As soon as the buzzer sounded I turned off the tv and went straight to bed. Call me petty, but I just couldn't stomach seeing that slimy cheater Self and Kansas celebrating. That being said, while it took forever to doze off (reminder to myself - get some of those gummies!), three plays kept circulating in my head that if just one of them go our way, I'm up all night celebrating instead of tossing and turning:
1. Leaky stepping over the baseline. Don't get me wrong, I love Leaky and what he brings, and I really hope he returns for next season, but it boggles my mind why an experienced guy like Leaky seems to freeze up so badly when inbounding the ball under pressure. He rarely - if at all - moves along the baseline after the other team scores (at least that I can recall), while I distinctly remember Brady inbounding one where he ran the baseline to get a better passing angle. I don't even recall the score at the time, but when that gaffe by Leaky happened I sorta knew the night was not going to end well for the good guys.
2. THE REBOUND! Holy crap, we get the lead 69-68 (and are the first team to 69 BTW) and they miss their next shot. IF we get that freaking rebound, we could be looking at another dagger from Caleb or Brady to seal the deal. Considering that we outrebounded them 55-35, IIRC, that one more rebound was so critical.
3. Armando's ankle. He looked clearly on his way to getting a layup and putting us back on top, when.... well, we all know what happened. But was it the stupid floor giving way, or just a warrior who had given his all finally breaking down? I feel so bad for him. He deserved better.
And while I'm getting this off my chest... I still don't know why we felt like we had to throw up a bunch off 3's when we had the ball down 72-69 with about 20(?) seconds left. Why not take it to the rack and get a quick 2 like dook did to us. Can you imagine if the score is 72-71, and then the Kansas dude steps out of bounds? Maybe there are even 7 - 8 seconds left and we have the ball down one?
</RANT>
Anyway, finishing on a positive note...
I'm NEVER going to re-watch that game, and while I was pretty bummed (and really tired) most of the day, I'm ready to move on and enjoy what a great ride we've been on for the last 2 months. From a team that wasn't even very fun to watch in January to one that will now probably be one of the most fondly remembered Tar Heel squads ever - certainly the best for a non-title team - is pretty remarkable. Hats off to Hubert & his staff, and of course the team for working to get better all year, and becoming a TOUGH, cohesive force to be reckoned with.
But man oh man, I really wanted the Heels to steal an unexpected natty. It would've been so awesome to get one like that, which would sort of make up for the years when we clearly could've / should've brought home the belt (77, 84, 98, 12).
1. Leaky stepping over the baseline. Don't get me wrong, I love Leaky and what he brings, and I really hope he returns for next season, but it boggles my mind why an experienced guy like Leaky seems to freeze up so badly when inbounding the ball under pressure. He rarely - if at all - moves along the baseline after the other team scores (at least that I can recall), while I distinctly remember Brady inbounding one where he ran the baseline to get a better passing angle. I don't even recall the score at the time, but when that gaffe by Leaky happened I sorta knew the night was not going to end well for the good guys.
2. THE REBOUND! Holy crap, we get the lead 69-68 (and are the first team to 69 BTW) and they miss their next shot. IF we get that freaking rebound, we could be looking at another dagger from Caleb or Brady to seal the deal. Considering that we outrebounded them 55-35, IIRC, that one more rebound was so critical.
3. Armando's ankle. He looked clearly on his way to getting a layup and putting us back on top, when.... well, we all know what happened. But was it the stupid floor giving way, or just a warrior who had given his all finally breaking down? I feel so bad for him. He deserved better.
And while I'm getting this off my chest... I still don't know why we felt like we had to throw up a bunch off 3's when we had the ball down 72-69 with about 20(?) seconds left. Why not take it to the rack and get a quick 2 like dook did to us. Can you imagine if the score is 72-71, and then the Kansas dude steps out of bounds? Maybe there are even 7 - 8 seconds left and we have the ball down one?
</RANT>
Anyway, finishing on a positive note...
I'm NEVER going to re-watch that game, and while I was pretty bummed (and really tired) most of the day, I'm ready to move on and enjoy what a great ride we've been on for the last 2 months. From a team that wasn't even very fun to watch in January to one that will now probably be one of the most fondly remembered Tar Heel squads ever - certainly the best for a non-title team - is pretty remarkable. Hats off to Hubert & his staff, and of course the team for working to get better all year, and becoming a TOUGH, cohesive force to be reckoned with.
But man oh man, I really wanted the Heels to steal an unexpected natty. It would've been so awesome to get one like that, which would sort of make up for the years when we clearly could've / should've brought home the belt (77, 84, 98, 12).
