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Off the cuff: he fact that Carolina had to hang on against Ohio State will actually be a positive, learning experience for this young team. Ohio State's poise and experience allowed them to come back, along with some turnovers and missed free throws by the Tar Heels. You don't see teams fouling the point guard down the stretch much - mainly because that player is normally solid from the line. But after Larry Drew II missed two, he got to shoot six more from the line over the last 36 seconds. He hit four of them including two big ones in a row with 11 seconds to go. OSU's P.J. Hill got in Drew's face before the first free throw and tried to do it again for the second shot before an official told him to move away. After the game Drew said his taunting actually helped him to focus on the free throw. Nothing better than unsportsmanlike behavior backfiring. I'm sure Drew thought, I'll show you, you ass. If Carolina can hit three pointers that well (seven of 15) the rest of the way, the Heels will be a handful for anybody. With solid play from the big men and the ability to shoot from outside, all they'll need offensively is to avoid turnovers. Having only listened to the Valpo game on the radio in the parking lot of Washington's FedEx Field while savoring an unexpectedly impressive win by the Redskins, I haven't as much to say about the Heels' victory over the Crusaders. However, I would say that the young Tar Heels are going to have sloppy games like that and that they need them as well. The young guys are seeing early that it's not all rainbows and puppy dogs. They'll show intensity and urgency and focus against ranked Ohio State... or else they'll draw the ire of Coach Roy Williams - and they certainly don't want that.
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