By Andrew Darvin

            The storyline always seems to be the same.  An inferior NC State team goes on the road to take on the more talented and better-coached Tar Heels at the Dean Dome.  State fans blow a lot of smoke, saying this is the year the Tar Heels need to watch out, that the Wolfpack is back.  And, far more often than not, the Tar Heels win in convincing fashion.  The Heels have a 21-5 record at the Smith Center against NC State and a 145-75 edge in the all-time series, lending support to the argument that State is “not our rival.”  Coach Roy was quick to put the kibosh on that chant that broke out in the student section, though, despite being up more than twenty late in the game.

            The decisive victory for the Heels was one of the best start-to-finish performances that they’ve put together this season.  Perhaps they were feeding off the energy of the fans, which announcer Dick Vitale seemed to love when he came through the student section prior to the game, signing autographs and posing for photos.  Maybe it was just the environment of a big conference game, as State was actually ahead of UNC in the ACC standings heading into the contest.  Or it might just be that the pre-game meal was particularly flavorful that day.   Regardless, the team orchestrated a seemingly endless barrage of powerful blocks and emphatic dunks, dominating throughout.  Zeller played a particularly spectacular game, while Harrison and Henson also showed flashes of brilliance.  While not unexpected, the masterful demonstration was still mildly surprising given the absence of starter Dexter Strickland, who was lost to an ACL tear in the previous game.  The injury provided opportunities for Reggie Bullock and Stilman White, a fact that was not lost on the students in the risers.

            Bullock, a highly recruited shooting guard who did not really live up to expectations last season while struggling through injuries, was making the first start of his career in place of Strickland.  Fans chanted “Reggie, Reggie” at the start of the game, recognizing his probable nervousness, and he responded with a very good game, scoring eleven points with 3-5 shooting on threes and playing solid defense.  As Clint mentioned last week, replacing Dexter’s perimeter defending will probably be the most difficult task for his replacements at shooting guard, and Bullock’s commitment to improving his defense during this off-season showed against NC State.

            While Reggie played well, Stilman White really benefitted the most from Dexter’s slip, at least in terms of earning cheers.  White, a two-star, preferred walk-on point guard, was only expected to fill garbage time minutes behind Kendall and Dexter this season before taking a two-year Mormon mission trip.  Standing somewhere in-between a member of Blue Steel and a regular player on the team, Stilman is a cult hero among the students; chants of “Stormin’ Mormon” broke out pretty much whenever he touched the ball, and the stadium nearly exploded when he drained a three-pointer.  It’s hard to imagine what the reaction would have been had Stilman made his other shot attempt, but he missed it horribly, only hitting the backboard.  He still was able to spell Masrhall effectively just prior to media timeouts and at the end of the game, looking much more comfortable than he did last week against Virginia Tech.  While it remains to be seen if he can be efficient in a closer game, he certainly did his job this week.

            What struck me more than anything about the game, though, was how much fun the Heels were having and how hard they were trying.  For this team, there seems to be a correlation between effort, success, and smiles; when the players are really hustling and things are clicking, the game becomes a big party with argyle-clad VIPs.  That’s a natural relationship in many aspects of life, but it seems especially true of UNC basketball this season.  A scary scenario for a team like this is a game where nothing seems to be working early on.  When UNC gets behind, it’s mainly because of poor close-outs on three pointers after collapsing on drives and then a lack of defensive rebounding on missed jump shots.  These things can be attributed to a lack of effort.  As the deficit is prolonged, the players begin to rush and tense up; the fun, the laughter, and the smiles all seem to disappear, the energy and passion for the game extinguished. You could feel the momentum shifting against Florida State and UNLV as this exact scenario played out.  Contrastingly, against State, there was a ton of energy on the defensive end and the boxing out was nearly impeccable; this led to a ton of transition buckets and UNC jumped out to a sizeable lead.  As the game progressed, every Henson block, every Harrison jam, every Zeller baby hook, and even the Stilman White bricked three all led to big grins from all the players.  The excitement and enthusiasm were there from the get-go, and State was blown out of the gym.
 
             The magic formula is simple:  Play Hard, Have Fun.  If the Heels do that through ACC play and beyond, they’ll be tough to stop.