Here is something interesting that I just heard about: North Carolina head coach Roy Williams suspended Will Graves for the season.
No one really knows why, though Ol' Roy did say this:
So wha' happened? The reason given is that Graves didn't "maintain the standards [coaches] expect of a Carolina basketball player." Does that mean he had a run-in with the law? Probably not since we would have heard something by now. Does it mean he is acting up about losing some of his playing time? Maybe, but that usually doesn't work out very well. I'm also ruling out that he is in some sort of academic jam.
That story may unfold at a later time, but this is a blow to the Tar Heels. What was once a talented and deep team has now turned into just a talented team. One of Carolina's perceived strengths was that their six through ten guys were better than anyone else's. Now that isn't the case. Graves is suspended for the season; Marcus Ginyard has now been ruled out for the remainder of the season and will redshirt onto next year's team; and Tyler Zeller suffered that broken wrist at the beginning of the season and is done.
Losing Graves doesn't register as big as Ginyard or Zeller. Ginyard was a defensive leader for this team and a guy that was so versitile and filled the hustle stat sheet. Zeller, though only playing a few games, was turning into one of the top team scorers and rebounders and added height off the bench. Graves' importance was raised with the losses of the other two. He was another body out there but brought nothing more than a three-point gunner. And even then, he wasn't doing too well (10-of-36).
Unlike the pros where you can make a trade or two to recoup some of the losses, Carolina has to keep trucking on with what they have.
No one really knows why, though Ol' Roy did say this:
He will remain a part of our program and participate in practice and all other team activities. His status for 2009-2010 will be determined prior to next season.
So wha' happened? The reason given is that Graves didn't "maintain the standards [coaches] expect of a Carolina basketball player." Does that mean he had a run-in with the law? Probably not since we would have heard something by now. Does it mean he is acting up about losing some of his playing time? Maybe, but that usually doesn't work out very well. I'm also ruling out that he is in some sort of academic jam.
That story may unfold at a later time, but this is a blow to the Tar Heels. What was once a talented and deep team has now turned into just a talented team. One of Carolina's perceived strengths was that their six through ten guys were better than anyone else's. Now that isn't the case. Graves is suspended for the season; Marcus Ginyard has now been ruled out for the remainder of the season and will redshirt onto next year's team; and Tyler Zeller suffered that broken wrist at the beginning of the season and is done.
Losing Graves doesn't register as big as Ginyard or Zeller. Ginyard was a defensive leader for this team and a guy that was so versitile and filled the hustle stat sheet. Zeller, though only playing a few games, was turning into one of the top team scorers and rebounders and added height off the bench. Graves' importance was raised with the losses of the other two. He was another body out there but brought nothing more than a three-point gunner. And even then, he wasn't doing too well (10-of-36).
Unlike the pros where you can make a trade or two to recoup some of the losses, Carolina has to keep trucking on with what they have.
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