Happy Trails, Bobby

Last year I had the pleasure of working with the press for the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament in Winston-Salem. Without a doubt, my favorite part of this was watching the Tar Heels play from my courtside seat. The next best part of this job (besides getting paid very well) was sitting in on two Bob Knight press conferences. Coach Knight was his larger than life self in the pregame conference before the Texas Tech team matched up with Boston College. I had the thrill of hearing him comment on strange Jim Crow-esque laws, Albert Pujols, and his saying that, "Adolph Rupp was a son of a bitch."

What I'm saying is that I have a soft spot for Bobby Knight. I would probably hate him if he won more after I was born, since I was a couple months late for his 1987 championship. But still, I really enjoy the fellow. From a distance. We all knew he was getting old - he took a fall while going up the steps to the interview room when I was working, and it wasn't "my buddy just fell flat on his face, haha," but "oh no, Grandma fell and hurt her hip!" that everyone thought. The man is getting up there in years, and he looked rather frail last March.

I'll miss Bobby Knight. Now if only ESPN would take him on as an analyst. Maybe he would punch Mike Roberts in the face.

Note: the picture above is one I took after Knight's Texas Tech team lost. It was his last NCAA tournament game.

UNC vs. Boston College

I would give a run down of yesterday's game since I was in attendance, but I won't for one particular reason - my seat was very far away. How far? I was in row Q of the upper level at the Dean E. Smith Center. The large video screens were at eye-level for me. I will say this though - the game was oddly enjoyable from such a distance. It reminded me of watching game film when I played ball. You can get a better feel for just how an offense works from up there because it looks like little guys on a diagram. Being used to having seats close to the action, where standing is mandatory, watching from the upper deck was oddly relaxing. It was much more like watching a baseball game. I like that.

UNC vs. Maryland

After Georgetown beat UConn last week on a last second three-pointer from 7'2" Roy Hibbert, many people talked about how great a win it was. However, there was a minority who thought that it signified what kind of trouble Georgetown might be in - getting a last second three from a big guy who does not shoot three pointers comes in right behind the full court baseball heave that somehow goes in on the scale of luck. And before anyone says, "Hibbert has gone two for two on 3's this year," I will direct you towards his free-throw percentage: .571 on 70 attempts. I say this because if a team has to have the big guy make the desperation three, they are in trouble. Yesterday, Carolina confirmed they didn't deserve their number one ranking. Tyler Hansbrough is a god among gods here on Without Music, but he shouldn't have been the one to take that last second three. Maryland defended the inbounds well all game yesterday. Except for a couple of short runs, UM just outplayed the Tar Heels on their own floor. It was the first UNC loss I've seen in person, and hopefully it will be the last. The Dean E. Smith Center was as loud as I've ever heard it, which was exciting, but in the end most of us left with a bad taste in our mouths. Unlike Clemson and Georgia Tech, Maryland actually hit their free throws. I felt that the most impressive player on the floor yesterday afternoon was James Gist. The guy scored in every way imaginable, against almost anyone Carolina paired him with. Gist's performance was not one of domination - he wasn't making shots while falling down or dribbling through the entire team for a dunk - but he did hit all different types of shots. The best compliment I can give James Gist is that he looked completely efficient while shooting. Textbook.

At least we had a nice helping of snow here in Chapel Hill last night. I know the novelty of snow in a place that doesn't usually get Winter weather helped take my mind off the loss.

Kenny George is larger than any human being I've ever seen in person. Listed at 7'7" & 360 lbs., the UNC-Asheville center dwarfs everyone, hands down. Reyshawn Terry, in the above picture? He's 6'8". Tonight, Tyler Hansbrough, in all his bulk, looked like a twig for most of the first half. And then this happened.




