FanHouse North Carolina Basketball

GREENSBORO, N.C. -- The talk of the Atlantic Coast Conference's basketball media day Sunday was the trouble a player could get into if he talked too much.

Or said the wrong thing, or gestured the wrong way, or celebrated excessively, or did anything else that might be considered "unsporting behavior,'' according to a new zero-tolerance policy approved for this season by the NCAA.

Many of the players and coaches gathered at Greensboro's Grandover Resort bluntly said they either did not like the change, didn't understand why it was necessary, or both. The biggest issue: there is too much room left for the wrong interpretation.

John Wall, the nation's top point guard recruit and possible No. 1 pick of the 2010 NBA draft, was charged with misdemeanor breaking and entering yesterday.

Contrary to what my colleague wrote, this will likely have minimal impact on the teams recruiting him.

I never was clear why Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington waited until now to make their decision to enter the NBA Draft. The choice was never really in doubt.

The junior guards both are likely to go in the first round of the NBA Draft. Both nearly went pro as sophomores last season so the chances that they would stick around after winning the NCAA championship seemed slim at best.

On a night North Carolina coach Roy Williams tried to start seven seniors, it turned out to be another reminder that all the Tar Heels really need is one junior.

---

---

The Maryland Terrapins broke out the Ronald McDonald, french-fry yellow unis for Saturday afternoon's game against the third-ranked North Carolina Tar Heels, and for 30 minutes they played like a bunch of players destined for careers in the fast-food industry, or at least a profession that doesn't involve dribbling basketballs.

Junior guard -- and on-court cheerleader -- Greivis Vasquez scored the Terps' first 16 points to keep the game close, and then he didn't make another basket until 21 game minutes later. By that time, Maryland trailed by 16 and their already slim chances of backing into the NCAAs seemed pretty much gone.

North Carolina effectively handled N.C. State last night, further cementing their status as top dog in the ACC. Roy Williams, however, didn't really have a predictable reaction. See, normally, you expect Williams to toast everyone with a Coca-Cola and to throw out an "Aw, shucks, ya'll" to help complete his public persona.

Instead of doing that, though, when repeatedly asked by ACC writer Andrew Jones about his team's inability to properly apply full court defensive pressure, he let loose with a little F-bomb.

North Carolina remained one of the nation's hottest team heading into the conference home stretch last week, beating up on Duke and then squeaking by a dangerous Miami team. They now have a very minor speed bump in their quest to win the ACC regular-season championship with a rivalry game against N.C. State Wednesday.

However, that hump may have gotten a touch bigger with the news that Tyler Hansbrough suffered a concussion during Sunday's game against the Hurricanes.

Onion Peels is a recap of last night's action and an unofficial Bill Raftery blog.

Duke and North Carolina were separated by a single game in the ACC standings heading into Sunday; little did Duke know it, but they nearly had a chance to tie the Tar Heels again. However, games against Boston College and Miami, respectively, ended the wrong way for the Devils.

Boston College 80, Duke 74: The same problems that have plagued the Blue Devils all season -- point guard play as well as lack of an inside presence -- came into play again Sunday afternoon.

FanHouse was on site for Duke-UNC. And we have Notes from Cameron Indoor.

Generally, Duke students are not just loud, they're also funny. It's what distinguishes them from everyone else in the country. And not funny in a crude N.C. State-Maryland kind of way, but in an intellectually superior, extremely clever kind of way. Not on Wednesday.

North Carolina coach Roy Williams spent all week reminding anyone that would listen that there is no trophy given for beating Duke. He said it to his team, told it to the media, and probably mumbled it in the shower.

But after Ty Lawson slammed home point No. 100 in a 101-point presentation of just why these Heels are the baddest men in short pants and sneakers, leaving the Cameron crowd quieter than any 9AM lecture, well, maybe there should've been a trophy given.

Hang a banner. Give them an Oscar. Heck, create a Nobel Prize category in whuppings and split it up with that bong that crushed Michael Phelps.

Give each and everyone of those to the Heels. And then give them something else. Give them an apology.

North Carolina, we should've been talking about you all along.