Morning Heel: March 28th

Welcome to the return of the Morning Heel for the morning of March 28th. While the Tar Heel men might be out of the tournament, the UNC Lady Tar Heels are still going strong in the tournament behind the strong play of freshman Diamond DeShields. Also, UNC baseball is playing a big series against Duke this weekend. The Tar Heels dropped the first game, but they can still take the series with wins tomorrow and Sunday against Duke.

We have four articles from around the world wide web about the Tar Heels for your Saturday morning. Make sure you tell them who sent you, and if you have any good links you want to be featured on future Morning Heels, shoot and email to bryant.douglass@fansided.com. And away we go!

Marcus Paige, Fellow Students Athletes Share Challenges & Triumphs During UNC Academic Experience

“UNC basketball’s Marcus Paige was joined by five other student athletes Thursday to share testimony about the challenges and triumphs they have experienced during their academic careers at the University, which was in sharp contrast to the claims made earlier this week by two former Carolina football players.
Paige, a star point guard and second-team Academic All-American, spoke during the presentation called “A day in the life of a student athlete,” before the UNC Board of Trustees. He was joined by three UNC football players, Ryan Switzer, Tim Scott and Kemmi Pettway, gymnast Michelle Ikoma, and softball great, pitcher Lori Spingola.”

From Rachel Nash of chapelboro.com

UNC baseball drops first game to Duke

“Sloppy play in the field and quiet bats doomed the North Carolina baseball team in a 3-2 loss to Duke on Friday — the team’s fourth loss in a row.
Senior righthander Drew Van Orden helped Duke (15-12) break a nine-game losing streak against the Tar Heels (15-10), striking out 12 batters in eight innings, allowing just five hits and one earned run.
UNC sophomore Trent Thornton (5-1) suffered his first loss of the season, despite holding the Blue Devils to three runs in seven innings. He allowed nine hits, struck out three and walked one, but UNC’s defensive lapses would cost Thornton.”

From Johnathon Lamantia of The Daily Tar Heel

Stopping UNC rookie DeShields a tough task

“Diamond DeShields has proven she can beat any defense thrown at her.
North Carolina’s star freshman shoots the 3, reliably knocks down pull-up jumpers and scores off the dribble. Now she has the Tar Heels in the NCAA tournament’s round of 16, and the challenge of stopping her next falls to South Carolina in the Stanford Regional on Sunday.
“You can take away something but then I’m pretty well-rounded,” DeShields said. “I feel like once you take one thing, I’ll just go do something else. If you put a short guard on me, a quick guard, then I’ll just go post up. If you put a long wing on me, and I’ll go by them.””

From Aaron Beard of the AP

UNC’s Hatchell: return at Final Four ‘very doable’

“North Carolina’s Sylvia Hatchell said Thursday she could return to coaching after battling leukemia if the Tar Heels reach the Final Four.
Fourth-seeded UNC faces No. 1 seed South Carolina in California at this weekend’s Stanford Regional. Hatchell said her doctor wouldn’t allow her to make the cross-country flight, but told her being on the sideline in Nashville, Tenn., the following week is “very doable.”
“He said I’ve done amazingly well because I have not had any problems, just done fantastic,” Hatchell said. “He said, ‘You’re too close to the end to take any chances,’ which I understand.””

From Aaron Beard of the AP