the daily tar heel

bzcohen:

So, this is pretty cool: In this window between the Final Four and final exams, UNC’s basketball players have been tweeting locations on campus and then welcoming challengers in five-on-five pickup games. Here’s my story in today’s Journal about one such pickup run last week.
Also, for all you delightful people, here’s an outtake!

One day two weeks ago, the Tar Heels chose to play at Teague dormitory’s half-sized outdoor court, chalked with Carolina blue lines. Spectators lined the balconies of the three-story residence hall until Kendall Marshall hoisted a halfcourt lob to Leslie McDonald, a freshman guard who caught the pass and dunked the ball. It isn’t often, though, that someone who’s 6-foot-4 and weighs 215 pounds flushes an alley-oop on a miniature asphalt court. So when McDonald came down, he brought the rim with him. “It was an accident,” he said.
The rim still hasn’t been replaced—leaving the court vacant next to three sunbathers in bikinis a few days after—but a small dose of destruction didn’t stop the scrimmage that afternoon. Marshall asked a spectator where they could find the closest court, and the whole group migrated across the street to another dormitory with hoops so old that the ball sometimes gets caught in the net.
One UNC sophomore who likes to shoot around on the court outside Avery residence hall received a text message informing him that the crowd was headed for his hall. He chose to stay inside. ”I was talking to a girl on the third floor,” he said.

Hope you enjoy!

And if you didn’t see our video on the pickup games a few weeks ago, check it out here:

So, this is pretty cool: In this window between the Final Four and final exams, UNC’s basketball players have been tweeting locations on campus and then welcoming challengers in five-on-five pickup games. Here’s my story in today’s Journal about one such pickup run last week.

Also, for all you delightful people, here’s an outtake!

One day two weeks ago, the Tar Heels chose to play at Teague dormitory’s half-sized outdoor court, chalked with Carolina blue lines. Spectators lined the balconies of the three-story residence hall until Kendall Marshall hoisted a halfcourt lob to Leslie McDonald, a freshman guard who caught the pass and dunked the ball. It isn’t often, though, that someone who’s 6-foot-4 and weighs 215 pounds flushes an alley-oop on a miniature asphalt court. So when McDonald came down, he brought the rim with him. “It was an accident,” he said.

The rim still hasn’t been replaced—leaving the court vacant next to three sunbathers in bikinis a few days after—but a small dose of destruction didn’t stop the scrimmage that afternoon. Marshall asked a spectator where they could find the closest court, and the whole group migrated across the street to another dormitory with hoops so old that the ball sometimes gets caught in the net.

One UNC sophomore who likes to shoot around on the court outside Avery residence hall received a text message informing him that the crowd was headed for his hall. He chose to stay inside. ”I was talking to a girl on the third floor,” he said.

Hope you enjoy!

And if you didn’t see our video on the pickup games a few weeks ago, check it out here:

This video’s quite long, but it’s got some great gems in it, including Harrison Barnes singing Rebecca Black’s “Friday.” Worth a watch, and a great idea by the reesenews folks.

uncbball:

The Blue Steel Diaries: behind-the-scenes video from UNC’s trip to Newark (by reesenews)

As a team, we’re preparing for a special season. My off-season plans are to diligently work on honing my basketball skills in all areas with one team-goal in mind — to bring the 2012 national championship home to UNC.

Harrison Barnes, who’s coming back for his sophomore season.

(via uncbball)

Who’s ready for next year?

Rematch? Not really

Kentucky’s student paper, the Kernel, says the two teams are so different from when they last played that it doesn’t really count as a rematch. What do you think?