You Take the Good, You Take the Bad . . .

Wow, been way too long, folks. Sorry bout that. The Man's been keepin me down ... and unfortunately out of trouble, for the most part. The last few weeks have brought the highest of highs and the lowest of lows for the Carolina faithful. In a run eerily similar to that of the '93 championship team, Roy Williams and the Tar Heels brought the glory back to Chapel Hill with a great win over Illinois. I'll never forget where I was and who I was with that night, much like the '82 and '93 wins, but this one most of all. It took them a year to buy into Roy's system (i.e. the concept of team, family, trust, run n 'gun) and when they finally did, it paid off in spades. Gone were the days of Rashad McCants and Jackie Manuel trying to make good on their own separate agendas. Dean Smith never intended for the Carolina system to allow such antics and ultimately, the players realized that they had to change if they wanted to win. That's all behind us now. Today we got the news that the top 7 leading scorers on the 2005 championship team will be leaving for the NBA. There is only one kid left on the 2006 roster who started *one* game in 2004-05 (and only because Felton was suspended for that game). Safe to say that this will be the biggest dismantling of a major college basketball program - ever. Many of the players will be accused - unfairly - of deserting their team, but I can't imagine many others not doing the same thing. The guys are securing a financial safety net for the rest of their lives and for that of their families'. They didn't grow up like many products of suburbia did with "aspirations" of working for The Man, white picket fence and 2.5. They grew up with probably only one dream - playing in the NBA. Come mid-June, their wish will come true. (Btw, going down to Chapel Hill in early November for the Carolina-BC football game and can already smell the pine cones. I promise this is the last UNC post you'll have to see until then.)