in the top five in the nation. You’re going to play a dozen years in the NBA and win about seven titles. Stop your frigging whining, you big puss.
Hated Rasheed Wallace. Ed Gein had nothing on Wallace. Lawrence Phillips looked to Wallace as a behavioral role model.
Hated Stackhouse. I’ll never forget the N&O FRONT FRIGGIN’ PAGE the day he commits. “STACKHOUSE CHOOSES UNC (NEENER!!!)”
Grudging admiration for:
Kenny Smith. Smooth, classy and smart. Damn him.
Hubert Davis. The guy was clutch. Damn him too.
Brad Daugherty. See: Kenny Smith. Good announcer too.
For those as old as I am, there were very few goats that were worse than Phil (One More For The Road) Ford. Him and that damn four corners offense.
Of course I should be fair and admit that I despise ANYTHING in that shade of homo-blue.
^twinrivers17, good list.
Lebo, Warren Martin, O’Koren, and Yonaker definitely.
But what about Dudley Bradley, George Karl, and Mr 4 corners himself, Phil Ford for crying out loud.
Oh! And Kris Lang. How could I forget Kris Lang?? Who gives a scholarship to a retarded kid??? That’s just cruel.
Hansbrough and Lang are at the top for me. Big babies who seem on the verge of tears if all does not go their way. Travel, bang, and carry their way to the basket and get praised for ‘toughness’ and ‘will.’
I second the motion for Stackhouse, because of the way he screwed us during his recruitment.
How about Capel?
^^^^^
Although by the time he left I think he hated unx as much as I do!
I don’t think there is a player that donned the UNC uniform I haven’t hated. Scott Cherry anyone? I hate the fohkers I see doing broadcasting post career even more: Hubert Davis, Brad Daughtery, Kenny Smith, Eric Montross… I hate Stuart Scott and his bent over positions for UNC athletes.
Vince Carter and Rashad McCants are on my list.
And Steve Hale, though I can’t remember why any more …
My all time hater is for Dick Grubar.
I like Wolf, Scott Williams too.
My favorites were probably Daugherty, Ray Ray, Reyshawn.
Stuart Scott just sucks. he could have five degrees from NC State…he’d still suck.
He is to television journalism what sand is to lubrication.
HANSBROUGH IS A CARBON COPY OF LANG….TAKE AWAY THE SUPPORTING CAST AND HE WOULD BE EXPOSED AS THE TRUE SUCK THAT HE IS.
Travels Hopsbrough won’t get away with his little step hop step bullshit much longer. If not in the ACC tourney, in the NCAA’s with refs from other conferences. They don’t have the UNX intimidation factor in their faces. Ol’ Roy will probably blow a fuse when that happens, can’t wait to see it.
On a humorous note, Noah, Nobody likes grit in their K-Y!
Wouldn’t it be easier to have a short list of the ones we liked? There’s no one on my short list.
Steve Hale actually a great guy. Knew him as a
resident (yes, he went to med school) and he
couldn’t have been nicer. That being said,
Tar Holes suck in general.
Second Dudley Bradley. And how about Donald Williams? For me there is Monstross, Calabria, Doherty, Fox, Rice, Salvatore. This is like a memory exercise, as soon as I remember a tarheel, I hate them.
“as soon as I remember a tarheel, I hate them.”
That pretty well sums it up entirely. Good job!
How in the H-E-L-L can you possibly leave maybe the worst of them all, Danny Talbott, off this list? Guess you young guys never even heard of him. He was the most obnoxious player to ever come out of Rocky Mount and play football and baseball for the Tarholes!
Granted Talbott didn’t play basketball(I don’t think), but he was an arrogant “rascal”, to say the least!
Got linked back over on this thread about 7 months after the fact, but to add to the list of least annoying, and who I think is one of the best UNC players of all time, I’d have to say that I always enjoyed watching James Worthy quietly play the game.