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(Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) |
Every coach has a “system,” but Ol’ Roy’s system produced
championships in 2005 and 2009 and looks poised to add another Wooden trophy to
the basketball shelf come April.
Williams’ system utilizes a high-octane, high-scoring offense, proficient rebounding, four NBA draft picks and a great point guard peeking at just
the right time.
Sound familiar?
The 2005 Big Dance champs featured Sean May, Raymond Felton,
Rashad McCants and Marvin Williams -- all first round NBA draft picks. The team scored 88 points and snagged 40
rebounds per game. Point guard Raymond
Felton averaged 12.9 points per game and six assists playing better each time a
calendar page was turned.
The 2009 NCAA Champions included national player of the year
Tyler Hansbrough, Wayne Ellington, Danny Green and Ty Lawson. Again, all NBA draft picks. They averaged a scorching 89.8 and 42
rebounds per game. Lawson, one of the
fastest point guards to every play in the ACC, averaged 16.6 points per game
and 6.5 assists.
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MARSHALL (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images) |
This season UNC also has a world class point-guard whose
offensive production and confidence are clearly on the upswing just like his predecessors
Felton and Lawson. Marshall set the ACC single
season record amassing 330 – one hundred more than last season.
The sophomore point guard averages 9.7 assists per game (1st
in the ACC, 2nd in the nation) and his assists to turnover ratio is
3.5 (1st in the ACC, 2nd in the nation).
The key to UNC’s late season surge and a long run to New
Orleans is more offensive production from Marshall especially behind the
three-point line. The same was said of
Felton and Lawson, and both stepped up in the Big Dance.
Last weekend, Marshall shot open three-pointers and drove to
the basket looking to create offense. He
even nailed a clutch late three-pointer and had the confidence to take UNC’s
final shot. Avoiding foul trouble and injuries remains a critical component of
Marshall’s success.
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HENSON (Grant Halverson/Getty Images) |
The 2005, 2009 and 2012 teams all were among the national leaders
in scoring, rebounding, and assists while all three failed to win the ACC
tournament. Unlike their predecessors, the
2012 Tar Heels have struggled from the free throw line, but they seemed to have
figured it out during the ACC tournament where they shot 72% against N.C. and
87% in the final against FSU.
The 2005 team lost in the semi-finals to Georgia Tech and
the 2009 team lost in the ACC finals to Florida State mirroring the 2012 Tar
Heels’ ACC tournament downfall.
All three teams were highly ranked in the pre-season and throughout
the year.
The 2005 team was in the top five of both polls most of the
year while Illinois, ultimately North Craolina’s victim in the NCAA
championship game, raced through a one-loss season. Those very same 2005 Tar Heels suffered a
shocking loss in their opener, falling to Santa Clara prior to losing to Wake
Forest and to Duke.
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LAWSON (Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) |
At season’s opening, Ol’ Roy’s 2012 squad was the preseason
No.1 in everybody’s poll with a roster of four returning NBA draft picks and a
Final Four performance the year prior. In
their first game, the Tar Heels handily defeated Michigan State, a team that
rose to as high as No. 4 in the polls later in the season, and wound up a No. 1
seed in the Big Dance after winning the Big 10 tournament.
But an early loss to UNLV, a narrow loss to No. 1 Kentucky
in Lexington and an ugly blow-out loss at Florida State sent the pundits and
predictors running for the North Carolina hills and beyond.
A close end-game loss to Duke in an instant classic rivalry
game didn’t move the needle one direction or the other, but the subsequent
winning streak and demolition of the Blue Devils on Coach K court last weekend,
combined with a strong showing in the ACC tournament without John Henson, has
the 2012 Tar Heels looking remarkably similar to the teams that won the
National Championship in 2005 and 2009.
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FELTON (Doug Bencz/Getty Images) |
But if history repeats itself, this team from Chapel Hill will
find a way to defeat the No.1 team in the country as they did in 2005 when they
defeated top-seeded Illinois 75-70 in Indianapolis.
While a portion of the North Carolina fan base continues to
grouse and gripe about Williams’ game strategies and reluctance to call time
outs, it’s very clear that the Roy Williams’ “system” works.
Obviously, recruiting is a big part of the system’s success.
Not only is it difficult to recruit four NBA future draft picks, it’s even
trickier to get them to play well together.
Clearly, Williams has figured this out as good as any coach in the game.
Adding a third NCAA championship in the past eight tournaments
should prove the point that Ol' Roy's system works.
Ole Roy's system is almost perfect: 4 NBA draft picks and a great point guard. Only thing I can think of better would be 5 NBA draft picks.... !
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