Late Night with Roy: My View from the Stands
On October 12th, 2012, the North Carolina Tar Heels hosted another Last Night with Roy. Each year, UNC finds a way to outdo what was done the previous year. ESPN/ABC sport analyst Stuart Scott was the MC, again. For those of you who do not know, Stuart Scott is an alum from UNC’s Class of 1987. This guy eats, sleeps, and sweats (among other things) Carolina blue. He truly is a “Tar Heel Born and Tar Heel Bred.” Simply put, there is no Late Night w/Roy without Stu.
Late Night with Roy: Photo Take by Keeping It Heel’s Horran Cameron
The LNwR festivities used an Olympic theme, which I found amusing and innovative. Each year, Carolina finds a way to keep LNwR fresh and exciting. They never duplicate what was done the previous year. Several of the sports team walked onto the court. I liked how LNwR was not all about the basketball team. There are other sports teams that have legacies, or in UNC’s case, dynasties, as well. UNC’s women’s soccer has one that is more impressive than UNC’s men’s basketball team. Of course, LNwR is nothing without the skits and dance routines. Stu, Ramses, and Heather O’Reilly (well-reknown soccer star from UNC) judged a dance contest between various members of the men’s basketball team the dance team. After the contest (which was won by dance team easily), the men’s basketball team ‘cut a rug’ along with the coaches.
Last but not least, the guys played a scrimmage basketball game. I was impressed with J.P. Tokoto. His athleticism is second to none on this year’s team. Roy is going to have to find a way to get this kid some playing time. He already has the swagger of a breakout star. Marcus Paige is clearly the best point guard on the team; no disrespect to Dexter Strickland. We could possibly see a starting lineup that included Marcus and Dexter; however, I doubt it. There are so many wing players on this team. In my opinion, if Marcus starts, then Dexter is running the second team, and vice versa.
P.J. Hairston seemed to have his shooting stroke. He made a couple of 3’s with ease, last night. I hope that he has this stroke from the 3-point line during the season. I met one of my fellow Tar Heels, who happens to coach AAU. Just so happens, he coached P.J. Hairston years ago. He told me that P.J. is the kind of guy who has to get in a rhythm. He needs to be on the court. What I like about P.J. is his versatility. P.J. was the best rebounder last night, which may not be a good thing for Carolina. Nobody on our team can handle him in the low post, besides Joel James.
This gives rise to my belief that it is in Carolina’s best interests to play small ball with P.J. at the power forward position. I am concerned about Carolina’s interior game. Joel James is clearly the best option at center; however, he still needs to hone his post game. On the bright side, Joel showed off his turn-around jumper which will be hard to guard. My brother and I agreed that J.J. could be the next coming of Brendan Haywood.
Nevertheless, Coach Roy Williams has done more with less-skilled teams. Many people expected very little from UNC’s 2006 team. That team capped off the season, with a spanking of Duke (also referred to as “dook”) in Hansbrough Indoor Stadium. Also, Roy had teams at Kansas that flew under the radar, while posting close to 30 wins in a season. Bottom line: never doubt what Roy can do. By the way, Tarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr….
View of the UNC Band: Photo Taken by Keeping It Heel’s Horran Cameron