Matt Santangelo of Gonzaga went off as the
U.S. shot down Greece fairly convincingly, 91-74 and thus reaches the medal
round. Anyone who saw this kid in the NCAAs and zoned was crazy, but Greece did
it anyway. Maybe they didn't have the tape archived.
C-well had a fairly solid game again, shooting 4-8 from the floor, 4-5 from
the line, for 12 total, with 4 rebounds and 2 turnovers. He nearly outrebounded
Haywood in 5 less minutes. Big Brendan ended up with 6 boards, shot 7-9 from the
floor, and 2 turnovers. It's evident from the stats that he played well inside
(you don't think he was shooting 3's do you?), but Haywood is still not
rebounding the way a guy his size should. That's not necessarily a rip -
it's an instinct, and just because you're 7' and weigh 270 or whatever doesn't
mean you have a nose for it. But a guy his size who shoots 7-9, all inside,
should get more than 4-6 a game. Nonetheless, this tournament has probably
been really good for him, and it's not a coincidence that UNC turned guys like
Zwikker, Martin, Salvadori, Wolf, Yonaker, and so forth into serviceable NBA
players - Gut has trained big men in Chapel Hill for over 30 years and he's a
superb teacher. Not all of his students have been that great - JR Reid
springs to mind - but when he has a willing pupil he gets tremendous results.
In other ACC/ world competition news, the women's soccer team is playing
China this weekend for the World Cup. That U.S. women's soccer has taken
off so hugely is largely due to the phenomenal success of UNC's women's program,
headed by Anson Dorrance, and this team has it's share of former Heels.
Nonetheless, we've always had immense admiration for what Dorrance has done -
it's virtually impossible, even in the early stages of a sport's development, to
win championships the way UNC has won them. If by some chance ACC Today puts
anyone but him as the greatest coach in ACC history, someone should get sued.
The only coaches anywhere we can think of who have dominated their sport so are
Wooden and Auerbach. We'll have the tube on during the game, and we hope
the sport that Dorrance has built wins it all. We all have a lot to be proud of,
and the story is sensational, the grass roots nature of it, the raw joy of it,
but UNC fans have a special stake in the team's success. Best of luck to
the team and congratulations to our Chapel Hill friends for all they've had to
do with building the sports story of the summer.