I’m pretty excited about my first (and perhaps only) chance to see the Tarheels in action at the Dean Dome tonight. The opponent du jour (Nevada) is beside the point–they’ll get crushed into oblivion, cheerleaders will cheer, girls will swoon, Roy will cut a debonair figure despite another disturbing choice in necktie (not his choice, mind you). It’s all part of the experience, but what everyone really comes to see is Carolina’s fast break. It’s poetry in motion. It’s a symphony orchestra conducted in advance. And best of all, it’s unstoppable.
Let’s say, hypothetically, that Nevada manages to score a few buckets early and shoot a decent percentage against the oft underrated Tarheel defense (we’ll leave this for another post). Maybe their shooting guard pops in a 3 coming off a well-placed screen. He throws up his arms, blows kisses to the crowd, recognizes his point guard with a finger-point, you get the idea. Meanwhile, Hansbrough is busy grabbing the ball out of the net and inbounding it to Ty streaking horizontally across the court not unlike a comet blazing through the night sky above the Dome. Even if Shooter McGee happens to notice the blur catching up to him as he saunters up court, it’s already too late. Ty knows this too, and all that’s left is a bit of mental arbitrage. Does he dish to Dion (assuming he gets his lazy ass in position), head to the corner and hand off to Wayne for a 3 of his own, or weave in and out of a few more hapless defenders and finish himself? It’s just unfair.
While it’s all good and well that the Tarheels will destroy their lesser opponents for now, I can barely contain my excitement when I think about the drubbing that’s in store for Duke, NC State, Wake and the like.