By Jeremy Root Cavalier Daily Gameday Editor
CHAPEL HILL, NC -- The rafters are Tar Heel blue, the seats are blue, and grown men are all wearing blue dress shirts. Heck, even the stadium speakers are light blue.The only thing that didn't fit in at Dean Smith Center last night was the five men dressed in throwback bright orange jerseys from the Virginia Cavaliers. And it wasn't just aesthetics either. The Virginia's men's basketball team, program and fan base are on a whole different level than their light blue counterparts and that couldn't have been more evident than in the Cavaliers' 85-61 loss to No. 4 North Carolina last night.
While UNC sports six players that could play and prosper in the NBA some day in Rashad McCants, Sean May, Jawad Williams, Raymond Felton, Jackie Manuel and Marvin Williams, finding a couple from the Cavalier roster is no easy task.
The Heels are coached by a legend in Roy Williams, who is the leader in winning percentage among active coaches with at least 10 years experience. Virginia on the other hand, is led by Pete Gillen, whose job seems to always be in jeopardy.
I don't know if any player on the Virginia roster would start for Carolina. It's ironic because sophomore Gary Forbes -- who scored 23 points in a courageous effort -- might have the best chance, but he doesn't even start for Virginia.
The North Carolina athletes are faster, more experienced and more talented. Just look at the shooting percentages from last nights contest. Carolina shot the ball over 50 percent in both halves, while Virginia climbed to 38.5 percent for the game after shooting 29.6 percent in the first 20 minutes.
Last evening in Chapel Hill it was common to see Felton pulling crossovers and spin moves that left Virginia defenders on their heels, McCants pulling up with over 30 seconds left on the shot clock to drain treys with a hand in their face and May dropping easy buckets over the Cavalier postmen. Meanwhile, Virginia held the ball until 10-15 seconds remained on the shot clock and struggled to find offensive rhythm.
The Cavaliers are forced to play that slow style of offense because of North Carolina's explosiveness. Give some credit to Pete Gillen. After being blown out at home over two weeks ago, Gillen's no-shot-allowed-until-10-seconds-on-the-shot-clock offense had his Cavaliers down by four, 24-20, with just over five minutes left in the first half. But Carolina's big three -- May, McCants, and Felton -- scored the next 14 points of the game to give UNC a 16-point advantage.
Even in the second half, when a squad that lost by over thirty at their place could easily have given up, Virginia had a chance to make it a 12-point game with over 10 minutes left when Devin Smith missed a dunk and a one-foot put back. Then, in an unusual loss of composure for the Virginia captain, he fouled McCants on the other end while the junior hit the shot --- resulting in a five point swing that gave a Carolina a 17-point lead it wouldn't relinquish for the night.
"Even though they have great individual players, they just play great as a team and that's why they're winning," Cavalier guard Sean Singletary said.
Virginia may have a 100-year history of basketball, but is hard to compete with a program that has over 60 banners promoting its ACC championships and NCAA tournament appearances since the 1940's hanging from its stadium. Not to mention the jerseys of Jordan, Carter, Stackhouse, Jamison, Worthy, and Perkins -- just to name a few.
Even the Carolina fans have a leg up on their orange-clad counterparts. While Virginia has trouble filling the 8,392 seat University Hall, UNC students and alumni flock to the home of their God, the Dean Smith Center, for a Wednesday night game against a team from the bottom of the ACC. 20,643 fans, virtually all adorned in Tar Heel blue, packed the 21,800 capacity Dean dome.
The Cavaliers may have a new arena and even a new coach to build their program upon in the near future, but don't expect them to catch up with their counterparts in Chapel Hill any time soon.
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