Tyler Hansbrough turned into Pshyco T, and went on for 23 points and 8 rebounds. This wasn't the most impressive showing for the Tar Heels this season, but if I get to witness a UNC win in person, I won't complain. The thing I will think of down the line about this game, even more than getting to watch my team win, is how I wish Kenny George would get a good break sometime. Last year, his appearance in Chapel Hill was largely a novelty, and this year he was able to move away from some of that with 14 points and 11 rebounds. ESPN's box score gives him 4 blocks, but I would have given him at least 6, and note that George positively altered another 10-15 shots in 24 minutes of play. The guys over at Storming The Floor are pretty smitten with the big guy, and I can see why. All accounts describe George as a soft-spoken, good natured guy. I think many people around the basketball world would love to see the big man from UNCA lose some pounds, get into a bit better shape, and get a chance to play ball for money some day. Right now, the excitement of seeing Kenny George come in the game isn't sustained for long. After three or four possessions, it is painful to watch him make his way down the court, and watching him dunk becomes more and more unimpressive - like watching someone drop clothes in a hamper. I really hope to see George next year, his senior year, looking healthy. Watching him play, it is easy to see that if he had the stamina to play at top condition for 29 or 3o minutes, he could seriously be a 20 points, 20 rebounds, 10 blocks kind of guy. That would make me happy.

On another basketball note, Charlotte and Clemson need to figure out what kind of ball clubs they are going to be. Maybe UNCC is truly an up and down team, and Clemson is still stunned from Wayne Ellington's shot the other night. Also, NC State needs to quit playing games with box scores that look like high school JV games.

Day Trip to Chapel Hill

I spent all day yesterday in Chapel Hill, a town that is as much a home to me now as the one I grew up in. I had plans to see some of my favorite people, and ended up running into a long lost friend the moment I arrived.

This space is not about my personal life though. The latter half of my evening was devoted to the Carolina vs. Nevada basketball game. The Dean Dome was almost full, with even more in attendance than when school was in session for the last game I went to against Iona.

Bobby Frasor's season-ending injury was hard to watch. When he went down, I had no doubt he had blown out his knee. It was bad, watching one part of his leg go one way and the other half go in an opposite direction, laterally speaking. However, I was rather confused and actually hopeful when Frasor got up and walked to the locker room on his own power, albeit gingerly. I've always thought of getting a torn ACL as something that would keep you from walking without support on the bum leg. I feel so bad for the guy, especially since he had an injured foot for a majority of last season. I believe it is definitely possible that Quentin Thomas can come into Frasor's role and not miss a beat, but it will require him to play a cleaner game than he has been. Bobby's assist to turnover ratio is much better than Quentin's, and it seems like Bobby shoots better from behind the arc. While Frasor has played more minutes, Thomas is a senior - there should be no inexperience in his game. Moreover, if Carolina goes all the way this year, I'd like to see Q have an important part in his becoming the only Tar Heel to ever win two national championships. That is really unimportant for the time being though. I hope Bobby Frasor makes a full recovery, and that Quentin Thomas plays up to his ability. Carolina is really lucky when it comes down to it - not only do we have a guy who is the best point guard in the land (look at those stats from last night), but we also have a backup guy. NC State is going to play their second year in a row without a real point guard. That is bad luck.

Other than the Frasor injury, last night's game against Nevada was entertaining. Four UNC players put up double figures, but Ty Lawson really stood out. Lawson managed to put up 16 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds and 5 steals in 29 minutes. I wanted to be witness to the first UNC triple-double of the Roy Williams era, and if Lawson had pulled out an identical second half to his first he would have gotten it. No dice though, and Rashad McCants still holds the last one, occurring when Matt Doherty was still at the helm. I've never seen anyone go end to end like Lawson - the layup is an automatic when he gets the ball in transition, regardless of numbers. Short man even dunked a ball last night. Good for him. Lawson is almost always a part of my favorite happening when Carolina plays: moving the ball from one end of the court to the other for a layup without any player taking a dribble. That is efficient basketball.

