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There Never Was An 11th Commandment

Feb 11, ’13: With Roy limping back from his 2nd annual Sunshine State Slaughter, we can now count on an odd coalition of UNC’s flatulent fat cats and screeching board monkey mob ratcheting up their Rip Roy Rants. The teeth-clenching DEMAND that “we (??) MUST do something” will begin to resonate “amid the pines”. What about The 11th Commandment?....

Human nature trumps technology and societal evolution. Socrates, Da Vinci, Edison, Steve Jobs…. Over the centuries both geniuses and "the great unwashed" mob really haven't evolved all that much. …… Those same seven deadly sins are still at the core of all human behavior. In this case “Lust” for Bragging Rights. That said:

This is a discussion of an internal situation within the Carolina fan-base, we are circumnavigating the ABCer Gospel that Dean Smith was Satan Incarnate with Roy being his archangel Lucifer.   It is the long-standing policy of this website to never interfere with anyone’s passionate belief in leprechauns, unicorns, The Illuminati and Carolina being The Golden Child of the NCAA.

It is 2013. Near’bout the only similarities between the college basketball sandbox when Dean Smith flourished (mid 60s – mid 90s) and the current one that Roy Williams marinates in are (1) the ball is round and (2) Dick Vitale.

As college basketball evolved from Naismith to Phog to Iba/Rupp to Wooden/Smith and now to Roy/K/Calipari there have always been those reluctant to accept its evolution. From “jump balls after each basket” to racial integration to “the 3-point line” to one&dones.... some see change as the natural order of things. Some resist and piss’n moan about the supposed glories of by-gone eras. Every glorious by-gone era, of course, had its share of piss’n moaners too.

Historians (and nit wit fans) tend to dismiss the plagues, pestilence and limited number of available TV channels when calling for an immediate return to “the way it usta be”.   Alas and alack – Old Man Usta is cold in the grave.

Carolina fans of a decidedly dysfunctional nature are now concluding that, initial assumptions aside – Ol Roy is NOT the prophesized reincarnation of “Dean”.   Two rings and an 80% win % bedamned. “We have been hoodwinked. The quicker we run this imposter outta Chapel Hill the quicker we can find the true Anointed One”

..... and the quicker dysfunctional nitwits can regain bragging rights at their country club and/or office water cooler. Bragging Rights supposedly passed down to them in trust funds and/or by that goober in the double-wide next to theirs.

One does not invest heavily in C-blue attire and every single Art Chansky and Adam Lucas book to be well-back in the dog-sled queue. The view from well-back in that queue is olfactorally unpleasant.   What about The 11th Commandment - “Carolina Is Always A Top Five Program”?

The drumbeat of history, alas, tends to drown out the protestations of the nitwit faction.   Basketball luddites are as susceptible to extinction as are manufacturers of buggy whips, phone booths, floppy discs, and Chuck Taylor canvas high-tops..... To every era, alas, there is a beginning – a flourish – a decline and, yeah verily – an end. Ask the Hittites, the Mongols, the brontosaurus, the Commanches and...... ask Dean.

Dean saw "it” coming in 1997 when Stackhouse and Wallace were his first two & dones.   Dean had enthusiastically supported “three & dones” but “two & dones” totally negated the twin foundation of his Way - (1) the evolution of a team hierarchy of upperclassmen leadership and (2) not recruiting on top of a developing star.

Unlike other rules evolutions – the shot clock, 3-point shot and TV timeouts – Dean, in the twilight of his coaching career, could not retool the foundation of his Way to accommodate “two & dones” and its natural successor - the dreaded “ONE & dones”.

How the events of 1995 evolved into Roy Under Seige circa 2013 is a matter of record and/or Internet mis-interpretations.

The Gut-transition (& pension-boost) was supposed to lead logically to Prodigal Roy's return. Alas, even Dean could not orchestrate that when Roy derailed the plan by "staying". Leading to Matt being Phil Bengston (the human sacrifice who follows a Legend - Lombardi at Green Bay) .

