2008–09 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team

2008–09 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball
ACC Regular Season Champions
Conference Atlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
Coaches No. 1
AP No. 2
2008–09 record 34–4 (13–3 ACC)
Head coach Roy Williams
Assistant coach Joe Holladay
Assistant coach Steve Robinson
Assistant coach Jerod Haase
Home arena Dean Smith Center
2008–09 ACC men's basketball standings
Conf     Overall
Team W   L   PCT     W   L   PCT
#2 North Carolina 13 3   .813     34 4   .895
#6 Duke 11 5   .688     30 7   .811
#12 Wake Forest 11 5   .688     24 7   .774
#16 Florida State 10 6   .625     25 10   .714
#24 Clemson 9 7   .563     23 9   .719
Boston College 9 7   .563     22 12   .647
Maryland 7 9   .438     21 14   .600
Virginia Tech 7 9   .438     19 15   .559
Miami (FL) 7 9   .438     19 13   .594
North Carolina State 6 10   .375     16 14   .533
Virginia 4 12   .250     10 18   .357
Georgia Tech 2 14   .125     12 19   .387
† ACC Tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2008–09 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team represented the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Head Coach was Roy Williams. The team played its home games in the Dean Smith Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The team won the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, the fifth NCAA national title in school history.

Preseason

The Tar Heels were a trendy pick to win the National Championship that year, primarily because Wayne Ellington, Danny Green and Ty Lawson decided to withdraw from the 2008 NBA Draft, and consensus national Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough never declared for that draft.[1] In addition, the players had been embarrassed in the previous season's Final Four by Kansas, and they were motivated to atone for that poor performance. In the preseason ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll the Tar Heels were ranked #1. They were the first unanimous preseason #1 ranking in the history of the ESPN/USA Today Coaches Poll.[2] UNC also received the first unanimous preseason #1 ranking in the history of the Associated Press Poll.[3]

Recruiting

Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Ed Davis
PF
Richmond, Virginia Benedictine HS 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Jul 18, 2007 
Scout:5/5 stars   Rivals:5/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 96
Larry Drew II
PG
Encino, California Woodland Hills Taft 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) May 23, 2007 
Scout:4/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 96
Justin Watts
SG
Durham, North Carolina Jordan HS 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 210 lb (95 kg) May 20, 2008 
Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:3/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 40
Tyler Zeller
PF
Washington, Indiana Washington HS 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 250 lb (110 kg) Jan 4, 2008 
Scout:5/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 96
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 5   Rivals: 11  ESPN: 7
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Roster

2008–09 North Carolina Tar Heels men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Home town
G 2 Campbell, MarcMarc Campbell 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Ravenscroft Raleigh, NC
F 40 Copeland, MikeMike Copeland 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Sr R. J. Reynolds Winston-Salem, NC
F 32 Davis, EdEd Davis 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Fr Benedictine Richmond, VA
G 11 Drew II, LarryLarry Drew II 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Fr Woodland Hills Taft Encino, CA
G 22 Ellington, WayneWayne Ellington 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Episcopal Academy Wynnewood, PA
G 4 Frasor, BobbyBobby Frasor 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr Brother Rice Blue Island, IL
G 1 Ginyard, MarcusMarcus Ginyard 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Sr Bishop O'Connell Alexandria, VA
F 13 Graves, WilliamWilliam Graves 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 245 lb (111 kg) So Dudley Greensboro, NC
F 14 Green, DannyDanny Green 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Sr St. Mary's North Babylon, NY
F 50 Hansbrough, TylerTyler Hansbrough 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Sr Poplar Bluff Poplar Bluff, MO
G 5 Lawson, TyTy Lawson 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Oak Hill Academy Clinton, MD
F 35 Moody, PatrickPatrick Moody 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr T. C. Roberson Asheville, NC
G 15 Tanner, J. B.J. B. Tanner 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Sr West Henderson Hendersonville, NC
F 21 Thompson, DeonDeon Thompson 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Jr Torrance Torrance, CA
G 24 Watts, JustinJustin Watts 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr Jordan Durham, NC
G 30 Wooten, JackJack Wooten 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sr Walter Williams Burlington, NC
F 44 Zeller, TylerTyler Zeller 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fr Oakland Technical Senior Washington, IN
Head coach

Roy Williams

Assistant coach(es)

Joe Holladay
Steve Robinson
Jerod Haase


Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster
Last update: October 31, 2012

Schedule

The Tar Heels rolled through the nonconference schedule, along the way winning the Maui Invitational for the third time. They sputtered out of the gate to start ACC play, dropping their first two conference games to Boston College and Wake Forest. However, they recovered to reel off 10 straight conference wins, including a 101–87 thrashing of rival Duke. Their only relatively close games during this stretch came against the ACC's two Florida teams—most notably against Florida State, in which they escaped with a Ty Lawson buzzer-beater.

They lost to Maryland in overtime, but recovered to win their last three games. A win over Virginia Tech gave the Tar Heels at least a share of their 27th regular season title, and third in a row. They won the title outright with a season-ending win over Duke.

