Sports

Draftcity.com on Jackie Manuel at the Portsmouth Invitational: Manuel really looked like a sore thumb on the roster sheet that was handed out where all the player’s stats are listed from this past season. The reason for that is obvious, as he played for the team that won the National Championship and let others focusing on scoring while he did all the little things to help his team out. That wasn’t the case here at Portsmouth, where he showed off some offensive skills that no one (except maybe his teammates) knew he had in him beforehand. He was probably the most athletic player at this tournament, or at least the player that showed off the most athleticism in every thing he did. Manuel probably earned himself an invite to Chicago, but he’ll have to work on his stroke in the next two months to show that he can play in the NBA as a SG. ...

More from the Portsmouth Invitational: Jackie Manuel: Continued his impressive week in Portsmouth with 14 points and 10 rebounds against Jawad Williams’ team. Manuel was a perfect 8-of-8 from the free throw line and 3-of-7 from the field. Jawad Williams: Totaled 20 points – the second highest scoring total in the game – and added 10 rebounds and two blocks. Williams shot 9-of-17 from the field and 2-of-3 at the line. He got a game-high 35 minutes of playing time. ...

Former star defender at UNC turns into offensive powerhouse for the night at the Pre-NBA Draft Portsmouth Invitational: Was the star of the early evening contest, with a game-high 22 points for Beach Barton Ford in an 86-81 losing effort. Manuel filled up the stat line shooting 10-of-12 from the field, 2-of-3 at the free throw line and posting 6 rebounds, 4 blocks, 2 assists and 1 steal. Jawad Williams is playing as well, but it sounds like Wake Forest’s Taron Downey had the better night last night. ...

"…This is your time." Jackie Manuel #5 Jawad Williams #21 Melvin Scott #1 Images courtesy of Inside Carolina

First, The Jackie Manuel Experience. Second, that “other” Carolina wins that “other” national championship. Go, Dave Odom!

During the past few months, the Denver Broncos hired the Cleveland Browns’ former defensive line coach, and then added three Browns’ defensive linemen through trades and free agency. So, the plan for the upcoming season is to emulate the defensive prowess of the Browns, who gave up the fourth-most points in the NFL last year and finished 4-12? Is this belated revenge for The Drive, or has Denver decided former Browns’ coach Butch Davis was so bad he even kept a good defense down? ...

I honestly do not understand the controversy over UNC cutting down the nets after winning the ACC regular season. I wonder if Duke thinks the ACC regular season title is “pathetic?” ;) While it might be excessive under the old Carolina Tradition, this is the same team that hadn’t finished in the top three at any point during their careers. The seniors had suffered through the infamous 8-20 season and came back to win the ACC. That was a long journey for them, and one unlikely to happen again. (Heck, I thought they should have put the NIT banner up after that 8-20 season. How often do you get to see playoff basketball at the Dean Dome involving UNC?) ...

Raymond Felton and Sean May are on the first team, Rashad McCants and Jawad Williams are on the third. Marvin Williams made honorable mention as a freshman. Now, if only Jackie makes it to the All-Defensive team. You can see the rest here. Update: Jackie did make it on the All-Defensive team. He’s a better defensive player than Chris Paul — Felton’s a better defensive player than Paul, as Paul can attest — and he probably should have been competing with Shelden Williams as Defensive Player of the Year for his shutdown performances. Unfortunately, they don’t have a points scored against vs. average points per game stat, and I suspect the Defensive team is picked on stats first, then impression. ...

Chris Paul vs. some Cameron-Crazy-wanna-be NC State fans. Just screams “classy,” doesn’t it? However, I had to link to this story for this quote: “I got punched in my groin by Chris Paul.” Update: Looks like Chris got suspended for a game. (Oddly enough, it could be the next game against NC State.) In further news, NC State fans might be suspended from watching their school in the NCAA Tournament, if the Pack doesn’t pick it up in the ACC Tournament. ...

UNC seniors Melvin Scott, Jackie Manuel, Jawad Williams Source: CollegeSports.com UNC 75, Duke 73 on Senior Day at Carolina. Good article by Adam Lucas. “I’d like to thank the coaching staff for helping me find myself,” Jackie Manuel said. That’s when those tears came for the head coach. (sniff) You’d have to know the history behind the seniors’ time at UNC to understand why winning the ACC title in their last year was so great. For a perennially good basketball program, it was a chaotic four years for guys who are growing up at the same time. ...