Cutting to the chase….. Roy developed his Hall Of Fame creds using Dean's program model…. The shank of Roy’s career has straddled the monumental sea-change in college basketball. Roy's major success at UNC has involved two groups of kids that are anomalies in today's game ….. he got the 3rd year of Matt's best group ….. then 4-years of Tami's boy - Tyler - and a perfect cast of "stay in school" supporting characters.   If Roy can find 2-3 "4-5 stars" that would stay AT LEAST three years he can work a modified Dean system and stay Top Five.

I could point out that “stay four years-types” tend to share an epidermal similarity but that would veer this discussion into stormy seas. Lets not go "there”.

IF…. IF …. the Wear Twins had been for real they would be the senior twin towers that this year's team lacks.   If Kendall Marshall had stayed just one more year …… If The Zellers had become UNC’s Plumlees..... IF IF IF….. sigh.

Roy's eccentric goofiness is fine (and great fodder for guys like me!) and would be fine….. IF he could adapt even a Modified Modification of Dean's Way to work in the current craziness of Big Time College BB.

Coach K HAS managed to come up with a modifed version that uses a series of "one & done" point guards and a never-ending succession of Plumlees. Calipari mastered the One & Done Re-Load.

Roy has been caught this year with a roster full of “6th men” who were supposed to complement the designated “next go-to-guy” – James Michael McAdoo. Alas, young James Michael is, himself, a solid #3 guy at best..... leaving UNCBB 2013 devoid of a #1 and a #2 guys.   Even one Wear or Zeller2 and a Kendall Marshall and this year’s “got blown outs” become nail-biters and/or Ws.   Franklin Street would be “a happy place”.

But we gotta dance with who we brung to the party. Here we be. The flatulent fat cats in the lower level have lost their bragging rights at “the club” and the great unwashed in the cheap seats have naught but their own wretched reality to confront.

Are there solutions on the horizon? Can Roy retool in a manner he can live with? Must Roy sell his soul to the AAU-street agents simply to ward off the internecine lynch mob? Roy is approaching the age where Dean walked away..... I've always liked goofy ol' Roy. I want him to control his own destiny. As I want to control mine. Yeah, right!

Is The Evolution of Great Unpleasantness destined to take UNC athletics in yet another alien direction fraught with new perils?

Alas, there never was That 11th Commandment.

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Remember this is Two-fer. Be sure to read ‘Tis funny if “our kids” do it.”

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If you are getting BLSays New Column ALERTS you may want to go to Facebook and “Like” BobLeeSays.   That may be the more reliable “Alert”. We’ve never pushed our Facebook page but it seems to be pervasive.

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Posted: February 11, 2013 at 11:08 AM by SaidWHATMedia | with 20 comments

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Comments

	Paul T. Lambeth II
	Last night the boys didn't look half bad for most of the contest. A shot here, a FT there and all this boulderdash about Ol' Roy goes away, until the next loss. Personally I do not think Duke is anywhere close to being on the pedestal they are always thrust upon by the media. Sure a national title is possible, but it will take an implosion from the depth of the Big 10 and for the higher echelon middies to stub their toes along the way. Sweet 16/Elite 8 is the most likely fate for K's kids. Roy is not Dean, never will be, not as a man, not as a coach. Then again we will never go thru times in our society like we did in those days of yore. And there is now way ANYONE could hope to sustain the consistency that was Dean's trademark. But Roy is still one of the best of his time, and in time everything is going to be fine. Let's however indulge the loony fringe and say Roy decides to work on his short game full time after this year, that enough is enough and to hell with it all. So board monkey, who ya got??? Wiki Dean and see what branches of the coaching tree really look stable in any way shape or form?? Bring in someone 'outside the family', Larry is going to have to bring home some conference hardware before Biff and Muffy even think of letting Bubba have that kind of power, trust me when the time comes and he has to make that hire he will get it from all sides of the family about whom should be the next to ascend the throne. Enjoy Roy for what time we got left with him, because I can tell it is not going to be all that long. And you thought the Vatican's next hire was going to be tough. ____________ BL: No doubt the kangaroo courts in BoardMonkeyWorld are shuffling among "the Butler guy" and Phil Jackson.... and, of course, Larry Brown - OF COURSE. Calipari and Petino always have their fans among the certifiably insane too. .
	2/14/2013 10:30:50 AM

