Will UNC be wearing this jersey on Tuesday night? Niketown has it available and word is that it is a one time jersey for the Heels. Let’s hope so.

On Monday night’s episode of “Roy Williams Live”, the coach fielded a caller’s question concerning UNC basketball practices that are open to the public. He stated that while practices are not open on Monday and Thursday, they are open on Tuesday and Friday. This wasn’t news just to me. Apparently the basketball office had no clue, too.

The coach advised listeners to call (919) 962-1154 for more information. I called the following day and spoke to a person who said that only Thursday practices are open. I asked her when practice on Thursdays is, usually. Due to variations in scheduling she advised me to call back on a that day to find out. I asked about parking and she advised me to park in the Smith Center lots, only to find out that parking nazi’s will ticket or tow until 5:00pm on weekdays. There are a few metered spaces in a lot on Bowles Drive, however.

When she heard me mention this website, her superior took over the conversation and asked me not to post information about open practices because if they “get too popular”, the crowds will be a distraction and the coach will close practices. I reminded her that if she doesn’t want these practices publicized, it would be more effective if she’d tell the coach to not mention them on a statewide radio show. I also reminded her of the contradiction of having “open” practices and trying to dissuade the public from actually finding out about them. However I failed to remind her that my website is a service dedicated to promoting her product, and my help can avoid hundreds of unnecessary, time-intensive phone calls to her office.

This is the kind of run-around I found countless times in my nine years of education at UNC. Not only have I commonly found extreme difficulty getting honest, helpful answers from staff and faculty in Chapel Hill, it has not been rare to have the validity of one’s question challenged. We are either dealing with ineptitude or arrogance. Whichever it is, the University of North Carolina repeatedly shows that they do not want non-financial help from its students and alumni.

Check please.

I advise all readers to call (919) 962-1154 and see if you can get a straight answer regarding open UNC basketball practices. Please let us all know how it goes for you!

I’ll make this brief. I went to the UNC/Gardner-Webb game on Saturday night and have more questions than answers for this year’s team. First off, it is a bad, bad sign that Quentin Thomas did not start the season opener at PG. One would think that any decent PG with a year’s experience under his belt would easily win the starting role over Bobby Frasor. Neither looked very good and the numbers show it. While UNC scored 0.94 points per possession and shot 55% from the field, they turned the ball over on 23% of their possessions. This team desparately needs good point guard play to get into the NCAA Tournament this season.

Tyler Hansbrough was the solid bright spot. He doesn’t jump very well, but is deceptive with his strength. He is a back-to-the-basket big man with some great moves. If he can avoid getting called for the left elbow chicken wing foul, he will be tough to stop all season.

Defense is where the Heels have obviously spent the most time. Guard play was fair, but the big man defense was not good. To be honest, the Heels only looked like the superior team when they trapped. They forced turnovers on 27% of G-W’s possessions, but really could have done better.

Free Throw shooting was abysmal. Nerves, maybe? This problem better disappear, pronto, for the Heels to avoid another 8-20 season.

That was brief. We’ll know a lot more about this team by the weekend. It will be interesting to see if Danny Green’s jumper continues to be a bright spot. Let’s hope so!!

The Triangle Business Journal reported today that UNC has inked a $9.1M deal with Wachovia to place permanent, backlit signage on the framework of the new video boards in the Smith Center. Proceeds from the 8-year deal will be used to renovated the 19-year old building.