On another note, Tyler Hansbrough put up 26 points in 26 minutes. Sometimes, it seems like Hansbrough ho-hums his way to 25 points. Part of it is the free throws. Through last night's game, Hansbrough is only 92 made free throws behind the program's all time leader. If Tyler keeps shooting ten a game, that won't last long. Fans like me are sort of taking Tyler for granted, I think. When he can put up 26 in 26 minutes and it not feel spectacular, especially when Nevada had two guys taller than him in the game, it is scary. I think once the conference schedule rolls around, we'll see some of those career defining performances. He probably won't score 40 points again like he did against Georgia Tech his freshman year, simply because with Lawson and Ellington playing so well he doesn't need to. Tyler is definitely capable of taking over a game like he did last year against Michigan State at the LJVM in Winston-Salem for the second round of the tournament though. I was courtside for that, and it was without a doubt the greatest basketball performance I've ever been in attendance for.

I should have a post about Cat Power's Jukebox up as soon as I give it a few listens.

Edit: The copy of the new Cat Power I had waiting on me was a promo copy that fades all the songs out around the 2-minute mark, right when they are about to break into the best parts. Matador has me beat. False alarm.

Merry Christmas

Merry Christmas to anyone who happens upon this site.
I spent my eve of Christmas watching the new Sigur Ros DVD, Heima, and I'd say it is on par with the group's studio work. The footage isn't a necessity, but it is definitely enjoyable, and watching it made me remember how epic and mind blowing the last half of the final track to ( ) is.

After enjoying myself on Christmas day, I'll be spending the 26th with family. On the 27th, I plan to go spend a day in Chapel Hill. Definitely plans to see one great person, maybe a couple more friends if they can swing it. Hopefully, I'll be able to take in the North Carolina vs. Nevada game. The 27th has me more excited than the 25th.

Go over to the Mountain Goats' website. John Darnielle put up a demo of a collaboration that he and John Vanderslice hope to work on. Let him explain it to you.

Hope everyone has a great time over the holiday.

Blinded by the White

The good people over at Storming the Floor just made fun of a Duke basketball player, and that is something I can get behind. We no longer have JJ Redick's poetry to laugh at in Chapel Hill, and Chewbacca graduated a few years ago.

This post, concerning Kyle Singler and his paleness made my day. Singler is so white, he looks like this guy.

I can just feel a new nickname coming along for Kyle "Powder" Singler when Duke plays in Chapel Hill this year.

I'm Back

Hi everyone.

It looks like I'm back on the blogger. It has been a while, but I have to find something to amuse me while I'm on break from school. Because I've been absent since the Al Green concert, let me fill you in.

I quit writing on Without Music for a few reasons. The most important reason being that I go to one of those universities where one must do large amounts of work in order to do well, let alone not fail, even if they are pursuing a 'fake major' like English with 'fake minors' like Music Theory and Creative Writing. The second reason for my hiatus is linked to the first one - I'm in college. College provides the opportunity to do many marvelous things that just aren't there once you graduate. Parties, dates, free tickets to see your #1 ranked basketball team, photo scavenger hunts. All things I won't be participating in when I graduate and join the real world. So why spend loads of time telling you how the Avett Brothers concert I attended was a waste of time and money (it was)? Look for updates when I have time. I might even try to do some form of posting occasionally when school starts back in January. People might even read this, though it is doubtful. If no one does read this, I won't mind - I'll just assume they are going to parties, dates, basketball games, and scavenger hunts where you have to dress up as robots.

Feel free to say hello,

Mattpoin.

Duke's Creative Writing Classes Must Be Like UGA's "Basics of Basketball" Class

I'm stalling on finishing the final stanza of a poem I have due for tomorrow's writing class so I spent some time on the internet searching for the some great examples. I came across some poems by a relative unknown. Says his name is Jonathan Clay Redick. I say he should quit his day job.

Here is the wonderful collection of J.J.'s poems that SI.com selected to publish.

I can't wait to read the ones he wrote about that whole drunk driving thing.