	58 Wolf Kennel
	Very introspective blog, BL. I've been down at the Emerging Issues Forum for the past two days on bringing back "new manufacturing" to North Carolina. Lots of thoughts on UNC-CH needing to come up with its own "new" system beyond just "reloading". You also might get a "teacher of the year" award based on the responses of most of your followers below. They are all well written , insightful, and funny. Can't wait to watch the big game tonight without a dog in that hunt -- and also to read your thoughts on the devestating letter SACS sent Thorp back in January on bringing back degree holders to "perfect" the fake classes they may have taken going back into the '90's. I hope UNC-CH can do the right thing even though don't know what that will be. I do have true empathy on this one. ________________ BL: "Introspective" ??? I would apply "introspective" to Frau debating how much of a fuss to make about Grandmother-gate. She wisely kept silent. I'll have thoughts on the SCACCSAS (??) "recommendation" tomorrow along with a few other goings-on. :-) .
	2/13/2013 2:29:39 PM

	Emmette Taylor
	Many of the light blue legions believe them to have a birthright similar to Israel. Guess what it doesn't exist! Just hope to live long enough to see them squirm more as their perceived elite status gradually crumbles. 40 years in the wilderness sounds about right to me. As usual, your points are spot on.. _________________ BL: Many UNCers thought Matt Doherty's 8-20 was the 100-year flood and we were safe for another century. "This" won't be that bad but "this" is ROY not Matt. Build one's house on sifting sand and hope for the best.... :-) .
	2/13/2013 8:42:15 AM

	geek49203
	I grew up in Indiana, another place where basketball is beyond religion. Bobby Knight is a saint to half of the state, and Gene Keady the other. So I "get it" when we're talking about the Triangle college sports programs. So let this heretic ask the question, "Why are college basketball programs functioning as the minor league for the NBA?" Seriously -- we have college grads averaging $40-$80k in student loan debt, who then can expect a $40k job -- about what they'd make had they skipped the entire college adventure except for the $400/month loan payments. Yet the alumni are all upset about the basketball team? Seriously? NCAA Div III doesn't allow athletic scholarships. I think that's a step in the right direction. IF the NBA needs a minor league, let them revive the CBA. _____________ BL: The same can be said for the NFL. Same answer.... at the end of each day, more people like the current system than care to change it. Pity the poor Chancellor or Trustee that even mentions "downsizing our FB/ BkB programs". Why is "porn" the #1 internet business? People says one thing but their actions say another. .
	2/12/2013 8:46:28 AM

	NOTE TO READERS
	Several of you have noted the similarities of my points with a column posted by N&O's Andrew Carter on Monday. This column was posted 5 hours before Carter so easy to tell who poached from who. :-) Carter is the same N&O "junior journalist wanna-bee" who went public with an Internet rumor that FEDORA GOING TO TENNESSEE. Enough said about that young pup. BobLee
	2/12/2013 5:09:08 AM

	cooldela
	The great tragedy is what this will do to Wal Mart stock. They have already started slashing prices on Tar Heel fan gear. And it is hurting customer service. I went in to return a heating pad and had to stand in line for over an hour while Carolina fans were returning all that Carolina Blue stuff. Now I know why so many of these folk walk around with the tag still on the clothes. Please keep your receipts because it makes the return process go so much faster. And did you see that McDonald's sales were down. I'm thinking Ol' Roy might want to start recruiting at Bojangles or the K&W. ______________ BL: Not Bojangles. "Your boy" Scottie has that market all sewn up. .
	2/12/2013 2:17:40 AM

