The IronDog Chronicles

The Dunk pics are flying across Tar Heel inboxes…

Yeah, nice night for revenge, and if you haven’t checked out the Tyler Hansbrough pic of him yamming over an Iona Gael, please do.

Yet, before I get all hyphy over a dunk, did anyone check out the follow-up dunk that Wayne Ellington performed after a dead ball foul call in the first half? Personally, I don’t think I’ve seen a better dunk that didn’t count in a Smith Center game since Vince Carter’s missed dunk against Duke in ‘98…Seriously…That good.

All that gooing over dunks makes me nautious…

I’m highly impressed with a few things:

1.) Deon Thompson - Much stronger game from the svelte wonder. 6-8 from the field for 13 points, 4 boards, and 2 blocks…Welcome back big fella.

2.) Wayne Ellington’s J - Wow…As I mentioned in the last post, when that thing gets going, he’s lethal.

3.) Danny Green - If he can get his stroke going as he did with his back-to-back threes in the first half, I think the Heels will have a lot of answers for who will step-up to provide the supposed lacking outside shot presence.

4.) UNC Fast Break - Iona seemed well out of halfcourt offense and they didn’t perform well on transitioning into D. Tough stuff when you play against the Heels. The main threat of the Tar Heels is that break…Better start running.

All that said, great bounce back from last Wednesday night. And better still for payback from UNC’s devastating loss to Iona in 2002 in Madison Square Garden. Other than Lou Roe jumping on the scorer’s table at the Garden after UMASS stunned the Heels in ‘94, I don’t think that I’ve ever been more embarassed or angered after watching a UNC loss…Thanks for the revenge.

Now, two more games until the Vegas showdown against Louisville on Saturday night. The tragic part is that Louisville center, David Padgett, could be out for the season and at least ten weeks with a fractured knee cap. Tough loss because the stories behind the Padgett and Roy Williams would have been scintillating.

However, I’m more upset that Louisville won’t be at full strength. The Tar Heels deserve a full challenge in order to see where they stand…Tough break.

Keep Runnin’,
BD