He pulled his starting five - ALL 5 of them!
I haven't seen this happen for a couple of decades. Coach Dean Smith - the legendary mentor of countless basketball greats once pulled his entire starting line-up and sat them on the bench. Not many college coaches have the luxury of being able to substitute an entirely fresh crew. Basketball dynasties - like North Carolina and Duke often have practice squads who could make it into the NCAA Round of 16!
The current coach at North Carolina - Roy Williams - must have been really pissed. He used that same tactic yesterday during the Tar-Heels game against Miami. No one who follows college basketball - even casually - would have expected Miami to have much of a chance against the mighty North Carolina team.
That is the beauty of college basketball - on any given night, any team can have what it takes to knock off even the highest-rated teams in the land!
One must wonder what kind of tongue lashing those young athletes heard when they sat on the bench! Coach Roy must have really laid it on the line. He Looked Really , Really PISSED!
Well, you probably already know the rest of the story - The Tar Heels pulled off one of those rare, almost incredible comebacks. With less than 10 minutes to go in the game they erased a 19 point deficit and won the game with a last second shot! Their only lead - was the 2 point lead they earned at the end of the game!
They never gave up. Another win for the ages - another success earned the hard way. They kept after it. And when the outlook was dim - they persisted. They kept their eyes on the goal and worked toward achieving what many thought impossible.
What is your goal? Do you ever wonder if you can EVER reach your goal? Take heart. You can - if you set your focus - and your actions - on reaching your mark. Hang in there, it may not always be easy. And, you CAN do it. Just ask anyone who saw or read about the game North Carolina wasn't supposed to win!