The ACC Tournament did not go nearly as well, largely because Ty Lawson was sidelined with an injured big toe. They needed a last-minute score to defeat Virginia Tech, then fell to Florida State in the second round. Still, the Tar Heels were rewarded with the #2 ranking in the final AP Poll, behind Louisville. They also finished third in the final regular-season Coaches Poll, behind Louisville and Memphis.

Despite not making it to the ACC title game, the Tar Heels received the top seed in the NCAA South Region. It was the 13th time the Tar Heels had been selected as a #1 seed—the most since the NCAA began seeding the tournament field in 1979. It is also UNC's 41st NCAA appearance—tied with UCLA for the second-most in history.

The Tar Heels played their first- and second-round games at the Greensboro Coliseum, just an hour west of Chapel Hill. They easily dispatched Radford and LSU to advance to the regionals at the FedExForum in Memphis. In the regional round, the Heels dismantled Gonzaga 93–77. In the regional final, they defeated Oklahoma 72–60 to advance to the Final Four for the 18th time in school history—tied with UCLA for the most ever. The wins in the regional phase were also the school's 100th and 101st wins in the NCAA Tournament, passing Kentucky for most all-time.

The Tar Heels were the highest seed to reach the Final Four at Ford Field in Detroit; they were the overall #3 seed in the tournament behind Louisville and Pittsburgh. In the national semifinal, the Tar Heels pounded Villanova 83–69 to advance to the national championship game for the ninth time in school history. They played against Michigan State, whom the Tar Heels defeated 98–63 during the December 2008 ACC-Big Ten Challenge. They were no less dominant in the title game, winning 89–72 for the school's fifth NCAA national title—tied for the third-most all-time. The win capped off one of the most dominant runs in the tournament's history. The Tar Heels won every game by at least 12 points—a feat all the more remarkable since they upended four teams ranked in the top 15 of the final AP Poll in the process (#10 Gonzaga, #7 Oklahoma, #11 Villanova and #8 Michigan State). They also led for all but 10 minutes of a possible 240 minutes of game time. It also allowed Tyler Hansbrough and his fellow seniors to end their careers as the winningest class in school history.

Wayne Ellington was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player, the fourth Tar Heel so honored.

Date
Time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record Site (Attendance)
City, State
Exhibition Game

November 8*
4:00 p.m.
No. 1 UNC Pembroke
Exhibition
W 102–62  00
Dean Smith Center (18,793)
Chapel Hill, NC
Regular Season

November 15*
4:00 p.m., FSN
No. 1 Penn W 8671  10
Dean Smith Center (19,623)
Chapel Hill, NC

November 18*
9:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 1 Kentucky W 7758  20
Dean Smith Center (21,538)
Chapel Hill, NC

November 21*
10:00 p.m., ESPNU
No. 1 at UC Santa Barbara W 8467  30
Campus Events Center (6,000)
Santa Barbara, CA

November 24*
9:30 p.m., ESPNU
No. 1 at Chaminade
Maui Invitational
W 11570  40
Lahaina Civic Center (2,500)
Lahaina, HI

November 25*
9:30 p.m., ESPN
No. 1 vs. Oregon
Maui Invitational
W 9869  50
Lahaina Civic Center (2,500)
Lahaina, HI

November 26*
10:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 1 vs. No. 8 Notre Dame
Maui Invitational
W 10287  60
Lahaina Civic Center (2,500)
Lahaina, HI

November 30*
6:30 p.m., FSN
No. 1 UNC Asheville W 11648  70
Dean Smith Center (18,054)
Chapel Hill, NC

December 3*
9:15 p.m., ESPN
No. 1 vs. No. 13 Michigan State
ACC–Big Ten Challenge/Basketbowl II
W 9863  80
Ford Field (25,267)
Detroit, MI

December 13*
6:00 p.m., ESPN2
No. 1 Oral Roberts W 10084  90
Dean Smith Center (21,269)
Chapel Hill, NC

December 18*
7:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 1 Evansville W 9173  100
Dean Smith Center (21,291)
Chapel Hill, NC

December 20*
2:00 p.m., ESPNU
No. 1 vs. Valparaiso W 8563  110
United Center (10,645)
Chicago, IL

December 28*
7:45 p.m., FSN
No. 1 Rutgers W 9775  120
Dean Smith Center (21,750)
Chapel Hill, NC

December 31*
10:00 p.m., ESPN2
No. 1 at Nevada W 8461  130
Lawlor Events Center (10,526)
Reno, NV

January 4
5:30 p.m., FSN
No. 1 Boston College L 8578  131
(01)
Dean Smith Center (21,750)
Chapel Hill, NC

January 7*
9:00 p.m., FSN-South
No. 3 College of Charleston W 10870  141
(01)
Dean Smith Center (20,543)
Chapel Hill, NC

January 11
8:00 p.m., FSN
No. 3 at No. 4 Wake Forest L 9289  142
(02)
Lawrence Joel Coliseum (14,714)
Winston-Salem, NC

January 15
9:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 5 at Virginia W 8361  152
(12)
John Paul Jones Arena (13,811)
Charlottesville, VA

