When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. - Hunter S. Thompson

09 November 2008

Up in Indiana where the tall corn grows

They know a little something about college basketball in Indiana:

Quinn Buckner laughed as soon as he heard the premise of the question.

"It's way too early to be talking about this," said Buckner, one of the stars of college basketball's last unbeaten national champion, Indiana's 1975-76 team that went 32-0.

The topic was North Carolina and whether the Tar Heels can replace the Hoosiers as the most recent unblemished champion.

North Carolina was the first unanimous preseason No. 1 team in The Associated Press poll, fueling the chatter that has existed since several key Heels spurned the NBA draft and returned to Chapel Hill.

They return all five starters, including national Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough, and key reserves from a team that went 36-3 and reached the Final Four. Additionally, they add one of the nation's highest-rated recruiting classes, including 7-foot McDonald's All-American Tyler Zeller from Washington, Ind.

All pieces in place for No. 1 North Carolina to chase perfection (Indianapolis Star, 9 November 2008)

If it hasn't made the news in Indianapolis yet, it will soon: Tyler Hansbrough is out for an undetermined time with a "stress reaction condition" (the precursor to a stress fracture, one imagines?) in his shin.

Hansbrough's absence didn't deter the Tar Heels in their first outing against... uh... UNC-Pembroke.

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