tarheel basketball

Tar Heel Basketball

by: McKinley Brown

It was a cold-foggy day in Chapel Hill,North Carolina, every one was so excited about the Duke and Carolina and you could feel the excitement in the air. This was the 203 time Carolina and Duke have played. It is considered to be one of the greatest rivalries in the nation. But this time is different because last time we played Duke won by a buzzer beating 3 by there star player Austin Rivers, so that has Carolina not happy so I think are players will go out and play with intensity and motivation. But this time it will be tougher because were playing at Duke and are coach Roy Williams is sick and theres only one person to fill in for him and thats me. Its the first time I have ever coached a basketball game in chapel hill and it is by far the biggest game I have ever coached.

As time passes game time gets closer the pressure sets in and I'm getting nervous I have to win this game. If I when this game and do a great job coaching maybe I can get some recognition from other schools and maybe a chance as a head coaching job at a college . It is 5:00 in Durham and my players and I get to the court to star practising. Like every pregame practise I've seen we start of with simple skills and getting use to the hot and LOUD conditions of Cameron indoor stadium. Purposely Duke doesn't turn on the air condition so it makes it more difficult for the visiting teams. And then we practise are rebounding and short shots with are to big men Tyler Zeller and Jon Henson. And then we practise with are guards Kindell Marshall, Reggie Bullock, and Stillman White. And last but not least are forwards Harrison Barnes and James Macadoo.

Its 10 minutes till game time and me and the players are heading out to the court when I first get out there There is so much noise I can barley here myself think. Before tip off I tell my players to cut out the distractions and play ball like there use to, we prayed and then the game started. Duke got up to an early lead leading by 4 with the score 10 to 6. As the game when on we cut the lead to 1 by a faid awway 3 by Harrison Barnes. As the clock winded down the final score at half time was Duke 42 Carolina 39.     When we got in the locker room I sat them down and went over the mistakes in the first half and how we could fix them. I went over offensive rebounds and how there a big key to winning the game and I also went over free throw shooting and how it can have a huge effect in the outcome of the game. When we went back out I had every one on the team practise free throws until until half time was over. when half time was over we got off to a horrible start we were out scored in the first 5 minutes by 10 points we only scored 1 point off of a Harrison Barnes free throw. I quickly called a timeout and went over the plays we would run to get us back in the game. The score is 53 to 40 favoring Duke. As soon as I thought it couldn't get much worse it did, are best player Harrison Barnes who is responcible for 15 of are 51 points falls to the ground and grabs his knee I knew it was bad because ive never seen him act like that. To replace Barnes I put in Pj Hairston an all American freshman who is good but not experienced like Barnes. Duke took advantage of him and shot two y.

threes and went up 21 points. Time passed and we cut the lead to 15 with a 3 from Hairston and a 3 from Marshall. There were 10 minutes left in the half when PJ hairston shot a 3 and was fouled. he made the basket plus the foul so he would get a free throw in wich he could make it a 4 point play. He made the free throw. The croud went silent the lead was cut to 11. I could feel the momentum in shifting.    Duke lost the inbound play and it was stolen by Jon Henson He then slammed the ball in to the basket. The Cameron were more like the Cameron babies at this point. The next play Marshall got the still and passed it to Bullock and he a 3 and cut the lead to only 3 with 4 minutes togo.    And then we went on a dry spell and duke took advantage they took the lead up to five and managed to burn a minute off the clock. So the heels drove down the court trying not to waste time but they did they had no open shots and then Marshall nailed a 3. That cut the lead to 2 with one minute togo. Duke went down the court and managed to burn 75 seconds off the clock so but missed the basket. So Carolina had the ball with 25 seconds and Marshall took up the court and quickley passed it to Hairston, he held the ball and dribbled it around until there were 10 seconds hairston passes it inside zeller picks it up and shoots and its blocked! by Mason Plumlee! But luckily Pj Hairston was there to get the ball and shot  from be hind the three point line, he barley got the ball off before the clock when off, and then swish! He made it! We won! Every one in Cameron indoor fell silent.

After the game I told my players how honered I was to coach them, and how happy I was to get this amaizing oppurtunitY.