January 17
9:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 5 Miami (FL) W 8265  162
(22)
Dean Smith Center (21,750)
Chapel Hill, NC

January 21
9:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 5 No. 10 Clemson W 9470  172
(32)
Dean Smith Center (21,750)
Chapel Hill, NC

January 28
9:00 p.m., Raycom
No. 5 at Florida State W 8077  182
(42)
Donald L. Tucker Center (11,333)
Tallahassee, FL

January 31
3:30 p.m., ABC
No. 5 at NC State
Carolina-NC State rivalry
W 9376  192
(52)
RBC Center (19,700)
Raleigh, NC

February 3
8:00 p.m., Raycom/ESPN
No. 3 Maryland W 10891  202
(62)
Dean Smith Center (20,863)
Chapel Hill, NC

February 7
4:00 p.m., Raycom
No. 3 Virginia W 7661  212
(72)
Dean Smith Center (20,879)
Chapel Hill, NC

February 11
9:00 p.m., Raycom/ESPN
No. 3 at No. 6 Duke
Carolina-Duke rivalry
W 10187  222
(82)
Cameron Indoor Stadium (9,314)
Durham, NC

February 15
7:45 p.m., FSN
No. 3 at Miami (FL) W 6965  232
(92)
BankUnited Center (7,200)
Coral Gables, FL

February 18
8:00 p.m., Raycom
No. 3 NC State
Carolina-NC State rivalry
W 8980  242
(102)
Dean Smith Center (21,750)
Chapel Hill, NC

February 21
3:30 p.m., ABC
No. 3 at Maryland L 8588 OT 243
(103)
Comcast Center (17,950)
College Park, MD

February 28
12:00 p.m., CBS
No. 4 Georgia Tech W 10474  253
(113)
Dean Smith Center (20,959)
Chapel Hill, NC

March 4
7:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 2 at Virginia Tech W 8678  263
(123)
Cassell Coliseum (9,847)
Blacksburg, VA

March 8
4:00 p.m., CBS
No. 2 No. 7 Duke
Senior Day/Carolina-Duke rivalry
W 7971  273
(133)
Dean Smith Center (21,750)
Chapel Hill, NC
ACC Tournament

March 13
12:00 p.m., Raycom/ESPN2
No. 1 vs. Virginia Tech
ACC Men's Basketball Tournament
W 7976  283
Georgia Dome (26,352)
Atlanta, GA

March 14
1:30 p.m., Raycom/ESPN2
No. 1 vs. No. 22 Florida State
ACC Men's Basketball Tournament
L 70–73  28–4
Georgia Dome (26,352)
Atlanta, GA
NCAA Tournament

March 19*
2:50 p.m., CBS
No. 2 (1-S) vs. No. (16-S) Radford
First Round
W 101–58  29–4
Greensboro Coliseum (20,226)
Greensboro, NC

March 21*
5:45 p.m., CBS
No. 2 (1-S) vs. No. 21 (8-S) LSU
Second Round
W 84–70  30–4
Greensboro Coliseum (22,479)
Greensboro, NC

March 27*
9:57 p.m., CBS
No. 2 (1-S) vs. No. 10 (4-S) Gonzaga
Sweet Sixteen
W 98–77  31–4
FedExForum (17,103)
Memphis, TN

March 29*
5:05 p.m., CBS
No. 2 (1-S) vs. No. 7 (2-S) Oklahoma
Elite Eight
W 72–60  32–4
FedExForum (17,025)
Memphis, TN

April 4*
8:47 p.m., CBS
No. 2 (1-S) vs. No. 11 (3-E) Villanova
Final Four
W 83–69  33–4
Ford Field (72,456)
Detroit, MI

April 6*
9:21 p.m., CBS
No. 2 (1-S) vs. No. 8 (2-M) Michigan State
National Championship Game
W 89–72  344
Ford Field (72,922)
Detroit, MI
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
All times are in Eastern Time[4] Rank indicates seed in the NCAA tournament. E-East region, W-West region, S-South region, M-Midewest Region.

Team players drafted into the NBA

Year Round Pick Player NBA Club
2009 1 13 Tyler Hansbrough Indiana Pacers
2009 1 18 Ty Lawson Denver Nuggets
2009 1 28 Wayne Ellington Minnesota Timberwolves
2009 2 46 Danny Green Cleveland Cavaliers
2010 1 13 Ed Davis Toronto Raptors
2012 1 17 Tyler Zeller Dallas Mavericks

[5]

References

  1. Ridiculously early preseason Top 25 (and one): Heels, Cards sit 1–2 – NCAA Division I Mens Basketball – CBSSports.com Live Scores, Standings, Stats
  2. "Tar Heels Are Unanimous Preseason No. 1 In Coaches Poll". Tarheelblue.com. October 30, 2008. Archived from the original on 10 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-30.
  3. "Tar Heels voted as first unanimous preseason no. 1 in AP poll". ESPN.com. October 31, 2008. Archived from the original on 3 November 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-31.
  4. "2008–09 Schedule." tarheelblue.com. Retrieved on August 26, 2008.
  5. http://www.databasebasketball.com/draft/draftyear.htm?lg=N&yr=2009
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