	Wuffie
	This is a great piece BL. Success and failure both have its own disease. Dean was a treasure, as is K and you can say Roy as well, that brought an incredible amount of success to his program. Along the way, UNC fans, as any other fan bases, thought they are entitled to that kind of success. They often linked the success to the school as supposed to the men at helm. The problem with UNC fans who thirst to get rid of their coach the minute they feel like their beloved program (therefore self worth) is " slipping" is that they never thought of who they would replace Roy with. They just want to get rid of the one they have. Of course, some would go straight to the next "hot" name like Brad Stevens. But who is to say that Brad Stevens can handle kids that he would have to recruit to UNC? The one-, two- and dones? He is great at Butler because most, if not all, of his kids are four years, not "super stars" type high school players. Big time college sports, yearly, is littered with fired coaches who were three, four years previously, were "hot up and comers". _______________ BL: Excellent point. If a Brad Stevens (or Mark Few) did not recruit the short-term McDAAs the same ones now yelling for Roy's head would yell for theirs. Loonies are loonies are loonies...... .
	2/11/2013 11:13:21 PM

	MD in SA
	You've heard the joke with Hittites, right? It goes "How do you know Jews are the Chosen People of God?" "Try finding a Hittite in New York City." ___________ BL: I hear there's an Assyrian neighborhood on Staten Island.... and two Minoans in New Rochelle. .
	2/11/2013 5:02:43 PM

	Maha
	BL is it too late to get a petition to keep wed. night off national tv? You know how bad things are when they have DORIS BURKE doing color on a unc national game. MAHA. _____________ BL: Noooo, not Doris Burke for The Greatest Rivalry In Sports ??? Aaaaarrrggghhhh! .
	2/11/2013 3:33:06 PM

	fayettewuf
	How does Roy turn McDonald's All-Americans into 6th men? I do think the key to K's consistency in the past is his well known emphasis on defense. I guess the problem is that you seldom see a lock down defense feautured on ESPN and I cannot think of a NBA guy that known for his defense. Don't know how the politics at UNC works. I would assume Roy can get back into the good graces of the PTB with a couple of Mickey D recruits. ________________ BL: Many "become McDonAAs" when ORW recruits them. .... the definition of a true PTB at UNC is under serious re-definition. The Butch Era PTBs ain't got much P" no mo. .... Plus - "Just call me Dickie" is now locked in a closet somewhere. .
	2/11/2013 1:31:01 PM

	ink-stained scribe
	On the nose-y, BL. Another observation: Ol' Roy constantly complains about his teams' lack of defense, but his teams never have been that good defensively. He'll have a guy or two who can guard people, but the general idea is run like crazy, move the ball, wear the other side down, and hope their legs are too tired to hit jump shots the last 10 minutes. It's a reason his clubs don't win half-court games; they're not taught to guard people. Roy's approach doesn't seem to work as well as it did. Maybe he should play some zone ... (ducks!) ______________ BL: Roy and I have "a deal". I leave coaching to him.... and he leaves clever historical metaphors to me. It's a good deal for both of us. .
	2/11/2013 12:40:28 PM

	robedixon
	I assume there are no thirds McAdoo's or Davis's in the pipeline to bail ORW out here? Tami's boy having youngun's is likely going to be too late. ____________ BL: Time to break the Blue-bloodline I suspect. .
	2/11/2013 12:31:30 PM

	LKK
	Comparing UNC BB to the Hittites and the Commanches. I am very sure THAT has never been done before. Congrats are in order. ___________ BL: Probably many good reasons why "never done before". I coulda used The Incas and "Atlantis" but "Hittites" is more fun to say. .
	2/11/2013 12:25:42 PM

