Morning Heel: UNC Tar Heels Daily News Links

Welcome to another edition of the Morning Heel, a daily feature here at Keeping It Heel.  Along with The Hub we want to bring you not only our original content but a collection of all the best UNC news.  Have a link to suggest?  Send it keepingitheel@gmail.com

Lucas: Tar Heels Mull Defenses
It was a little stunning at his radio show this week when Roy Williams casually mentioned, “We may play more zone. You’ve got to find something the kids can do and that’s one of the things we’ve been working on the last couple of days.” On the one hand, sure, Dean Smith’s book was called Multiple Offenses and Defenses, not Man-to-Man Defenses. But on the other, Roy Williams…zone? (GoHeels.com)

2013 Comeback Stories?
Defensive back Sam Smiley, linebacker Phillip Williamson and wide receiver T.J. Thorpe are expected to be back on field when spring drills begin. The recovering players amount to a good portion of a recruiting class. And in a year where UNC’s recruiting class will be smaller by five players due to NCAA sanctions, getting all or some of them back on the playing field could have a major impact on the 2013 season. (Tar Heel Illustrated)

Women’s Soccer Team Celebrates National Championship With Campus Ceremony
Hundreds of Tar Heel students, parents, alumni and friends gathered Thursday evening in Carmichael Arena to celebrate the women’s soccer team’s 21st national championship. The ceremony, which lasted for approximately 60 minutes, began with a montage of video clips from the Heels’ championship game against Penn State. (Chapelboro.com)

Big Ten eyes further expansion
The Big Ten recently announced it would increase to 14 members, so can a 16-team Big Ten be far behind? “There are some advantages to 16 (teams) compared to 14,” Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis told ESPN on Wednesday. “Fourteen is clumsy. We’re not out looking for two teams, but basically we will continue to survey the landscape.” (ESPN.com)

Jonathan Cooper Named Walter Camp All-America
North Carolina senior offensive guard Jonathan Cooper has been named a Walter Camp first-team All-America, adding to his collection of postseason honors. The nation’s oldest All-America team was announced Thursday evening on The Home Depot ESPN College Football Awards Show. A native of Wilmington, N.C., Cooper is considered by many observers as the nation’s top guard. (GoHeels.com)

Fedora, Tar Heels squelch departure speculation
North Carolina experienced its first trip through the coaching rumor mill under Larry Fedora, and its head coach is still in place. Fedora was named as a finalist for the Tennessee job by Internet sites in Knoxville on Tuesday, but a source close to the UNC program said Thursday that Fedora never interviewed and is not interested in the position. Fedora told players at a team meeting Thursday that he is staying in Chapel Hill. (Durham Herald-Sun)

Jonathan Cooper misses out on Outland, but earns two more All-America selections
Jonathan Cooper didn’t become the first ACC player since 1979 to win the Outland Trophy on Thursday. That honor, recognizing the nation’s top interior lineman, went to Texas A&M tackle Luke Joeckel. Although the North Carolina guard went home empty handed from ESPN’s College Football Awards Show in Orlando, where he was an Outland finalist, the day was anything but a disappointment for Cooper. (Wilmington Star News)

Hoopsbag: North Carolina edition
I doubt Roy Williams is going to stop playing uptempo; he always wants his teams to go faster-faster-faster. Even though Joel James [a freshman this season] and Kennedy Meeks are bigger-bodied big guys, they’ll have to keep up the pace. After talking to both of them, they both knew the speedy expectations when they signed with the Tar Heels. (ESPN.com)