LOS ANGELES — The Tar Heels made the big stage of the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in three years, but that stage turned out to be too big for them.

Photo by Rebecca Noble, Daily Wildcat

Photo by Rebecca Noble, Daily Wildcat

Teams that live to play again are teams that are talented enough and, more importantly, tough enough to make the critical plays when they count. Carolina is not yet there.

Wisconsin won behind Sam “Dagger” Dekker, who scored a career high 23 points and then was better (27) against Arizona in the regional final. That side of the NCAA bracket featured one of the greatest games of this, or any, tournament, when top-ranked Kentucky survived plucky Notre Dame in Cleveland.

Sunday’s side was more of the same, when seventh seed Michigan State toughed it out over low-post Louisville in overtime and Duke with talent, toughness and togetherness beat back a Gonzaga team that just wasn’t prepared for that level of competition. Because of what each of the Final Four teams brings to the table in Indy, any of the four winning would not be a big surprise.

Hear Art Chansky’s daily sports commentary on WCHL AM/FM

UNC still leads the NCAA Tournament with the most Sweet Sixteen appearances (now 32) but the Tar Heels are living proof of what it takes to get out of the regional round and onto the biggest stage, the Final Four. Just in the Roy Williams era, Carolina has done it three times with a combination of talent that went on to the NBA and tough guys who would not back down.

People have asked for the last three years, “What’s wrong with the Tar Heels?”

Simply put, they no longer have a lineup filled with enforcers and future pros. In 2005, Felton, May, McCants and Marvin were all NBA lottery picks. In 2009, ditto for Hansbrough, Lawson and Ellington, plus Danny Green and Ed Davis. In 2012, when injuries killed Carolina’s chances to challenge Kentucky, the Heels had Barnes, Henson, Marshall, Zeller, Bullock, McAdoo and Hairston – all currently in the show.

Who, among the 2015 team that finished 26-12 with at least a half-dozen defeats that could have gone the other way, is a sure-shot pro? No one at this juncture.

The Sweet Sixteen and Elite 8, in my opinion, are more intense than the Final Four because teams are vying to get there. And the arenas are less corporate, with mostly partisan fans creating a true college atmosphere that rocks the house. And when they are played in basketball buildings, as opposed to dome stadiums, like in LA and Cleveland, it is Maxx Madness.

Teams have to be both talented and tough to survive all that and move on.

Photo by Alex Chansky

Photo by Alex Chansky

Wisconsin is playing the best basketball in the country right now and would not be an upset winner over Kentucky Saturday in Indianapolis. The Badgers have a deep, complementary team, but their two stars are 7-foot Frank “The Tank” Kaminsky and the 6-9 Dekker, who would not let his team lose both games when they were on the brink. Kaminsky and Dekker, who combined for 56 points in the 85-78 win over Arizona, were No. 12 and No. 22 in last week’s NBA mock draft. Both, especially West Regional MVP Dekker, will move up in the next mock listing.

Carolina’s loss to the Badgers, though gutty, was eerily similar to a handful of games during the season, when the Tar Heels gave up second-half leads (think Louisville, Duke twice and Notre Dame, to name four). At the turning point, they made the critical mistakes (despite matching a season-low four turnovers) or could not make the crucial hoop.

Occasional Chapelboro columnist and former UNC baseball player Dave Kirk emailed with these comments:

“Honestly, about as good a game as we have played this year. (Roy used) 4 TO’s!!! Are you kidding me? Wow.

“Our shooting really improved over the past month (we have 3-4 guys who are now capable of hitting 3’s).

“Very pleased by the progression of our freshmen…JJ (Justin Jackson) was our MVP last night and Berry was huge.

“Defense and FT shooting are still major pain points. We seem to be good for about 28 seconds.

“Carolina was a good, but not great team this year and that was difference of “woulda, coulda.” We were incapable of doing many “little things” necessary to win against the very good teams.

“Three sequences stand out in last Thursday’s game that were microcosms of our season…

  • Up 7 and Tokoto gets breakaway and cannot finish – worse, gives up ball. We blow a chance to inflict dagger points.
  • We are up 2 or 4 and Britt takes ill-advised running baseline jumper and misses; next possession he gets pocket picked and any momentum we have is gone. Average players put in key situations where we needed tough minded and talented players.
  • We are down 1 and need a key stop after Paige hits those clutch 3’s and Isaiah Hicks throws his hip into Wisconsin guard, who hits two FTs without any real challenge. Conversely, on next play, Hicks draws foul and MISSES both. We could not get big defensive stops when we needed them and we missed way too many clutch shots (and FT’s) when we needed them.

“That said, we played hard and hustled our asses off. Roy has to be pleased with the effort. We were very much in that game.” 

Thanks, Dave, well said.

So where do the Tar Heels, who have their top 10 players back next season, go from here?

Three things have to change, or they will win three NCAA games at the most.

The talent level can improve with a solid summer of hard, dedicated work. Paige, Jackson and Berry can become even better three-point shooters. Britt has that chance as well. It would also help if the NCAA let us know that men’s basketball will escape sanctions and Kinston’s 6-8 Brandon Ingram can sign this spring with the school he’s loved forever (Warning: Duke is hovering and can offer Justise Winslow’s starting position when he declares for the NBA draft).

Tokoto has to somehow harness his amazing athleticism, prove he’s a better shooter before he takes open jumpers (As Dean Smith would say, “J.P. there’s a reason you’re open!”) and turn 25 seconds of dogged defense into close-outs that eliminate opponents scoring as the clock winds down.

And the foursome of Meeks, Johnson, Hicks and James needs some kind of boot camp with strength coach Jonas Sahratian, watching tape of big men going hard to the hole and finishing with ferocious rim-rattling dunks and then doing whatever it takes to get stronger, tougher and meaner.

In big-time college hoops, nice guys don’t necessarily finish last. But they DON’T finish first.