	MediaMogul
	I just read your latest. As usual… My biggest complaint is that you screw up my productivity. Here it is Monday morning. I took a few days off at the end of last week, showed up with a ‘do not disturb” to-do list. And hell’s bells, here comes BobLee! In the radio business, our highest compliment that we can give a show is how high it scores on the parking lot test. That measures how many people in their cars have arrived at their destination, but are so engrossed in what’s being said that they don’t turn off the motor, don’t leave the car, until it is over. It interferes with the natural order of the day, slows people down. We love it. You pass the Internet version on the other end. When it comes end and I see it, I open it and read the whole damned thing. So, at a time when we are trying dig the country out of all your Republican prosperity we’ve been enjoying, you are an impediment to recovery. One small step, a column at a time, to undermining our will to work. Slows people down. I love it. _____________ BL: It's all part of The Master Plan. .... heheheheheeeee. .
	2/11/2013 12:15:13 PM

	TheHukk
	Greenie on Mike and Mike offered a great line from Bill Self: "All I can hope for is to be number 3 on who the player listens too." Felton, Lawson, Marshall.......and Paige?? Everyone else from the past in the middle........and Hubert or James?? I'll give him a break on Paige, the prior 3 are a real tough act to follow. But he really missed the boat on a big man. And as Hillary Clinton has said "What does it matter?" _______________ BL: HillyBeast may be the Alfred E Neuman of the New Millenium. I LOVE Self's quote. And people ask Digger "how come you retired so early?" .
	2/11/2013 12:12:06 PM

	SWVAUNC'er
	Please explain what he has against pure three point shooters. The Miami game was too painful to watch. I thought for a minute Coach K was sitting on green and orange bench! _____________ BL: The difference "a 3-pointer" and "a brick" can be as minute as 1/8 of an inch. Tuff bizness. .
	2/11/2013 12:08:57 PM

	NCSU68Grad
	BL, I am REALLY disappointed in your "methods" for developing column ideas. I surprised my wife with an early Valentine Dinner date on Saturday night and knew it would NOT be turned down. We then treated ourselves to Top Gun in 3D at the IMAX. It was SOLD OUT for both evening shows and totally entertaining. Whilst waiting for our various courses, we enjoyed an adult drink and mused about Basketball and said silent prayers to Jimmy V. to "save us". Based on Gottfried calling a Time Out before Leslie misse a layup and Scott Wood's "slipped ball" before his CLUTCH shot, I think that we were heard. We were talking about the Duke team trying to get into BC land....and that just sort of evolved into many tennacles. The first was "WHO" will succeed Mikey? Mikey does NOT do the Duke radio show. Mikey does NOT do half-time comments. Mikey does NOT do windows (or was that Mickey....will have to look the next time I visit her establishment..... Anyway....Chris and Steve and whoever are all destined for failure....the Republicans are hunting for the next Regan; UCLA is still looking for the Wooden incarnate; Duke will suffer the same fate. Then we made some comments that Old Roy might NOT be pestered with the "You CANNOT retire" comments like Dean was. After all, WHOM would they call? Matt D's hair is silver now and I do NOT think that he has "learned" as much about himself and how to better coach the game as our Alabama (at times) Boy has. I Googled and the BringMattBack website name is STILL on GoDaddy. Then came our crab dip and we focused on matter of REAL cosequence.... NOW, I know that you are REALLY close to BOTBob and that he will do everything in his power to enhance your career.....all you have to do is ASK. But really now, bugging our TABLE at Winston's on Saturday. We were NOT even wearing anything RED. You have got to repent and NEVER commit this sin again.... __________ BL: The possibiity of a "Hubert vs Dawkins Era" is not too far-fetched. That assumes that Moses Gottfried will be coaching The Lakers this time next year. That Super AD RonWellman chose Bzzzzz shows the "blind hog" reality of coach choosing. Ya think ol' BOTBob will read this one ??? .
	2/11/2013 11:59:28 AM

	JackDowneast
	So, BL, it all comes down to too many Plumlees and not enough Zellers. __________ BL: Yep. Pretty much. And whatever role ORW ever saw from The Wears. .
	2/11/2013 11:54:29 AM