Warning: this is going to be a depressing list for UNC fans. Michael
Joiner. Chris Hobbs. Anthony Richardson. Jason Parker. All North Carolina
natives, and all guys who probably would have liked to play at UNC, though
Parker's academic issues were well-known, and Richardson wasn't assured of
playing this year. You could add Jason Williams to the list, too, and
while Josh Howard never, as far as we know, said he wanted to go to UNC, he's a
significant in-state talent who got away. The talent deficit gets wiped
next year, but the point is, it didn't have to exist in the first place.
Remember Eddie Griffin saying UNC was "cocky" when they recruited
him? UNC was lucky not to get him, but the kid had a point: there were a
lot of guys they could have gotten who are burning them on a regular
basis. Last night, Doherty had to wonder when he saw the fleet Richardson
and Joiner run by his guys en route to a 10
point victory in Tallahassee.
To add insult to injury, some guys scammed their way into the game on a press
pass, then came to the press conference and apparently
taunted Doherty, according to Inside Carolina. The relevant comments:
"You guys have credentials? So you are with the media, and you are harrassing me when I'm running on the court? You're a fan and the media? You're a fan, so you can taunt me when I come through [on] the court and off the court? And you have a credential? Who is their SID? I don't think that's right."
Responding to a sarcastic remark from the supposed media member asking if Doherty "had a good time":
"I had a great time. A friend of mine just won a good game, but I don't think that's right that you can do that."
In the hubbub over UNC's
fourth straight loss in the conference, it might be a good time to address
UNC fans. A lot of them are justifiably called wine-and-cheesers.
But as Duke learned in '95, a lot of people won't show up when the going gets
tough. That's true in UNC's case, but the silver lining is that you learn who
your real fans are. We think of people like Michelle over at Inside
Carolina. She's not going to give up on her team, nor are a lot of other
fans. So when it seems like a lot of people have turned their backs, the reality
is the people who tend to jump on bandwagons have just jumped off, and that's
not entirely a bad thing.