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? Senditkeepingitheel@gmail.com

UNC Basketball: Tar Heels Defeat Florida State For First Conference Win Of The Season
UNC faced Florida State in Tallahassee the site of last seasons embarrassing 33 point loss looking to avoid dropping to 0-3 in conference play for only the second time in program history (KIH)

North Carolina survives at Florida State
Nearly a year ago to the day, North Carolina left Florida State’s Donald L. Tucker Center wanting to forget a disastrous loss against the Seminoles. The Tar Heels on Saturday left with a victory to remember. After losing their first two ACC games, the Heels broke through with a hard-fought 77-72 victory against the Seminoles. (Bradenton Herald)

Three Things: Carolina 77, Florida State 72
Perhaps the unlikeliest contribution came from Jackson Simmons, who provided a career-high eight points, four rebounds and an assists in 15 minutes on his 20th birthday. Simmons’ follow layup with 3:14 to play gave the Tar Heels the lead for good. That play was exemplary of what won the day for the Tar Heels. (Tar Heel Monthly)

Tar Heels Beat Seminoles in Tallahassee, 77-72
P.J. Hairston scored a career-high 23 points and North Carolina defeated defending ACC champion Florida State 77-72 Saturday, almost a year to day after suffering a 33-point loss against the Seminoles. Hairston made 9 of 14 shots, including four of nine from beyond the arc for North Carolina, which shot 48.3 percent overall and 40 percent from 3-point range. (GoHeels.com)

John Henson Rookie Diary
“Happy New Year! 2012 was my most memorable to date and it closed out with my family coming to Milwaukee to celebrate Christmas. It was great getting everyone up here because, with the team’s schedule and my sisters being in school, we don’t get many chances to be together. I was able to show them around the city a little bit and take them to a game.” (NBA.com)

Five guys ready to become big MLB stars
3. Kyle Seager, 3B, Mariners. His .259 batting average in his first full season might not jump out at you. But he slugged over .500 on the road and finished with 20 home runs overall. Never as heralded as Dustin Ackley, his college and now major league teammate, Seager has surpassed him at the plate (ESPN.com)

Miami forward: We shoulda beaten UNC by 20
Just beating North Carolina on Thursday night wasn’t enough. Miami forward Kenny Kadji saw room for so much more than the 68-59 beating the Hurricanes (11-3) handed the Tar Heels on national television. “I thought we would beat them by more points, especially after the first half,” Kadji said Friday although the Hurricanes trailed 32-30 at halftime in Chapel Hill. “I thought we’d win by 20.” (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

Gamecocks Coach Chad Holbrook Sits on UNC Hoops Team Bench For Good Cause
New Gamecock head baseball coach Chad Holbrook crossed the Carolina border Thursday night for a good cause. Holbrook returned to his alma mater North Carolina to help raise awareness to beat pediatric cancer. Over the summer, at the 6th annual Reece Holbrook Sports Auction, Holbrook gave the highest bid for a chance to sit on UNC basketball’s bench during a game. (ABC Columbia)

DE Mikey Bart switches commitment from South Florida to UNC
Defensive end Mikey Bart switched his commitment from South Florida to North Carolina on Friday, according to sources close to the situation. UNC assistant coach Deke Adams visited Buford (Ga.) High School on Friday morning and secured the verbal commitment from Bart. (Inside Carolina)