College basketball changes are near and far.
N.C. State was on TV Monday night, with Ven Allen-Lubin in the almost all new starting lineup for the 25th-ranked Wolfpack under new coach Will Wade, who has had a peripatetic career himself.
Lubin had 11 points and 9 rebounds in 22 minutes, similar to what he posted in his one year in Chapel Hill, where the Tar Heels have two Europeans on their roster and with rev share are in it with kids from all over the country like they used to under Smith and Williams.
Not Lubin, but newcomers to the Pack are already talking trash about their one meeting this season with UNC in Raleigh on February 17! That’s what happens when the ACC grows to 17 schools for more TV money and maybe other reasons.
Personally, give me the days when every team played every other team home-and-home so the schedule isn’t so skewed with only three home and homes, plus 14 single games home and away.
Speaking of that, Davis talked to Kansas coach Bill Self about repeating the home and away series the Tar Heels and Jayhawks completed this season. Carolina has more in common with KU than most of the schools outside the Big Four.
Kentucky, Kansas, Carolina and Duke are the top programs with total victories. The Tar Heels were second and trying to catch Kentucky in Dean Smith’s later years, but Kansas passed them into second place with 20-win seasons and Big 12 championships.
What about those four blue bloods playing a doubleheader early every season and have UNC and Duke – who will always play home and home until one or both leave the ACC – alternate playing the Jayhawks or Wildcats? Greensboro, Charlotte, Kansas City?
Speaking about thousands of wins, the Tar Heels go for 2,400 in the Smith Center Tuesday night. There have been so many great games in the Dean Dome, opening in January 1986 with the all-time classic between 17-0 and top-ranked Carolina against third-ranked Duke?
Before the Heels edged the Devils 95-92, Duke center Jay Bilas walked onto the court and told teammate Johnny Dawkins, “We’ve got to get us one of these.” Ironically, Duke was the only school that did not replace bandboxes with a big, beautiful building.
Just from raw memory, the best crowd ever might have been at the infamous “Bloody Montross Game” in 1992, when the late, great Eric Montross outbattled Christian Laettner to upset the 17-0 and top-ranked Blue Devils 75-73 and caught an elbow in the second half.
The next year was the all-time comeback win over Florida State, whose Sam Cassell at halftime coined the UNC fans a “wine and cheese crowd” when the Seminoles led by double digits before succumbing to a sensational Carolina comeback, 82-77.
There were so many of them over 40-plus seasons, which hopefully will continue there instead of in a new arena somewhere else.
Featured image via Associated Press/Ben McKeown
Art Chansky is a veteran journalist who has written ten books, including best-sellers “Game Changers,” “Blue Bloods,” and “The Dean’s List.” He has contributed to WCHL for decades, having made his first appearance as a student in 1971. His “Sports Notebook” commentary airs daily on the 97.9 The Hill WCHL and his “Art’s Angle” opinion column runs weekly on Chapelboro.Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
