Wake
Forest is off to another solid start, confounding people (including us) who
picked them to suffer after losing Josh Howard. Not happening. Chris
Paul is a big part of that, of course, as is a vastly improved Eric Williams and
a supporting cast of about half a million. The Deacs are for real; get
used to it.
Carolina's
kids say they're ready for Rupp, which is pretty much the same size as the
Dean Dome, but you can almost never hear shoes squeak or cell phones ring over
the radio at Rupp, things you can hear regularly at UNC. And aside from
the noise level, there is a special antipathy for UNC at Kentucky, just as there
is for Duke. For Duke, it stems from Christian Laettner's stunning
beheading of the Unforgettables in 1992; for UNC, it is because the Heels
briefly passed Kentucky as the all-time winningest program in college hoopdom,
something Kentucky fans were loathe to admit and considered a breach of the
natural order. It has been rectified, at least in the short term, as UK
has moved back in front, 1,857 to 1,816 for UNC. It will take a while to
make up 41 wins, ground lost under Matt Doherty.
On the other hand, since at least three of Kentucky's most successful coaches
had their ethics sharply questioned, maybe they ought to grade on a curve.
To us, much like the Louisville-UK game, this game depends on tempo.
You can't really defend all that well against a really good running team if they
get to run, so Kentucky has to make it a grind. We're thinking UNC is
probably going to win, though.
Oddly enough, to balance the Moody One at UNC, i.e. Rashad McCants,
Kentucky's Cliff
Hawkins seems to be bugging out a bit himself lately.
In College Park,
Gary Williams says his team is starting to come together. He currently
is only using about seven players, and in something of a surprise, D.J.
Strawberry has moved ahead of Mike Jones, who was pretty celebrated coming in.